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My Hebrew is rusty and my knowledge of all the halachot is equally rusty. I want to take on a new project to complete either one of those compilations.

For someone coming from a Sephardic heritage, which compilation would be better suited for gaining a practical and comprehensive know-how of the dos and don'ts of Judaism?

What are the major differences between the two compilations?

Or would it be even better to start with the original Shulchan Aruch?

msh210
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Ani Yodea
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  • I'm unfamiliar with Yalkut Yosef, so am not posting this as an answer, but Mishne Tora is unsuitable IMO for "a practical and comprehensive know-how of the dos and don'ts of Judaism": it is not practical, primarily because Sephardic Jews do not follow it in all respects but also because it omits the application of halacha to modern technology. – msh210 Jul 26 '13 at 18:16
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    Yalkut Yosef has the advantage of being more modern (he deals with modern day questions). If you want Sefardi practical Halacha, stick to it. Rambam has the advantage of covering every halacha. So if you want general knowledge (not practical halacha), that's the way to go. – ertert3terte Jul 26 '13 at 18:19
  • I am not only interested in the practical halacha but the reasoning behind it, and iirc rambam throws in some nice chapters such as halachot teshuvah, proper dieting, and others. – Ani Yodea Jul 26 '13 at 18:23
  • Seems like Yalkut Yosef is even larger than the Mishneh Torah: http://www.amazon.com/Rambam-Mishneh-Frenkel-Edition-Hardcover/dp/B006ITVU74/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1374863050&sr=8-5&keywords=mishneh+torah, http://www.amazon.com/Yalkut-Yosef-Rav-Ovadia-Vol/dp/B003U4Z5L2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374863028&sr=8-1&keywords=yalkut+yosef – Ani Yodea Jul 26 '13 at 18:25
  • Hmm, there's even a concise version of yalkut yosef (aka, kitzur shulchan aruch for sefardim): http://bit.ly/14Rh5AJ – Ani Yodea Jul 26 '13 at 18:29
  • @msh210 what you mean MT is not practical. if you dont pasken form it thats your problem. but it is as practical as any other holocho book, even more practical...paskening in regards to new technological advances are not coming from thin air. the rabbonim base it on the fundamentals such as RaMbaM. by learning RaMbaM you can see things differently and might hold of a different opinion on modern day things. not to mention shulchon oruch paskens most of his holochoth like rambam anyway. to say it is not practical means you hold no respect for the gamoro either. – MoriDowidhYa3aqov Jul 26 '13 at 18:45
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    @MoriDoweedhYa3gob, let's continue this conversation in chat. – msh210 Jul 26 '13 at 18:46
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    @Ramin for laws of dieting consult your local doctor – ertert3terte Jul 26 '13 at 19:08

3 Answers3

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Coming from a similar background, I highly recommend Yalqut Yosef as a first stop as opposed to Mishneh Torah or Shulhhan Arukh. In contrast to Mishneh Torah and Shulhhan Arukh, Yalqut Yosef - having been written relatively recently - has modern examples that are more practical to the Ba'al Teshuva.

If you can manage in Hebrew, the Yalqut Yosef Kitzur Shulhhan Arukh is fantastic (available online here). For brevity, however, it does not always go into long explanations on rulings. For that, you could tackle the full Yalqut Yosef (some of which has also been translated into English - Shabbat, for example). Unfortunately, the 2-volume Kitzur has not yet been translated to my knowledge.

Good luck!

Lee
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Yalkut Yosef gives more information on the Halacha it does have than the Rambam. IT is missing a lot of Yore Deah, Even HaEzer, and Hoshen Mishpat but then again that's not as practical for everyday life.

We don't always hold like the Rambam anyways.

If I didn't write info comment below.

In short: Yalkut Yosef.

Hacham Gabriel
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I have heard Yalkut Yosef is one of the best, most reliable, and easy to understand halachic books in modern age. With its short and simple answers, it praised greatly. It will be a great benefit if anyone can provide a link to the complete Yalkut Yosef or at least part of it. I couldn't find any available book at our location even for online purchase.

Yaacov Deane
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Yamin
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  • I mean in english version heres my email hanzmin6@gmail.com – Yamin Apr 07 '16 at 15:48
  • You should remove your email address and have comments put in the comment section of the answer. You will be pinged on new comments. You should add a new question. http://www.moznaim.com/yalkut-yosef-saka-edition-rav-ovadia-yosef.html CUSTOMER SERVICE BY PHONE 718-438-7680 – sabbahillel Apr 07 '16 at 20:16
  • Ty yacov for correction – Yamin Apr 09 '16 at 18:52
  • I didnt ask for buy am asking if i could see in web pages in english transliteration – Yamin Apr 09 '16 at 18:55