halacha

noun

ha·​la·​cha hä-ˈlä-ḵə  ˌhä-lə-ˈḵä 

variants or less commonly halakha

often capitalized

: the body of Jewish law supplementing the scriptural law and forming especially the legal part of the Talmud

halachic adjective

or less commonly halakhic

hə-ˈla-kik 

hä-ˈlä-

often capitalized

Examples of halacha in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In Britain, Sharia courts alongside Jewish halacha courts—Beit Dins—long exist, always in deference to British law. —Faisal Kutty, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025

The grueling hike, organized annually by a Jewish scouting organization, allows Jewish scouts to participate in the movement’s activities while observing halacha, or Jewish law. —Jackie Hajdenberg, Sun Sentinel, 24 July 2024

For most, the answer lay in studying the Torah and, generally, the Hebrew Scriptures, and in the observance of halacha, or religious laws, including those governing Shabbat and the kosher diet. —James Carroll, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2024

Suicide is such a grave violation of halacha, Jewish religious law, that those who kill themselves are often denied burial in Jewish cemeteries. —Cnaan Liphshiz, sun-sentinel.com, 26 June 2019

Some of the students are graduates of a three-year program at Nishmat that certifies women as yoetzot halacha, or halachic advisors. —Beth Kissileff, sun-sentinel.com, 3 July 2019

Word History

Etymology

Hebrew halākhāh, literally, way

First Known Use

1856, in the meaning defined above