Editing Moses Isserles (section)

==Works==
Isserles is renowned for his fundamental work of ''[[Halakha]]'' (Jewish law), entitled ''ha-Mapah'' (lit., "the tablecloth"), an inline commentary on the ''[[Shulchan Aruch]]'' (lit. "the set table"), upon which his "great reputation as a halakist and codifier rests chiefly."<ref>Lew 1968, p. 68.</ref>

===''Darkhei Moshe''===
'''''[[Darkhei Moshe (book)|Darkhei Moshe]]''''' (דרכי משה) is a commentary on the ''[[Arba'ah Turim|Tur]]'' as well as on the ''[[Shulkhan Aruch#Beth Yosef|Beth Yosef]]'', which is Yosef Karo's commentary on the ''Tur'' and the work underlying the ''Shulkhan Aruch''. Isserles had originally intended the ''Darkhei Moshe'' to serve as a basis for subsequent ''halakhic'' decisions. As such, in this work he evaluates the rulings of the ''Tur''—which was widely accepted among the [[Ashkenazi]]m and [[Sephardi]]m—comparing these with rulings of other [[posek|''halakhic'' authorities]]. The ''Beth Yosef'' was published while Isserles was at work on the ''Darkhei Moshe''. Recognizing that Karo's commentary largely met his objectives, Isserles published the ''Darkhei Moshe'' in a modified form. "In publishing the דרכי משה, R. Isserles rendered a great service to Ashkenazic Jewry, for he reestablished its Talmudic authorities as the deciding factor in determining a law."<ref>Siev 1943, p. 63.</ref> An abridgement of the original work is published with the ''Tur''; the complete version of the ''Darkhei Moshe'' is published separately.

===''HaMapah''===
'''''HaMapah''''' (המפה) is written as a [[gloss (annotation)|gloss]] to the ''[[Shulchan Aruch]]'' of [[Yosef Karo]], discussing cases where [[Sephardi]] and [[Ashkenazi]] customs differ. Hamapah is the "tablecloth" for the ''Shulkhan Aruch'', the "set table". Karo had based his [[posek|normative positions]] on three authorities: [[Maimonides]], [[Asher ben Jehiel]] (the Rosh), and [[Isaac Alfasi]] (the Rif). Of these, only Asher ben Jehiel had non-[[Sephardic]] roots, having lived most of his life in [[Germany]] before moving to [[Spain]], but even so, his work is largely Sephardic in orientation. Isserles thus created a series of glosses, in which he supplemented Karo with material drawn from the laws and customs ([[minhag|''Minhagim'']]) of [[Ashkenazi]] Jewry, chiefly based on the works of [[Yaakov Moelin]], [[Israel Isserlein]] and [[Israel Bruna]].

All editions of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' since 1578 include ''HaMapah'' embedded in the text (introduced by the word: הגה ''Hagahah'', meaning "gloss"), and distinguished by a semi-cursive "[[Rashi#"Rashi script"|Rashi script]]". Isserles' HaMapah was "considered to be an interpretation and supplement to Karo's work, while also challenging its claim to universal authority by introducing Ashkenazic traditions and customs that differed from the Sephardic ones. Rather than challenge the status of the Shulhan ‘Arukh, however, Isserles established the status of the Shulhan ‘Arukh as the authoritative text. In most of the editions since 1574, the Shulhan ‘Arukh was printed with HaMapah, thus creating an interesting tension that was realized on the printed page. It was an act of integrating the Sephardic tradition and its accommodation into the Ashkenazi world, the confirmation of the authority and its undermining appearing on the same page."<ref>Raz-Krozkin 2006, "From Safed to Venice: The Shulhan ‘Arukh and the Censor", p. 98.</ref>

The citations "indicating the sources in earlier authorities of the decisions in the annotations to the Shulchan Aruch, were not placed by Isserles. This may be seen from the fact that many times incorrect references are given. An anonymous scholar placed them at the end of each comment and gradually they have been mistaken as being indications of the author himself."<ref>Siev 1943, p. 45.</ref>

Isserles' weaving "his comments into the main text as glosses, indicates, besides upholding the traditional Ashkenazi attitude to a text, that the work itself, meant to serve as a textbook for laymen, had been accepted in Rema's yeshivah at Krakow as a students' reference book. Instead of the Arba‘ah Turim, the main text for the study of posekim in the Ashkenazi yeshivah up to Rema's day, he chose to use the new book, which was free of accumulated layers of glosses and emendations, up-to-date and lucid, and arranged along the same lines as the old Turim so that it could easily be introduced into the yeshivah curriculum. This was the crucial step in altering the canonical status of the Shulhan Arukh."<ref>Reiner, 1997, p. 97.</ref>

Today, the term "''Shulchan Aruch''" refers to the combined work of Karo and Isserles. This consolidation of the two works strengthened the underlying unity of the [[Sephardi]] and [[Ashkenazi]] communities. It is through this unification that the ''Shulkhan Aruch'' became the universally accepted [[Halakha#Codes of Jewish law|Code of Law]] for the entire [[Jewish people]], with the notable exception of [[Yemenite Jews]] who still follow the ''Rambam'' ([[Maimonides]]).

=== ''Torat Ha-Olah'' ===
'''''Torat Ha-Olah''''' (תורת העלה), written between 1560 and 1570, was a discussion of the deeper meaning of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] and the temple sacrifices. In addition to discussing the principles of the Jewish faith invoked, Isserles connects the Torah laws and symbols to philosophy, physics, astronomy, and [[Kabbalah]].<ref>Langermann, Y.T. (1991). "The Astronomy of Rabbi Moses Isserles." In: Unguru, S. (eds) ''Physics, Cosmology and Astronomy, 1300–1700: Tension and Accommodation''. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol 126. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3342-5_5</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Torat_HaOlah?tab=contents|title=Torat HaOlah|website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref> The title translates into the "Law of the Burnt-Offering." In addition to citing the [[Tanakh]] and Talmud, Isserles heavily references the [[Midrash]].