Talmud

The Talmud (תלמוד) 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 moral exhortations. The Talmud has 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. The Talmud is also traditionally referred to as Shas (a Hebrew abbreviation of shishah sedarim, the "six orders" of the Mishnah).

Structure and function

Traditional Judaism has always held that the books of the Tanakh were transmitted in parallel with a living, oral tradition. Thus, the Torah - the "Law" or "Instruction" - is the written law, while the oral law - the Talmud - deals with its application and elaborates on its meaning. The Talmud, ultimately, constitutes the authoritative redaction of this tradition. It is thus the major influence on Jewish belief and thought. Furthermore, although not a formal legal code, it is the basis for all later codes of Jewish law, and thus continues to exert a major influence on Halakha and Jewish religious practice. (See Maimonides introduction to the Mishneh Torah http://www.mechon-mamre.org/e/e0000.htm.) The Talmud is arranged content-wise by Order and by Tractate; while conceptually, it is divided into two parts: Mishna and Gemara.

Related Topics:
Tanakh - Oral tradition - Torah - Jewish belief and thought - Codes of Jewish law - Halakha - Maimonides - Mishneh Torah

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Mishna and Gemara

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.

Related Topics:
Judah haNasi - Mishnah

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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 ?????). The analysis of the Amoraim is generally focused on clarifying the positions, words and views of the Tannaim.

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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 גמר : Hebrew to complete; Aramaic to study).

Related Topics:
Hebrew - Aramaic

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Orders and tractates

The Mishna consists of six orders (sedarim, singular seder ???). Each of the six orders contains between 7 and 12 tractates, called masechtot (singular masechet ????). Each masechet is divided into smaller units called mishnayot (singular mishnah). In the Talmud, not every tractate in the Mishnah has Gemara, furthermore, the order of the tractates in the Talmud differs in some cases from that in the Mishnah; see the discussion on each Seder.

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• First Order: Zeraim ("Seeds"). 11 tractates. It deals with prayer and blessings, tithes, and agricultural laws.
• Second Order: Moed ("Festival Days"). 12 tractates. This pertains to the laws of the Sabbath and the Festivals.
• Third Order: Nashim ("Women"). 7 tractates. Concerns marriage and divorce, some forms of oaths and the laws of the nazirite.
• Fourth Order: Nezikin ("Damages"). 10 tractates. Deals with civil and criminal law, the functioning of the courts and oaths.
• Fifth Order: Kodshim ("Holy things"). 11 tractates. This involves sacrificial rites, the Temple, and the dietary laws.
• Sixth Order: Tohorot ("Purity"). 12 tractates. This pertains to the laws of ritual purity.

Form and style

The Mishnah states concluded legal opinions - and often differences in opinion between the Tannaim. There is little dialogue. The Gemara, by contrast, is presented as a dialectical exchange between two (frequently anonymous and possibly imaginary) disputants, termed the makshan (questioner) and tartzan (answerer). These exchanges form the "building-blocks" of the gemara; the name for a passage of gemara is a sugya (?????; plural sugyot). A sugya will typically comprise a detailed proof-based elaboration of the Mishna.

Related Topics:
Concluded legal opinions - Dialectical exchange - Proof-based

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In each sugya, either participant may cite scriptural, Mishnaic and Amoraic proof to build a logical support for their respective opinions. In so doing, the gemara will bring semantic disagreements between Tannaim and Amoraim (often imputing a view to an earlier authority as to how he may have answered a question), and compare the Mishnaic views with passages from the Tosefta (??????, a parallel, Mishnaic-era, source of halakha) and the Halakhic Midrash (Mekhilta, Sifra and Sifre). All such non-mishnaic sources are termed beraitot (lit. outside material; sing. beraita ??????). Rarely are debates formally closed; in many instances, the final word determines the practical law, although there are many exceptions to this principle. See Gemara for further discussion.

Related Topics:
Logical support - Semantic disagreements - Tosefta - Halakha - Halakhic Midrash - Mekhilta, Sifra and Sifre - ''beraitot'' - Gemara

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The language medium in the Talmud will differ, broadly, by section - the Mishna sections and Bibilical references are in Hebrew, and the Gemara sections in Aramaic.

Related Topics:
Hebrew - Aramaic

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Halakha and Aggadah

While the Gemara is essentially a legal document, it also supplements the Mishna with discussion on non-normative, i.e. aggadic (or haggadic), material and biblical expositions, and is a source for history and legend. (Thus the Gemara may change topic to related subjects, including narrative Biblical commentary, ethics, science, sociology and medicine; often the only similarity between two sugyot is the fact that they cite the same Tannaitic or Amoraic sage.) Tractates discussing philosophical or ethical material - for example Berachot dealing with prayers and blessings - will have a relatively high aggadic content. The aggadot are generally presented as tales, folklore, historical anecdotes, moral exhortations, and business and medical advice - note that this mode of presentation is often used to convey deeper teachings indirectly. See Aggada for further discussion. The Ein Yaakov is a compilation of the aggadic material in the Babylonian Talmud together with commentaries.

Related Topics:
Normative - Aggadic - Prayer - Ein Yaakov

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