Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic and Talmudic era, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. In more recent centuries, the duties of the rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian Minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis", and in 19th century writings throughout Jewish Judaism is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people. Judaism, originating in the Hebrew Bible and explored in later texts such as the Talmud, is considered by Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel. According to traditional Rabbinic Judaism, God revealed history. But the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism, in the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history era, as opposed to medieval The Middle Ages is a period of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The period followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and preceded the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period in a three-period division of history: Classical, Medieval, and Modern. The term "Middle Ages" (medium aevum) was coined in and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew Extinct as a regularly spoken language by the 4th century CE, but survived as a liturgical and literary language; revived in the 1880s term Sifrut Hazal (ספרות חז"ל; "Literature [of our] sages [of] blessed memory," where Hazal normally refers only to the sages of the Talmudic era). This more specific sense of "Rabbinic literature"—referring to the Talmudim The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism, in the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history, Midrash Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible, and related writings, but hardly ever to later texts—is how the term is generally intended when used in contemporary academic writing. On the other hand, the terms meforshim and parshanim (commentaries/commentators) almost always refer to later, post-Talmudic writers of Rabbinic glosses on Biblical The Hebrew Bible is a term referring to the books of the Jewish Bible (Tanakh) as originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew, with some Biblical Aramaic. It is also called the Hebrew Scriptures. The term closely corresponds to contents of the Jewish Tanakh and the Protestant Old Testament (see also Judeo-Christian) and does not include the and Talmudic texts.
This article discusses rabbinic literature in both senses. It begins with the classic rabbinic literature of the Talmudic era (Sifrut Hazal), and then adds a broad survey of rabbinic writing from later periods.
Contents |
Mishnaic literature
The Mishnah The Mishnah or Mishna (Hebrew: משנה, "repetition", from the verb shanah שנה, or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah" and the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c. 220 CE by Judah haNasi and the Tosefta The Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah (compiled from materials pre-dating the year 200) are the earliest extant works of rabbinic literature, expounding and developing Judaism's Oral Law, as well as ethical teachings. Following these came the two Talmuds The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism, in the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history:
- The Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud or Talmud Yerushalmi , often the Yerushalmi for short, is a collection of Rabbinic notes about the Jewish Oral tradition as detailed in the 2nd-century Mishnah. Other descriptions are Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael (Talmud of the Land of Israel) or, in some scholarly literature, Palestinian Talmud: these names are considered more, c. 450
- The Babylonian Talmud The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism, in the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history, c. 600
- The minor tractates The minor tractates are essays from the Tannaitic period or later dealing with topics about which no formal tractate exists in the Mishnah. They may thus be contrasted to the Tosefta, whose tractates parallel those of the Mishnah. The first eight or so contain much original material; the last seven or so are collections of material scattered (part of the Babylonian Talmud)
The Midrash
Midrash Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible (pl. Midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of reading details into, or out of, a Biblical The Hebrew Bible is a term referring to the books of the Jewish Bible (Tanakh) as originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew, with some Biblical Aramaic. It is also called the Hebrew Scriptures. The term closely corresponds to contents of the Jewish Tanakh and the Protestant Old Testament (see also Judeo-Christian) and does not include the text. The term midrash also can refer to a compilation of Midrashic teachings, in the form of legal, exegetical, homiletical, or narrative writing, often configured as a commentary on the Bible The Bible refers to collections of sacred scripture of Judaism and Christianity. There is no single version: both the individual books and their order vary. The Hebrew Bible contains 24 books that were rearranged into 39 by Christian denominations, while complete Christian Bibles range from the 66 books of the Protestant canon to 81 books in the or Mishnah The Mishnah or Mishna (Hebrew: משנה, "repetition", from the verb shanah שנה, or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah" and the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c. 220 CE by Judah haNasi. There are a large number of "classical" Midrashic works spanning a period from Mishnaic to Geonic times, often showing evidence of having been worked and reworked from earlier materials, and frequently coming to us in multiple variants. A compact list of these works [based on (Holtz 1984)] is given below; a more thorough annotated list can be found under Midrash Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible. The timeline below must be approximate because many of these works were composed over a long span of time, borrowing and collating material from earlier versions; their histories are therefore somewhat uncertain and the subject of scholarly debate. In the table, "n.e." designates that the work in question is not extant except in secondary references.
Later works by category
Major codes of Jewish law
Main article: Halakha Halakha — also transliterated Halocho (Ashkenazic Hebrew pronunciation) and Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions- Mishneh Torah The Mishneh Torah subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka (ספר יד החזקה "Book of the Strong Hand,") is a code of Jewish religious law (Halakha) authored by Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, also known as RaMBaM or "Rambam"), one of history's foremost rabbis. The Mishneh Torah was compiled between 1170 and 1180 (4930-4940),
- Arba'ah Turim Arba'ah Turim , often called simply the Tur, is an important Halakhic code, composed by Yaakov ben Asher (Cologne, 1270 - Toledo c.1340, also referred to as "Ba'al ha-Turim", "Author of the Tur"). The four-part structure of the Tur and its division into chapters (simanim) were adopted by the later code Shulchan Aruch
- Shulchan Aruch The Shulchan Aruch (also Shulhan Aruch or Shulhan Arukh) is a codification, or written manual, of halacha (Jewish law), composed by Rabbi Yosef Karo in the 16th century. Together with its commentaries, it is frequently considered the most authoritative compilation of halacha since the Mishneh Torah or even the Talmud itself
- Beit Yosef
- Chayei Adam
- The Responsa Responsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them literature
Jewish thought and ethics
Jewish philosophy Jewish philosophy includes all philosophical activity carried out by Jews, or, in relation to the religion of Judaism. Jewish philosophy, until modern Enlightenment and Emancipation, was pre-occupied with attempts to reconcile coherent new ideas into the tradition of Rabbinic Judaism; thus organizing emergent ideas, that are not necessarily Jewish,
-
- Philo Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria (gr. Φίλων ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς), Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia and Philo the Jew, was an Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria
- Isaac Israeli
- Emunot v'Dayyot
- Guide to the Perplexed
- Bachya ibn Pakuda
- Sefer Ikkarim
- Wars of the Lord
- Or Adonai Or Adonai , The Light of the Lord, is the primary work of Rabbi Hasdai Crescas (c. 1340 - 1410/1411), a Jewish philosopher. As some Jews prefer to not use even the respectful title Adonai (Lord) other than in prayer (see names of God in Judaism), the book is sometimes called Or Hashem ('אור ה) in verbal usage to avoid mentioning even this
- Kabbalah Kabbalah is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the mystical aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between an eternal and mysterious Creator and the mortal and finite universe (His creation). While it is heavily used by some denominations, it is not a denomination in and of
- Etz Hayim
- Bahir Bahir or Sefer Ha-Bahir סֵפֶר הַבָּהִיר is an anonymous mystical work, attributed pseudepigraphically to a first century rabbinic sage Nehunya ben ha-Kanah (a contemporary of Yochanan ben Zakai) because it begins with the words, "R. Nehunya Ben Ha-Kanah said". It is also known as Midrash of Rabbi Nehunya Ben Ha-Kanah מִד
- Zohar The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five books of Moses) and scriptural interpretations as well as material on theosophic theology, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology. The Zohar contains a
- Pardes Rimonim
- Sepher Yetzirah
- Sefer Raziel HaMalakh
- Aggada Aggadah (Aramaic אגדה: tales, lore; pl. Aggadot or Aggados) refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic homilies that incorporates folklore, historical anecdotes, moral
- The works of Hasidic Judaism Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew חסידות -Hasidus meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith. It was founded in 18th Century Eastern Europe by Rabbi Israel Baal Shem
- The Tanya The Tanya is an early work of Hasidic philosophy, by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Hasidism, first published in 1797. Its formal title is Likkutei Amarim (ליקוטי אמרים, Hebrew, "collection of statements"), but is more commonly known by its opening word, Tanya, which means "it was taught in a beraita&
- Vayoel Moshe
- Likutey Moharan
- Jewish ethics Jewish ethics stands at the intersection of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of ethics. Like other types of religious ethics, the diverse literature of Jewish ethics primarily aims to answer a broad range of moral questions and, hence, may be classified as a normative ethics. For two millennia, Jewish thought has also grappled with and the Mussar Movement Mussar movement refers to a Jewish ethical, educational and cultural movement that developed in 19th century Orthodox Eastern Europe, particularly among the Lithuanian Jews. The Hebrew term mussar (מוּסַר, properly transliterated as musar), is from the book of Proverbs 1:2 meaning instruction, discipline, or conduct. The term was used by the
Liturgy
- The Siddur A siddur is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as we know it today has developed. A separate article, Jewish services, discusses the prayers that appear in the siddur, and when they are said and Jewish liturgy Jewish services are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book
- Piyyutim A piyyut or piyut is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Piyyutim have been written since Temple times. Most piyyutim are in Hebrew or Aramaic, and most follow some poetic scheme, such as an acrostic following the order of the Hebrew alphabet or spelling out the name of the author (Classical Jewish poetry)
Later works by historical period
Works of the Geonim
The Geonim Geonim were the presidents of the two great rabbinical colleges of Sura and Pumbedita, in Babylonia, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the Jewish community world wide in the early medieval era, in contrast to the Resh Galuta (Exilarch) who wielded secular authority over the Jews in Islamic lands are the rabbis of Sura and Pumbeditha, in Babylon Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers (55 mi) south of Baghdad. All that remains of the original ancient famed city of Babylon today is a mound, or tell, of broken mud-brick buildings and debris in the fertile Mesopotamian plain between (650 - 1250) :
- She'iltoth of Acha'i [Gaon]
- Halachoth Gedoloth
- Emunoth ve-Deoth Emunoth ve-Deoth written by Rabbi Saadia Gaon - originally Kitāb ul-ʾamānāt wal-iʿtiqādāt ( كتاب الأمانات والإعتقادات; Arabic: "Book of the Articles of Faith and Doctrines of Dogma") - was the first systematic presentation and philosophic foundation of the dogmas of Judaism. The work is prefaced by an (Saadia Gaon Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon , (Arabic: سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi, Hebrew: סעדיה בן יוסף גאון, Sa'id ibn Yusuf al-Dilasi, Saadia ben Yosef aluf, Sa'id ben Yusuf ra's al-Kull), was a prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period)
- The Siddur by Amram Gaon
- Responsa
Works of the Rishonim (the "early" rabbinical commentators)
The Rishonim are the rabbis of the early medieval period (1000 - 1550)
- The commentaries on the Torah, such as those by Rashi, Abraham ibn Ezra and Nahmanides.
- Commentaries on the Talmud, principally by Rashi, his grandson Samuel ben Meir and Nissim of Gerona.
- Talmudic novellae (chiddushim) by Tosafists, Nahmanides, Nissim of Gerona, Solomon ben Aderet (RaShBA), Yomtov ben Ashbili (Ritva)
- Works of halakha (Asher ben Yechiel, Mordechai ben Hillel)
- Codices by Maimonides and Jacob ben Asher, and finally Shulkhan Arukh
- Responsa, e.g. by Solomon ben Aderet (RaShBA)
- Kabbalistic works (such as the Zohar)
- Philosophical works (Maimonides, Gersonides, Nahmanides)
- Ethical works (Bahya ibn Paquda, Jonah of Gerona)
|
Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:47:02 GMT+00:00
Jewish Action I have, of course, been humbled by the enthusiastic response to the program, and have come to understand that part of my rabbinic vocation is to teach and ...
648px x 447px | 40.90kB
[source page]
Yiddish drashos and writings
Kehila
ue, 15 Jun 2010 01:53:43 GM
In . rabbinic literature. there are a number of works, mainly by the Rishonim, that were composed to determine which commandments belong in this enumeration: Sefer ha-Mitzvoth ("Book of Commandments") by Rabbi Saadia Gaon (really just a ...
Q. The Jewish woman in Rabbinic literature, it was the custom of Jewish women to go out in public with a head covering which, sometimes, even covered the whole face leaving one eye free. Rabbinic law forbids the recitation of blessings or prayers in the presence of a bareheaded married woman since uncovering the woman's hair is considered "nudity". Jewish women in Europe continued to wear veils until the nineteenth century when their lives became more intermingled with the surrounding secular culture. The external pressures of the European life in the nineteenth century forced many of them to go out bare-headed. Some Jewish women found it more convenient to replace their traditional veil with a wig as another form of hair covering. Today,… [cont.]
Asked by Said - Fri Apr 6 14:53:29 2007 - - 7 Answers - 0 Comments
A. As a Jewish woman, I can tell you that there's been LOTS written about the headcovering that some Jewish women choose to wear. Some choose a small lacy headcovering or hat similar to the yarmulke (kippah) that a man would wear in synagogue, worn during prayer, while the more Orthodox choose to shave their heads and don a wig, or wear a scarf or hat with all the hair tucked in. Jewish women with this latter degree of observance wear their headcovering all the time - not just when they pray. Traditionally, a woman doesn't wear a headcovering until she's married. Women and men also pray separately in an Orthodox setting - so as not distract each other from prayer. Real prayer requires focus. But that's a whole different discussion. … [cont.]
Answered by boobah - Fri Apr 6 17:15:37 2007
