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<title>Orach Chayim</title>
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<span id="openzim-page-title" class="mw-page-title-main"><i>Orach Chayim</i></span>
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<p><i><b>Orach Chayim</b></i> ("manner/way of life") is a section of <a href="Rabbi" title="Rabbi">Rabbi</a> <a href="Jacob_ben_Asher" title="Jacob ben Asher">Jacob ben Asher</a>'s compilation of <a href="Halakha" title="Halakha">Halakha</a> (Jewish law), <i><a href="Arba'ah_Turim" title="Arba'ah Turim">Arba'ah Turim</a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This section addresses aspects of Jewish law pertinent to the <a href="Hebrew_calendar" title="Hebrew calendar">Hebrew calendar</a> (be it the daily, weekly, monthly, or annual calendar). Rabbi <a href="Yosef_Karo" class="mw-redirect" title="Yosef Karo">Yosef Karo</a> modeled the framework of the <i><a href="Shulkhan_Arukh" class="mw-redirect" title="Shulkhan Arukh">Shulkhan Arukh</a></i> (שולחן ערוך), his own compilation of practical Jewish law, after the <i>Arba'ah Turim.</i><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Many later commentators used this framework, as well.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Thus, <i>Orach Chayim</i> in common usage may refer to another area of halakha, separate from Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation.
</p><p><i>Orach Chayim</i> deals with but is not limited to:
</p>
<ul><li>Washing the hands in the morning</li>
<li><a href="Tefillin" title="Tefillin">Tefillin</a></li>
<li><a href="Tzitzit" title="Tzitzit">Tzitzit</a> (ritual fringes)</li>
<li><a href="Jewish_services" class="mw-redirect" title="Jewish services">Prayer</a></li>
<li><a href="Shabbat" title="Shabbat">Sabbath</a></li>
<li><a href="Jewish_holiday" class="mw-redirect" title="Jewish holiday">Festivals</a></li>
<li><a href="Torah_reading" title="Torah reading">Torah reading</a> in <a href="Synagogue" title="Synagogue">synagogue</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Commentaries_on_the_Shulchan_Aruch_–_Orach_Chayim">Commentaries on the <i>Shulchan Aruch</i> – <i>Orach Chayim</i></h2></div>
<ul><li><i>Taz (Turei Zohov)</i> – by Rabbi <a href="David_HaLevi_Segal" title="David HaLevi Segal">David HaLevi Segal</a></li>
<li><i>Magen Avraham</i> – by Rabbi <a href="Avraham_Gombiner" title="Avraham Gombiner">Avraham Gombiner</a></li>
<li><i>Biur HaGra</i> – by the <a href="Vilna_Gaon" title="Vilna Gaon">Vilna Gaon</a></li>
<li><i>Pri Megadim</i> – by Rabbi <a href="Joseph_ben_Meir_Teomim" title="Joseph ben Meir Teomim">Joseph ben Meir Teomim</a></li>
<li><i><a href="Mishnah_Berurah" title="Mishnah Berurah">Mishnah Berurah</a></i> – by Rabbi <a href="Yisrael_Meir_Kagan" title="Yisrael Meir Kagan">Yisrael Meir Kagan</a></li>
<li><i>Tor Bareket</i> – by Rabbi <a href="Chaim_HaKohen" title="Chaim HaKohen">Chaim HaKohen</a> of Aram <a href="Zobah" title="Zobah">Zobah</a> (<a href="Aleppo" title="Aleppo">Aleppo</a>)</li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Maginei_Eretz"><i>Maginei Eretz</i></h2></div>
<p><i><b>Maginei Eretz</b></i> was the first edition of the Orach Chaim, published with the commentaries Magen David and Magen Avraham on either side of the main text. This format has been maintained and today is the standard format for the Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim. The name "Maginei Eretz" translates as "shields of the earth," a quote from Psalms 47:10 ("... for the shields of the earth belong to God: He is greatly exalted.")
</p><p>The Magen David was written by Rabbi <a href="David_HaLevi_Segal" title="David HaLevi Segal">David HaLevi Segal</a> and has since been referred to as the "Taz" (The abbreviation for Turei Zahav), for consistency with Segal's commentary on the <a href="Yoreh_Deah" class="mw-redirect" title="Yoreh Deah">Yoreh Deah</a> section of the Shulchan Aruch.
</p><p>The Magen Avraham was written by Rabbi <a href="Avraham_Gombiner" title="Avraham Gombiner">Avraham Gombiner</a>. The Maginei Eretz was published by his son, Chaim, following his father's death.
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2></div>
<p>The other three sections of Arba'ah Turim and other works borrowing its organizational scheme are:
</p>
<ul><li><i><a href="Yoreh_De'ah" title="Yoreh De'ah">Yoreh De'ah</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="Choshen_Mishpat" title="Choshen Mishpat">Choshen Mishpat</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="Even_HaEzer" class="mw-redirect" title="Even HaEzer">Even HaEzer</a></i></li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Bibliography">Bibliography</h2></div>
<ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111909/jewish/Rabbi-David-Halevi-Taz.htm">Chabad.org article on Rabbi David Halevi Segal</a></li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>
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<li id="cite_note-:0-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:0_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:0_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">
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</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ou.org/judaism-101/glossary/orach-chaim/">"Orach Chaim"</a>. <i>Orthodox Union</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2022-11-13</span></span>.</cite></span>
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<li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFMiller" class="citation web cs1">Miller, Moshe. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/380611/jewish/Rabbi-Yosef-Joseph-Caro-The-Master.htm">"Rabbi Yosef (Joseph) Caro - The Master, Author of the Shulchan Aruch"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2022-11-13</span></span>.</cite></span>
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<li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111909/jewish/Rabbi-David-Halevi-Taz.htm">"Rabbi David Halevi (Taz) - (5346-5427; 1586-1667)"</a>. <i>www.chabad.org</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2025-06-26</span></span>.</cite></span>
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<div class="side-box-text plainlist">English <a href="Wikisource" title="Wikisource">Wikisource</a> has original text related to this article:
<div style="margin-left: 10px;"><b><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/en:Translation:Shulchan_Aruch/Orach_Chaim" class="extiw external" title="s:en:Translation:Shulchan Aruch/Orach Chaim">Translation:Shulchan Aruch/Orach Chaim</a></b></div></div></div>
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<ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.sefaria.org/Shulchan_Arukh,_Orach_Chayim?tab=contents"><i>Orach Chayim</i> at Sefaria</a></li>
<li><a class="external text external" href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%97%D7%9F_%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9A_%D7%90%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%97_%D7%97%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9D">Hebrew edition online</a></li></ul>
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