The Ketzos HaChoshen is the major writing by
Rabbi Aryeh Leib Heller (1745–1812)
on the basis of which he is known as "The Ketzos". The first printing was in
Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
Importance
The Ketzos HaChoshen (Ends of the Breastplate) is a halachic work which explains difficult passages in the
Shulchan Aruch
The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in Is ...
,
Choshen Mishpat Choshen Mishpat is the Hebrew for "Breastplate of Judgement". The term is associated with one of the four sections of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of halakha (Jewish law), Arba'ah Turim. This section treats aspects of Jewish law pertinent to ...
(which deals mainly with business and financial laws such as contracts, witnesses etc.) with novel ideas proposed by Rabbi Aryeh Leib.
Familiarity with this work is considered mandatory for any Torah scholar or
Dayan. It is customarily studied in conjunction with ''Nesivot HaMishpat'', written by Rav
Yaakov Lorberbaum, who often controverted Rabbi Heller's conclusions on many points.
The Ketzos's sefer is often published in tandem with his brother
Yehuda Heller's book, Kuntras Ha'Sfeikos as a two-volume set.
References
Rabbinic legal texts and responsa
Sifrei Kodesh
{{Judaism-book-stub