Sherman123
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I thought I would shake things up by sharing a topic related to Judaism since it's come up a few times in topics here and elsewhere and I think it might be beneficial to try and give a basic introduction that might clear up some misunderstandings. I'll try and do so succinctly in order to avoid muddying things.
1. What is the Talmud?
The Talmud is mostly, simply put, the compendium of Jewish Law otherwise known as Halackha (spelled several different ways) as derived from the Oral Laws handed down from Moses after Mount Sinai. However it also includes accounts, stories, and explanations not explicitly mentioned in the Torah and in this sense it can be compared to the Midrash. Both the Talmud and the written Torah are all 'Torah' in Judaism.
2. Why do Jews need the Talmud, or more specifically the Oral Law?
The Oral Law explains elements of the Torah which require further instruction this is because there are innumerable commands and injunctions which cannot be performed according to divine dictate without explanation. For example the Torah has specific instructions related to Divorce but does not explicitly explain how one is to go about obtaining that divorce and what procedures should be followed.
3. Where does it come from?
Jews hold that the Oral Torah was directly transmitted from God to Moses at Mount Sinai and that Moses instructed the Jewish people and its priests in its ways. However as Jewish political authority and centrality began to crumble after repeated onslaught, rebellion, and exile there was a fear that this oral tradition and haphazard recording would not be sufficient and therefore beginning around 250 B.C. there was a movement towards collating and organizing this knowledge. It wasn't until the final destruction of Jewish political power in 70 C.E. that this took on urgency and began to be solidified.
4. What is in it?
As previously mentioned it the Talmud includes a vast discussion of Halackha (Jewish Law) as well as an enormous quantity of what might be called supplementary information about the various books of the Hebrew Bible.
5. How do you study/read it?
The Talmud isn't meant to be 'read' as a book. It consists of 63 distinct portions and is usually organized in 30 thick volumes. Instead one chooses to study a particular tractate or set of tractates. These are usually in the form of a discussion between ancient Rabbis and Sages, often with great disagreement, with one, two, or possibly three possible answers put forward. A consensus has often developed over which Rabbi was 'right' but not always and there is some latitude in interpretation on some issues. The purpose of including these opinions was not to come to a firm practical position but to allow the different vantage points to be clearly elucidated to the reader. Other portions consist not of discussions but of stories transmitted either from Mount Sinai or from the great schools of the sages to provide greater explanation of some principle or point.
6. Is it still important?
Yes! This is best illustrated by one of the most famous accounts recorded in the Talmud:
When Moses went above to receive the Torah, he found the Holy One, blessed be He, sitting and attaching crowns to the letters. (Of course, G‑d doesn’t sit, neither does He need to use cut and paste when composing the Torah. Once you get used to the style of the Talmud, you learn to take these things figuratively. But without them, the story is very dry.)
Apparently, Moses didn’t see any need for these crowns. He asked, “Master of the Universe! Who forces You to go to such extremes?” G‑d answered, “There is a man who will live many generations after you and his name is Akiva, son of Yosef. He will examine every single spike of every letter and draw from them piles upon piles of halachot.” So Moses asked, “Master of the Universe! Show him to me!” G‑d replied, “Step backwards.”
And Moses stepped back until he found himself standing in the 18th row of Rabbi Akiva’s class. You see, the students were arranged in this class by order of their understanding. It seems the only thing left after the eighteenth row was out in the hallway. So Moses stood there and listened—and was unable to follow a thing that was said. He became weak with despair. Until finally, the story tells, a ruling came up for which Rabbi Akiva could provide no source. A student asked of Rabbi Akiva, “Where do you learn this from?”
Rabbi Akiva responded, “This is an oral tradition passed down from Moses.” By those words, Moses was set at ease.---
The essential core of Judaism is the study of the Torah and therefore the Talmud.
7. What is it not?
It is not, according to Orthodox Jews, a 'new' Torah or anything of the sort. This is the single greatest misunderstanding in my experience. There is a firm belief and tradition that traces the Talmud back to Moses at Mount Sinai.
1. What is the Talmud?
The Talmud is mostly, simply put, the compendium of Jewish Law otherwise known as Halackha (spelled several different ways) as derived from the Oral Laws handed down from Moses after Mount Sinai. However it also includes accounts, stories, and explanations not explicitly mentioned in the Torah and in this sense it can be compared to the Midrash. Both the Talmud and the written Torah are all 'Torah' in Judaism.
2. Why do Jews need the Talmud, or more specifically the Oral Law?
The Oral Law explains elements of the Torah which require further instruction this is because there are innumerable commands and injunctions which cannot be performed according to divine dictate without explanation. For example the Torah has specific instructions related to Divorce but does not explicitly explain how one is to go about obtaining that divorce and what procedures should be followed.
3. Where does it come from?
Jews hold that the Oral Torah was directly transmitted from God to Moses at Mount Sinai and that Moses instructed the Jewish people and its priests in its ways. However as Jewish political authority and centrality began to crumble after repeated onslaught, rebellion, and exile there was a fear that this oral tradition and haphazard recording would not be sufficient and therefore beginning around 250 B.C. there was a movement towards collating and organizing this knowledge. It wasn't until the final destruction of Jewish political power in 70 C.E. that this took on urgency and began to be solidified.
4. What is in it?
As previously mentioned it the Talmud includes a vast discussion of Halackha (Jewish Law) as well as an enormous quantity of what might be called supplementary information about the various books of the Hebrew Bible.
5. How do you study/read it?
The Talmud isn't meant to be 'read' as a book. It consists of 63 distinct portions and is usually organized in 30 thick volumes. Instead one chooses to study a particular tractate or set of tractates. These are usually in the form of a discussion between ancient Rabbis and Sages, often with great disagreement, with one, two, or possibly three possible answers put forward. A consensus has often developed over which Rabbi was 'right' but not always and there is some latitude in interpretation on some issues. The purpose of including these opinions was not to come to a firm practical position but to allow the different vantage points to be clearly elucidated to the reader. Other portions consist not of discussions but of stories transmitted either from Mount Sinai or from the great schools of the sages to provide greater explanation of some principle or point.
6. Is it still important?
Yes! This is best illustrated by one of the most famous accounts recorded in the Talmud:
When Moses went above to receive the Torah, he found the Holy One, blessed be He, sitting and attaching crowns to the letters. (Of course, G‑d doesn’t sit, neither does He need to use cut and paste when composing the Torah. Once you get used to the style of the Talmud, you learn to take these things figuratively. But without them, the story is very dry.)
Apparently, Moses didn’t see any need for these crowns. He asked, “Master of the Universe! Who forces You to go to such extremes?” G‑d answered, “There is a man who will live many generations after you and his name is Akiva, son of Yosef. He will examine every single spike of every letter and draw from them piles upon piles of halachot.” So Moses asked, “Master of the Universe! Show him to me!” G‑d replied, “Step backwards.”
And Moses stepped back until he found himself standing in the 18th row of Rabbi Akiva’s class. You see, the students were arranged in this class by order of their understanding. It seems the only thing left after the eighteenth row was out in the hallway. So Moses stood there and listened—and was unable to follow a thing that was said. He became weak with despair. Until finally, the story tells, a ruling came up for which Rabbi Akiva could provide no source. A student asked of Rabbi Akiva, “Where do you learn this from?”
Rabbi Akiva responded, “This is an oral tradition passed down from Moses.” By those words, Moses was set at ease.---
The essential core of Judaism is the study of the Torah and therefore the Talmud.
7. What is it not?
It is not, according to Orthodox Jews, a 'new' Torah or anything of the sort. This is the single greatest misunderstanding in my experience. There is a firm belief and tradition that traces the Talmud back to Moses at Mount Sinai.
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