Rabbinic writings, Madrash, Torah, Mishna, Tosefta, Haggada

Definition of terms

The Hebrew term Talmud (“study” or “learning”) commonly refers to a compilation of ancient teachings regarded as sacred and normative by Jews from the time it was compiled until modern times and still so regarded by traditional religious Jews. In its broadest sense, the Talmud is a set of books consisting of the Mishna (“repeated study”), the Gemara (“completion”), and certain auxiliary materials. The Mishna is a collection of originally oral laws supplementing scriptural laws. The Gemara is a collection of commentaries on and elaborations of the Mishna, which in “the Talmud” is reproduced in juxtaposition to the Gemara. For present-day scholarship, however, Talmud in the precise sense refers only to the materials customarily called Gemara—an Aramaic term prevalent in medieval rabbinic literature that was used by the church censor to replace the term Talmud within the Talmudic discourse in the Basel edition of the Talmud, published 1578–81. This practice continued in all later editions.

The term Midrash (“exposition” or “investigation”; plural, Midrashim) is also used in two senses. On the one hand, it refers to a mode of biblical interpretation prominent in the Talmudic literature; on the other, it refers to a separate body of commentaries on Scripture using this interpretative mode.
Opposition to the Talmud

Despite the central place of the Talmud in traditional Jewish life and thought, significant Jewish groups and individuals have opposed it vigorously. The Karaite sect in Babylonia, beginning in the 8th century, refuted the oral tradition and denounced the Talmud as a rabbinic fabrication. Medieval Jewish mystics declared the Talmud a mere shell covering the concealed meaning of the written Torah, and heretical messianic sects in the 17th and 18th centuries totally rejected it. The decisive blow to Talmudic authority came in the 18th and 19th centuries when the Haskala (the Jewish Enlightenment movement) and its aftermath, Reform Judaism, secularized Jewish life and, in doing so, shattered the Talmudic wall that had surrounded the Jews. Thereafter, modernized Jews usually rejected the Talmud as a medieval anachronism, denouncing it as legalistic, casuistic, devitalized, and unspiritual.

There is also a long-standing anti-Talmudic tradition among Christians. The Talmud was frequently attacked by the church, particularly during the Middle Ages, and accused of falsifying biblical meaning, thus preventing Jews from becoming Christians. The church held that the Talmud contained blasphemous remarks against Jesus and Christianity and that it preached moral and social bias toward non-Jews. On numerous occasions the Talmud was publicly burned, and permanent Talmudic censorship was established.

On the other hand, since the Renaissance there has been a positive response and great interest in rabbinic literature by eminent non-Jewish scholars, writers, and thinkers in the West. As a result, rabbinic ideas, images, and lore, embodied in the Talmud, have permeated Western thought and culture.

Content, style, and form

The Talmud is first and foremost a legal compilation. At the same time it contains materials that encompass virtually the entire scope of subject matter explored in antiquity. Included are topics as diverse as agriculture, architecture, astrology, astronomy, dream interpretation, ethics, fables, folklore, geography, history, legend, magic, mathematics, medicine, metaphysics, natural sciences, proverbs, theology, and theosophy.

This encyclopaedic array is presented in a unique dialectic style that faithfully reflects the spirit of free give-and-take prevalent in the Talmudic academies, where study was focussed upon a Talmudic text. All present participated in an effort to exhaust the meaning and ramifications of the text, debating and arguing together. The mention of a name, situation, or idea often led to the introduction of a story or legend that lightened the mood of a complex argument and carried discussion further.

This text-centred approach profoundly affected the thinking and literary style of the rabbis. Study became synonymous with active interpretation rather than with passive absorption. Thinking was stimulated by textual examination. Even original ideas were expressed in the form of textual interpretations.

The subject matter of the oral Torah is classified according to its content into Halakha and Haggada and according to its literary form into Midrash and Mishna. Halakha (“law”) deals with the legal, ritual, and doctrinal parts of Scripture, showing how the laws of the written Torah should be applied in life. Haggada (“narrative”) expounds on the nonlegal parts of Scripture, illustrating biblical narrative, supplementing its stories, and exploring its ideas. The term Midrash denotes the exegetical method by which the oral tradition interprets and elaborates scriptural text. It refers also to the large collections of Halakhic and Haggadic materials that take the form of a running commentary on the Bible and that were deduced from Scripture by this exegetical method. In short, it also refers to a body of writings. Mishna is the comprehensive compendium that presents the legal content of the oral tradition independently of scriptural text.

Modes of interpretation and thought

Midrash was initially a philological method of interpreting the literal meaning of biblical texts. In time it developed into a sophisticated interpretive system that reconciled apparent biblical contradictions, established the scriptural basis of new laws, and enriched biblical content with new meaning. Midrashic creativity reached its peak in the schools of Rabbi Ishmael and Akiba, where two different hermeneutic methods were applied. The first was primarily logically oriented, making inferences based upon similarity of content and analogy. The second rested largely upon textual scrutiny, assuming that words and letters that seem superfluous teach something not openly stated in the text.

The Talmud (i.e., the Gemara) quotes abundantly from all Midrashic collections and concurrently uses all rules employed by both the logical and textual schools; moreover, the Talmud's interpretation of Mishna is itself an adaptation of the Midrashic method. The Talmud treats the Mishna in the same way that Midrash treats Scripture. Contradictions are explained through reinterpretation. New problems are solved logically by analogy or textually by careful scrutiny of verbal superfluity.

The strong involvement with hermeneutic exegesis—interpretation according to systematic rules or principles—helped develop the analytic skill and inductive reasoning of the rabbis but inhibited the growth of independent abstract thinking. Bound to a text, they never attempted to formulate their ideas into the type of unified system characteristic of Greek philosophy. Unlike the philosophers, they approached the abstract only by way of the concrete. Events or texts stimulated them to form concepts. These concepts were not defined but, once brought to life, continued to grow and change meaning with usage and in different contexts. This process of conceptual development has been described by some as “organic thinking.” Others use this term in a wider sense, pointing out that, although rabbinic concepts are not hierarchically ordered, they have a pattern-like organic coherence. The meaning of each concept is dependent upon the total pattern of concepts, for the idea content of each grows richer as it interweaves with the others.

Early compilations

Ezra the scribe who, according to the Book of Ezra, reestablished and reformed the Jewish religion in the 5th century BCE, began the “search in the Law . . . to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances.”

His work was continued by soferim (scribes), who preserved, taught, and interpreted the Bible. They linked the oral tradition to Scripture, transmitting it as a running commentary on the Bible. For almost 300 years they applied the Torah to changing circumstances, making it a living law. They also introduced numerous laws that were designated “words of the soferim” by Talmudic sources. By the end of this period, rabbinic Judaism—the religious system constructed by the scribes and rabbis—was strong enough to withstand pressure from without and mature enough to permit internal diversity of opinion.

At the beginning of the 2nd century BCE, a judicial body headed by the zugot—pairs of scholars—assumed Halakhic authority. There were five pairs in all, between c. 150 and 30 BCE. The first of the zugot also introduced the Mishnaic style of transmitting the oral tradition.
The making of the Mishna: 2nd–3rd centuries

Hillel and Shammai, the last of the zugot, ushered in the period of the tannaim—“teachers” of the Mishna—at the end of the 1st century BCE. This era, distinguished by a continuous attempt to consolidate the fragmentary Midrashic and Mishnaic material, culminated in the compilation of the Mishna at the beginning of the 3rd century CE. The work was carried out in the academies of Hillel and Shammai and in others founded later. Most scholars believe that Halakhic collections existed prior to the fall of Jerusalem, in 70 CE. Other compilations were made at Yavne, a Palestinian town near the Mediterranean, as part of the effort to revitalize Judaism after the disaster of 70 CE. By the beginning of the 2nd century there were many such collections. Tradition has it that Rabbi Akiba organized much of this material into separate collections of Midrash, Mishna, and Haggada and introduced the formal divisions in tannaitic literature. His students and other scholars organized new compilations that were studied in the different academies.

After the rebellion of the Jews against Roman rule led by Simeon bar Kokhba in 132–135, when the Sanhedrin (the Jewish supreme court and highest academy) was revived, the Mishnaic compilation adopted by the Sanhedrin president became the official Mishna. The Sanhedrin reached its highest stature under the leadership of Judah ha-Nasi (Judah the Prince, or President); he was also called Rabbi, as the preeminent teacher.

It seems certain that the official Mishna studied during his presidency was the Mishna we know and that he was its editor. Judah aimed to include the entire content of the oral tradition. He drew heavily from the collections of Akiba's pupils but also incorporated material from other compilations, including early ones. Nevertheless, the accumulation was such that selection was necessary. Thus almost no Midrash or Haggada was included. Colleagues and pupils of Judah not only made minor additions to the Mishna but tried to preserve the excluded material, the Baraitot (“Exclusions”), in separate collections. One of these was the Tosefta (“Addition”). Midrashic material was gathered in separate compilations, and later revisions of some of these are still extant. The language of all of the tannaitic literature is the new Hebrew developed during the period of the Second Temple (c. 6th century BCE–1st century CE).

The making of the Talmuds: 3rd–6th century

The expounders of the Mishna were the amoraim (“interpreter”), and the two Talmuds—the Palestinian (or Jerusalem) and the Babylonian—consist of their explanations, discussions, and decisions. Both take the form of a running commentary on the Mishna.

The foundations for these two monumental works were begun by three disciples of Judah ha-Nasi: Johanan bar Nappaha, Rav (Abba Arika), and Samuel bar Abba, in their academies at Tiberias, in Palestine, and at Sura and Nehardea in Babylonia, respectively. Centres of learning where the Mishna was expounded existed also at Sepphoris, Caesarea, and Lydda in Palestine. In time new academies were established in Babylonia, the best known being those at Pumbedita, Mahoza and Naresh, founded by Judah bar Ezekiel, Rava, and Rav Pappa, respectively. The enrollment of these centres often numbered in the thousands, and students spent many years there. Those who no longer lived on the academy grounds returned twice annually for the kalla, a month of study in the spring and fall.

Academies differed in their methods of study. Pumbedita, for example, stressed casuistry, while Sura emphasized breadth of knowledge. Students often moved from one academy to another and even from Palestine to Babylonia or from Babylonia to Palestine. This kept open the channels of communication between the various academies and resulted in the inclusion of much Babylonian material in the Palestinian Talmud, and vice versa.

Despite the overwhelming similarity of the two Talmuds, however, they do differ in some ways. The Palestinian Talmud is written in the Western Aramaic dialect, the Babylonian in the Eastern. The former is invariably shorter, and, not having been subject to final redaction, its discussions are often incomplete. Its explanations tend to remain closer to the literal meaning of the Mishna, preferring textual emendation to casuistic interpretation. Finally, some of the legal concepts in the Babylonian Talmud reflect the influence of Persian law, for Babylonia was under Persian rule at the time.

The main endeavour of the amoraim was to thoroughly explain and exhaust the meaning of the Mishna and the Baraitot. Apparent contradictions were reconciled by such means as explaining that conflicting statements referred to different situations or by asserting that they stemmed from the Mishnayot (Mishnas) of different tannaim. The same techniques were used when amoraic statements contradicted the Mishna. These discussions took place for hundreds of years, and their content was passed on from generation to generation, until the compilation of the Talmud.

The portion of the Palestinian Talmud dealing with the three Bavot (“gates”)—i.e., the first three tractates of the fourth order of the Mishna (for orders and tractates, see Talmudic and Midrashic literature, below)—was compiled in Caesarea in the middle of the 4th century and is distinguished from the rest by its brevity and terminology. The remainder was completed in Tiberias some 50 years later. It seems likely that its compilation was a rescue operation designed to preserve as much of the Halakhic material collected in Palestinian academies as possible, for by that time the deterioration of the political situation had forced most Palestinian scholars to emigrate to Babylonia.

The Babylonian Talmud was compiled up to the 6th century. Some scholars suggest that the organization of the Talmud began early and that successive generations of amoraim added layer upon layer to previously arranged material. Others suggest that at the beginning a stratum called Gemara, consisting only of Halakhic decisions or short comments, was set forth. Still others theorize that no overall arrangement of Talmudic material was made until the end of the 4th century.

The statement in the tractate Bava metzia that “Rabina and Rav Ashi were the end of instruction” is most often understood as referring to the final redaction of the Talmud. Since at least two generations of scholars following Rav Ashi (died 427) are mentioned in the Talmud, most scholars suggest that “Rabina” refers to Rabina bar Huna (died 499) and that the redaction was a slow process lasting about 75 years to the end of the 5th century.

According to the tradition of the geonim—the heads of the academies at Sura and Pumbedita from the 6th to the 11th centuries—the Babylonian Talmud was completed by the 6th-century savoraim (“expositors”). But the extent of their contribution is not precisely known. Some attribute to them only short additions. Others credit them with creating the terminology linking the phases of Talmudic discussions. According to another view, they added comments and often decided between conflicting opinions. The proponents of the so-called Gemara theory noted above ascribe to them the entire dialectic portion of Talmudic discourse.

Mishna

The Mishna is divided into six orders (sedarim), each order into tractates (massekhtot), and each tractate into chapters (peraqim). The six orders are Zera'im, Mo'ed, Nashim, Neziqin, Qodashim, and Tohorot.

1. Zera'im (“Seeds”) consists of 11 tractates: Berakhot, Pea, Demai, Kilayim, Shevi'it, Terumot, Ma'aserot, Ma'aser sheni, Halla, 'Orla, and Bikkurim. Except for Berakhot (“Blessings”), which treats of daily prayers and grace, this order deals with laws related to agriculture in Palestine. It includes prohibitions against mixtures in plants (hybridization), legislation relating to the sabbatical year (when land lies fallow and debts are remitted), and regulations concerning the portions of harvest given to the poor, the Levites, and the priests.

2. Mo'ed (“Season” or “Festival”) consists of 12 tractates: Shabbat, 'Eruvin, Pesahim, Sheqalim, Yoma, Sukka, Betza, Rosh Hashana, Ta'anit, Megilla, Mo'ed qatan, and Hagiga. This order deals with ceremonies, rituals, observances, and prohibitions relating to special days of the year, including the Sabbath, holidays, and fast days. Since the half-shekel Temple contribution was collected on specified days, tractate Sheqalim, regarding this practice, is included.

3. Nashim (“Women”) consists of seven tractates: Yevamot, Ketubbot, Nedarim, Nazir, Sota, Gittin, and Qiddushin. This order deals with laws concerning betrothal, marriage, sexual and financial relations between husband and wife, adultery, and divorce. Since Nazirite (ascetic) and other vows may affect marital relations, Nedarim (“Vows”) and Nazir (“Nazirite”) are included here.

4. Neziqin (“Damages”) consists of 10 tractates, the first three of which were originally considered one (the Bavot): Bava qamma, Bava metzia, Bava batra, Sanhedrin, Makkot, Shevu'ot, 'Eduyyot, 'Avoda zara, Avot, and Horayot. This order deals with civil and criminal law concerning damages, theft, labour relations, usury, real estate, partnerships, tenant relations, inheritance, court composition, jurisdiction and testimony, erroneous decisions of the Sanhedrin, and capital and other physical punishments. Since idolatry, in the literal sense of worship or veneration of material images, is punishable by death, 'Avoda zara (“Idolatry”) is included. Avot (“Fathers”), commonly called “Ethics of the Fathers” in English, seems to have been included to teach a moral way of life that precludes the transgression of law.

5. Qodashim (“Sacred Things”) consists of 11 tractates: Zevahim, Menahot, Hullin, Bekhorot, 'Arakhin, Temura, Keretot, Me'ila, Tamid, Middot, and Qinnim. This order incorporates some of the oldest Mishnaic portions. It treats of the Temple and includes regulations concerning sacrifices, offerings, and donations. It also contains a detailed description of the Temple complex.

6. Tohorot (“Purifications”) consists of 12 tractates: Kelim, Ohalot, Nega'im, Para, Tohorot, Miqwa'ot, Nidda, Makhshirin, Zavim, Tevul yom, Yadayim, and 'Uqtzin. This order deals with laws governing the ritual impurity of vessels, dwellings, foods, and persons, and with purification processes.

Tosefta

The Tosefta (“Addition”) closely resembles the Mishna in content and order. In its present form it at times supplements the Mishna, at other times comments on it, and often also opposes it. There is no Tosefta on the tractates Avot, Tamid, Middot, and Qinnim. The Talmud quotes from many other collections of Mishnaiot and Baraitot: some are attributed to tannaim, and predate the established Mishna; and others, to amoraim. The original material is lost.

Talmud (Gemara)

Although the entire Mishna was studied at the Palestinian and Babylonian academies, the Palestinian Talmud (Gemara) covers only the first four orders (except chapters 21–24 of Shabbat and chapter 3 of Makkot) and the first three chapters of Nidda in the sixth order. Most scholars agree that the Palestinian Talmud was never completed to the fifth and sixth orders of the Mishna and that the missing parts of the other orders were lost. A manuscript of chapter 3 of Makkot was, in fact, found and was published in 1946.

The Babylonian Talmud does not cover orders Zera'im (except Berakhot) and Tohorot (except Nidda) and tractates Tamid (except chapters 1,2,4), Sheqalim, Middot, Qinnim, Avot, and 'Eduyyot. Scholars concur that the Talmud for these parts was never completed, possibly because their content was not relevant in Babylonia.

Halakhic

Halakhic Midrashim are exegetic commentaries on the legal content of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The five extant collections are Mekhilta, on Exodus; Mekhilta deRabbi Shim'on ben Yohai, on Exodus; Sifra, on Leviticus; Sifre, on Numbers and Deuteronomy; Sifre zuta, on Numbers. (Mekhilta means “measure,” a norm or rule; Sifra, plural Sifre, means “writing” or “book.”) Critical analysis reveals that Mekhilta and Sifre on Numbers differ from the others in terminology and method. Most scholars agree that these two originated in the school of Ishmael and the others in that of Akiba. In their present form they also include later additions. Mention should also be made of Midrash tannaim on Deuteronomy, consisting of fragments recovered from the Yemenite anthology Midrash ha-gadol.

Haggadic

Haggadic Midrashim originated with the weekly synagogue readings and their accompanying explanations. Although Haggadic collections existed in tannaitic times, extant collections date from the 4th–11th centuries. Midrashic compilations were not authoritatively edited and tend to be coincidental and fragmentary.

Most notable among biblical collections is Midrash rabba (“Great Midrash”), a composite of commentaries on the Pentateuch and five Megillot (Song of Songs, Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Lamentations) differing in nature and age. Its oldest portion, the 5th-century Genesis rabba, is largely a verse-by-verse commentary, while the 6th-century Leviticus rabba consists of homilies and Lamentations rabba (end of 6th century) is mainly narrative. The remaining portions of Midrash rabba were compiled at later dates.

The Tanhuma (after the late-4th-century Palestinian amora Tanhuma bar Abba), of which two versions are extant, is another important Pentateuchal Midrash. Additional Midrashic compilations include those to the books of Samuel, Psalms, and Proverbs. Mention should also be made of Pesiqta (“Section” or “Cycles”) deRab Kahana (after a Babylonian amora) and Pesiqta rabbati (“The Great Cycle”), consisting of homilies on the Torah (Pentateuch) readings that occur on festivals and special Sabbaths.

Haggadic compilations independent of biblical text include Avot deRabbi Natan, Tanna deve Eliyyahu, Pirqe (“Chapters”) deRabbi Eliezer, and tractates Derekh eretz (“Correct Conduct”). These primarily deal with ethics, moral teachings, and biblical narrative.

Among the medieval anthologies are the Yalqut (“Compilation”) Shimoni (13th century), Yalqut ha-makhiri (14th century), and 'En Ya'aqov (“Eye of Jacob,” 16th century). The two most important modern Haggadic anthologies are those of Wilhelm Bacher and Louis Ginzberg.

Codes

The Talmud's dialectic style and organization are not those of a code of laws. Accordingly, codification efforts began shortly after the Talmud's completion. The first known attempt was Halakhot pesuqot (“Decided Laws”), ascribed to Yehudai Gaon (8th century). Halakhot gedolot (“Great Laws”), by Simeon Kiyyara, followed 100 years later. Both summarize Talmudic Halakhic material, omitting dialectics but preserving Talmudic order and language. The later geonim concentrated on particular subjects, such as divorce or vows, introducing the monographic style of codification.

Codification literature gained impetus by the beginning of the 11th century. During the next centuries many compilations appeared in Europe and North Africa. The most notable, following Talmudic order, were the Hilkhot Harif, by Isaac Alfasi (11th century), and Hilkhot Harosh, by Asher ben Jehiel (13th–14th centuries). Though modelled after Halakhot gedolot, the Hilkhot Harif encompasses only laws applicable after the destruction of the Temple but includes more particulars. The Hilkhot Harosh closely follows Alfasi's code but often also includes the reasoning underlying decisions.

The most important of the topically arranged codifications were: the Mishne Torah, Sefer ha-turim, and Shulhan 'arukh. (1) The Mishne Torah (“The Torah Reviewed”) by Maimonides (12th century), is a monumental work, original in plan, language, and order; it encompasses all religious subject matter under 14 headings and includes theosophy, theology, and religion. (2) The Sefer ha-turim (“Book of Rows,” or “ Parts”), by Jacob ben Asher (14th century), the son of Asher ben Jehiel, introduced new groupings, dividing subject matter into four major categories (turim) reminiscent of the Mishnaic orders; it includes only laws applicable after the destruction of the Temple. (3) The Shulhan 'arukh (“The Prepared Table”) by Joseph Karo (16th century), the last of the great codifiers, is structured after the Sefer ha-turim, but presents the Sefardic (Middle Eastern and North African) rather than the Ashkenazic (Franco-German and eastern European) tradition, with decisions largely following those of Alfasi, Maimonides, and Rabbi Asher. When the 16th-century Ashkenazic codifier Moses Isserles added his notes, this became the standard Halakhic code for all Jewry.

Commentaries

The interpretive literature on the Talmud began with the rise of academies in Europe and North Africa. The earliest known European commentary, though ascribed to Gershom ben Judah (10th–11th centuries), is actually an eclectic compilation of notes recorded by students of the Mayence (Mainz) Academy. Compilations of this kind, known as quntresim (“notebooks”), also developed in other academies. Their content was masterfully reshaped and reformulated in the renowned 11th-century commentary of Rashi (acronym of Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi), in which difficulties likely to be encountered by students are anticipated and detail after detail is clarified until a synthesized, comprehensible whole emerges.

The commentaries of Hananel ben Hushiel and Nissim ben Jacob ben Nissim, the first to appear in North Africa (11th century), are introductory in nature. They summarize the content of Talmudic discussions, assuming that details will be understood once the general idea becomes comprehensible. This style was later followed by the Spanish school, including Joseph ibn Migash and Maimonides. However, as Rashi's work became known, it displaced all other commentaries. (Note its predominant role in the sample page of Talmud.)

A new phase in Talmudic literature was initiated by Rashi's grandchildren, Rabbis Isaac, Samuel, and Jacob, the sons of Meir, who established the school of tosafot. (These medieval “additions” are not to be confused with the tannaitic Tosefta discussed above.) Reviving Talmudic dialectic, they treated the Talmud in the same way that it had treated the Mishna. They linked apparently unrelated statements from different Talmudic discourses and pointed out the fine distinctions between seemingly interdependent statements. This dialectic style was soon adopted in all European academies. Even the writings of Ravad (Abraham ben David), Zerahiah ha-Levi, and Yeshaya deTrani, three of the most original Talmudists (12th century), reflect the impact of Tosafist dialectic.

The works of Meir Abulafia and Menahem Meiri, although of the North African genre, include a strong dialectic element. In Spain such dialectic works were known as hiddushim or novellae (since they sought “new insights”), the most famous being those written by four generations (13th–14th centuries) of teacher and pupil: Ramban (Nahmanides, or Moses ben Nahman), Rashba (Solomon ben Adret), Ritba (Yomtov ben Abraham), and Ran (Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi).

A major role in establishing Talmudic authority was also played by the responsa literature, replies (responsa) to legal and religious questions. Beginning in the 7th century, when the Babylonian geonim responded in writing to questions concerning the Talmud, it developed into a branch of Talmudic literature that continued to the present. Then, as now, Talmudic authorities were approached for explanations and decisions. Among the geonim the best known were Sherira (10th century) and his son Hai. In the Middle Ages the most important were Alfasi, Ibn Migash (Joseph ibn Migash), Maimonides, Ravad (Abraham ben David of Posquières), Ramban, Rashba, Rosh (Asher ben Jehiel), Ran, and Ribash (Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet).

Writing and printing of the Talmuds

Study in the academies was always oral; hence the question of when the Mishna and Talmud were first committed to writing has been the subject of much discussion. According to some scholars, the process of writing began with Judah ha-Nasi. Others attribute it to the savoraim.

Sample page (7a) of the tractate Makkot (of the fourth order, Neziqin) of the Vilna …
By courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York; Frank J. …

The Palestinian Talmud was first printed in Venice (1523–24). All later editions followed this one. Printing of the Babylonian Talmud was begun in Spain about 1482, and there have been more than 100 different editions since. The oldest extant full edition appeared in Venice (1520–23). This became the prototype for later printings, setting the type of page and pagination (a total of close to 5,500 folios). The standard edition was printed in Vilna beginning in 1886. It carries many commentaries and commentaries upon commentaries. In the sample page reproduced here, the Mishna and the Gemara are placed in the centre column of the page and are printed in the heavy type. The commentary of Rashi is always located in the inner column of the page and the tosafot in the outer column. Other commentaries and references to legal codes and to scriptural verses surround the major commentaries, in smaller type. Talmudic citations are made by tractate name, folio number, and side of the folio (a or b).

Main religious doctrines

While the Talmudic rabbis never formally systematized their beliefs, their underlying religious concepts are clearly reflected in their decisions, ideas, and attitudes. Preeminent in rabbinic thinking were the concepts of God, Torah, and Israel.

God

The rabbinic God was primarily the biblical God who acted in history, the creator and source of life who was experienced through the senses rather than intellect. In reaction to sectarian teachings (i.e., Gnosticism and early Christianity), however, the rabbis stressed God's universality, absolute unity, and direct involvement with the world. His immanence and transcendence (being present in and beyond the universe) were emphasized, and biblical anthropomorphisms (ascribing human attributes to God) were explained metaphorically. The rabbis also stressed an intimacy into the relationship between God and man. God became the father to whom each individual could turn in direct prayer for his needs. To the names YHWH and Elohim, which traditionally were identified with God's mercy and judgment, respectively, the rabbis added new terms reflecting his other attributes—e.g., Shekhina (“Presence”), representing his omnipresence, or immanence; and Maqom (“Place”), his transcendence.

Torah

Torah, in the Talmudic sense, refers to all religious and ethical teachings handed down by tradition. According to the rabbis, God created the Torah long before the world. It contained the eternal divine formula for the world's future workings and thus the answers to all problems for all times and all people. God himself is depicted as studying the Torah, for even he cannot make decisions concerning the world that contradict it.

Israel

The people Israel, according to the rabbis, were chosen by God to be the guardian of his Torah, and, just as God chose Israel, Israel chose God. Thus, the concept of Israel as a nation bound together by an irrevocable commitment to bring the Torah to the world, and bearing corporate responsibility for this mission, was formed. No Jew can free himself from this commitment, but anyone accepting it, regardless of race, becomes a full-fledged Jew with obligations binding him and his descendants.

With this in mind, the rabbis repeatedly emphasized the importance of studying Torah. They pointed out that the Torah is not a declaration of religious beliefs. Rather it is a statement of a discipline regulating each detail of life. Any transgression of this discipline hampers the divine plan of establishing God's way of life in this world.

Worship

The intensive rabbinic religious involvement led to the growth of a new concept of worship. While in the Bible worship was usually centred in the sanctuary of the Temple in Jerusalem, the rabbis, particularly after the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE), attempted to sanctify all of life. Thus, they said that one must bless God upon arising in the morning, before dressing, before and after meals, and in all ordinary daily actions or routines. Each move in life should be an act of worship glorifying God's name.

Messianic kingdom

In rabbinic thinking the establishment of God's kingdom was tied to the Messiah, who was to be a descendant of King David, wise, just, a great scholar, a moral leader, and courageous king. He would redeem the Jews from exile and reestablish their independence in the land of Israel. With this the world would be ushered into a new era of righteousness and universal peace. The rabbis referred to this era as “the world to come,” portraying it as an immense academy in which the righteous would study Torah without interruption. They refrained from describing it further, saying that human language and fantasy are inadequate to its wonders.

The nature of the Messiah and the time of his arrival raised much speculation. Following the defeat of Bar Kokhba, leader of the revolt against Roman rule (135 CE), the Messiah's coming, in rabbinic thought, faded into the mysterious and distant future, and descriptions concerning his personality assumed supernatural overtones.

Doctrine of man

The fate of man, his achievements and failures, his being and nothingness, occupy an important place in Talmudic literature. The rabbis' concept of man was a universal one. While they assumed that Jews are bound by greater religious duties than others, they considered all men equal, all created in the image of God. “Therefore, but a single man was created . . . That none should say to his fellow, ‘My father was greater than thy father”' (tractate Sanhedrin).

The world, according to the Talmud, was created for the sake of man, and it is incumbent upon him to keep it in order. His responsibility begins at home. Man must care for his health, marry, build a family, provide for and educate children, honour parents, friends, and elders. He also carries social responsibilities and has to be part of the community. He must learn a trade and work so that he does not become a burden to the community.

The uniqueness of man in this world, likened by the Talmud to the uniqueness of God in the universe, lies in his freedom of choice. Nature follows its laws and angels their missions, but man is his own master. In contrast to St. Paul's doctrine that the original sin of Adam made sin an integral part of human nature, the rabbis considered man a wondrous and harmonious being. The duality of his nature was explained by the existence of a good and bad impulse, personified by two angels, yetzer ha-tov (the good inclination) and yetzer ha-ra' (the evil inclination), which enter each man after birth. It is the duty of man to overcome his evil inclination, and it is for this that he is rewarded. Moreover, since there is corporate responsibility, not only is the sinner punished but the community at large also suffers. Here again, however, man is his own master. He can reverse the course of sin and punishment by repentance. Although repentance may be accompanied by formal and ceremonial acts, such as fasting, its basic principle is the renunciation of the sin and the wholehearted decision not to repeat it. When a man transgresses against God, his sin is forgiven by repentance alone, but, when he transgresses against his fellow man, he must make good his wrongdoing as well as repent.

Medicine and science

The Talmud devoted considerable attention to the maintenance of good health, regarding it a religious duty. A keen understanding of the importance of hygiene in preventing illness was reflected in an emphasis upon bodily cleanliness. The rabbis also stressed the necessity for moderation in eating and drinking and the importance of a proper diet. The Talmud prescribed remedies for illnesses and mentioned surgical techniques, such as cesarean section.

Religious concerns surrounding the calendar, prohibitions against planting seeds of different kinds together, dietary laws, and Sabbath-walking limits resulted in an intense rabbinical interest in astronomy, zoology, mathematics, and geometry.

Legend and folklore

Side by side with the Midrashic Haggada, which was the outgrowth of Bible exegesis and developed in the academies, the Talmuds and Midrashic collections contain a large quantity of Haggadic material with mythological rudiments, allusions to pagan beliefs and customs, and folkloristic elements of a world strange to the rabbis. Folktales and legends, animal lore, and adventure narratives, containing pagan ideas and beliefs, that were told by their Gentile neighbours were no doubt a major attraction to the common Jews, especially those in the countryside (the 'am ha-aretz, or “people of the land”). The rabbis realized the great danger involved in this situation and developed their own folk material. They adopted the dramatic and artistic parts of these stories but rejected the unwanted elements, replacing them with their own ideas. Thus the animals and birds in fables quote the Bible and discuss it in the same manner that the rabbis do.

Ancient mythology seems to have been well known and liked by the Jewish masses. Again, in order to fight its influence, the rabbis reworked its content in their own spirit. They retained the mythological suspense—the sea tries to drown the earth—but there is no mythological struggle between equal powers; angels try to prevent the creation of man, but they do not possess titanic power. All are subdued by the command of God. Thus, the rabbis transformed the ancient myths into dramatic evidence against polytheism. (See also Jewish myth and legend.)

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