Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By simmons on December 24, 2017

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.

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.

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 Judaismthe religious system constructed by the scribes and rabbiswas 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 zugotpairs of scholarsassumed 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.

Hillel and Shammai, the last of the zugot, ushered in the period of the tannaimteachers of the Mishnaat 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 132135, 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 Akibas 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 bce1st century ce).

The expounders of the Mishna were the amoraim (interpreter), and the two Talmudsthe Palestinian (or Jerusalem) and the Babylonianconsist 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: Joanan bar Nappaa, 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 geonimthe heads of the academies at Sura and Pumbedita from the 6th to the 11th centuriesthe 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.

The Mishna is divided into six orders (sedarim), each order into tractates (massekhtot), and each tractate into chapters (peraqim). The six orders are Zeraim, Moed, Nashim, Neziqin, Qodashim, and ohorot.

1. Zeraim (Seeds) consists of 11 tractates: Berakhot, Pea, Demai, Kilayim, Sheviit, Terumot, Maaserot, Maaser sheni, alla, 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. Moed (Season or Festival) consists of 12 tractates: Shabbat, Eruvin, Pesaim, Sheqalim, Yoma, Sukka, Betza, Rosh Hashana, Taanit, Megilla, Moed qaan, and agiga. 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, Soa, Giin, 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, Shevuot, 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: Zevaim, Menaot, ullin, Bekhorot, Arakhin, Temura, Keretot, Meila, 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. ohorot (Purifications) consists of 12 tractates: Kelim, Ohalot, Negaim, Para, ohorot, Miqwaot, Nidda, Makhshirin, Zavim, evul yom, Yadayim, and Uqtzin. This order deals with laws governing the ritual impurity of vessels, dwellings, foods, and persons, and with purification processes.

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.

Although the entire Mishna was studied at the Palestinian and Babylonian academies, the Palestinian Talmud (Gemara) covers only the first four orders (except chapters 2124 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 Zeraim (except Berakhot) and ohorot (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 Midrashim are exegetic commentaries on the legal content of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The five extant collections are Mekhilta, on Exodus; Mekhilta deRabbi Shimon ben Yoai, on Exodus; Sifra, on Leviticus; Sifre, on Numbers and Deuteronomy; Sifre zua, 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 Midrashim originated with the weekly synagogue readings and their accompanying explanations. Although Haggadic collections existed in tannaitic times, extant collections date from the 4th11th 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 Tanuma (after the late-4th-century Palestinian amora Tanuma 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 Yalqu (Compilation) Shimoni (13th century), Yalqu ha-makhiri (14th century), and En Yaaqov (Eye of Jacob, 16th century). The two most important modern Haggadic anthologies are those of Wilhelm Bacher and Louis Ginzberg.

The Talmuds dialectic style and organization are not those of a code of laws. Accordingly, codification efforts began shortly after the Talmuds 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 (13th14th 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 Alfasis code but often also includes the reasoning underlying decisions.

The most important of the topically arranged codifications were: the Mishne Torah, Sefer ha-urim, and Shulan 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-urim (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 (urim) reminiscent of the Mishnaic orders; it includes only laws applicable after the destruction of the Temple. (3) The Shulan arukh (The Prepared Table) by Joseph Karo (16th century), the last of the great codifiers, is structured after the Sefer ha-urim, 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.

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 (10th11th centuries), is actually an eclectic compilation of notes recorded by students of the Mayence (Mainz) Academy. Compilations of this kind, known as qunresim (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 Yitzaqi), 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 ananel ben ushiel 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 Rashis 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 Rashis 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 Menaem Meiri, although of the North African genre, include a strong dialectic element. In Spain such dialectic works were known as iddushim or novellae (since they sought new insights), the most famous being those written by four generations (13th14th centuries) of teacher and pupil: Ramban (Namanides, or Moses ben Naman), 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 Posquires), Ramban, Rashba, Rosh (Asher ben Jehiel), Ran, and Ribash (Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet).

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.

The Palestinian Talmud was first printed in Venice (152324). 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 (152023). 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).

Continued here:

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