What is a Talmudic argument?

Summary. The Babylonian Talmud consists almost entirely of arguments having as their aim the elucidation of the law, ruling, religious teaching or ethical idea. Theories are advanced and then contradicted. One argument leads to another when logic demands it.

What is a Baraita in the Talmud?

Baraita (Aramaic: בָּרַיְיתָא‎ “external” or “outside”; pl. Barayata or Baraitot; also Baraitha, Beraita; Ashkenazi: Beraisa) designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. Baraita thus refers to teachings “outside” of the six orders of the Mishnah.

What are the two parts of the Talmud called?

The Talmud has two components; the Mishnah ( משנה‎, c. 200), a written compendium of Rabbinic Judaism’s Oral Torah; and the Gemara ( גמרא‎, c. 500), an elucidation of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings that often ventures onto other subjects and expounds broadly on the Hebrew Bible.

What is meant by Mishnah?

Mishna, also spelled Mishnah (Hebrew: “Repeated Study”), plural Mishnayot, the oldest authoritative postbiblical collection and codification of Jewish oral laws, systematically compiled by numerous scholars (called tannaim) over a period of about two centuries.

Is the Jerusalem Talmud a commentary on the Mishna?

The Gemara (also called Talmud in the more restricted sense of the term) is a compilation of their debates and commentaries on the Mishna. The discussions of the sages from Palestine are contained in the Jerusalem Talmud, which was edited by the disciples of Rabbi Yohanan in Tiberias in the 4th century CE.

Which is the first principle of Talmudic study?

The Principles of Talmud Study. The Talmud approaches the Mishna and conducts its inquiries and investigations in characteristic ways. The first principle of Talmudic inquiry is the acceptance of the Mishna and the teachings of the early Amoraim as incontrovertible and unchallengeable facts.

What are the presuppositions and axioms of Talmudic reasoning?

Halakhic reasoning, in its mature Talmudic form, rests on a foundation of five presuppositions, or axioms, including the comprehensiveness and non-redundancy of scripture, and is guided by two formulas.

How is the Talmud a collection of paradoxes?

It is an amalgam of law, legend, and philosophy, a blend of unique logic and shrewd pragmatism, of history and science, anecdotes and humor. The Talmud considers no subject to be too strange, too remote, or too bizarre to be studied. What is the Talmud? The Talmud is a collection of paradoxes.