Talmud

TALMUD

The Jewish teachings of the sages.

The Pentateuch (Torah), Prophets (Neviʾim), and Hagiographa (Ketuvim) constitute the written law of Judaism. Over the years, that law was discussed, interpreted, and transferred. These teachings of the sages are known as the oral law. Eventually, the oral law (torah she-bʿal peh) was written down and formed the basis of the Talmud. While torah refers only to the written law and talmud to the oral law, both terms essentially carry the same meaning: teaching or study. Since it is incumbent upon the children of Israel to follow the path of their ancestors, it is necessary for the Jewish people to continually teach and study the law until they understand and follow it completely.

Scholars differ as to when the Talmud began to be written down and whether it was based on notes or recorded upon its completion. It is generally accepted that Rabbi Yehuda ha-Nasi (170–219 c.e.) compiled and edited the first section of the Talmud, the Mishnayot (pl. of mishna, or teaching, to distinguish it from Torah) from a multitude of manuscripts, perhaps in different dialects and languages.

The Mishnayot are organized into six sections, or sedarim, each dealing with a particular subject. The sections are then subdivided into tracts (or mesekhtot, singular mesekhta ) that deal with matters relating to those sections. The sections are: Seeds (or Zeraʿim, which includes laws relating to vegetables; offerings; tithes; and shmitta, the sabbatical year); Festivals (or Moʿed, holidays; the Sabbath; and more general laws affected by the festivals); Women (or Nashim, including marriage and divorce); Damages (or Nezikin, laws of property; penalties; and morals); Sacred Things (or Kodashim, sacrifices; laws of the first born; and slaughtering); Purifications (or Tohorot, defilement and purification in general; and defilement of vessels, tents, and menstruating women).

The Mishnayot were imparted with a degree of sanctity that dictated that nothing could be added to or subtracted from them. Upon their completion, religious colleges were established in Palestine and Babylonia to explain their meaning and to extrapolate the laws that emanated from them. This task was complicated by contradictory Mishnayot and by the discovery of new texts that had not been incorporated in the Mishnayot. The body of knowledge that developed from the discussions and the explanations of the Mishna came to be called Gemara (Aramaic for teaching ). The tractates of the Gemara are arranged like the sections of the Mishnayot. The Mishna opens the tractate and is followed by the Gemara. The Mishna and the Gemara together constitute the Talmud.

At the time of Rabbi Yehuda ha-Nasi's death, the Roman-dominated Middle East was characterized by political strife, which led many Jews to leave Galilee for Persian-ruled Babylon. The development of the Talmud continued there. The Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Jerusalem Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi), was finalized in about 400 c.e. (although it might have been much later). The Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli, which might have developed without its formulators knowing about the Jerusalem Talmud) was finalized in about 500 c.e. Although the Jerusalem Talmud includes more tracts (thirty-nine to the Babylonian's thirty-seven), it is considerably smaller (about one-fourth the size) and less elaborate, especially in the field of religious law (Halakhah). It is stronger in Aggadah, a collection of legends and stories, proverbs, parables, and mystic and veiled religious wisdom. The Babylonian Talmud, with its emphasis on religious law, became the dominant focus of study. This was partially determined by the political situation, which allowed the Jews in exile to study the Talmud to a greater degree than Jews could in Palestine. It is the Babylonian Talmud that continues to dominate today.

Talmudic rulings have served as the basis for religious law in Judaism throughout the generations. A vast rabbinic literature now exists based on discussions and analyses stemming from Talmudic discourse. Whereas elementary school education includes the study of the Pentateuch and Prophets, advanced religious education in higher yeshivot (Torah seminaries) concentrates on the study of the Talmud. Religious traditionalists reject the scientific approach to the study of the Talmud, which has developed in the university. Many similarly reject the desire of a small but increasing number of Orthodox women who wish to take part in intensive religious study, believing that only men are allowed to learn this sacred text.

Bibliography

Gilbert, Martin, ed. The Illustrated Atlas of Jewish Civilization: 4,000 Years of Jewish History. New York: Macmillan, 1990.

benjamin joseph
updated by ephraim tabory