Kitzur Shulchan Aruch

The work is a summary, or kitzur, of the sixteenth-century Shulchan Aruch of Rabbi Joseph Caro, with references to later rabbinical commentaries.[1][2] It focuses on the Orach Chaim and Yoreh Deah sections of the Shulchan Aruch, and includes laws of daily life, Shabbat, holidays and so on. It is divided into 221 chapters (called simanim).

As this work was written for the laity, it is not as detailed as the Shulchan Aruch itself, while generally following the Shulchan Aruch's structure. Rabbi Ganzfried expressed his intentions in his introduction:[3]

[This book] includes from the four sections of the Shulchan Aruch, those necessary and essential laws for all people in Yisrael for knowing them, and are written in a simple language and a correct order. It is a good compilation and effective, B’ezrat Hashem, for businessmen that do not have the time to delve into the Shulchan Aruch and its commentaries. They shall find in [this work] that which they require with ease and also [be able to] educate the youth and plant in their hearts the commandments of Hashem in their youth and [so that] also in their later life they will not leave them…

Ganzfried based his decisions on the opinions of three Ashkenazi rabbinic authorities: Rabbis Yaakov Lorberbaum (author of Nesivos HaMishpat), Schneur Zalman of Liadi (author of Shulchan Aruch HaRav), and Abraham Danzig (author of Chayei Adam and Chochmat Adam). In cases of disagreement between them, Ganzfried adopted the majority view. Caro had already used a similar method to write the Shulchan Aruch in 1563; his rabbinic authorities of reference were Isaac Alfasi, Maimonides, and Asher ben Yechiel.

Ganzfried was a Hungarian Jew, who put the emphasis of his work on the customs of the Hungarian Jews of his time. The work is also known for its strict rulings.[4]

The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch was first published in 1864 and became immensely popular after its publication for its simplicity, and is still commonly studied in Orthodox Rabbinic Judaism. Many other works, such as Ben Ish Hai, Chayei Adam and others, are similarly concise and suitable for laypersons as summaries of the Shulchan Aruch, but have not reached the level of the Kitzur's popularity.

The Kitzur is not used as a basis for making decisions of a legal nature; instead, rabbis use the full Shulchan Aruch and later works by the achronim and poskim.

Due to its popularity, this book is often printed with cross references of other halacha works, especially the Shulchan Aruch HaRav or the Mishna Berura; a popular edition contains notes by Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, entitled Darkeh Halacha, with cross-references of the Sephardic rabbinical authorities.

Many editions of the Kitzur include an appendix with the laws pertaining to the Land of Israel, which were compiled by the Chazon Ish. There is a commentary by Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Braun on this work, entitled Shearim Metzuyanim be-Halakhah, which examines contemporary problems in the light of the work. Ganzfried, however, stated that comments were not needed for this work, since it tried to summarize the Halacha as far as possible, and that these comments should be included in the original Shulchan Aruch, and not in the Kitzur.

The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Yomi ("Daily Kitzur Shulchan Aruch") is a daily learning program where the study of this work is completed in one year. The schedule does not follow the contents in order; rather it is arranged such that one reviews the laws of the Jewish holidays in the weeks before each. A person can start learning at any time of the year and complete it over the course of the year. The program is increasingly popular as it requires only 5 – 10 minutes per day.

The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch has been translated into English several times. Hyman E. Goldin's translation was published in 1961 with an attempt to eliminate errors and improve upon previous translations, making it "more comprehensible to scholar and layperson alike."[5] Goldin's translation bore the English title "Code of Jewish Law".

The 1980s and 90s saw the publication of two modernized translations, which included cross references similar to those in contemporary Hebrew editions as above. In 1987 Metsudah Publications released a translation by Rabbi Avrohom Davis,[6] and in 1991 Moznaim Publishing released a translation by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger.[7] The Artscroll translation of 2011,[8] under the general editorship of Rabbi Eliyahu Klugman, includes comparisons with the Mishnah Berurah and the Igrot Moshe of Moshe Feinstein. Various other translations are available online.[9]

• Code of Jewish Law. Hebrew Publishing Co. (Transl. Hyman Goldin), 1927. ISBN 0-88482-779-8
• Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. Compact Set. Metsudah Publications, 2006. ISBN 1-931681-99-6
• Kitzur Schulchan Oruch. Moznaim Publishing Corp, 1991. ISBN 0-940118-63-7
• The Kleinman Edition Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. Vol. 1. Artscroll, 2008. ISBN 1-4226-0832-8

It has been translated also into Spanish in two volumes by Rabbi Nosson Grunblatt and published by Kehot Lubavitch Sudamericana, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

• Full Hebrew text: PDF, Word, Android app
• Full Hebrew and English text online at Sefaria and Chabad.org
• Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Yomi daily calendar