| 3700 BCE - 1300 BCE | Adam to Noah (10 generations) Noah to Abraham (10 generations) Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) to Moses | Tradition Monotheism Proto-Judaism |
| 1313 BCE | Revelation at Sinai | Written Torah (Chumash - 5 Books of Moses) and Oral Torah (Unwritten) |
| 1300 BCE - 300 BCE | Eras of the Prophets, Judges, and Kings | Tanakh (Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim - i.e. the Hebrew Bible) Destruction of the 1st Temple and Babylonian Exile (423 BCE) |
| 300 BCE - 10 CE | Transitional Period and Zugot (Pairs of Leaders) | The roles of Reish Galuta (Exilarchs - Leaders in Diaspora) and Nasi (Leaders in Israel) emerge |
| 10 CE - 200 CE | Tannaim (Teachers) (ex. Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai, Rabbi Akiva, Yehuda haNasi) | Destruction of the 2nd Temple (70 CE) The Oral Tradition is Written Down Mishna (188 CE) |
| 200 CE - 500 CE | Amoraim (Expounders) (ex. Rav and Shmuel, Abaye, Rav Ashi) | Talmud (Mishna + Gemara) Talmud Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud, or Palestinian Talmud) - 252 CE Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud) - 500 CE |
| 600 CE - 1000 CE | Geonim (Heads of Babylonian Talmudic Academies) (ex. Rav Saadiah Gaon, Rabbeinu Gershom) | Responsa (Shailot v'Tshuvot) Sephardi/Ashkenazi split begins to crystallize at end of this period |
| 1000 CE - 1500 CE | Rishonim (the First/Earlier Ones) (ex. Rashi, Rambam, Ramban, Rif, Rosh, Ran) | Commentaries (Rashi) Law Codes Sefer haHalachot (Yitzchak Alfasi, the "Rif", 1000s) Mishneh Torah (Rambam, 1180) Tur (Yaakov ben Asher, 1300s) Crusades (11th-12th cent.) Expulsion from Spain (1492) |
| 1500 CE - Present | Achronim (the Later Ones) (ex. Yosef Karo, Rema, Vilna Gaon, Chazon Ish, Moshe Feinstein, Ovadia Yosef, Lubavitcher Rebbe) | Shulchan Aruch (Yosef Karo, 1563) (Sephardim follow) Rema gloss on the Shulchan Aruch (Rabbi Moses Isserles, 1574) (Ashkenazim follow) Mishna Berurah (Israel Meir Kagan, late 1800s) 20th Century Responsa - (Moshe Feinstein, Rav Soloveitchik - Ashkenazim), (Ovadia Yosef - Sefardim) |
Introduction to the System of Halacha - Jewish Law (NLE Morasha Syllabus)
The content of God’s revelations to mankind is contained succinctly in the written Torah with its history of the world and the 613 mitzvot, followed by the writings of the Prophets. Nevertheless, without the Oral Torah to clarify, elucidate, and interpret it into practical applications, the written Torah alone is a closed book. Seeming contradictions abound, laws are worded vaguely, fundamental institutions are left unexplained. And that is why the original content of the Written Torah was transmitted with an oral explanation. An oral tradition overcomes the disadvantages of a written text by resolving ambiguity and clarifying the original intent of the Author. At the same time it facilitates the multifaceted reading of the text which itself remains concise, yet layered with meaning.
This oral tradition was originally meant to be transmitted by word of mouth. It was handed down from teacher to student in such a manner that if the student had any question, he would be able to ask, and thus avoid ambiguity. A written text, on the other hand, no matter how perfect, is always subject to misinterpretation. Furthermore, the Oral Torah was meant to cover the infinitude of cases which would arise in the course of time, which is why it could never have been written in its entirety. God therefore gave Moshe a set of rules through which the Torah could be applied to every possible case.
Turning to the contents of the Oral Torah, it contains both Biblical and rabbinic law. By Biblical law we mean the accepted tradition of proper interpretation of the Torah text. For instance, God told Moshe not to cook a calf in its mother’s milk (chaleiv), as opposed to its mother’s fat (cheilev), even though both words have the same Hebrew spelling in the Torah. Biblical law includes 1) any law passed directly down from Moshe (halacha l'Moshe mi'Sinai), 2) laws derived from the Torah using one of the interpretive tools (Thirteen Midot), or 3) Talmudic reasoning (Sevarah). Examples of these three categories include 1) the type of parchment and ink used in Torah scrolls, 2) the placement of tefillin on top of the head and 3) the responsibility of the one making a financial claim to produce proof of damage, respectively.
Aside from Biblical laws, the Sages are empowered by the Torah to introduce new laws of rabbinic nature. These laws fall into two general categories based on the impetus behind them: (1) gezeirot – protective enactments, and (2) takanot/minhagim – amendments/customs. Generally, a gezeirah is a law that restricts or prohibits certain acts, while a takanah is an institution calling for the fulfillment of an act. These laws, also passed down through the generations as part of the Oral Torah, served to safeguard the practice of the mitzvot and to promote social welfare.
And Rabbi Levi bar Ḥama said that Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: God said to Moses, “Ascend to me on the mountain and be there, and I will give you the stone tablets and the Torah and the mitzva that I have written that you may teach them” (Exodus 24:12), meaning that God revealed to Moses not only the Written Torah, but all of Torah, as it would be transmitted through the generations.
The “tablets” are the ten commandments that were written on the tablets of the Covenant,
the “Torah” is the five books of Moses.
The “mitzva” is the Mishna [i.e. the Oral Torah], which includes explanations for the mitzvot and how they are to be performed.
“That I have written” refers to the Prophets and Writings, written with divine inspiration.
“That you may teach them” refers to the Talmud, which explains the Mishna.
These explanations are the foundation for the rulings of practical halakha. This verse teaches that all aspects of Torah were given to Moses from Sinai.
The Sages taught: There was an incident involving one gentile who came before Shammai. The gentile said to Shammai: How many Torahs do you have? He said to him: Two, the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. The gentile said to him: With regard to the Written Torah, I believe you, but with regard to the Oral Torah, I do not believe you. Convert me on condition that you will teach me only the Written Torah. Shammai scolded him and cast him out with reprimand. The same gentile came before Hillel, who converted him and began teaching him Torah. On the first day, he showed him the letters of the alphabet and said to him: Alef, bet, gimmel, dalet [i.e. A, B, C, D]. The next day he reversed the order of the letters and told him that an alef is a tav and so on [i.e. he said the letter a A is called Z, the letter B is called Y, etc.]. The convert said to him: But yesterday you did not tell me that. Hillel said to him: You see that it is impossible to learn what is written without relying on an oral tradition. Didn’t you rely on me? Therefore, you should also rely on me with regard to the matter of the Oral Torah, and accept the interpretations that it contains.
Rabbi Yehuda bar Naḥmani, the public orator for Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, taught as follows: It is written: “Write you these matters” (Exodus 34:27), and it is written later in that same verse: “For on the basis of [al pi] these matters [lit. by word of mouth].” How can these texts be reconciled? They mean to teach: Matters that were written you may not express them orally [al peh], and matters that were taught orally you may not express them in writing. The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: [It is written] “[Write] these [words down]” - These matters (i.e. the Written Torah), you may write, but you may not write Halachah, (i.e., the Oral Torah).
טעמא דמילתא משום... דברים שבעל פה הם פירוש לדברים שבכתב וכשאין נאמרים אלא בעל פה א“א לעמוד עליהן אלא מפי מלמד שיפרש לו הפירוש יפה ואלו היה נכתב אפשר שיסתפק בו שלא יבין הלשון.
Rabbeinu Nissim, Commentary on Talmud Bavli, Megillah 14a (Dapei HaRif) – The Oral Torah must be oral to ensure that it will be transmitted accurately, teacher to student.
The reason for [the prohibition to write down the Oral Torah] is that the oral tradition contains explanations of the Written Torah that can only be understood when explained well by a teacher. Were it written down, one might be tempted to suffice with just that, even though one did not really understand it.
דאין דומה לומד מפירבולמפיכתבו... כי בפה מתגלה מעמקי הלב, משא“כ בכתב שאי אפשרלכתוב מה שבלב.
Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen, Machshevot Charutz, pg. 113 – The written word cannot capture the depth of the spoken word.
One cannot compare that which one’s teacher says to that which is written in a book...for speech issues from the depths of the heart, while the written word cannot capture that depth.
“…And the words transmitted orally you are not at liberty to write”: From here we learn that the Talmud was only permitted to be written down out of fear that it would be forgotten.
The oppressions and afflictions of the times and the dispersion of Israel threatened destruction to the traditional science; the great and holy men who stood at the nation’s head, wielding to necessity, decreed that the Mishnah be written down as far as its mere external word was conceived, but its spirit was still left to the traditional exposition of the living word. Increased external sorrows demanded more; they put into writing the spirit of the Mishnah in the Gemara, but the spirit of the Gemara was still reserved for oral interpretation. The affliction increased, making further safeguards necessary; they put the spirit of Bible and Gemara into the Aggadot or allegorical interpretations, but disguised and veiled so that personal research should still be required to discover the true spirit of the traditional teachings thus perpetuated.
Rambam (Moshe ben Maimon) (1138-1204) - Mishneh Torah, Introduction
Directions: Click the link in the name above. You may skip the lists of names in paragraphs 5-6, 8-10, 16-17.
Teacher-Student Genealogies
*Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe (2013)
Rabbi Dovid Bendory (contemporary)
http://nleresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Jewish-Law-III.pdf
The legal component of the Oral Law [Halacha] has five main subdivisions: interpretations of Biblical text, laws passed down completely orally from Sinai, laws derived through rules of exegesis, and rabbinical decrees and enactments.
The Oral Law contains explanations of verses that resolve ambiguities in the written text and teach us how to read it correctly.
Derived laws are often based on non-literal readings of the Torah’s text. They nevertheless represent valid expressions of Biblical law.
Rabbinical law protects Jews from transgressing Biblical law and it advances social and religious concerns as understood by the Sages.
The non-legal component of the Oral Torah is the Aggadah. It is concerned with ethical, philosophical, historical, and mystical teachings.
The teachings of the Aggadah are purposely obscure and therefore should not be taken at face value.
These lessons are written ambiguously in order to sharpen the student’s mind and beguile the uninitiated. Furthermore, they are taught often by way of parable so that the less educated can also glean lessons from them when they mature.
Gemara - "study" or "learning" - a commentary on the Mishna, which reads almost like a court transcript or a transcribed conversation of rabbis in the study hall. The rabbis that appear in the Gemara are several generations removed from the Mishna and seek to remember/reconstruct/understand/explain/prove what they're seeing in the Mishna. They often disagree vigorously. The distinctive character of the Talmud derives largely from its intricate use of argumentation and debate.
Mishna + Gemara = Talmud
Rashi, i.e. Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (11 cent. France) - the most important commentator on the Mishna. He is our "tour guide" to understand what we are reading and appears on the inner margin of the page.
Tosafot "the Additionals" (12th - 14th cent.) - Rashi's grandchildren, who often vigorously dispute their zeyde's opinion. Whereas Rashi is "local" - defining a word, giving context, etc., Tosafot are "global" - focusing on reconciling disparate parts of the Talmud. Tosafot appear on the outer margin of the page.
The Mishnah was redacted during the second century C.E. Following are the six sections, known as sedarim (order).
[Shas is an acronym that refers to the six orders of the Mishnah - Shisha Sedarim]
1. Seeds – Zerayim
The first tractate (masechta) of this order is Brachot, “Blessings,” containing the laws of blessings, prayers and the synagogue service. The other ten tractates discuss the agricultural laws that apply in the Land of Israel, as well as some that apply outside of Israel.
2. Times – Moed
This order deals with the Jewish calendar. It contains 12 tractates discussing Shabbat, festivals, the High Holidays, the Jewish calendar and the fast days.
3. Women – Nashim
This order deals with marriage, married life and divorce. Its seven tractates discuss the laws of marriage and divorce, the marriage contract (ketubah), incest and adultery, vows and their annulment, and levirate marriages (yibum and chalitzah).
4. Damages – Nezikin
This order deals with civil laws governing a person’s property. Its nine tractates discuss: compensation for damages, returning lost objects, business ethics and trade laws, property and inheritance, jurisprudence, government and the monarchy, laws of bearing testimony, corporal and capital punishments, the prohibition of idol worship, and a court’s responsibilities for its rulings.
5. Consecrated Property – Kodashim
Kodashim contains eleven tractates. It discusses the laws of the sacrificial offerings in the Holy Temple; the laws concerning firstborn people and livestock, donations to the Temple treasury and the laws of kosher slaughter and other dietary restrictions.
6. Purity – Taharot
Taharot deals with the laws of spiritual purity and impurity (tumah v’taharah). Its twelve tractates discuss the laws of family purity, impurity caused by death or tzara’at (commonly called leprosy), and the various methods of purifying people and objects. The laws, structure and purpose of the mikveh are also detailed.
Midrash
Midrash is a generic term for any of approximately 60 collections of commentaries, stories, metaphors and ethical essays organized according to the Books of the Torah, Prophets and Writings, and it includes commentaries on the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Most midrashim were composed during the era of the Mishnah and Gemara. Many authors of the Midrash appear in the Mishnah or Gemara. The central concepts and commentaries of the Midrash are part of the Oral tradition from Sinai. The most famous collections are Midrash Rabba, Midrash Tanchuma, Sifri, Sifra, Mechilta and Yalkut Shimoni.
Regarding Midrash, the Maharal of Prague wrote that, “most of the words of the Sages were in the form of metaphor and the analogies of the wise…unless they state that a particular story is not a metaphor, it should be assumed that it is a metaphor. Therefore one should not be surprised to find matters in the words of the Sages that appear to be illogical and far from sensible” (Be’er Hagolah, Fourth Be’er p. 51).
Zohar
The Zohar was composed by the students of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who transcribed his teachings circa 170 C.E. in the Land of Israel. It discusses the concepts of Creation ex nihilo, Divine Providence and its mechanisms, the metaphysical meaning of the commandments of the Torah and the connection between the physical and the spiritual. Its text is in Aramaic, and it follows the order of the Five Books of Moshe. The Zohar is the primary text of the Kabbalah, the Torah’s mystical teachings.
http://nleresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Jewish-Law-III.pdf
After the grace period enjoyed by Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi, the Jews’ state of security deteriorated rapidly, and they began to disperse all over the world. The concise nature of the Mishnah was not sufficient to guarantee the survival of the Oral Torah and led to the redaction of the Gemara (Talmud). The Gemara contains the discussions and interpretations of the Sages on the Mishnah during the three centuries following the redaction of the Mishnah. Two Talmuds were codified, the Yerushalmi (Jerusalem) and Bavli (Babylonian). Rav Yochanan compiled the Yerushalmi in the Land of Israel, followed by Rav Mana and Rav Yosi bar Bun in 350 CE. The Yerushalmi contains explanations of the Mishnah and the discussions, questions and decisions of the Torah academies in Israel. Agricultural laws in the Land of Israel are explored in detail.
In Babylonia, Rav Ashi (352-427 CE), with his colleague Ravina and thousands of other scholars, undertook to collect the discussions on the Mishnah and set them into writing. After Rav Ashi’s death, his son, Mar bar Rav Ashi continued the final editing along with Mereimar. The Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli), as it is called, was published in the year 4265 (505 CE). Neither the Talmud Yerushalmi nor Bavli covered the entire Mishnah.
Eliezer Siegel
What does a modern book of Talmud look like and why?
The page format of the Babylonian Talmud has remained almost unchanged since the early printings in Italy. Some twenty-five individual tractates were printed by Joshua and Gershom Soncino between 1484 and 1519, culminating in the complete edition of the Talmud produced by Daniel Bomberg (a Christian) in 1520-30. These editions established the familiar format of placing the original text in square formal letters the centre of the page, surrounded by the commentaries of Rashi and Tosafot, which are printed in a semi-cursive typeface. The page divisions used in the Bomberg edition have been used by all subsequent editions of the Talmud until the present day.
Over the years several additions were introduced, including identifications of Biblical quotes, cross-references the Talmud and Rabbinic literature, and to the principal codes of Jewish law.
Almost all Talmuds in current use are copies of the famous Vilna (Wilno, Vilnyus) Talmuds, published in several versions from 1880 by the "Widow and Brothers Romm" in that renowned Lithuanian centre of Jewish scholarship. While retaining the same format and pagination as the previous editions, the Vilna Talmud added several new commentaries, along the margins and in supplementary pages at the ends of the respective volumes.
[The rabbis of the Talmud are debating the kosher status of a ceramic oven. It pits Rabbi Eliezer, who says the oven is okay to use, against all his other rabbinic colleagues, who say the oven is not okay to use. This is the ensuing debate...]
And this is known as the oven of akhnai [Rashi: "Akhnai" - a snake, whose manner is to make a circle by placing its tail beside its mouth (i.e. a coiled snake)]. The Gemara asks: What is the relevance of akhnai, a snake, in this context? Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: It is characterized in that manner due to the fact that the Rabbis surrounded it with their statements like this snake, which often forms a coil when at rest, and deemed it impure.
The Sages taught: On that day, when they discussed this matter, Rabbi Eliezer answered all possible answers in the world to support his opinion, but the Rabbis did not accept his explanations from him. After failing to convince the Rabbis logically, Rabbi Eliezer said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, this carob tree will prove it. The carob tree was uprooted from its place one hundred cubits, and some say four hundred cubits. The Rabbis said to him: One does not cite halakhic proof from the carob tree. Rabbi Eliezer then said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, the stream will prove it. The water in the stream turned backward and began flowing in the opposite direction. They said to him: One does not cite halakhic proof from a stream. Rabbi Eliezer then said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, the walls of the study hall will prove it. The walls of the study hall leaned inward and began to fall. Rabbi Yehoshua scolded the walls and said to them: If Torah scholars are contending with each other in matters of halakha, what is the nature of your involvement in this dispute?
The Gemara relates: The walls did not fall because of the deference due Rabbi Yehoshua, but they did not straighten because of the deference due Rabbi Eliezer, and they still remain leaning. Rabbi Eliezer then said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, Heaven will prove it. A Divine Voice emerged from Heaven and said: Why are you differing with Rabbi Eliezer, as the halakha is in accordance with his opinion in every place that he expresses an opinion?
Rabbi Yehoshua stood on his feet and said: It is written: “It is not in heaven” [lo b'shamayim hi] (Deuteronomy 30:12). The Gemara asks: What is the relevance of the phrase “It is not in heaven” in this context? Rabbi Yirmeya says: Since the Torah was already given at Mount Sinai, we do not regard a Divine Voice, as You already wrote at Mount Sinai, in the Torah: “After a majority to incline” (Exodus 23:2). Since the majority of Rabbis disagreed with Rabbi Eliezer’s opinion, the halakha is not ruled in accordance with his opinion.
The Gemara relates: Years after, Rabbi Natan encountered Elijah the prophet and said to him: What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, do at that time, when Rabbi Yehoshua issued his declaration? Elijah said to him: The Holy One, Blessed be He, smiled and said: My children have triumphed over Me; My children have triumphed over Me.
Rabbi Abba said that Shmuel said: For three years Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel disagreed. These said: The halakha is in accordance with our opinion, and these said: The halakha is in accordance with our opinion. Ultimately, a Divine Voice emerged and proclaimed: Both these and those are the words of the living God [elu v'elu divrei Elohim chayim]. However, the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Beit Hillel.
The Gemara asks: Since both these and those are the words of the living God, why were Beit Hillel privileged to have the halakha established in accordance with their opinion? The reason is that they were agreeable and forbearing, showing restraint when affronted, and when they taught the halakha they would teach both their own statements and the statements of Beit Shammai. Moreover, when they formulated their teachings and cited a dispute, they prioritized the statements of Beit Shammai to their own statements, in deference to Beit Shammai.