Gemara

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The first text page of tractate Rosh Hashanah. The center column contains the Talmud text, beginning with a section of Mishnah. The Gemara begins 8 lines down with the abbreviation 'גמ (gimmel-mem). Mishnah and Gemara sections alternate throughout the Talmud text. The large blocks of text on either side are the Tosafot and Rashi commentaries. Other notes and cross references are in the margins.

The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aramaic word Template:Script/Hebrew and rooted in the Semitic word ג-מ-ר (gamar), which means "to finish" or "complete". Initially, the Gemara was transmitted orally and not permitted to be written down. However, after Judah the Prince compiled the Mishnah around 200 CE, rabbis from Babylonia and the Land of Israel extensively studied the work.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Their discussions were eventually documented in a series of books, which would come to be known as the Gemara. The Gemara, when combined with the Mishnah, forms the full Talmud.

There are two versions of the Gemara: the Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli) and the Jerusalem Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi). The Babylonian Talmud, compiled by scholars in Babylonia around 500 CE and primarily from the academies of Sura, Pumbedita, and Nehardea, is the more commonly cited version when referring to the "Gemara" or "Talmud" without further qualification. The main compilers of the Babylonian Talmud were Ravina and Rav Ashi.

The Jerusalem Talmud, also known as the Palestinian Talmud, was compiled by Jewish scholars in the Land of Israel, primarily from the academies of Tiberias and Caesarea, around 350–400 CE.

The Talmud is organized into six sedarim, or "orders," which include Zeraim, Moed, Nashim, Nezikin, Kodshim, and Taharot.<ref name=":0" />

In 1923, Polish Rabbi Meir Shapiro introduced a contemporary practice called "Daf Yomi," or "daily page," wherein participants study one page of the Talmud daily in cycles lasting seven and a half years each. This initiative ensures that both scholars and laypeople across the globe engage in the comprehensive study of the entire Talmud.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Gemara and MishnahEdit

File:MEMBERS OF "KVUTZAT RODGES" STUDYING THE "GEMARA". מתיישבים לומדים גמרא בקבוצת רודגס.D29-022.jpg

Members of Kvutzat Rodges studying the Gemara (June 1, 1935)

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 (see Structure of the Talmud). Maimonides describes the Gemara component as: Template:Cquote

The rabbis of the Mishnah are known as Tannaim (sing. Tanna Template:Script/Hebrew). The rabbis of the Gemara are referred to as Amoraim (sing. Amora אמורא). The analysis of the Amoraim, recorded as gemara, is thus focused on clarifying the positions, views, and word choice of the Tannaim.

Because there are two Gemaras, as mentioned above, there are in fact two Talmuds: the Jerusalem Talmud (Hebrew: Template:Script/Hebrew, "Talmud Yerushalmi"), and the Babylonian Talmud (Hebrew: Template:Script/Hebrew, "Talmud Bavli"), corresponding to the Jerusalem 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.

Origins of the wordEdit

In a narrow sense, the word Template:Transliteration refers to the mastery and transmission of existing tradition, as opposed to Template:Transliteration, which means the deriving of new results by logic.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Both activities are represented in the Template:Transliteration as one literary work.

The Aramaic noun gemar (and gemara) was formed from the verb that means "learn." This substantive noun thus designates what was learned, and the learning transmitted to scholars by tradition, though it connotes in a more limited sense to exposition of the Mishnah. The word therefore gained currency as a designation of the Talmud.<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Source-attribution</ref> In the modern editions, the term gemara occurs frequently in this sense—but in nearly every case it was substituted at a later time for the objectionable word talmud, which was prohibited by the Christian censors. The only passage in which gemara occurs with the meaning of "Talmud" in the strict sense, and not censored, is Eruvin 32b, where it is used by Rav Nahman, a Babylonian amora (3rd C.).<ref name=":2" /> Later editions of the Talmud frequently substitute for the word "Gemara" the Aramaic abbreviation for "the six orders of the Mishnah," pronounced as "Shas," which has become a popular designation for the Babylonian Talmud.<ref name=":2" />

The SugyaEdit

File:משנה סדורה - סיכום הגמרא - חברותא.jpg

Gemara students in chavrusa recording their summary of each sugya alongside its Mishnah (using the Mishnah Sdura edition)

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The building block of gemara is known as a sugya, "a self-contained basic unit of Talmudic discussion" (p. 203) that often centers on a statement from the mishnah, the amoraic rabbis (memra), or simply independent of these. They vary in size and complexity and, though self-contained, may mention or assume knowledge of other sugiyot.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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 Template:Transliteration; the name for such a passage of Gemara is a Template:Transliteration (Template:Script/Hebrew; plural Template:Transliteration). A Template:Transliteration will typically comprise a detailed proof-based elaboration of the Template:Transliteration. Every aspect of the Template:Transliteration text is treated as a subject of close investigation. This analysis is aimed at an exhaustive understanding of the Template:Transliteration full meaning.

In the Talmud, a Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration thus takes the form of a dialectical exchange (by contrast, the Template:Transliteration states concluded legal opinions – and often differences in opinion between the Tannaim. There is little dialogue). The disputants here are termed the Template:Transliteration (questioner, "one who raises a difficulty") and Template:Transliteration (answerer, "one who puts straight").

The Template:Transliteration 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 ...") Only rarely are debates formally closed.

Argumentation and debateEdit

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"Theologisch debat" (Eduard Frankfort, c. 1900), depicting a Template:Transliteration debating a Template:Transliteration

The distinctive character of the Template:Transliteration derives largely from the intricate use of argumentation and debate, described above; these "back and forth" analytics are characterized by the Talmudic phrase shakla v'tarya (שקלא וטריא; lit. "taking and throwing"). In each Template:Transliteration, either participant may cite scriptural, Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration 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."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This analysis has been 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.

ProoftextsEdit

Prooftexts quoted to corroborate or disprove the respective opinions and theories will include:

verses from the Tanakh: the exact language employed is regarded as significant;
other Template:Transliteration: cross-references to analogous cases, or to parallel reasoning by the Template:Transliteration in question;
Beraitot (ברייתות) – uncodified Template:Transliteration which are also sources of halakha (lit. outside material; sing. Template:Transliteration ברייתא);
- references to opinions and cases in the Template:Transliteration (תוספתא);
- references to the Template:Transliteration (Template:Transliteration);
cross-references to other Template:Transliteration: again to analogous cases or logic.

Questions addressedEdit

The actual debate will usually centre on the following categories:

LanguageEdit

Why does the Template:Transliteration use one word rather than another? If a statement is not clear enough, the Template:Transliteration seeks to clarify the Template:Transliteration intention.

LogicEdit

Exploring the logical principles underlying the Template:Transliteration statements, and showing how different understandings of the Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration 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. See: List of Talmudic principles and Category:Talmud concepts and terminology

LegalEdit

Resolving contradictions, perceived or actual, between different statements in the Template:Transliteration, or between the Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration clarifies how much is included; if an exception, how much is excluded.

Biblical expositionEdit

Demonstrating how the Template:Transliteration rulings or disputes derive from interpretations of Biblical texts, the Template:Transliteration will often ask where in the Torah the Template:Transliteration derives a particular law. See Talmudic hermeneutics and Template:Slink.

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

Point by point summary and discussion of the Gemara
Gemara Marking System: Keys to Structure Template:Webarchive
The Daf Map System: Innovative method that uses geometric shapes to structure 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 Template:Webarchive)
A printable chart with listings of all Dappim from each Mesechta Template:Webarchive
Gemara Brochos:"Shema, Tefillah and Brochos"
Daily Gemara by Rabbi Eli Mansour
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