The Talmud is a Jewish literary collection of teachings, laws, and interpretations based on the Old Testament Torah. It has two parts, the Mishnah and that Gemara. The Mishnah, written in Hebrew, is the literary form of the Jewish oral tradition that many Jews considered to be equal to the Old Testament Scripture. The Gemara, written in Hebrew and Aramaic, is the analysis of the Mishnah. The topics covered are multitudinous, and the work itself is immense. Writing the Talmud took around 600 years, from the first century before Christ to about the fifth century after Christ. The main topics covered are history, laws, sabbaths, marriage, divorce, sacrifices, culture, and rules for interpreting the Torah. The Mishnah is arranged as follows:
Zera'im ("Seeds") - blessings, tithes, temple offerings, agriculture
Mo'ed ("Set Feasts") - Sabbath laws and holiday observances
Nashim ("Women") - marriage and divorce
Nezikin ("Damages") - idolatry, matters of civil law, and the Pirke Avot
Kodashim ("Holy Things") - sacrificial system in the Temple, dietary laws
Tohorot ("Purities") - ritual purity and impurity1
The Jews believed that the Torah, the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), which is also called the Pentateuch, were authored by Moses. However, along with the written Torah, the Jews also believe that Moses was also given oral tradition. This Oral Tradition was passed down to Joshua and then to the Prophets. It has thus been transmitted from person to person over the centuries.
There are two Talmuds: the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud. The Jerusalem Talmud was compiled in Israel. |
