Setting the Table: An Introduction to the Jurisprudence of Rabbi Yechiel Mikhel Epstein’s Arukh Hashulhan. By Michael J. Broyde and Shlomo C. Pill. Boston: Academic Studies Press, 2021. Pp. 428. $139.00 (cloth); $150.00 (digital). ISBN: 9781644690703.

Abstract

Since the Bible, there are three codes that can lay claim to covering the gamut of Jewish law, including laws whose relevance is dependent on the existence of a Temple in Jerusalem: The third-century redaction of the oral tradition Mishna, Maimonides's twelfth-century magnum opus Mishne torah, and the comprehensive code penned by Rabbi Yehiel Mikhel Halevi Epstein (1829-1908). Epstein's extensive legal writings include two series: Arukh hashulhan covering laws applicable in contemporary reality as defined by previous codifiers, and Arukh hashulhan ha'atid dealing with laws relevant to an aspirational future. 1 Of the three codes, Epstein's writings have attracted the least attention.In light of the paucity of research on Epstein's code, Michael J. Broyde and Shlomo C. Pill have made a significant contribution with their volume Setting the Table: An Introduction to the Jurisprudence of Rabbi Yechiel Mikhel Epstein's Arukh Hashulhan. 2 Setting the Table complements other recent efforts to recount Epstein's biography, explore his literary oeuvre, and plumb his legal writings. 3