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The Talmud....
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The Talmud is considered an authoritative record of rabbinic
discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories. It
is a fundamental source of legislation, customs, case histories and great moral
exhortations. The Talmud consists of two components, the Mishnah, and the Gemara,
a discussion of the Mishnah (though the terms Talmud and Gemara are
generally used interchangeably). It expands on the earlier writings in the
Torah in general and in the Mishnah in particular, and is the basis for
all later codes of Jewish law, and much of Rabbinic literature.
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The Jewish Oral law was recorded by Rabbi Judah haNasi
and redacted as the Mishnah in 200 CE. The oral traditions were committed to
writing to preserve them, as it became apparent that the Palestine Jewish
community, and its learning, was threatened. The rabbis of the Mishnah are
known as Tannaim (sing. Tanna); teachings in the Mishnah are generally
reported in the name of a Tanna.
Over the next three centuries the Mishna underwent analysis and debate in
Israel and Babylon (the world's major Jewish communities). This analysis is
known as Gemara. The rabbis of the Gemara are referred to as Amoraim (sing.
Amora). |
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The Mishnah and the Gemara together comprise the Talmud.
The Talmud is thus the combination of a core text, the Mishnah, or
“redaction” (from the verb shanah שנה, to repeat, revise) and subsequent
analysis and commentary, the gemara, or “completion” (from gamar :
Hebrew to complete; Aramaic to study). The language medium in the Talmud
will differ, broadly, and for historical reasons, by section - the Mishna
sections and Bibilical references are in
Hebrew, and the Gemara sections in
Aramaic.
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Although the analysis and debates of the Amoraim
generally focus on clarifying the positions, words and views of the
Tannaim, the Gemara is not strictly limited to the text of the Mishnah. In
this analysis, the gemara also considers the Tosefta (lit. additional
material) a parallel, Mishnaic-era, source of halakha - the Talmud refers
to all such non-mishnaic material as beraitot (lit. outside material;
sing. beraita). See Gemara for further discussion. |
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