The Gemara (also Gemorah) ('גמרא' - from gamar: Hebrew "[to] complete"; Aramaic "[to] study") is the part of the Talmud that contains rabbinical commentaries and analysis of its predecessor, the Mishnah. After this core text was finalized by Rabbi Judah the Prince (c. 200 CE), it was studied exhaustively by generation after generation of rabbis in Babylonia and the Land of Israel. Their discussions were written down in the series of books that became the Gemara, which when combined with the Mishnah completes the Talmud. Hebrew redirects here. ... Aramaic is a group of Semitic languages with a 3,000-year history. ... The first page of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a The Talmud (Hebrew: תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Judah haNasi, or more accurately in Hebrew, Yehudah HaNasi, was a key leader of the Jewish community of Judea under the Roman empire, toward the end of the 2nd century CE. He was reputedly from the Davidic line of the royal line from King David, hence his title Prince (Nasi... For other uses, see number 200. ... Babylonia, named for its capital city, Babylon, was an ancient state in the south part of Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq), combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. ... Satellite image of the Land of Israel in January 2003, including portions of the State of Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon. ...

There are two recensions of the Gemara, one compiled by the scholars of the Land of Israel (primarily in the academies of Tiberias and Caesarea, completed c. 350-400 CE), and the other by those of Babylonia (primarily in the academies of Sura, Pumbedita, and Mata Mehasia, completed c. 500 CE). In general, the terms "Gemara" or "Talmud," without further qualification, refer to the Babylonian recension. Tiberias in 1862, the ruins reminiscent of its ancient heritage. ... Caesarea Palaestina Caesarea Palaestina, also called Caesarea Maritima, a town built by Herod the Great about 25 –13 BC, lies on the sea-coast of Israel about halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa, on the site of a place previously called Pyrgos Stratonos (Strato or Stratons Tower, in Latin... Events January 18 - Magnentius proclaimed Emperor by the army in Autun. ... Events First invasion of Italy by Alaric (probable date). ... Sura was a city in the southern part of ancient Babylonia, located west of the Euphrates River. ... ... Events Possible date for the Battle of Mons Badonicus: Romano-British and Celts defeat an Anglo-Saxon army that may have been led by the bretwalda Aelle of Sussex (approximate date; suggested dates range from 490 to 510) Note: This battle may have influenced the legend of King Arthur. ...

Gemara and Mishnah

The Gemara and the Mishnah together make up the Talmud. The Talmud thus comprises two components: the Mishnah - the core text; and the gemara - analysis and commentary which “completes” the Talmud (from gamar גמר,: Hebrew "[to] complete"; Aramaic "[to] study"); see Structure of the Talmud. The first page of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a The Talmud (Hebrew: תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... Aramaic is a group of Semitic languages with a 3,000-year history. ... The first page of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a The Talmud (Hebrew: תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ...

The rabbis of the Mishnah are known as Tannaim (sing. Tanna תנא). The rabbis of the Gemara are referred to as Amoraim (sing. Amora אמורא). The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Amora, plural Amoraim, (from the Hebrew root amar to say or tell over), were renowned Jewish scholars who said or told over the teachings of the Oral law, from about 200 to 500 CE in Babylonia and Palestine. ...

Because there are two Gemaras, there are in fact two Talmuds: the Palestinian Talmud (Hebrew: תלמוד ירושלמי, "Jerusalem Talmud"), and the Babylonian Talmud (Hebrew: תלמוד בבלי), corresponding to the Jerusalem (or Palestinian) Gemara and the Babylonian Gemara; both share the same Mishnah. The Gemara is mostly written in Aramaic, the Jerusalem Gemara in Western Aramaic and the Babylonian in Eastern Aramaic, but both contain portions in Hebrew. Sometimes the language changes in the middle of a story. The Mishna is in Hebrew. The Jerusalem Talmud (In Hebrew Talmud Yerushalmi, in short known as the Yerushalmi), also known as the Palestinian Talmud, was written in the Land of Israel at the same time of the writing of the Babylonian Talmud, (which is known as the Talmud Bavli or simply the Bavli in Hebrew... The first page of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a The Talmud (Hebrew: תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... Hebrew redirects here. ...

The Sugya

The analysis of the Amoraim is generally focused on clarifying the positions, words and views of the Tannaim. These debates and exchanges form the "building-blocks" of the gemara; the name for a passage of gemara is a sugya (סוגיא; plural sugyot). A sugya will typically comprise a detailed proof-based elaboration of the Mishna. Every aspect of the Mishnaic text is treated as a subject of close investigation. This analysis is aimed at an exhaustive understanding of the Mishna's full meaning. In logic, an argument is an attempt to demonstrate the truth of an assertion called a conclusion, based on the truth of a set of assertions called premises. ...

In the Talmud, a sugya is presented as a series of responsive hypotheses and questions - with the Talmudic text as a record of each step in the process of reasoning and derivation. The Gemara thus takes the form of a dialectical exchange. (By contrast, the Mishnah states concluded legal opinions - and often differences in opinion between the Tannaim. There is little dialogue.) The disputants here are termed the makshan (questioner, "one who raises a difficulty") and tartzan (answerer, "one who puts straight"). A hypothesis (from Greek ) is a suggested explanation of a phenomenon or reasoned proposal suggesting a possible correlation between multiple phenomena. ... In classical philosophy, dialectic (Greek: διαλεκτική) is an exchange of propositions (theses) and counter-propositions (antitheses) resulting in a synthesis of the opposing assertions, or at least a qualitative transformation in the direction of the dialogue. ... Posek (Hebrew פוסק, IPA: , pl. ...

The gemara records the semantic disagreements between Tannaim and Amoraim. Some of these debates were actually conducted by the Amoraim, though many of them are hypothetically reconstructed by the Talmud's redactors. (Often imputing a view to an earlier authority as to how he may have answered a question: "This is what Rabbi X could have argued...") Rarely are debates formally closed. Semantics (Greek semantikos, giving signs, significant, symptomatic, from sema, sign) refers to the aspects of meaning that are expressed in a language, code, or other form of representation. ...

Argumentation and debate

The distinctive character of the gemara derives largely from the intricate use of argumentation and debate, described above. In each sugya, either participant may cite scriptural, Mishnaic and Amoraic proof to build a logical support for their respective opinions. The process of deduction required to derive a conclusion from a prooftext is often logically complex and indirect. "Confronted with a statement on any subject, the Talmudic student will proceed to raise a series of questions before he satisfies himself of having understood its full meaning." [1]. This analysis is often described as "mathematical" in approach; Adin Steinsaltz makes the analogy of the Amoraim as scientists investigating the Halakha, where the Tanakh, Mishnah, Tosefta and midrash are the phenomena studied. In logic, an argument is an attempt to demonstrate the truth of an assertion called a conclusion, based on the truth of a set of assertions called premises. ... Rebbi Adin Steinsaltz (עדין שטיינזאלץ) (or Adin Even Yisrael עדין אבן ישראל) (born 1937) is an ordinated rabbi and currently serves as the Nasi (president/prince) in the attempt to re-establish the Sanhedrin of old. ... The physicist Albert Einstein is probably the most famous scientist of our time. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... Tanakh ‎ (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak, is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... The Tosefta is a second compilation of oral law from the period of the Mishnah. ... Midrash halakha was the ancient rabbinic Jewish method of verifying the traditionally received laws by identifying their sources in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), and by interpreting these passages as proofs of the laws authenticity. ... A phenomenon (plural: phenomena) is an observable event, especially something special (literally something that can be seen from the Greek word phainomenon = observable). ...

Prooftexts

Prooftexts quoted to corroborate or disprove the respective opinions and theories will include: The word theory has a number of distinct meanings in different fields of knowledge, depending on their methodologies and the context of discussion. ...

• verses from the Tanakh: the exact language employed is regarded as significant;
• other mishnayot: cross-references to analogous cases, or to parallel reasoning by the Tanna in question;
• Beraitot - non-mishnaic sources of halakha (lit. outside material; sing. beraita ברייתא):
  • references to opinions and cases in the Tosefta (תוספתא);
  • references to the Halakhic Midrash (Mekhilta, Sifra and Sifre);
• cross-references to other sugyot: again to analogous cases or logic.

Tanakh ‎ (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak, is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... Beraita (also Baraitha. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... The Tosefta is a second compilation of oral law from the period of the Mishnah. ... Midrash halakha was the ancient rabbinic Jewish method of verifying the traditionally received laws by identifying their sources in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), and by interpreting these passages as proofs of the laws authenticity. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ...

Questions addressed

The actual debate will usually centre on the following categories:

Language

Why does the Mishna use one word rather than another? If a statement is not clear enough, the Gemara seeks to clarify the Mishna's intention.

Logic

Exploring the logical principles underlying the Mishnah's statements, and showing how different understandings of the Mishnah's reasons could lead to differences in their practical application. What underlying principle is entailed in a statement of fact or in a specific instance brought as an illustration? If a statement appears obvious, the Gemara seeks the logical reason for its necessity. It seeks to answer under which circumstances a statement is true, and what qualifications are permissible. All statements are examined for internal consistency.

Legal

Resolving contradictions, perceived or actual, between different statements in the Mishnah, or between the Mishnah and other traditions; e.g., by stating that: two conflicting sources are dealing with differing circumstances; or that they represent the views of different Rabbis. Do certain authorities differ or not? If they do, why do they differ? If a principle is presented as a generalization, the gemara clarifies how much is included; if an exception, how much is excluded.

Biblical exposition

Demonstrating how the Mishnah's rulings or disputes, derive from interpretations of Biblical texts. From where in the Torah does the Mishnah derive a particular law? See The thirteen rules by which Jewish law was derived. Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ...

See also

• Oral law in Judaism
• Jerusalem Talmud
• Daf Yomi
• The Kallah Month

An oral law is a code of conduct in use in a given culture, religion or other regroupement, by which a body of rules of human behaviour is transmitted by oral tradition and effectively respected, or the single rule that is orally transmitted. ... The Jerusalem Talmud (In Hebrew Talmud Yerushalmi, in short known as the Yerushalmi), also known as the Palestinian Talmud, like its Babylonian counterpart (see Babylonian Talmud), is a collection of Rabbinic discussions elaborating on the Mishnah. ... Daf Yomi (Heb. ... Geonim (also Gaonim) (גאונים) (Singular: Gaon [גאון] meaning pride in Biblical Hebrew and genius in modern Hebrew) were the rabbis who were the Jewish Talmudic sages who were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the Jewish community in the early medieval era, in contrast to the Resh Galuta/ Exilarch who wielded secular...

External links and references

Sources

• Gemara, jewishencyclopedia.com
• Talmudic Method, Harry Austryn Wolfson
• Gemara, Prof. Eliezer Segal
• Maimonides introduction to the Mishneh Torah see English translation at Mechon-Mamre
• "The Talmud", Adin Steinsaltz, Jason Aronson; 1994
• "Introduction to The Talmud and Midrash" H.L. Strack and G. Stemberger, Fortress Press
• "The infinite chain : Torah, masorah, and man" Nathan T. Lopes Cardozo, Targum Press Distributed by Philipp Feldheim; 1989

Harry Austryn Wolfson (November 2, 1887–September 19, 1974) was a scholar, philosopher, historian, and the first chairman of a Judaic Studies Department in the United States. ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... The Mishneh Torah or Yad ha-Chazaka is a code of Jewish law by one of the most important Jewish authorities, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew abbreviation RaMBaM (usually written Rambam in English). ... Rebbi Adin Steinsaltz (עדין שטיינזאלץ) (or Adin Even Yisrael עדין אבן ישראל) (born 1937) is an ordinated rabbi and currently serves as the Nasi (president/prince) in the attempt to re-establish the Sanhedrin of old. ...

Resources

• point by point summary and discussion of the Gemara
• Daf-A-Week: A project to study a daf per week
• The Complete Babylonian Talmud (Aramaic/Hebrew) as scanned images of the pages.
• The Complete Babylonian Talmud (Aramaic/Hebrew) as text. (Also available from other sites)