Acharonim

אחרון, Aḥaron) are the leading rabbis and poskim (Jewish legal decisors) living from roughly the 16th century to the present, and more specifically since the writing of the Shulchan Aruch (lit.

The publication of the Shulchan Aruch thus marks the transition from the era of Rishonim to that of Acharonim.

It laid down that until the time of Rabbis Abbaye and Rava (4th century) the Halakha was to be decided according to the views of the earlier scholars, but from that time onward, the halakhic opinions of post-talmudic scholars would prevail over the contrary opinions of a previous generation.

See Piskei Ha'Rosh, Bava Metzia 3:10, 4:21, Shabbat 23:1Hilkheta Ke-Vatra'ei can be interpreted such that the Orthodox view does not constitute a contradiction, with an appeal to understand it within the greater context of Torah.

A similar case exists for Rav Chiya, a borderline Tanna in Bava Metzia 5a.