A savora (Aramaic: סבורא, plural savora'im, saboraim, סבוראים) is a term used in Jewish law and history to signify the leading rabbis living from the end of period of the Amoraim (around 500 CE) to the beginning of the Geonim (around 700 CE). As a group they are also referred to as the Rabbeinu Sevorai or Rabanan Saborai, and may have played a large role in giving the Talmud its current structure. Modern scholars also use the term Stammaim (Hebrew = closed, vague or an unattributed source) for the authors of unattributed statements in the Gemara. Zugot (Hebrew: ) ((tÉ™qÅ«phāth) hazZÅ«ghôth) refers to the hundred year period during the time of the Second Temple (515 BCE - 70 CE), in which the spiritual leadership of the Jewish people was in the hands of five successive generations of zugot (pairs) of religious teachers. ... 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 Israel. ... 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... Rishonim (ראשונים Hebrew - sing. ... Acharonim (Hebrew - sing. ... Aramaic is a group of Semitic languages with a 3,000-year history. ... 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. ... 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... The first page of the Vilna Edition 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 word Hebrew most likely means to cross over, referring to the Semitic people crossing over the Euphrates River. ... The Gemara (גמרא - from gamar: Hebrew [to] complete; Aramaic [to] study) is a component of the Talmud, comprising the rabbinical commentaries and analysis on the Mishnah, undertaken in the Academies of Palestine and Babylon over a 300 year period to about 500. ...

Role in form of the Talmud

Much of classical rabbinic literature generally holds that the Babylonian Talmud was redacted into more or less its final form around 550 CE. However, some statements within classical rabbinic literature, and later analysis thereof, have led many scholars to conclude that the Talmud Bavli was smoothed over by the Savora'im although almost nothing was changed.^[1] On occasions, multiple versions of the same legalistic discussion are included with minor variations. The text also states that various opinions emanated from various Talmudic academies.^[2]. Sherira Gaon indicates that R. Yose was the final member of the Savora'im^[2]. Occasionally, specific Savora'im are mentioned by name in the Talmud itself, such as Rabbi Aha, who (according to later authority Rashbam) was a Savora.^[2] The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. ... Sherira Gaon was one of the post-Talmudic geonim. ... Rashbam רשבם is a Hebrew acronym for רבי שמואל בן מאיר (Rabbi Shmuel son of Meir) (c. ...

View of David Weiss Halivni

The role of the savoraim in the redaction of the Talmud was reexamined in Jewish academia because of the work of formerly Conservative and subsequently Traditional Professor Rabbi David Weiss Halivni. He is the author of Mekorot u'Mesorot. This is a projected ten volume source-critical commentary on the Talmud. Conservative Judaism, (also known as Masorti Judaism in Israel predominantly), is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s. ... The Union for Traditional Judaism is a non-denominational Jewish communal services organization. ... Rabbi David Weiss Halivni is a scholar of Talmud and a Holocaust survivor, originally of Sighet, Romania. ...

Halivni terms the editors of the Talmud as stamma'im, a new term for rabbis that he places after the period of the Tanna'im and Amora'im, but before the Geonic period. He concludes that to a large extent, the stammaim essentially wrote the Gemara, the discussions in the Talmud about the Mishna. Halivni posits that during the time of Ravina and Rav Ashi they compiled a Gemara that was much smaller than the Gemara known today, and which likely was similar to the Mishna and to the Tosefta. He sees this proto-Gemara as a compilation of rulings that probably had little record of discussions. Halivni also posits that the stammaim did not always fully understand the context and import of the statement of the Tanna or Amorah when it was said. The methodology employed in his commentary Mekorot u' Mesorot will attempt to give Halivni's analysis of the correct import and context and will demonstrate how the Talmud erred in its understanding of the original context.^[3] 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 Israel. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Ravina I was a rabbi of the Talmud who began the process of compiling the talmud with Rav Ashi. ... Ashi, known as Rav Ashi (Rabbi Ashi), (352–427) was a celebrated Jewish religious scholar, a Babylonian amora, who reestablished the academy at Sura and was first editor of the Babylonian Talmud. ... The Tosefta is a secondary compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah. ...

See also

• Eras of history important in Jewish law

Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah with pronunciation emphasis on the third syllable, kha), 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. ...

External link

• JewishEncyclopedia.com: Sabora

References

1. ^ Modern Scholarship in the Study of Torah: Contributions and Limitations Shalom Carmy, Ed. The Orthodox Forum Series, Jason Aronson, Inc.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Berkovits E., "Savora'im". In: Encyclopedia Judaica (first edition) Keter Publishing, 1972
3. ^ David Weiss Halivni Peshat and Drash: Plain and Applied Meaning in Rabbinic Exegesis Oxford University Press, NY, 1991