Shulḥan ‘arukh
(lit., “Set Table”) A code of Jewish law composed in Safed by Yosef Karo (1488–1575) following the organization of the medieval work
Arba‘ah turim [
See glossary entry Arba‘ah turim]. A commentary called
Mapah (lit., Tablecloth) was added by
Mosheh Isserles. In this way, the Sephardic traditions presented by Karo were combined with the Ashkenazic positions presented by Isserles in a single work that consequently became the most authoritative code of Jewish law. [
See Shulḥan ‘arukh;
and the biography of Isserles.]
Status Quo
After the Hungarian National
Jewish Congress of 1868–1869, about 5 or 6 percent of Hungarian Jewish communities refused to affiliate themselves with either the Neolog or the Orthodox organizations. They received government permission to maintain local practices and were called Status Quo or Status Quo Ante communities. There was no ideological definition of this group. The most important Status Quo community was in
Debrecen.