Editing Arba'ah Turim (section)

== Arrangement and contents ==

[[File:Even ha-Ezer.jpg |thumb|200px|A 1565 edition of ''Even Ha'ezer'', the third part of ''Arba'ah Turim'']]
The ''Arba'ah Turim'', as the name implies, consists of four divisions ("Turim"); these are further organised by topic and section (''siman'', pl. ''simanim'').<ref>The Shulchan Aruch contains a further division by paragraph (''sa'if'', pl. ''se'ifim''), which is incorporated into some editions of the Arba'ah Turim to enable point-by-point comparison.</ref>
:The four Turim are as follows:
:* [[Orach Chayim]] - laws of prayer and [[synagogue]], [[Shabbat|Sabbath]], holidays
:* [[Yoreh De'ah]] - miscellaneous ritualistic laws, such as [[shechita]] and [[kashrut]]
:* [[Even Ha'ezer]] - laws of [[Jewish view of marriage|marriage]], divorce
:* [[Choshen Mishpat]] - laws of finance, financial responsibility, damages (personal and financial) and legal procedure

In the ''Arba'ah Turim'', Ya'akov ben Asher traces the [[posek|practical Jewish law]] from the [[Torah]] text and the dicta of the [[Talmud]] through the ''[[Rishonim]]''.  He used the code of [[Isaac Alfasi]] as his starting point; these views are then compared to those of [[Maimonides]], as well as to the [[Ashkenazi]] traditions contained in the [[Tosafot|Tosafist]] literature.  Unlike Maimonides' ''[[Mishneh Torah]]'', the ''Tur'' is not limited to [[Norm (sociology)|normative]] positions, but compares the various opinions on any disputed point. (In most instances of debate, Ya'akov ben Asher follows the opinion of his father [[Asher ben Jehiel]], known as the "Rosh".) ''Arba'ah Turim'' also differs from the ''Mishneh Torah'', in that, unlike Maimonides' work, it deals only with areas of Jewish law that are applicable in the [[Jew]]ish [[Diaspora|exile]].