[rule ]. The Jewish oral law. (See Gemara, Mishna.)
“The halachah ... had even greater authority than the Scriptures of
the Old Testament, since it explained and applied them.” —Edersheim
Life of Jesus the Messiah, vol. i. book i. chap.i.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
