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The Arba'ah Turim (literally: four rows, as on the High Priest's breastplate):
In contradistinction to Maimonides Mishneh TorahThe Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM''. The Mishneh Torah may be regarded as RamBam's magnum op, Tur only deals with the areas of Jewish law that are applicable in exileThe term diaspora ( Greek διασπορα, a scattering or sowing of seeds) is used (without capitalization) to refer to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands, be; the work also differs in that it is not limited to normative positions, but compares the various opinions on any disputed point. In most instances, Rabbi Jacob follows the opinion of his father Rabbi Asher ben JehielRabbenu Asher ben Jehiel (1250? 1259?-1328), an eminent Talmudist often known by his Hebrew acronym the ROSH (literally "Head"), was born in western Germany and died in Toledo, Spain. His family was prominent for learning and piety, his father having been (the "Rosh").
Commentaries on Arba'ah Turim include Beth Joseph by Rabbi Joseph Caro, Beth Chadash by Rabbi Yoel Sirkis and a number of other AcharonimAcharonim ( Hebrew sing. Acharon literally "the later ones", is a term used in Jewish law and history, to signify the leading rabbis living from roughly the 16th century to the present. The acharonim follow "the Rishonim the first ones", the Rabbinic scho. The influential work of halacha, Shulkhan Arukh is a condensation of Beth Joseph and follows the basic structure of the Arba'ah Turim, including its division in four sections and chapters.
The Tur continues to play an important role in Halakha. The organisation of the Shulkhan Arukh follows that of the Tur: subtopics are organised by sections (simanim) and laws (se'ifim) - this structure down to the siman is retained in the Shulkhan Arukh. Students of the Shulkan Aruch, particularly in Orthodox Semicha programmes, will study the Tur and the Beth Joseph in concert with the Shulkhan Arukh itself.