TALMUD

(HebrewStudy, or Learning) in Judaism, scholarly interpretations and annotations on the Mishnathe first authoritative codification of Jewish oral laws, which was given its final form early in the 3rd century CE (Common Era) by Judah ha-Nasiand on other collections of oral laws, including the Tosefta. Each of two groups of Jewish scholars (amoraim), one in Palestine and the other in Babylonia, independently produced a Talmud. Although the two groups addressed the same Mishna and consulted with one another, their work resulted in two separate collections of law, lore, and commentary. The amoraim of Palestine laboured for about two centuries, completing their work c. 400 CE, approximately one century earlier than their counterparts in Babylonia. The Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli) is consequently more extensive than the Palestinian Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi) and, for that reason, more highly esteemed. Neither of the Talmuds covers every section of the Mishna; some commentaries were never written, and, presumably, others have been lost. In early manuscripts and printings, the commentary on the Mishna was called Talmud, but in the Basel edition of 157881, the church censor changed the term Talmud to Gemara (Aramaic: Completion). This change was long the accepted terminology, with the term Talmud reserved for the entire work (Mishna and Gemara combined). In recent years, however, many Talmudic scholars have returned to the earlier usage. The Talmud is, first and foremost, a legal compilation, although it treats of matters from all areas of human interest. Its material is presented in a unique dialectical style in which a piece of Talmudic text is focussed upon and all efforts to understand and interpret it are recorded. The religious beliefs of the Talmudic rabbis are clearly reflected in the decisions, ideas, and attitudes of the Talmud, which considers both ritual and social law to be of divine origin. Following completion of the Talmud, efforts were made to codify its contents. The first known attempts were Halakhot pesuqot (Decided Laws), attributed to Yehudai Gaon in the 8th century, and Halakhot gedolot (Great Laws) by Simeon Kiyyara in the 9th century. Although omitting the Talmud's dialectics, both preserved Talmudic order and language. Later codifications were written in monographic style (concentrating on one subject at a time). The most important of these are the Mishne Torah (The Torah Reviewed) by Maimonides in the 12th century, the Sefer ha-turim (Book of Rows or Parts) by Jacob ben Asher in the 14th century, and the Shulhan 'arukh (The Prepared Table) by Joseph Karo in the 16th century. The Shulhan 'arukh, which concentrates on the Sefardic tradition, was annotated by the Ashkenazic codifier Moses Isserles in the 16th century. In that form it became the standard code for all Jewry. There is also a large body of interpretive literature on the Talmud. In the 11th century, an important commentary was produced in Europe by Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi). His grandsonsRabbis Isaac, Samuel, and Jacobtreated the Talmud as it had treated the Mishna and thereby established the interpretive method of tosafot that was adopted throughout Europe and that influenced the Sefardic commentaries of such writers as Ramban (Moses ben Nahman) and Ran (Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi). Another form of Talmudic literature arose in the 7th century, when written replies (responsa) were given by scholars to legal and religious questions. Responsa literature has continued to the present day; major authorities in the Middle Ages included Maimonides, Ramban, and Ran. Sample page (7a) of the tractate Makkot (of the fourth order, Neziqin) of the Vilna Because study in the ancient academies was conducted orally, it is not known when the Talmud was first written down. The Palestinian Talmud was first printed in Venice in 152324 and the Babylonian Talmud in Spain c. 1482. The standard version, first printed in Vilna in 1886, carries on each page a portion of the Mishna and its related Talmud, commentaries, and references (see photograph). The Talmud has continued to be of major importance to Orthodox Jews throughout the world. Since the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948, Conservative Jewry has increased its interest in Talmudic study, while some leaders of Reform Jewry have adopted Talmudic dialectic and the responsa form of interpretation. Modern Talmudic scholarship is centred in Israel and the United States.