Orach Chayim "manner of life" is a section of Rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

 Jacob ben Asher

Jacob ben Asher

Jacob ben Asher, also known as Ba'al ha-Turimas well as Rabbi Yaakov ben Raash , was likely born in Cologne, Germany c.1269 and likely died in Toledo, Spain c.1343....

's compilation of Halakha

Halakha

Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...

 (Jewish law), Arba'ah Turim

Arba'ah Turim

Arba'ah Turim , often called simply the Tur, is an important Halakhic code, composed by Yaakov ben Asher...

. This section treats all aspects of Jewish law primarily pertinent to the Hebrew calendar

Hebrew calendar

The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...

 (be it the daily, weekly, monthly, or annual calendar). Rabbi Yosef Karo

Yosef Karo

Joseph ben Ephraim Karo, also spelled Yosef Caro, or Qaro, was author of the last great codification of Jewish law, the Shulchan Aruch, which is still authoritative for all Jews pertaining to their respective communities...

 modeled the framework of the Shulkhan Arukh (שולחן ערוך), his own compilation of practical Jewish law, after the Arba'ah Turim. Many later commentators used this framework, as well. Thus, Orach Chayim in common usage may refer to an area of halakha, non-specific to Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation.

Orach Chayim deals with, but is not limited to:

• Washing the hands in the morning,
• Tefillin
  Tefillin
  Tefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...
  
   (phylacteries)
• Tzitzit
  Tzitzit
  The Hebrew noun tzitzit is the name for specially knotted ritual fringes worn by observant Jews. Tzitzit are attached to the four corners of the tallit and tallit katan.-Etymology:The word may derive from the semitic root N-TZ-H...
  
   (ritual fringes),
• prayer
  Jewish services
  Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
  
  ,
• Sabbath
  Shabbat
  Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
  
  ,
• Festivals
  Jewish holiday
  Jewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...
  
  ,
• Torah reading
  Torah reading
  Torah reading is a Jewish religious ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll to...
  
   in synagogue
  Synagogue
  A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
  
  .

Famous commentaries on Orach Chayim

• Taz
  David HaLevi Segal
  David ha-Levi Segal , also known as the Turei Zahav after the title of his significant halakhic commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, was one of the greatest Polish rabbinical authorities....
  
  
• Magen Avraham
• Beur HaGra
  Vilna Gaon
  Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra or Elijah Ben Solomon, , was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry of the past few centuries...
  
  
• Pri Megadim
• Mishnah Berurah
  Mishnah Berurah
  The Mishnah Berurah is a work of halakha by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan , also colloquially known by the name of another of his books, Chofetz Chaim "Desirer of Life."...