Table 1.

Categories of Halakhic Sources in Rabbinic Judaism.

Tier	Sources	Contents
Written Torah	Five Books of Moses	Traditionally parsed to contain 613 mitzvot (Commandments)
Oral Torah	Mishnah Babylonian Talmud (TB)* Jerusalem Talmud (TY)	Ancient commentaries and interpretations (Talmud codified 6th century CE), including: Derived rules, Legislated rules, Informal homiletics
	Responsa	Later case-based responses extending to the present day
Minhag (Local Custom)	Responsa Later codifications	Aspects of Judaism that differ by region, arising from Rabbinic authorship or gradual popular adoption
Lexical Codifications	Mishneh Torah (12th century) Shulchan Aruch (16th century)	Influential collections of prior rulings, including responsa and minhag, organized topically
Progressive Judaism	Alternate responses and commentaries by non-Orthodox movements	More emphasis on individual liberty in decision-making and/or evolving interpretations of canon; traditional halakhah may serve in an adaptive or advisory capacity

^*Standard Babylonian Talmud citations are given as “TB [tractate] [pg. #] [a/b for page side],” as in “TB Bava Metzia 59b.” The Mishnah and Jerusalem Talmud are divided into tractates, chapter #, and verse # (“Pirkei Avot 1:2” or “TY Pe’ah 1:1”). See www.sefaria.org or www.sacred-texts.org for public domain translations.