Sifrei Kodesh

Historically, sifrei kodesh were generally written in Hebrew with some in Judeo-Aramaic or Arabic, although in recent years, thousands of titles in other languages, most notably English, were published.

[citation needed] Among Orthodox Jews the word ספר‎ sefer (plural ספרים‎ s'farim)[1] is used for books of the Tanakh, the Oral Torah (Mishnah and Talmud) or any work of rabbinic literature.

Traditionally, it is written on a parchment scroll, known as a Sefer Torah, although it is also printed in book form, known as a Chumash (and in some cases a tikkun).

[4] In addition to the classic printings of Tanakh which don't include many more commentaries than Rashi and Targum Onkelos, there is the Mikraot Gedolot edition which was first published in the early sixteenth century.

Among the numerous commentaries of Tanakh not published in the Mikraot Gedolot are the Meam Loez,[5] Malbim,[6] Ha'amek Davar,[7] Torah Temimah,[8] and The Hirsch Chumash.

[11] As stated earlier, Jewish belief is that the Pentateuch is of Mosaic authorship, meaning that it was dictated by God to Moses.

For generations, the Oral Torah had been transmitted by word of mouth, largely with the help of the Sanhedrin, the leading Jewish authority.

Therefore, c. 188 CE, Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi, head of the exiled Sanhedrin, compiled the Mishnah, i.e. the teachings of the Oral Torah.

[27] The primary Kabbalistic work, the Zohar, was written by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a Tanna who lived in the second century, although it was lost for many years.

[29] Jewish law, known in Hebrew as Halakha, was transcribed first in the Mishnah and later in the Talmud, with the differing opinions spread out over sixty three tractates.

The Geonim, the leaders of Jewry in the Early Middle Ages primarily in Babylonia, were not prolific writers like later generations.

[32] Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, known as Maimonides or as the Rambam, was a Rishon who lived in Spain, Morocco, and Egypt in the second half of the twelfth century.

The author of several books, his most famous is a halakhic work, Mishneh Torah, also known as the Yad HaChazakah or simply as the Rambam, which is fourteen volumes long.

[39] Major commentaries written on the Shulchan Aruch include the Ketzos Hachoshen, Avnei Milu'im, and the Nesivos Hamishpat.

[41] Mishnah Berurah, a six-volume work expounding on Orach Chayim, was published between 1884 and 1907 and is followed by most Litvishe Jews almost exclusively.

The Ben Ish Hai, by Rabbi Yosef Hayyim, is based on the sermons he delivered, and therefore includes halakha as well as Kabbalah and explanations on the Torah.

Another notable Halakhic work is the Chofetz Chaim, dealing with the laws of proper speech, and written by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan.

[45] Also known as chasidus, Hasidism is an Orthodox Jewish movement originating in Eastern Europe in the mid-eighteenth century, founded by the Baal Shem Tov.

The Hasidic masters used the language of Kabbalah and to a lesser extent that of Jewish philosophy, to teach the average individual how he could experience God.