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The Halakah

Halakah or Halacha [Heb.=law], These interpretations or discussions were of two kinds: the Halakah, which dealt with the code of law, and the Haggadah, which was general preaching, or everything that was not Halakah.

The Halakah stated the rule or statute by which one is guided, the definite religious usage of the day. It was taught that "anything becomes Halakah (1) when it is held in acceptance for a long period; (2) when it is vouched for by recognized authority; (3) when it is supported by accepted proof from Scripture; (4) when it is established by majority vote. Any one or all of these reasons could establish a principle of the oral law." Since no new principle of law could be established by invention, but rather by relation to an already existing principle, the rabbis became expert in manipulating the inferences from the existing law, oral and written, in order to cover all possible cases that might be brought before them. The records of these cases and the reasoning's concerning them made the Halakoth.

Also see The Midrash Halakah