History of responsa in Judaism

The history of responsa in Judaism (Hebrew: שאלות ותשובות, Sephardic: She'elot Utshuvot, Ashkenazic: Sheilos Utshuvos; usually shortened to שו"ת Shu"t) spans a period of 1,700 years. Rabbinic responsa constitute a special class of Rabbinic literature, differing in form but not necessarily in content from Rabbinic commentaries devoted to the exegesis of the Bible, the Mishnah, the Talmud, and Halakha (Jewish law).

Source: Wikipedia — History of responsa in Judaism (CC BY-SA 4.0)