183
The primary purpose of the Talmud
is to record the analysis of Jewish
traditions by the best intellects of
previous generations, and to challenge
new students to find their own truths.
See also: God’s covenant with Israel 168–75 ■ Progressive Judaism 190–95 ■ The pathway to harmonious living 272–75
JUDAISM
resolves this ambiguity by
specifying 39 types of activity
(including building, cooking,
and writing) that are forbidden.
In addition to recording the
laws given to Moses, the Talmud
includes extensive discussions
between rabbis over interpretation.
These discussions are considered
part of the Oral Law too, because
the authority to interpret the laws
was handed down through Moses.
Each page of the Talmud is
designed to reflect this debate:
the earliest writings, or Mishnah,
setting out the law, are surrounded
by the discussions, or Gemara, so
the book can be read a series of
conversations between rabbis.
Acceptance of the Talmud
The concept of an oral law has not
been universally accepted among
Jews. Prior to the writing of the
Talmud, the doctrine of the Oral
Law was promulgated by a Jewish
sect called the Pharisees. However,
two sects—the Karaites and the
Sadducees—rejected this doctrine.
The Karaites originated around the
8th century in Baghdad and (unlike
the Sadducees) still exist today.
Karaites have their own traditions
for interpreting the Bible, but they
do not believe that any teachings
were given to Moses besides thosein the biblical text. Nonetheless,
other branches of Judaism accept
the Talmud as a sacred text, and
Orthodox Jews continue to trace
its origins to the Oral Law given
to Moses by God. Many modern
Jews do not take this idea literally,
but rather view the Talmud as
part of a living tradition that
preserves and interprets Jewish
law for every generation and
encourages theological debate. ■Versions of the Talmud
A collective work of thousands
of rabbis over hundreds of
years, the Talmud is organized
into six orders that deal with
different aspects of law and
tradition, then into tractates
and chapters. There are
two versions of the Talmud:
the Jerusalem Talmud, which
was compiled in the 4th
century CE in the Land of Israel,
and the Babylonian Talmud,
which was compiled c.500 CE
in Babylonia (modern-day Iraq).Although there are many
similarities between the
two versions, the Babylonian
Talmud, which is more than
6,000 pages in extent, is
generally considered to be
more authoritative and is
used more widely by students
of Judaism. The Jerusalem
Talmud was never completed
due to the persecution of
the Jews in Israel, and is thus
far shorter and more cryptic
than the Babylonian Talmud.Moses received the Torah
from Sinai and transmitted
it to Joshua, Joshua to the
elders, and the elders to the
prophets, and the prophets
transmitted it to the men
of the Great Assembly.
Ethics of the Fathers