Talmud

Background

The word "Talmud" means "learning" or "teaching" in Hebrew. It is a vast body of literature that gathers together Jewish law, its interpretation, and a wide range of traditions. Judaism holds that, in addition to the written law (such as the Pentateuch), there is an oral law, believed to have been given to Moses at Mount Sinai together with the written law and handed down by word of mouth. The "tradition of the elders" (Mark 7:3) observed by the Pharisees and scribes in the New Testament is understood to be connected with this oral tradition.

When Rome destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70, religious life centered on temple sacrifice became difficult to sustain. Thereafter, rabbis (Jewish teachers) devoted to the study of the law became the center of the community, and the need to set the oral tradition down in writing grew.

Development

• Around 200: Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi is traditionally credited with organizing the oral law into six divisions, compiling the Mishnah (meaning "teaching by repetition").
• Third to sixth centuries: Academies in the Land of Israel and in Babylonia discussed and expounded the Mishnah. The accumulated body of this material is called the Gemara (meaning "completion"). The Mishnah and the Gemara together make up the Talmud.
• Redaction: The version edited in the Land of Israel around the fifth century is called the Jerusalem Talmud. The version edited in Babylonia by around the sixth century is called the Babylonian Talmud. The term "Talmud" generally refers to the Babylonian Talmud, which is longer and carries greater authority.
• Eleventh century: The French rabbi Rashi wrote a commentary on the Talmud. In later editions, a layout in which commentaries surround the main text became standard.

Its contents fall broadly into two categories: halakhah (legal rulings), which deals with norms of daily life, and aggadah (narrative), which contains stories, moral lessons, and biblical interpretation. Regulations concerning the Sabbath, laws of purity, marriage, judicial procedure, and other matters are recorded in the form of rabbinic debate.

Results and Influence

In the absence of the Temple, the Talmud became a common rule of life that bound together the scattered Jewish communities. It remains at the center of Orthodox Jewish education today.

In medieval Europe, the Talmud became a source of conflict with the Christian world. Following a public disputation in Paris in 1240, Talmud manuscripts were burned in large numbers during the 1240s. Martin Luther also argued in writings from his later years that Talmudic books should be confiscated from the Jews. The complete Babylonian Talmud was first printed in Venice in the 1520s.

The Talmud also contains many traditions about biblical figures. For example, the Mishnah tractate Sanhedrin lists Gehazi, along with Balaam and others, among those who "have no share in the world to come."

In Korea, books titled "Talmud" that collect selected anecdotes and maxims are reported to have been widely read as self-help and children's books since around the 1970s. However, many of these books are regarded not as translations of the actual Talmudic text but as reworkings of Jewish folktales and moral stories. The Jewish method of study known as havruta, in which learners question and debate one another in pairs, has also been introduced into church education and Sunday schools.

Assessment

Protestantism does not recognize the Talmud as scripture, in keeping with the principle that the Bible alone is the final authority for faith and life (the Five Solas). Jesus pointed out that human tradition obscures the commandment of God (Mark 7:8–9). On the basis of this passage, some regard Talmudic interpretation of the law with caution as a form of legalism (an attitude that places the act of keeping the law at the center of faith).

On the other hand, some scholars hold that because the Talmud reflects the thought and customs of Judaism around the first century, it is helpful for understanding the background of the New Testament. At the same time, others note that the Talmud was edited several centuries after the New Testament era, so caution is needed in reading its contents directly back into the time of Jesus. Historically, the contents of the Talmud have at times been distorted and used to attack Jews, and some within the church have expressed remorse over this history.