The Structure of the Talmud
The rabbis of the 2nd and 3rd
centuries after Christ organized the Talmud in the form we find it today. Rabbi
Jehudah the Nasi (3rd Century, president of the Sanhedrin) began
the work of gathering together all the notes, archives, and records from which
the Talmud would be compiled. The scholars in Spain asserted that these notes
had been in existence since schools had begun in Israel, possibly from as early
as Ezra�s time.
Other Jewish scholars
of that period, notably those living in France, declared that not a line was
written down anywhere until this compilation began, and that the writing was
done from memory alone, the memory of the living rabbis who were the
contributors.
Modern scholars have
compromised between these two versions of how things happened, by asserting
that, during the first centuries, the commentators of the Talmud had taken notes
of their studies, then later had written them out in permanent form.
It was severe
persecution that was the strong motivation to write things down. The very lives
of the scholars were threatened continuously in some periods, and the thought of
important bodies of thought perishing with one or two individuals was a catalyst
that lead to written transcripts.
At a certain point,
probably during the 2nd century after Christ, the Pharisees gave
permission for writing the law. Until then it was absolutely forbidden to put
the oral law in writing. No sooner had this been granted that the number of
manuscripts began to be very great, and when Rabbi Jehudah had been confirmed in
authority (since he enjoyed the friendship of a Roman named Antonius, who was in
power in Rome), he discovered that �from the multitude of the trees the forest
could not be seen.�
The period of the 3rd
century was very favorable for this undertaking, because the Talmud, and its
Jewish followers, enjoyed a rest from persecutors. But there were still
sharp differences of opinion among the students of the Talmud themselves.
Although Rabban
Gamaliel the Elder (the Gamaliel of the New Testament) had succeeded in fixing
the Law in accordance with Hillel�s school, and had declared, with the consent
of many of the most prestigious sages of the Talmud, that the school of Schammai
was of no validity, when it differed from Hillel, there were more than 400
students in his college alone. So it was decided the individual opinions, even
those of the minority, should be considered; and differences between schools of
thought were renewed with considerable vigor. Thus, when Rabbi Jehudah began his
compilation, he was compelled to give due weight to all the varying opinions.
Another difficulty
was in selecting from the mass of doctrines, laws, and commentaries those which
were practicable and of direct application. One Rabbi�s account states that
there were more than 600 sections of Mishnah, and even if this is an
exaggeration, it was no easy task to reduce them to six.
The subjects (orders:
sedarim)
of the sections and the tracts of the Talmud are as follows:
This section (11
tractates, 74 chapters) contains the law relating to agriculture and crops,
heave offerings, tithes, the sabbatical year, and gifts to the poor. At the head
of this section is the tract on benedictions, which man owes to his Maker every
day, beginning with those of the evening, which commences the day, according to
Jewish custom.
Tract
Berakhot � prayers and benedictions
Tract
Pe�ah � laws of gleanings and
charity
Tract
Demai � doubtfully tithed produce
Tract
Kilayim � various kinds of seeds,
trees, and animals
Tract
Shevi�it � laws of the sabbatical
year
Tract
Terumot � contributions to the
priests
Tract
Ma�aserot � tithes for the
Levites and poor
Tract
Ma�aser Sheni � the second tithe,
and bringing it to Jerusalem
Tract
Halah � the dough offering to the
priests
Tract
Orlah � prohibition against
harvesting trees for four years
Tract
Bikurin � offering of the first
fruits at the Temple.
This section (12
tractates, 86 chapters)deals with Sabbath holidays, the duty of taxes before the
holidays, and of mourning during the festivals.
Tract
Sabbath � Sabbath laws
Tract
Iruvin � laws of permissible limits
on the Sabbath.
Tract
Pesahim � laws of hametz and matzah
and the paschal sacrifice.
Tract
Shekalim � the shekel dues to the
Temple and Temple ceremonies
Tract
Yoma � sacrifices and the fast on
Yom Kippur
Tract
Sukkah � the building of a sukkah;
the four species; the festival in the Temple.
Tract
Betza � general festival laws
Tract
Rosh Hashanah � fixing the months
and years; blowing the shofar; and the
Rosh Hashanah prayers.
Tract
Taanit � the regular fast days.
Tract
Megillah � laws of Purim.
Tract
Moed Katan � laws of the
intermediate festival days
Tract
Hagigah � Laws for pilgrimage
festivals
This section (7
tractates, 71 chapters) deals with laws regarding women, marriage, and divorce.
There also laws on vows and Nazarites, because women�s vows are dependent on
the decision of their fathers and husbands; and Nazarites depend on women, who
may legally consecrate a child previous to its birth, as for example, Hannah,
the mother of Samuel, and the mother of Samson.
Tract
Yebamot � Levirate marriage;
prohibitions on marriage; testimony on the death of the husband.
Tract
Ketubot � the marriage contract and
special agreements
Tract
Nedarim � various types of vows.
Tract
Nazir � the Nazarite laws
Tract
Sotah � laws concerning an
adulteress; murder in which the perpetrator is unknown; war
Tract
Gittin � divorce; writing and
sending the get.
Tract
Kiddushin � the marriage act; laws
of genealogy
This section (10
tractates, 73 chapters) is also known as Yeshuot
(Rescues), since a lot of it deals with saving a victim from his persecutor. It
deals with laws of property, judges, penalties which courts may prescribe. A
section of the religious criminal code (Avodah
Zarah) is devoted to the prohibition of pagan worship. Another tractate, Horayot
(Decisions), deals with the problem of what to do in case the Sanhedrin makes an
erroneous decision that plunges the whole nation into error. The tractate Avot (Fathers) deals with ethics and philosophy and contains the
sayings and aphorisms of sages of the Mishnah. Because of this unique content,
this tractate was included in may prayer books and was translated into other
languages.
Tract
Baba Kama (First Gate) � direct and
indirect damages.
Tract
Baba Metzia (Middle Gate) � losses,
loans, work, and wage contracts.
Tract
Baba Batra (Final Gate) �
partnership, sales, promissory notes, inheritance
Tract
Sanhedrin � various types of
courts, criminal law, principles of faith
Tract
Makot � punishment by flagellation
Tract
Shevuot � oaths
Tract
Eduyot � a collection of
testimonies on various subjects
Tract
Avodah Zarah � Keeping one�s
distance from idolatry and idolaters.
Tract
Avot � ethics and derekh
eretz.
Tract
Horayot � erroneous rulings of the
courts and their rectification
This section (11
tractates, 90 chapters) is devoted mainly to laws pertaining to the Temple and
its sacrifices, and includes laws of ritual slaughter and details about kosher
and non-kosher foods.
Tract
Zevashim � laws of sacrifice
Tract
Menahot � meal offerings, tzitzit,
tefilin
Tract
Hulin � laws of ritual slaughter
and dietary laws
Tract
Behkorot � the first-born child and
animal; defective animals
Tract
Arakhin � valuation of Temple
offerings and soil
Tract
Temurah � substituting an animal
offering
Tract
Keritot � sins requiring
extirpation and sacrifices for them
Tract
Me�ilah � sins of sacrilege
against Temple property and atonement for them
Tract
Tamid � Daily sacrifices in the Temple
Tract
Midot � measurements of the Temple
Tract
Kinim � what to do when various
sacrifices have been mixed
This section (12
tractates, 126 chapters) includes the most complex and involved legal subjects,
the laws of ritual purity and impurity. These laws, which were observed mainly
in the period of the Temple, and for several subsequent generations in
Palestine, consist of minute and extremely involved details based on ancient
traditions, in which the logical connection is not always discernible. One
tractate, Nidah, the only one which
appears in either the Jerusalem or Babylonian Talmud, has practical significance
in that it discusses laws on the periodic ritual uncleanness of women.
Tract
Kelim � various types of utensils
and their sensitivity to pollution
Tract
Oholot � laws of the uncleanness of
the dead
Tract
Negaim � laws regarding leprosy
Tract
Parah � preparation of the ashes of
the red heifer and purification after contact with the dead
Tract
Tohorot � various laws of
purification
Tract
Mikvaot � laws of the mikvaot
for purification
Tract
Nidah � ritual impurity of the
woman
Tract
Makhshirin � ways in which foods
become ritually unclean
Tract
Zavim � gonorrhea and purification
from it
Tract
Tevil Yom � discussion of various
kinds of ritual uncleanness
Tract
Yadaim � ritual uncleanness of the
hands
Tract
Uktzkin � categorization of things
that are susceptible to ritual uncleanness.
Principal resources for this study are:
Rodkinson, Michael L, �The History of the Talmud�, The Talmud Society, Boston, 1918.
Steinsaltz, Rabbi Adin, �The Essential Talmud�, Jason Aronson Inc., Northvale, NJ, 1992
Edersheim, Alfred, �The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah�
>