History of responsa in Judaism
Responsa (from Latin responsa "Reply", Hebrew She'elot uTeshuvot " Questions and Answers" ) were in the Middle Ages and modern times inquiries of a legal nature to a Jewish halachic authority with the aim to obtain a normative decision on the request.
These assessments that serve the determination of the Halakhah, were and are collected in " Response Collections". Many of these requests carry a hypothetical nature and were asked by rabbis to protect the personal view to a well-known Jewish legal scholars. Historically - critical, let responsa conclusions on problems and living conditions of the Jews in their non-Jewish environment. For example, treat responsa relations with non-Jewish trading partners or staff behavior towards forcibly baptized, etc.
Some formulas and their placement were taken after Goldziher the tradition of Islamic fatwas.