Perhaps no book is less known, yet more important, than the Shulchan Aruch. Most people have heard of the Talmud-that compendium of Jewish laws, and thus the essence of Judaism. The Talmud, however, is vast and largely inscrutable for non-Jews. Fortunately, back in the mid-1500s, a Jewish rabbi named Joseph Karo decided to create a condensed, compact version of the Talmud. He called it 'the set table': the Shulchan Aruch. ...