The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (557 page)

 
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Codifications of Law
.

In Judaism, successive attempts to bring order to the proliferating interpretations and applications of the original
Torah
. Among the earliest were
Mishnah
and
Tosefta
, leading to the Palestinian and Babylonian
Talmuds
, though these are not in the form of codes. Pioneers of the latter were the
She’iltot
of the Babylonian A
ai of Shab
a, and
Halakhot Pesukot
of Yehudai Gaon. Prominent in the transition to codes was
Sa‘adiah Gaon
. But the most ambitious was
Mishneh Torah
of
Maimonides
. This remains a point of reference, but other codes have appeared, often condensing and reorganizing—e.g. Jacob ben Asher's
Arba’ah Turim
(Four Rows;
Tur
for short), which was the basis for
Shul
n Arukh
of Joseph
Caro
.

 
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(Gk.,
koinos
, ‘common’, +
bios
, ‘life’; hence coenobitic). A religious who lives in a community, as opposed to a hermit.

 
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(1842–1918).
German Jewish philosopher. As a philosopher, he brought a new interpretation to the thought of Immanuel
Kant
. He argued that as the
chosen people
of God, Jews have a particular duty to bring about the unity of humanity and establish God's Kingdom on earth. This duty is linked specifically to Torah and the keeping of its commands. His major work,
Die Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums
was published a year after his death.

 
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(1814–83).
Anglican
bishop
of Natal. He is remembered principally for the controversy caused by his papers on
The Pentateuch and the Book of Joshua Critically Examined
(1862–79). His studies looked especially at the implications of numbers taken literally, and challenged the historical accuracy of the books and their authorship by
Moses
. He was censured by the English bishops and deposed by his
metropolitan
. He contested the deposition, and a schism ensued in Natal which was eventually healed in 1911.