Arba’ah Turim is the second major
compilation (after Rambam’s
Mishneh Torah) of Jewish Law. The title means “Four Columns,”
which
refers to its four parts: Orach Chayim, Yoreh Deah, Even Haezer and
Choshen Mishpat. The
compilation was written by the Spanish
Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher, (1270 – 1340) is also referred to as Ba'al ha-Turim,
or "the Master of the Tur."Arba’ah Turim is unique in
that it establishes an easy numbering system. Each part of the work is
divided into numbered sections, which are further subdivided into
paragraphs, which are in themselves distinct laws.
The first part, Orach Chayim, is a compilation of the laws of personal
etiquette, blessings, synagogue procedures, Sabbath, and holidays.
The second part, Yoreh Deah, deals with laws of ritual slaughter, kosher
food regulations, guidelines for rabbis and derivative topics.
The third part, Even Haezer, compiles the laws of marriage, divorce and burial.
The
last part, Choshen Mishpat contains the laws of finance, financial
responsibility, business, personal, financial and material damages.
In Arba’ah Turim, Rabbi Ben Asher elucidates the practical Jewish law as
all the way from the Torah text, the rulings of the Talmud and from the
opinions of Rishonim, the rabbis who were the sources of opinion, who
lived between 1200-1500 CE. The author followed the logic of Rabbi
Isaac Alfassi as the structure for the elucidation, comparing the logic
to that of Rambam, as well as to the prominent Ashkenazi traditions
reflected in the Tosafist literature. Arba’ah Turim
does not dictate absolute law; rather, it arrives at a conclusion
through comparing the opinions of various rabbinical sources. In many
cases, the author rules according to the opinion of his father, Rabbi
Asher ben Yechiel (the Rosh.) Arba'ah Turim differs with Rambam’s
Mishneh Torah, the much earlier compilation of law which incorporates
laws applicable to the Temple period, in that it deals only with Jewish
laws which are applicable in the times of exile.
The Arba’ah Turim is provided with commentaries, on margins and footnotes,
by Rabbi Yoseph Caro (Beth Yosef), by Rabbi Yoel Sirkis (Bayit
Chadash), Moses Isserles (Darkhei Moshe), Yoshua Falk (Beit Yisrael),
and several Acharonim.The Tur exerted monumental
influence on Jewish life and the halakha (practical law). Yoseph Caro's
Shulkhan Arukh, the last of the fundamental legal compilations is a
distillation and amplification of his Beth Yoseph commentaries in
Arba’ah Turim, faithfully following the quadripartite structure of the
Arba’ah Turim.