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Talmud
[Hebrew, Instruction] - After the Bible,
Judaism's most important book. It contains commentaries on
the Holy
Scripture, rabbinical discussions, moral instructions and
parables.
These cover subjects such as the essence of God, cosmology,
the
afterlife, resurrection, the Final Judgement, the Messiah,
the essence
of man, the human soul, sin and repentance, reward and
punishment, faith
and prayer, religious laws, civil and penal law, family
life, the role
of women, the rearing of children, the individual and
society, moral
principles (with respect to God, other people and animals),
instructions
on leading a pious life, the consumption of food, caring for
one's body
and health, and demonology.
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The Talmud developed gradually; its basic
elements were codified in the fourth century AD, though some
fragments
were written later. The Talmud is comprised of two main
parts. The
first, the Mishnah, is comprised of oral law that was
written down by
the Tanaits. The second, the Gemara, provides commentary on
the Mishnah,
and was written in two versions in the Talmudic academies of
Palestine
and Babylon. Both versions are still in use in Judaism
today, though the
Jerusalem Talmud (Hebrew, Talmud Yerushalmi, fourth century
AD) was not
developed any further; the Babylon Talmud (Hebrew, Talmud
Babli, ca.
500 AD) continued to grow, with new commentaries [Hebrew,
tosefta,
"addition"] being added, as well as rabbinical decisions
related to
religious problems (Rashi)-a lively interpretation of
religion change
over time as conditions change.
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The religious questions touched upon in the
Talmud are called halakha; parables, legends, moral edicts
and folkloric
themes are called agada [Aramaic, story]. The Talmud Jews
use today is a
multi-volume work, the study of which is a fundamental
obligation of
the Orthodox Jews.
(A.C./CM)
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