Jewish belief is that the Pentateuch is of
Mosaic authorship, meaning that it was dictated by
God to
Moses. Later writings, the
Nevi'im and
Ketuvim, were, according to tradition, written by Jewish prophets. For over a thousand years, these books, known as
Tanakh, were more or less the sole writings of Judaism. However, there was much material that was not written down, and instead memorized. Known as the
Oral Torah, it includes over five hundred laws learned out from
Talmudical hermeneutics as well as the
laws given to Moses at Sinai (). However, circa 200 C.E., much of the Oral Torah was written down, and is known as the
Mishnah (the
Zohar, a book chronicling the hidden parts of the Torah, was written down as well around this time by Rabbi
Shimon bar Yochai). Three hundred years later the
Talmud was written, expounding on the Mishnah.
Mishnah For generations, the
Oral Torah had been transmitted by word of mouth, largely with the help of the
Sanhedrin, the leading Jewish authority. However, after the
destruction of the Second Temple, the Sanhedrin had been uprooted and much of the Oral Torah was being forgotten. Therefore, c. 188 CE, Rabbi
Judah ha-Nasi, head of the exiled Sanhedrin, compiled the
Mishnah, i.e. the teachings of the Oral Torah. Since the
Maccabean Revolt however, much had already been lost, which led to many disagreements among the scholars, the
Tannaim. Therefore, the Mishnah includes their differing opinions. As
Maimonides wrote in the introduction to his
Mishneh Torah: A similar project was carried out by Rabbi
Hiyya bar Abba and his student Rabbi
Hoshaiah, known as the
Tosefta. A collection of statements not included in the Mishnah was compiled by Rabbi
Oshiya and
Bar Kappara, known as
Baraitot.
Talmud Circa 349, the Sanhedrin, exiled from Jerusalem and sitting in
Tiberias, wrote the
Jerusalem Talmud, a mammoth work compiling the teachings of the rabbis of the recent generations, known as
Amoraim, as they expounded on the Mishnah. It is largely attributed to
Rabbi Yochanan. However, the Jerusalem Talmud is generally overshadowed by the
Babylonian Talmud, a similar yet much larger work, compiling the teachings of the
Amoraim, and completed in Babylonia circa 500. Soncino's layout of the Talmud, with the original Talmud text in the center of the page, with the commentary of Rashi on the outer margins and the commentary of
Tosafot on the inner ones, was later imitated by Christian printer
Daniel Bomberg, who printed the entire Talmud between the years 1519 and 1523, and by all subsequent major printings of the Talmud. Rabbi Moshe Shapiro, rabbi of
Slavuta, Ukraine and owner of a printing press, published the Slavita Shas in the early 1800s. In 1886, the
Romm Publishing House in
Vilnius published the
Vilna Shas, which has since been reprinted and remains the classic print of the Talmud. In the past years, there have been numerous commentaries written on the Talmud. While the most commonly referenced commentaries are those of Rashi and Tosafot, and as mentioned, are printed in the margins of the Talmud, other famous commentaries (which often are recognized as Halakhic works as well) include the
Piskei HaRosh,
Shitah Mekubetzet,
Maharsha (the
Piskei Halachot and
Piskei Aggadot), the
Pnei Yehoshua, the
Mordechai, the
Chiddushia HaRitva, the
Meiri, the
Maharshal's
Chochmas Shlomo and
Yam Shel Shlomo, the
Meir Einei Chachmamim, the
Kehillos Yaakov, the
Shaarei Yosher, and the
Birkat Shmuel, as well as many published
shiurim (classes) given on the Talmud, including those of Rabbi
Nochum Partzovitz (
Chiddushei Reb Nochum and
Shiurei Reb Nochum), Rabbi
Shmuel Rozovsky (
Shiurei Reb Shmuel and
Chiddushei Reb Shmuel), Rabbi
Reuven Grozovsky (
Chiddushei Rev Reuven), Rabbi
Elchonon Wasserman (
Kovetz Shiurim and ''Kovetz He'aros
), Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik (Chiddushei HaGrach al HaShas
), Rabbi Naftoli Trop (Chiddushei HaGranat
), and Rabbi Aryeh Leib Malin (Chiddushei Reb Aryeh Leib''). == Kabbalah ==