Just the facts on religion.


The responsa are thousands of volumes of answers to specific questions on Jewish law. If the Talmud is a law book, then the responsa are case law.

The responsa are composed by well-respected rabbis who have been asked a specific question, and include a full description of the situation, references to the applicable Talmudic passages, the rabbi's answer, and the reasoning behind his opinion. Responsa began to be compiled in the Middle Ages and continue to the present day.
