Category Archives: Talmud

Proposition 18 would amend the state constitution to allow all California citizens who will be 18 years old by a general election to vote in the preceding primary. This is already the law in many states both red and blue as well as in the District of Columbia.

Prop. 18 keeps the voting age at 18 for a general election. But it gives first-time voters who are almost 18 the opportunity to participate in a full election cycle (primary plus general election) instead of just getting half a vote.

Young people can enlist in the military, work and pay taxes before turning 18. They deserve the option to vote in a full election cycle.

From a Jewish perspective, the Mishnah, a compilation of Jewish oral laws, teaches us that young people are ready for a growing level of responsibility during their teen years. According to Pirkei Avot 5:21 (the Teachings of the Sages), Judah ben Tema taught:

At 5, a person is ready to study Torah.At 10, one is ready to study Mishnah.At 13, one is ready to be responsible for the Mitzvot.At 15, one is ready to study Talmud.

Youth activists (like the students in Parkland, Florida) and teen environmentalists have a tremendous amount to say.

The youth should be given a voice, not just when it comes to a general election, but also when its time to decide which candidates should be on that years general ballot. Election issues such as climate change, minimum wage and gun reform are incredibly important to young people, and young people are greatly affected by election outcomes. They deserve to have a say.

Politicians across the United States are trying to make it harder to vote. We need to help protect our democracy by giving older teens a fair opportunity to determine their elected representatives.

Research shows that voting is habit-forming. If we expand the right to vote with this slight adjustment, we create more opportunities for long-term civic participation, a necessity for a sustainable democracy.

Prop. 18 has wide support among Californias elected officials, veterans, students, teachers, major newspapers and essential workers. Lets honor our states newest voters by giving them that growing level of responsibility mentioned in Pirkei Avot. Lets allow them to vote in a full election cycle.

See the rest here:

Prop. 18 is vital for teens who want and deserve to vote - The Jewish News of Northern California

Psychologist Philip Tetlocks warning that the average expert is roughly as accurate as a dart-throwing chimpanzee has assumed Talmudic weight as the world awaits the results of next months U.S. presidential election. Donald Trumps victory in the 2016 vote after elections guru Nate Silver said he had only a 29% chance of winning the electoral college was widely viewed as a stake through the heart of statistics-led political punditry and fuels a belief among the right and the left that his re-election is imminent.

A more accurate conclusion is that most observers misunderstood and misapplied Silvers analysis: Silver was saying that in roughly one out of every three elections Trump would win. That failure wasnt the fault of experts and pundits alone. Rather, it reflects shortcomings that are built into the way we think about the world and are capable of being fixed (to some degree.)

Given that virtually every decision is to some degree a prediction where shall we go for dinner? makes assumptions about a future experience it is remarkable just how bad we as a species are at it. Ancient civilizations credited the crazed and addled for insight, or were willing to seek destinies in entrails, excrement or the stars. Weve advanced considerably in technique although horoscopes remain popular but the future remains as unknowable as ever.

Nobel Prize-winning economist and psychologist Daniel Kahneman argues that we make sense of a complex world with heuristics mental shortcuts or rules and biases derived from experience that allow us to substitute simpler problems for more difficult ones. Unfortunately, his work demonstrates that those shortcuts frequently dont work as intended. We are rarely equipped with the numeracy or the patience to apply them properly and as a result we poorly anticipate correctly what the future will bring.

That failure assumes greater significance when we move from decisions of personal importance to those of policy. Tetlock and J. Peter Scoblic note that every policy is a prediction, one that posits a causal relationship between means and ends. Every policy choice argues that doing X now will lead to Y outcome. For example, tax cuts will stimulate economic growth or building this missile will promote peace. Getting it wrong can be deadly. The COVID-19 crisis is a failure of imagination a failure to accurately forecast the future and as a result government planning and budgets reflected traditional definitions of security and left us struggling when a novel virus emerged. Getting cause and effect right in international affairs is especially tough, but it is getting exponentially harder as the world transforms and the mental maps that policymakers use for their analyses their heuristics are quickly outdated.

The COVID failure has policymakers scrambling to fill the gap. In their latest effort Tetlock and Scoblic advise policymakers to combine probabilistic forecasting and scenario planning for the best results. It isnt an intuitive mix: The two approaches make fundamentally different assumptions about the future. Scenario planners start with the belief that there are so many possible futures that plausibility, not probability, is what matters. They then try to identify those futures. Decision-makers complain that understanding the contours of those imaginings isnt enough. There needs to be some sense of likelihood, which is where forecasters enter the picture: They try to calculate the odds of possible outcomes. Tetlock and Scoblic conclude that a holistic approach that combines the two would provide policymakers with both a range of conceivable futures and regular updates as to which one is likely to emerge.

Intriguing as this may be the newest issue of Foreign Affairs is titled What are We Missing? Predicting the Next Crisis far more interesting and more relevant to most readers is Tetlocks earlier work on forecasting that explains our inability to predict the future and offers suggestions on how to improve.

I may be digging my own grave, but I have to start with one of Tetlocks most important conclusions: Experts are especially bad forecasters. Not only are their predictions no better than random guesses, but they are often outperformed by amateur news junkies. According to Tetlocks research (and borrowing from Isaiah Berlin), foxes individuals who know a lot about many different subjects, accept complexity and are open-minded and curious invariably outperform hedgehogs, those who dig deep and know a lot about a single thing. The best forecasters accept uncertainty, and continually assess, update and revise their analyses. They are not wedded to conclusions or belief structures, and they constantly search for clues and analogies, which may not be obvious, to inform their logic and reasoning.

Ironically, Tetlock found an inverse correlation between fame and accuracy; the most famous experts had the worst records of prediction. Among other factors, he blamed the media, which demands short, simple and compelling stories, devaluing the nuance that lengthens and complicates a narrative and which invariably renders it more accurate. As Tetlock explained, experts are just human in the end. They are dazzled by their own brilliance and hate to be wrong. Experts are led astray not by what they believe, but by how they think.

There is hope. People can be taught to be better forecasters. A critical skill is numeracy: Success demands an understanding of statistics and probabilities and the ability to use them properly. To go back to 2016, the odds on a Trump victory were long but statistics still indicated that he would win one out of every three elections not one out of every three votes. Its a simple example but it is revealing about how many people think.

Equally valuable is the wisdom of the crowd, or at least similarly oriented teams. Open-minded thinkers use teams to provide insight into areas which they might not master, and as counterweights to their biases, reasoning and conclusions. Success depends on the avoidance of group think that neuters doubt and silences criticism. While conclusions must be reached, it is important to see all sides of a question and moderate certainties by incorporating opposing views.

Finally, there are ways to structure inquiries to improve accuracy. One important step is deconstructing questions into smaller discrete queries that may be easier to answer. Think of the future as a series of steps and anticipate the likelihood of each. Breaking down the future will also help separate the knowable from the unknowable and save time (and credibility) on the issues that can in some way be ascertained. Being able to ascribe probabilities to those intermediate steps is also valuable. Assess your record and try to learn from success and failure. Good forecasters are constantly updating data and processes. And, dont try to look too far into the future: There are too many variables to have confidence in judgments that peer too far ahead.

Self-awareness of limits and flaws, especially biases, is essential. Once that understanding is internalized, practice. It is worth the effort. Tetlock administered Department of Defense-sponsored forecasting competitions open to the general public and the top performers had scores that were 30 percent better than those of career CIA analysts with access to classified information.

Of course, foresight doesnt guarantee that insights will be used. Organizations have many ways, some bold, some banal, to obstruct the use of even the most accurate predictions, a phenomenon that stretches back more than 2,000 years. Google COVID Cassandra nearly 36 million hits for proof.

I predict that we will continue to be flummoxed and frustrated by the future. Moreover, we will repeatedly be blindsided by events that some will have anticipated but our leaders ignored. Does that get me a banana?

Brad Glosserman is deputy director of and visiting professor at the Center for Rule Making Strategies at Tama University as well as senior adviser (nonresident) at Pacific Forum. He is the author of Peak Japan: The End of Great Ambitions (Georgetown University Press, 2019).

PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

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It's hard to make predictions, especially about the future but it's not impossible - The Japan Times

Israel on Sunday began to slowly ease its nationwide coronavirus lockdown after confining citizens to their homes over the past month for the duration of the biblical Fall Festivals.

As of today, the following conditions are now in effect:

Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90

Back to school, again. But for how long?

On Saturday, Israel registered just 395 new cases of COVID-19. A month ago as Israel went into its second national lockdown this year, that number skyrocketed to over 8,000.

More importantly, over the weekend the rate of positive coronavirus test results fell to just 2.8 percent. Last month, a worrying 15 percent of all tests were coming back positive.

But, with schools and beaches now open, and Israelis again freely visiting one anothers houses, there is concern that the infection rates will spike again. This is especially true as we enter the wetter winter months, when viruses are known to be more active.

Government officials are already warning that the lockdown restrictions can and will be quickly reimposed if Israelis do not comply with the current regulations.

David Cohen/FLASH90

Ultra-Orthodox Jews havent been the only violators of government regulations, but their COVID-19 infection rates are the highest in the nation.

The sector of society that has everyone most worried is the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, which has since the beginning of the year been willing to only partially and sporadically comply with Health Ministry regulations.

As preschools everywhere else opened on Sunday, in ultra-Orthodox towns, many of which are still designated as red zones due to high infection rates, hundreds of elementary schools reopened in defiance of the government.

This came after one of Israels leading rabbis, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, who is himself currently infected with COVID-19, ordered elementary schools in the Haredi Talmud Torah system to reopen, according to Israels Ynet news portal.

Many ultra-Orthodox Jews see this as a rebellion against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and have threatened to join the primarily left-wing demonstrations aimed at removing him from office.

Tomer Neuberg/FLASH90

As Netanyahus list of political enemies grows, he cannot afford to lose the ultra-Orthodox community, too.

Leading Israeli political commentator Amit Segal lashed Netanyahu for tacitly approving the ultra-Orthodox rebellion by signaling that there would be only limited enforcement.

Over the weekend, the prime minister stated that his government would enforce the regulations to the best of our ability, but it is not possible to send policemen to every street corner.

Segal called Netanyahus weak approach outrageous and an invitation to effectively blackmail the government through insurrection.

With frustrated right-wing voters increasingly turning to Netanyahus rival, Naftali Bennett, ahead of the next election, the prime minister is more acutely aware than ever before of his reliance on the ultra-Orthodox Knesset parties to keep him in office. Should Bibi upset the ultra-Orthodox community too much, those parties will have no choice but to abandon him.

Link:

As Israel Eases Lockdown, Fears of Another Infection Spike - Israel Today

TALMUD

tal'-mud (talmudh):

I. PRELIMINARY REMARKS AND VERBAL EXPLANATIONS

II. IMPORTANCE OF THE TALMUD

III. THE TRADITIONAL LAW UNTIL THE COMPOSITION OF THE MISHNA

IV. DIVISION AND CONTENTS OF THE MISHNA (AND THE TALMUD)

1. Zera`im, "Seeds"

2. Mo`edh, "Feasts"

3. Nashim, "Women"

4. Neziqin, "Damages"

5. Kodhashim, "Sacred Things"

6. Teharoth, "Clean Things"

V. THE PALESTINIAN TALMUD

VI. THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD

VII. THE NON-CANONICAL LITTLE TREATISES AND THE TOSEPHTA'

1. Treatises after the 4th Cedher

2. Seven Little Treatises

LITERATURE

The present writer is, for brevity's sake, under necessity to refer to his Einleitung in den Talmud, 4th edition, Leipzig, 1908. It is quoted here as Introduction.

There are very few books which are mentioned so often and yet are so little known as the Talmud. It is perhaps true that nobody can now be found, who, as did the Capuchin monk Henricus Seynensis, thinks that "Talmud" is the name of a rabbi. Yet a great deal of ignorance on this subject still prevails in many circles. Many are afraid to inform themselves, as this may be too difficult or too tedious; others (the anti-Semites) do not want correct information to be spread on this subject, because this would interfere seriously with their use of the Talmud as a means for their agitation against the Jews.

I. Preliminary Remarks and Verbal Explanations.

(1) Mishnah, "the oral doctrine and the study of it" (from shanah, "to repeat," "to learn," "to teach"), especially

(a) the whole of the oral law which had come into existence up to the end of the 2nd century AD;

(b) the whole of the teaching of one of the rabbis living during the first two centuries AD (tanna', plural tanna'im);

(c) a single tenet;

(d) a collection of such tenets;

(e) above all, the collection made by Rabbi Jehudah (or Judah) ha-Nasi'.

(2) Gemara', "the matter that is leaned" (from gemar, "to accomplish," "to learn"), denotes since the 9th century the collection of the discussions of the Amoraim, i.e. of the rabbis teaching from about 200 to 500 AD.

(3) Talmudh, "the studying" or "the teaching," was in older times used for the discussions of the Amoraim; now it means the Mishna with the discussions thereupon.

(4) Halakhah (from halakh, "to go"):

(a) the life as far as it is ruled by the Law; (b) a statutory precept.

(5) Haggadhah (from higgidh, "to tell"), the non-halakhic exegesis.

II. Importance of the Talmud.

Commonly the Talmud is declared to be the Jewish code of Law. But this is not the case, even for the traditional or "orthodox" Jews. Really the Talmud is the source whence the Jewish Law is to be derived. Whosoever wants to show what the Jewish Law says about a certain case (point, question) has to compare at first the Shulchan `arukh with its commentary, then the other codices (Maimonides, Alphasi, etc.) and the Responsa, and finally the Talmudic discussions; but he is not allowed to give a decisive sentence on the authority of the Talmud alone (see Intro, 116, 117; David Hoffmann, Der Schulchan-Aruch, 2nd edition, Berlin, 1894, 38, 39). On the other hand, no decision is valid if it is against the yield of the Talmudic discussion. The liberal (Reformed) Jews say that the Talmud, though it is interesting and, as a Jewish work of antiquity, ever venerable, has in itself no authority for faith and life.

For both Christians and Jews the Talmud is of value for the following reasons:

(1) on account of the language, Hebrew being used in many parts of the Talmud (especially in Haggadic pieces), Palestinian Aramaic in the Palestinian Talmud, Eastern Aramaic in the Babylonian Talmud (compare "Literature," (7), below). The Talmud also contains words of Babylonian and Persian origin;

(2) for folklore, history, geography, natural and medical science, jurisprudence, archaeology and the understanding of the Old Testament (see "Literature," (6), below, and Introduction, 159-75). For Christians especially the Talmud contains very much which may help the understanding of the New Testament (see "Literature," (12), below).

III. The Traditional Law until the Composition of the Mishna.

The Law found in the Torah of Moses was the only written law which the Jews possessed after their return from the Babylonian exile. This law was neither complete nor sufficient for all times. On account of the ever-changing conditions of life new ordinances became necessary. Who made these we do not know. An authority to do this must have existed; but the claim made by many that after the days of Ezra there existed a college of 120 men called the "Great Synagogue" cannot be proved. Entirely untenable also is the claim of the traditionally orthodox Jews, that ever since the days of Moses there had been in existence, side by side with the written Law, also an oral Law, with all necessary explanations and supplements to the written Law.

What was added to the Pentateuchal Torah was for a long time handed down orally, as can be plainly seen from Josephus and Philo. The increase of such material made it necessary to arrange it. An arrangement according to subject-matter can be traced back to the 1st century AD; very old, perhaps even older, is also the formal adjustment of this material to the Pentateuchal Law, the form of Exegesis (Midrash). Compare Introduction, 19-21.

A comprehensive collection of traditional laws was made by Rabbi Aqiba circa 110-35 AD, if not by an earlier scholar. His work formed the basis of that of Rabbi Me'ir, and this again was the basis of the edition of the Mishna by Rabbi Jehudah ha-Nasi'. In this Mishna, the Mishna paragraph excellence, the anonymous portions generally, although not always, reproduce the views of Rabbi Me'ir.

See TIBERIAS.

The predecessors Rabbi (as R. Jehudah ha-Nasi', the "prince" or the "saint," is usually called), as far as we know, did not put into written form their collections; indeed it has been denied by many, especially by German and French rabbis of the Middle Ages, that Rabbi put into written form the Mishna which he edited. Probably the fact of the matter is that the traditional Law was not allowed to be used in written form for the purposes of instruction and in decisions on matters of the Law, but that written collections of a private character, collections of notes, to use a modern term, existed already at an early period (see Intro, 10).

IV. Division and Contents of the Mishna (and the Talmud).

The Mishna (as also the Talmud) is divided into six "orders" (cedharim) or chief parts, the names of which indicate their chief contents, namely, Zera`im, Agriculture; Moe`dh, Feasts; Nashim, Women; Neziqin, Civil and Criminal Law; Qodhashim, Sacrifices; Teharoth, Unclean Things and Their Purification.

The "orders" are divided into tracts (maccekheth, plural maccikhtoth), now 63, and these again into chapters (pereq, plural peraqim), and these again into paragraphs (mishnayoth). It is Customary to cite the Mishna according to tract chapter and paragraph, e.g. Sanh. (Sanhedhrin) x.1. The Babylonian Talmud is cited according to tract and page, e.g. (Babylonian Talmud) Shabbath 30b; in citing the Palestinian Talmud the number of the chapter is also usually given, e.g. (Palestinian Talmud) Shabbath vi.8d (in most of the editions of the Palestinian Talmud each page has two columns, the sheet accordingly has four).

1. Zera`im, "Seeds":

(1) Berakhoth, "Benedictions":

"Hear, O Israel" (Deuteronomy 6:4, shema`); the 18 benedictions, grace at meals, and other prayers.

(2) Pe'ah, "Corner" of the field (Leviticus 19:9; Deuteronomy 24:19).

(3) Dema'i, "Doubtful" fruits (grain, etc.) of which it is uncertain whether the duty for the priests and, in the fixed years, the 2nd tithe have been paid.

(4) Kil'ayim, "Heterogeneous," two kinds, forbidden mixtures (Leviticus 19:19; Deuteronomy 22:9).

(5) Shebhi`ith, "Seventh Year," Sabbatical year (Exodus 23:11; Leviticus 25:1); Shemiqqah (Deuteronomy 15:1).

(6) Terumoth, "Heave Offerings" for the priests (Numbers 18:8; Deuteronomy 18:4).

(7) Ma`aseroth or Ma`aser ri'shon, "First Tithe" (Numbers 18:21).

(8) Ma`aser sheni, "Second Tithe" (Deuteronomy 14:22).

(9) Challah, (offering of a part of the) "Dough" (Numbers 15:18).

(10) `Orlah, "Foreskin" of fruit trees during the first three years (Leviticus 19:23).

(11) Bikkurim, "First-Fruits" (Deuteronomy 26:1; Exodus 23:19).

2. Mo`edh, "Feasts":

(1) Shabbath (Exodus 20:10; 23:12; Deuteronomy 5:14).

(2) `Erubhin, "Mixtures," i.e. ideal combination of localities with the purpose of facilitating the observance of the Sabbatical laws.

(3) Pesachim, "Passover" (Exodus 12; Leviticus 23:5; Numbers 28:16; Deuteronomy 16:1); Numbers 9, the Second Passover (Numbers 9:10).

(4) Sheqalim, "Shekels" for the Temple (compare Nehemiah 10:33; Exodus 30:12).

(5) Yoma', "The Day" of Atonement (Leviticus 16).

(6) Cukkah, "Booth," Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:34; Numbers 29:12; Deuteronomy 16:13).

(7) Betsah, "Egg" (first word of the treatise) or Yom Tobh, "Feast," on the difference between the Sabbath and festivals (compare Exodus 12:10).

(8) Ro'sh ha-shanah, "New Year," first day of the month Tishri (Leviticus 23:24; Numbers 29:1).

(9) Ta`anith, "Fasting."

(10) Meghillah, "The Roll" of Esther, Purim (Esther 9:28).

(11) Mo`edh qatan, "Minor Feast," or Mashqin, "They irrigate" (first word of the treatise), the days between the first day and the last day of the feast of Passover, and likewise of Tabernacles.

(12) Chaghighah, "Feast Offering," statutes relating to the three feasts of pilgrimage (Passover, Weeks, Tabernacles); compare Deuteronomy 16:16 f.

3. Nashim, "Women":

(1) Yebhamoth, "Sisters-in-Law" (perhaps better, Yebhamuth, Levirate marriage; Deuteronomy 25:5; compare Ruth 4:5; Matthew 22:24).

(2) Kethubhoth, "Marriage Deeds."

(3) Nedharim, "Vows," and their annulment (Numbers 30).

(4) Nazir, "Nazirite" (Numbers 6).

(5) Gittin, "Letters of Divorce" (Deuteronomy 24:1; compare Matthew 5:31).

(6) Cotah, "The Suspected Woman" (Numbers 5:11).

(7) Qiddushin, "Betrothals."

4. Nezikin, "Damages":

(1) (2) and (3) Babha' qamma', Babha' metsi`a', Babha' bathra', "The First Gate," "The Second Gate," "The Last Gate," were in ancient times only one treatise called Neziqin:

(a) Damages and injuries and the responsibility; (b) and (c) right of possession.

(4) and (5) Sanhedhrin, "Court of Justice," and Makkoth "Stripes" (Deuteronomy 25:1; compare 1Corinthians 11:24). In ancient times only one treatise; criminal law and criminal proceedings.

(6) Shebhu`oth, "Oaths" (Leviticus 5:1).

(7) `Edhuyoth, "Attestations" of later teachers as to the opinions of former authorities.

(8) `Abhodhah zarah, "Idolatry," commerce and intercourse with idolaters.

(9) 'Abhoth, (sayings of the) "Fathers"; sayings of the Tanna'im.

(10) Horayoth, (erroneous) "Decisions," and the sin offering to be brought in such a case (Leviticus 4:13).

5. Qodhashim, "Sacred Things":

(1) Zebhahim, "Sacrifices" (Le 1).

(2) Menachoth, "Meal Offerings" (Leviticus 2:5,11; 6:7; Numbers 5:15, etc.).

(3) Chullin, "Common Things," things non-sacred; slaughtering of animals and birds for ordinary use.

(4) Bekhoroth, "The Firstborn" (Exodus 13:2,12; Leviticus 27:26,32; Numbers 8:6, etc.).

(5) `Arakhin, "Estimates," "Valuations" of persons and things dedicated to God (Leviticus 27:2).

(6) Temurah, "Substitution" of a common (non-sacred) thing for a sacred one (compare Leviticus 27:10,33).

(7) Kerithoth, "Excisions," the punishment of being cut off from Israel (Genesis 17:14; Exodus 12:15, etc.).

(8) Me`ilah, "Unfaithfulness," as to sacred things, embezzlement (Numbers 5:6; Leviticus 5:15).

(9) Tamidh, "The Daily Morning and Evening Sacrifice" (Ex 29:38; Nu 38:3).

Continued here:

What is the Talmud? Biblical Meaning & Definition

1. TheTalmud Is the Link Between Scripture and Jewish Practice

The Hebrew Scripture (also known as Torah) is thebedrock of Jewish practice and beliefs. But the verses are often terse,containing layers of hidden meaning. Since the Giving of theTorah, Jewish people studied Scripture along with a corpus of Divinetraditions (the Oral Torah), which elucidated and expanded the Divine wisdom ofTorah. These oral traditions, and much more, were eventually recorded in theTalmud. Heres how it happened...

Read: What Is the Talmud?

Following the destruction of the second HolyTemple and the subsequent breakdown of Jewish life and scholarship, Rabbi Judahthe Prince edited the first layer of the Talmud, a compendium of Jewish lawsknown as the Mishnah, in 189. The Mishnah comprises short teachings on virtuallyevery area of Jewish law. Even with the basic laws now recorded, much stillremained oral, and teachings that did not make it into the Mishnah (braitot) as well as subsequentscholarship were carefully studied by the rabbis of each generation. Thiscontinued for several hundred years until the decision was made that thesetraditions, too, needed to be written down.

Read: History of the Mishnah

Manuscript of the Mishnah dating to the 10th or 11th century from the collection of David Kaufmann.

In the Talmudic era, there were two maincenters of Jewish learning: The Galilee (northern Israel) and Babylon. Therewas significant back-and-forth; messengers and letters were regularly sentbetween them, yet the traditions varied, as did the style of learning, promptingone Babylonian sage, Rav Zeira, to fast for 100 days, praying that he forgetthe Babylonian way of learning and merit to learn the teachings of the mastersof the Land of Israel with clarity.

As Jewish life in the Holy Land disintegrated,the teachings of the Galilean scholars were written (but never properlyredacted) in what is commonly known as the Jerusalem Talmud (TalmudYerushalmi). Several generations later, early in the fifth century, theteachings of the Babylonian academies were finally codified in the BabylonianTalmud (Talmud Bavli).

Both can be loosely described as commentarieson the Mishnah, but are really much more than just that. They begin eachsection by quoting the Mishnah, which is then parsed and elucidated by thesages of the Talmud.

Read: The Two Talmuds

The Babylonian Talmud was completed later andunder more tranquil circumstances, making for a more seasoned product.Moreover, most rabbis in the years after the completion of the Talmud werestudents of the Babylonian school. For these reasons (and others), theBabylonian Talmud has become the dominant tradition among Jews today. In fact,due to its scarcity, there are significant chunks of the Jerusalem Talmud thathave been lost, and that which we do have is based off just a few survivingmanuscripts. Thus, whenever someone says Talmud, without specifying which one,you can be almost certain they are referring to the Babylonian Talmud.

A copy of the Jerusalem Talmud found in the Cairo Geniza

The word talmudmeans learning, closely related to the word talmid,Hebrew for student. The Talmudic commentaries on the Mishnah have anothername as well, gemara, Aramaic forcompletion, thus named because they provide the full context andinterpretation for the Mishnah. Since the middle ages, Gemara has become thepreferred term for Talmud among learned Jews. In part, this was in order toavoid undue attention from Christian authorities who abhorred Talmud, whichthey saw as a threat to their traditions.

Shas is an acronym for shisha sedarim,six orders. In common parlance, when one studies Talmud we say he islearning Gemara, but when speaking of the work as a whole, it is oftenreferred to as Shas, since itencompasses teachings on all six orders of the Mishnah.

Read: Why Was the Talmud Called Gemara?

A complete set of the Babylonian Talmud. (Photo by Wikimedia)

The Mishnah was written in Hebrew. The rabbisof the Talmud, however, primarily spoke and wrote in Aramaic, with the dialectsin the Holy Land and Babylon differing significantly. The text of theBabylonian Talmud transfers back and forth between Babylonian Aramaicdiscussion provided by the Babylonian rabbis, and Hebrew quotes from sages ofprevious generations and contemporaneous sages from the Holy Land (who arealmost never quoted in their native Galilean Aramaic). Similarly, the JerusalemTalmud contains a mix of Hebrew and Galilean Aramaic.

Read: Why Is the Talmud in Aramaic?

The Mishnah comprises six sedarim, orders, each covering another area of Jewish law:agriculture, holidays, marriage and divorce, civil jurisprudence, the Templesacrifices, ritual purity. Each order is further divided into masechtot, tractates. A tractate ismade up of several perakim, chapters,each of which contains a number of mishnayot,paragraphs.

Since many of these subjects (such as mostagricultural laws or those pertaining to the Holy Temple) did not apply to Jewsliving outside of Israel after the destruction of the Temple, the BabylonianTalmud is missing commentary for many of those tractates.

Read: The Six Orders of the Mishnah

A sage from the era of the Mishnah is known asa tana. Conversely, one from theTalmudic era is known as an amora.Following the Jewish tradition that the generations closer to the revelation atSinai had a more perfect tradition and were gifted with greater wisdom, thegeneral rule is that an amora may notdisagree with the teachings of a tana.

How do you know if someone is a tana or an amora? Heres a simple trick:

Although, the term rabbi is fairly ubiquitousnowadays, in ancient Israel, only a Torah scholar who was deemed worthy wasconferred this special title in a ceremony known as semichah. Since the Babylonian sages did not live in Israel, theywere not able to receive semichah andwere thus simply known as rav so-and-so.So if someone in the Talmuds name is preceded by rabbi you can assume he is either a tana or an amora from theLand of Israel. Conversely, if his title is rav,you know he is a Babylonian amora.

Read: A Brief History of Rabbinical Ordination

Much of the Talmud is written as aconversation. A statement will be made, questions will be asked, answers willbe suggested and rebutted, and more answers will be proffered, often going onfor pages. Looking carefully at the names to whom the questions and answers areattributed (and many are simply anonymous), one can see hundreds of years ofbrilliant scholarship and intense analysis packed together. Like anyconversation, things sometimes veer off topic, and can easily turn to thingsmore germane to another tractate for many pages.

Read: Is It Really the Torah, or Just the Rabbis?

Studying Talmud. (Photo: Lubavitch Mesivta of Chicago)

The Talmudic discussion was by real people whowere working their hardest to apply Gds word to their real life. Thus, thebulk of the Talmudic texts contain analysis of Biblical verses and Torah law,but its interspersed with everything from medical advice to stories, from folksayings to fabric dying tips.

Read: 38 Folk Sayings From the Talmud

In the Talmud, nothing is trivial orirrelevant, which means the conversation can sometimes center around unlikelyscenarios that can never actually happen. Why bother discussing something thatyou will never encounter, and may not have happened to anyone in history?Because its the Divine wisdom, and when your mind is trying to wrap itselfaround Gds mind, youre unified with Him in the most intense way.

Read: Gd in the Talmud

The Talmud is almost entirely the product ofthousands of discussions that took place in Torah academies. In Hebrew, thesecan be known as a yeshivah ([placeof] sitting) or beit midrash (houseof study). The Aramaic counterparts of these terms are metivta and bei midrasha. Untilthis very day, yeshivah studentsaround the world spend many hours a day poring over the Talmud and itscommentaries.

Read: What Is a Yeshivah?

Talmud is traditionally studied aloud in asingsong, with each part of the conversation intoned differently. Questions,replies, and proofs, for example, all have their own unique tunes.

This holds true when someone is learning witha study partner (chavruta) as well aswhen one studies alone. It is also traditional to sway (shokel) when studying, resembling a restless flame, passionate andfull of warmth.

The beitmidrash is therefore typically vibrant, noisy and pulsating with livelydiscussion in a medley of languages.

Read: Why Do Jews Rock While Learning and Praying

Carl Schleicher, Eine Streitfrage aus dem Talmud

Almost immediately after the Talmud wascompleted, students began compiling commentaries. The most widely studied isthat of Rashi, 11th-century leader of Ashkenazi Jewry, who also composed acommentary on the entire Hebrew Scripture. Second in prominence are thosecomposed by rabbis who lived until the start of the 16th century (known asRishonim, first ones), notably the authors of Tosafot (Additions), many ofwhom were actually Rashis descendants. Throughout the centuries, thousands ofcommentaries and supercommentaries have been written, each one enriching thecorpus of Torah scholarship.

Read: A Biography of Rashi

Almost as soon as the printing press was invented,printers (notably the Soncino family) began printing individual tractates ofTalmud. The first complete printing was done in Venice by Daniel Bomberg, a Christian, in the early 16th century. Thetext of the Talmud was printed surrounded by the classic commentaries of Rashiand Tosafot. This layout (and pagination) was found to be so convenient andwell arranged that it has remained standard until this very day.

Watch: Introduction to theBomberg Talmud

The Talmud is a collection of writings that covers the full gamut of Jewish law and tradition. Jewish people devote much time to studying the Talmud. Seen here is an open volume of the Talmud.

The standard edition of Babylonian Talmudfills 2,711 double-sided pages of text, as well as many thousands more devotedto various commentaries.

Each page is referred to as a daf (Hebrew for board) or blatt (Yiddish for leaf), and eachside is called an amud (column).The pages are typically referenced by Hebrew letters rather than Arabicnumerals. Thus, the second half of the 10th page of the tractate devoted to theShabbat laws, for example is referred to as Shabbat,daf yud amud bet, since yud and bet are the 10th and second letters ofthe Hebrew alphabet respectively.

Celebrating the completion of all 2,711 pagesis known as a siyum hashas. Masteringthe entire Talmud is a lifetimes achievement, as one can study the same textagain and again, each time finding more meaning and depth.

Read: What Is a Siyum Hashas?

Both Hebrew and Jewish Aramaic are written instandard Hebrew letters. It is interesting to note, however, that the standardedition of the Talmud contains two kinds of lettering. The primary text of theTalmud is in block lettering (also known asktav ashurit), and many of the commentaries are written in a more roundedfont known as Rashi script.

Read: What Is Rashi Script and Where Did It ComeFrom?

The first page of Talmud as it appears in standard editions, the text surrounded by the commentaries of Rashi,Tosafot, and others.

In the middle ages, Christians believed that the Talmud was the main obstacle to Jews adoptingChristianity, and that it contained insults to their religion. In 1244, KingLouis IX (later St. Louis) of France had 24 wagon loads of Talmudic volumespublicly burned outside the famed Notre Dame cathedral. At the time, books werepainstakingly handwritten and could not be easily replaced, making it adisaster of massive proportions for French Jewry.

Read: The Talmud Is Burnt

Talmud is not something to read once. Ratherit is studied again and again. In the words of the Talmudic sage, RabbiYehoshua ben Korcha: Learning without reviewing is like planting but notreaping.

After learning and relearning the same textagain and again, with intense concentration, it is natural for people to becomeso familiar that it is committed to memory. Thus, the accomplished scholarstypically know large chunks of the Talmud more or less by heart. In fact, thehighest praise one can apply to a Talmudist is that he can pass the pin test,in which a pin is inserted into a tome of Talmud and he would be able to saywhich word it would meet on any given page of text.

In recent centuries the Talmud has beentranslated into multiple languages, meaning that Jews from the US, France,Russia and Latin America (among others) can all study in their native tongue.

Read: The Historic Translation of Talmud IntoRussian

In the 1990s, cassette tapes with classes onevery page of the Talmud were produced. With the advent of easy and affordableinternet streaming, many teachers began releasing Talmud classes online. Infact, master Talmud teacher Rabbi Avraham Zajac has classes on almost theentire Talmud right on Chabad.org.

Watch: Advanced Talmud Classes

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21 Talmud Facts Every Jew Should Know - Talmud

Seder Nezikin (Damages)

Seder Zeraim (Seeds)

Berachot

Pe'ah

Demai

Kilayim

Shevi'it

Terumot

Ma'asrote

Ma'aser Sheni

Hallah

Orlah

Bikkurim

Seder Nashim (Women)

Yevamot

Ketubot

Nedarim

Kiddushin

Seder Kodashim (Holies)

Zevahim

Menachot

Hullin

Bechorot

Arachin

Temurah

Keritot

Me'ilah

Tamid

Middot

Kinnim

Seder Tehorot (Purities)

Keilim

Oholot

Nega'im

Parah

Tehorot

Mikva'ot

Niddah

Machshirin

Zavim

Tevul Yom

Yadayim

Uktzim

1.Tenanof the original--We have learned in a Mishna;Tania--We have, learned in a Boraitha;Itemar--It was taught.2. Questions are indicated by the interrogation point, and are immediately followed by the answers, without being so marked.3. If there occurs two statements separated by the phrase,Lishna achrenaorWabayith AemaorIkha d'amri(literally, "otherwise interpreted"), we translate only the second.4. As the pages of the original are indicated in our new Hebrew edition, it is not deemed necessary to mark them in the English edition, this being only a translation from the latter.5. Words or passages enclosed in round parentheses () denote the explanation rendered by Rashi to the foregoing sentence or word. Square parentheses [] contained commentaries by authorities of the last period of construction of the Gemara.

Sources: Sacred Texts

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Babylonian Talmud [Full Text] - Jewish Virtual Library

Dedicated to Rabbi Adin Even- Yisrael Steinsaltz zl, who is credited with making Talmud accessible

You can use your own experience to understand Talmud in a unique way. You can also turn it around and use Talmud to shine its wisdom into our contemporary world. We are in a time of racial injustice, rising anti-Semitism, global pandemic, and ecocide a daunting but very important time to be alive and engaging with tikkun olam.

Being pulpit-free for now I came south for family reasons I study Talmud every day and draw about it. The drawing you see here is about a quote from the first tractate of the Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot, page 29b: Abbaye said, A person should always associate oneself with the community. How can Abbaye help us? Seventeen hundred years ago they did have injustice, plagues, and environmental degradation. Lets give him a chance.

In context, Abbaye was speaking about praying in the plural form for us and specifically about the travelers prayer. What does community mean? Who is included in us? I should belong to a Jewish congregation. However, in the context of a journey the community involved is the origin, destination, and all points in between. So, include all these people in prayer.

You can see what I thought of as community when I drew this: from people to poison, suburbia and downtown, with local flora and fauna. We have a greater understanding now than they did in Talmudic times of how integrally related everything is. We and the other animals breathe the exhalations of plants and vice versa. We can see the effects of our transportation habits in air quality reports. The chemicals we use on our lawns and farms run into the sea and prompt periodic red tide. Though we like to think that what we have is due to our hard work, there are those in our community who are in desperate need through no fault of their own.

I drew this in February. Today I would add demonstrations and masks. As we follow reports of the pandemic we see how it effects some of us more than others. We see that climate change is affecting some portions of our global community more immediately than others. From wildfires to rising sea levels.

Every choice we make from wearing a mask in public to applying pesticide affects the entire community. Not just the Jewish community. Not just the human community. Not just the local community. Our country is stricken. Our planet is simultaneously on fire and drowning.

When circumstances are the most desperate, our history has taught us repeatedly: Dont lose hope. Jews keep assessing, keep turning, keep moving in the right direction. Naturally, its more than any person can do, but here is another place where community comes in.

Remember Rabbi Tarfons message from Pirkei Avot another section of Talmud about not having to finish the job, but not being allowed to quit either? Rabbi Tarfon continues, Know that the reward of the righteous will be given leatid lavo, usually translated in the world to come. But parse out the words and you get, Know that the reward of the righteous will be given to the future to come. Our reward is to even have a future. When we die to leave behind for our children a Jewish community, a society, a planet that is not sinking ever deeper into decline but on its way to recovery.

Shalom is not just the absence of war, but that perfect combination of justice and compassion. Let us encourage each other with Abbayes travelers prayer in the plural for all of us on this global journey toward wholeness. May it be Your will that You lead us to shalom.

Rabbinically Speaking is published as a public service by the Jewish Press in cooperation with the Tampa Rabbinical Association which assigns the column on a rotating basis. The views expressed in the column are those of the rabbi and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Jewish Press or the TRA.

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Meaning of community - jewishpresstampa

Whatever happens throughout the year, in actuality, took place on Rosh HaShanah, according to the Baalei Mussar. Looking back at this difficult year, we now know how much is at stake on Rosh Hashana. Rabbi Moshe Bamberger, mashgiach at Lander College for Men/Beis Medrash LTalmud, shares his thoughts and insights on how we should prepare for Yom Hadin.

The year 5780 plagued the world with so much suffering. The Coronavirus pandemic, which brought illness and death of unimaginable proportions, the shuttering of our yeshivos and shuls and the passing of many important Torah personalities, the termination of the way we carry out our normal lives, can be said to have commenced not on Purim, which we commonly peg as its start, but rather a year ago, on Rosh HaShanah.

We got a wakeup call this year that Hashem is truly in charge. All the high-tech, the advances in science and medicine and our feeling of being powerful, healthy, safe and secure, were demonstrated as being but a figment of our imagination. Rosh HaShanah of last year was when Hashem saw fit to send the world this message.

This should be a powerful lesson for us regarding our upcoming Rosh HaShanah. As we see clearly how much hangs in the balance on this Day of Judgment, it reminds us of how much is at stake on this day. We must prepare ourselves for it during the month of Elul, the days of Selichos and Erev Rosh HaShanah. Teshuvah, tefilah and tzedakah these are the weapons we have in our arsenal to rid ourselves of the evil decree of this past year.

We must pray with all the kavanah and sincerity we can that this global virus that claimed close to a million lives worldwide comes to an immediate end, and that we enjoy 5781 as a year filled with yeshuos and refuos, for Klal Yisrael and the entire world.

With heartfelt blessings of K'siva Vachasimah Tova,

Rabbi Moshe Bamberger

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The Wake-up Call the World Received in 5780 - Touro College News

opinion

Yossi J. Liebowitz| Special to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal

The Yiddish writer Scholem Aleichem was rightfully called the Jewish Mark Twain. Folksy and wise, humorous and passionate he chronicled the social and political changes afflicting the Jewish people in the late 19thcentury. His stories about Tevye the Milkman eventually found their way to Broadway in the hugely popular musical "Fiddler on the Roof," translated and produced in dozens of countries around the world.

One of Aleichems most famous anecdotes concerned a conversation between three townsmen of the ghetto. After the first argued one point in a debate, Tevye said: Youre right! And then after the other debater argued his point, Tevye also said: Youre right! A fourth man hearing him support the assertions of both townspeople protested, He is right and he is right? How can they both be right? to which Tevye responded; You know, youre also right!

Comical, the dialogue was nevertheless embracing a desperately needed attitude which so eludes our argument culture, a phrase used in the tumultuous 1970s.The encyclopedia of Jewish lore and law called the Talmud celebrates a similar dynamic exhibited by two ancient sages by the names of Hillel and Shammai. Renowned for their differences in which the former was more lenient, they once vigorously debated a point of Jewish tradition. Eventually, as the legend would have it, a Divine voice emerged from the heavens and declared that both viewpoints were both worthy. It thundered from the beyond:These words and those words are the words of the living God, even though Hillels position was ultimately favored.

In the spirit of Aleichem, the sages mused; how was it possible that both positions could be celebrated earning Gods favor. They concluded that the ability of these men to show restraint when affronted by their opponent was what merited the praise of God. More than that, when they later discussed and taught the traditions and cited the dispute, they would teach their opponents views. As we live in a most tribal era in which polarization best defines our political and religious discourse, we would do well to celebrate these ancient teachings.How to, as the saying would have it, disagree without being disagreeable.

At times when I hear a Supreme Court decision promulgated in the news, I am happily struck by the American tradition of citing both the minority and the majority opinions. How our country is in dire need of that kind of spirit which tamps down our verbal pugilism!The name-calling, the labeling, the mockery of others is nothing new in the American experiment. Lincoln was portrayed in cartoons and his speech compared to an ape. Roosevelt was mocked for his programs, some of which took on anti-Semitic tones when the New Deal was called the Jew Deal! As Ecclesiastes once asserted, there is nothing new under the sun." But are these heated expressions nothing new? Our new forms of communication from Facebook to Messenger to emails and other poorly reviewed expressions have only amplified the vitriol.As our tough times are marked by civil strife, economic upheaval and the pain of the pandemic, it is so sad to see how the verbal assaults being hurled. How we yearn for statesmen and stateswomen to embrace the ancient spirit of Hillel and Shammai. I believe that more than anything, such could be the salvation of this nations spirit, and to quote one contemporary writer a reclaiming of the soul of America!

Yossi J. Liebowitz, rabbi of Congregation Bnai Israel in Spartanburg, can be reached at EZRabbi@aol.com.

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Opinion: Why can't we learn to disagree without being disagreeable? - Spartanburg Herald Journal

Among the best-known of any biblical chapter, the six verses of Psalm 23 are commonly recited at funerals and chanted as a meditation. Its mystical words echo in our ears:

Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.

But what do they mean?

The classic King James translation of 1611, quoted above, capitalizes the Y in You, meaning that the one doing the walking is human and God is the companion. Robert Alters magisterial 2007 translation agrees. Human beings do not walk alone through lifes travails through the vale of deaths shadow as Alter renders it because God is always present.

Yet other interpreters suggest that the verse might not be pointing to the Divine Presence at all. Consider this teaching from the Talmud:

Rav Yitzak said: What is the meaning of Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me? This is a person who sleeps in the shadow of a single palm tree, and in the shadow of the moon. But with regard to one who sleeps in the shadow of a single palm tree, we said he is in danger only if the shadow of another palm tree does not fall upon him. However, if the shadow of another palm tree falls upon him, we have no problem with it. (Pesachim 111a)

For Rav Yitzhak, sitting in the shade of a solitary tree can be dangerous, but sitting in the shared shadows of two trees is not. How might we understand this imaginative reinterpretation? Perhaps companionship itself reduces the fear of the dark. In this radical approach, it is not a miraculous appearance of heavenly light that the psalmist imagines, but rather the empathetic connection of kindred darknesses.

Two ancient rabbinic voices go even further in their understanding of who journeys together in the dark:

Rabbi Eleazar of Moda said, In the future, in the world to come, the angels of the nations of the world bring charges against Israel before the Holy Blessed One, saying: Master of the universe! These have served idolatry and these have served idolatry; these have committed sexual sins and these have committed sexual sins; these have spilled blood and these have spilled blood! Why then are You bringing these down to Gehinnom and these are not being brought down? The Holy Blessed One will turn to them and reply, If this is so, then all the peoples with their gods will go down to Gehinnom, as it is written: all the peoples walk each in the names of its gods (Micah 4:5).

In Rabbi Eleazar of Modas telling, God is challenged by the angels who want to know why different peoples of the world are punished differently for committing the same sins. And God replies that the angels are right, essentially telling them: All of the peoples should go to Gehinnom and their gods as well, including me.

The passage continues:

Rabbi Reuben said, If it werent written in the Tanach (Hebrew Bible), how could this ever be spoken: For with fire will God be judged (Isaiah 66:16). God judges is not written but rather will be judged! It is he whom David said through the Holy Spirit: Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. (Psalm 23:4). (Shir HaShirim Rabbah on SoS 2:1)

According to Rabbi Reuben, this idea of God being judged and punished along with the people would be unbelievable were it not written in the Bible. But there it is, in Isaiah and Psalm 23. In this rendering, it is God who walks through the valley and is not afraid because we are with God. No people walks without God, and no God worth loving walks without the people. Even God trembles when we suffer.

This revolutionary rereading of the verse brings God into the shadowy journey all human beings endure in this world. Even God experiences the hellish dark by virtue of being connected to those who suffer its pain which is to say, everyone. In those places where people face darkness, God goes as well, linked in sacred relationship to the vulnerability and fear human life often includes.

The 19th-century Hasidic master Rabbi Mordecai Yosef Leiner, also known as the Ishbitzer, expresses this plainly:

Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me means that one who falls truly falls into their portion of the Holy One. (Pri Tzedek, Naso 15)

What the Ishbitzer is saying is that even if you cant remember to let your darkness touch someone elses darkness, know that when you fall youre falling into God. And maybe God falls into you too. Maybe when we fall into each other, we wont fall apart. Well fall together.

We can be comforted by others when we feel scared. We can be comforted by remembering that God has chosen to walk with us in the valleys of life. And we can be comforted by the knowledge that when we fall, we fall into Gods waiting Presence.

These comforts do not promise a painless tomorrow. Deep faith does not ignore reality. The gift of Psalm 23 is that rather than deny this reality, it reminds us that the best way to prepare for the inevitability of lifes challenges is ready and waiting: strengthening our relationships with others, and walking hand-in-hand with the Divine.

Empower your Jewish discovery, daily

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Psalm 23: Who Walks in the Valley of the Shadow of Death? - My Jewish Learning