{"id":43054,"date":"2023-09-09T05:33:35","date_gmt":"2023-09-09T09:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mindseyemag.com\/magazine\/?p=43054"},"modified":"2023-09-09T05:33:35","modified_gmt":"2023-09-09T09:33:35","slug":"the-talmud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindseyemag.com\/magazine\/the-talmud\/","title":{"rendered":"The Talmud"},"content":{"rendered":"

Image Source<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Talmud<\/b>\u00a0(\/\u02c8<\/span>t<\/span>\u0251\u02d0<\/span>l<\/span>m<\/span>\u028a<\/span>d<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>–m<\/span>\u0259<\/span>d<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>\u02c8<\/span>t<\/span>\u00e6<\/span>l<\/span><\/span>-\/<\/a><\/span><\/span>;\u00a0Hebrew<\/a>:\u00a0\u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05dc\u05b0\u05de\u05d5\u05bc\u05d3<\/span>\u200e<\/span>,\u00a0romanized<\/a>:\u00a0<\/small>Talm\u016b\u1e0f<\/i><\/span>) is the central text of\u00a0Rabbinic Judaism<\/a>\u00a0and the primary source of Jewish religious law (halakha<\/a><\/i>) and\u00a0Jewish theology<\/a>.[1]<\/a><\/sup>[2]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Until the advent of\u00a0modernity<\/a>, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of\u00a0Jewish cultural life<\/a>\u00a0and was foundational to “all Jewish thought and aspirations”, serving also as “the guide for the daily life” of Jews.[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

The term\u00a0Talmud<\/i>\u00a0normally refers to the collection of writings named specifically the\u00a0Babylonian Talmud<\/b>\u00a0(Talmud Bavli<\/i><\/span>), although there is also an earlier collection known as the\u00a0Jerusalem Talmud<\/a>\u00a0(Talmud Yerushalmi<\/i><\/span>).[4]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0It may also traditionally be called\u00a0Shas<\/i><\/span><\/b>\u00a0(\u05e9\u05f4\u05e1<\/span><\/span>), a\u00a0Hebrew<\/a>\u00a0abbreviation of\u00a0shisha sedarim<\/i><\/span>, or the “six orders” of the\u00a0Mishnah<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Talmud has two components: the\u00a0Mishnah<\/a>\u00a0(\u05de\u05e9\u05e0\u05d4<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0c.<\/abbr>\u00a0200 CE), a written\u00a0compendium<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Oral Torah<\/a>; and the\u00a0Gemara<\/a>\u00a0(\u05d2\u05de\u05e8\u05d0<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0c.<\/abbr>\u00a0500 CE), an\u00a0elucidation<\/a>\u00a0of the Mishnah and related\u00a0Tannaitic<\/a>\u00a0writings that often ventures onto other subjects and expounds broadly on the\u00a0Hebrew Bible<\/a>. The term “Talmud” may refer to either the Gemara alone, or the Mishnah and Gemara together.<\/p>\n

The entire Talmud consists of 63\u00a0tractates<\/a>, and in the standard print, called the\u00a0Vilna Shas<\/a>, there are 2,711 double-sided folios.[5]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0It is written in\u00a0Mishnaic Hebrew<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Jewish Babylonian Aramaic<\/a>\u00a0and contains the teachings and opinions of thousands of\u00a0rabbis<\/a>\u00a0(dating from before the\u00a0Common Era<\/a>\u00a0through to the fifth century) on a variety of subjects, including\u00a0halakha<\/a>,\u00a0Jewish ethics<\/a>, philosophy,\u00a0customs<\/a>,\u00a0history<\/a>, and\u00a0folklore<\/a>, and many other topics. The Talmud is the basis for all codes of Jewish law and is widely quoted in\u00a0rabbinic literature<\/a>.<\/p>\n