The Tosefta is a second compilation of oral law from the period of the Mishnah. In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah (tosefta means "supplement"). The Mishnah is the basic compilation of the Oral law of Judaism; it was compiled around 200 CE. It is a Halakhic work which corresponds in structure almost exactly to the Mishnah, with the same divisions for sedarim ("orders") and masekhot ("tractates"). It is mainly ...

Including:

• Tosefta - Orthodox scholars
• Tosefta - Non-Orthodox scholars
• Tosefta - External link

Read more here: » Tosefta: Encyclopedia - Tosefta

See also:

Tosefta, Tosefta - Orthodox scholars, Tosefta - Non-Orthodox scholars, Tosefta - External link

Read more here: » Tosefta: Encyclopedia II - Tosefta - Non-Orthodox scholars

Curious as is the order of subjects followed in this treatise, in which several mishnaic sources have been combined, the Tosefta follows it, adding comments that form the basis of the Gemara in both Talmuds. The contents of the Mishnah with the corresponding sections of the Tosefta are as follows: General calendar for the year, i.1-4 = Tosef. i.1-13. Regulations concerning the months' witnesses, i.5-ii.1 (connecting with i.4) = Tosef. i.15-ii.1 (abbreviated). Historical matter regarding fire-signals and messengers and th ...

See also:

Rosh Hashanah Talmud, Rosh Hashanah Talmud - The Shofar, Rosh Hashanah Talmud - The Tosefta

Read more here: » Rosh Hashanah Talmud: Encyclopedia II - Rosh Hashanah Talmud - The Tosefta

Yeshu (ישו in Hebrew) and slight variations such as Jeshu (Bible English transliteration) or Yeishu (Yiddish pronunciation), is the name of one or more persons in various works of classical Jewish rabbinic literature, including the Babylonian Talmud (redacted roughly before 600 CE) and the classical midrash literature (written between 200 CE to 700 CE.) Yeshu - Interpretations of the name. There is some debate over the meaning of "Yeshu." It has been used as an acronym for the ...

Including:

• Yeshu - Interpretations of the name
• Yeshu - Primary references to Yeshu
• Yeshu - Tosefta
• Yeshu - Babylonian Talmud
• Yeshu - Ben-Pandera and ben-Stada
• Yeshu - ben-Pandera
• Yeshu - ben-Stada
• Yeshu - Jesus Connection ?
• Yeshu - The medieval Toledot Yeshu narratives
• Yeshu - Identification of Yeshu with Jesus
• Yeshu - Yeshu as a literary device
• Yeshu - Criticism of the identification of Yeshu with Jesus

Read more here: » Yeshu: Encyclopedia - Yeshu

The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, "repetition") is a major source of rabbinic Judaism's religious texts. It is the first recording of the oral law of the Jewish people, as championed by the Pharisees and is considered the first work of Rabbinic Judaism. The Mishnah was redacted around the year 200 CE by Judah haNasi ("Judah the Prince"). He is usually simply referred to as Rebbi ("Rabbi"). Nearly all of the Mishnah is written in Mishnaic Hebrew, except for a few verses, which are written in Aramaic. Rabbinic commentaries on ...

Including:

• Mishnah - Relation between the Hebrew Bible and the Mishnah
• Mishnah - The writing of the Mishnah
• Mishnah - The structure of the Mishnah
• Mishnah - The generations of the Mishnah sages
• Mishnah - Oral traditions and pronunciation
• Mishnah - Commentaries
• Mishnah - Historical study

Read more here: » Mishnah: Encyclopedia - Mishnah

The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories, which Jewish tradition considers authoritative. It is a fundamental source of legislation, customs, case histories and moral exhortations. The Talmud has two components, the Mishnah which is the first written compilation of Judaism's Oral Law, and the Gemara, a discussion of the Mishnah (though the terms Talmud and Gemara are generally used interchangeably). It expands on the earlier writings in the Torah in general ...

Including:

• Talmud - Structure and function
• Talmud - Mishna and Gemara
• Talmud - Orders and tractates
• Talmud - Form and style
• Talmud - Halakha and Aggadah
• Talmud - The two Talmuds
• Talmud - Talmud Yerushalmi Jerusalem Talmud
• Talmud - Talmud Bavli Babylonian Talmud
• Talmud - Comparison of style and subject matter
• Talmud - Attitude to the Talmud within Judaism
• Talmud - Karaism
• Talmud - Talmudic Study and Kabbalah
• Talmud - The Enlightenment
• Talmud - Jews in Western culture
• Talmud - The Talmud in modern-day Judaism
• Talmud - Historical study
• Talmud - Changes within the text of the Talmud
• Talmud - External attacks on the Talmud
• Talmud - Charges of racism
• Talmud - Modern day Talmud scholars
• Talmud - Conservative
• Talmud - The Daf Yomi Daily Page
• Talmud - Translations
• Talmud - Translations of Talmud Bavli
• Talmud - Translations of Talmud Yerushalmi

Read more here: » Talmud: Encyclopedia - Talmud

Zeraim (זרעים) is the first Order of the Mishnah (and Tosefta and Talmud). Of the six orders of the Mishnah, Zeraim is the shortest. The order Zeraim ("Seeds") deals mainly with the agricultural laws of the land of Israel. It consists of 11 tractates: Berakhot: ("Blessings" ברכות) deals with the rules of blessings and the daily prayer, especially the Shema. 9 chapters. Pe'ah: ("Corner" פאה) deals with the regulations concerning the corners of the field (Lev. xix. 9, ...

Read more here: » Zeraim: Encyclopedia - Zeraim

Baraita (Aramaic ברייתא: "external", "outside"; pl. Baraitot. Also Baraitha, Beraita ) 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. Originally, "Baraita" probably referred to teachings from schools outside of the main Mishnaic-era academies - although in later collections, individual Baraitot are often aut ...

Read more here: » Baraita: Encyclopedia - Baraita

Rabbi Yehezkel Abramsky (1886–1976) was one of the world's most eminent Orthodox rabbis of the 20th century. He was born in Lithuania and studied at the yeshivas of Telz, Mir, Slabodka and Brisk, becoming a rabbi at the age of 17. He served the communities of Smolyan, Smolevich and Slutzk. Following the Russian Revolution, he was at the forefront of opposition to Communist attempts to repress the Jewish religion and culture. In 1928, he started a Hebrew magazine, Yagdil Torah ("Make Great [the] Torah"), but the ...

Read more here: » Yehezkel Abramsky: Encyclopedia - Yehezkel Abramsky

Bruriah is the only woman quoted as a sage in the Talmud. She was the wife of the Tanna Rabbi Meir and the daughter of Rabbi Hananiah Ben Teradion, who is listed as one of the "Ten Martyrs." She is greatly admired for her breadth of knowledge in matters pertaining to both halachah and aggadah, and is said to have taught the rabbis 300 halachot on a single cloudy day (Tractate Pesachim 62b). Her parents were put to death by the Romans for te ...

Read more here: » Bruriah: Encyclopedia - Bruriah

Vayechi or Vayehi (ויחי – Hebrew for “and he lived”) is the twelfth weekly parshah or portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the last in the book of Genesis. It constitutes Genesis 47:28–50:26. Jews in the Diaspora read it the twelfth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in December or January. Vayechi - Summary. When Jacob felt the approach of death, he sent for Joseph and made Joseph swear not to bury him in the land of Egypt. (Gen. 47:28–31.) Sometime afterward, Jo ...

Including:

• Vayechi - Summary
• Vayechi - Commandments
• Vayechi - Haftarah
• Vayechi - References in classical sources

Read more here: » Vayechi: Encyclopedia - Vayechi

Vayigash (ויגש – Hebrew for “and he went up” or “then he went up,” the first word of the parshah) is the eleventh weekly parshah or portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 44:18–47:27. Jews in the Diaspora read it the eleventh Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in December or January. Vayigash - Summary. Joseph’s brothers showed themselves fearful and penitent. Judah offered himself as a slave in place of Benjamin. Joseph revealed his identity, forga ...

Including:

• Vayigash - Summary
• Vayigash - Commandments
• Vayigash - Haftarah
• Vayigash - References in Classical Sources

Read more here: » Vayigash: Encyclopedia - Vayigash

The Gemara (גמרא - from gamar: Hebrew "[to] complete"; Aramaic "[to] study") is a component of the Talmud, comprising the rabbinical commentaries and analysis on the Mishnah, undertaken in Babylon. During the centuries following Rabbi Judah's editing of the Mishna, it was studied exhaustively by generation after generation of rabbis. Eventually, some of these rabbis wrote down their discussions and commentaries on the Mishna's laws in a series of books known as the Talmud. The rabbis of Palestine edited their discuss ...

Including:

• Gemara - Gemara and Mishnah
• Gemara - The Sugya
• Gemara - Argumentation and debate
• Gemara - Prooftexts
• Gemara - Questions

Read more here: » Gemara: Encyclopedia - Gemara

Vayeshev or Vayeishev (וישב – Hebrew for “and he lived,” the first word of the parshah) is the ninth weekly parshah or portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 37:1–40:23. Jews in the Diaspora read it the ninth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in December. Vayeshev - Summary. Vayeshev - Joseph the dreamer. Joseph, Jacob's favorite son, was hated by his brothers because of his dreams predicting his future dominion. The b ...

Including:

• Vayeshev - Summary
• Vayeshev - Joseph the dreamer
• Vayeshev - Judah and Tamar
• Vayeshev - Joseph and Potiphar
• Vayeshev - Commandments
• Vayeshev - Haftarah
• Vayeshev - References in Classical Sources

Read more here: » Vayeshev: Encyclopedia - Vayeshev

Va'eira, Va'era, or Vaera (וארא – Hebrew for “and I appeared” the first word that God speaks in the parshah, in Exodus 6:3) is the fourteenth weekly parshah or portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the second in the book of Exodus. It constitutes Exodus 6:2–9:35. Jews in the Diaspora read it the fourteenth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in January. Va'eira - Summary. God spoke to Moses, identified Himself as the God of the Patriarchs, and acknowledged hear ...

Including:

• Va'eira - Summary
• Va'eira - The plagues of Egypt
• Va'eira - Commandments
• Va'eira - Haftarah
• Va'eira - References in classical sources

Read more here: » Va'eira: Encyclopedia - Va'eira

Rabbinic literature, in the broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of Judaism's rabbinic writing/s throughout history. However, the term often used as an exact cognate of the Hebrew term Sifrut Hazal (ספרות חז"ל; "Literature [of our] Sages, [of] blessed memory"), where the latter usually refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era. The latter, more specific, sense is how the term is normally used in medieval and modern rabbinic writing (where Hazal normally refers only to the sages of the ...

Including:

• Rabbinic literature - The oral law
• Rabbinic literature - The Midrash
• Rabbinic literature - Later works by category
• Rabbinic literature - Jewish law
• Rabbinic literature - Jewish thought and ethics
• Rabbinic literature - Liturgy
• Rabbinic literature - Later works by historical period
• Rabbinic literature - Works of the Geonim
• Rabbinic literature - Works of the Rishonim the early rabbinical commentators
• Rabbinic literature - Works of the Acharonim the later rabbinical commentators
• Rabbinic literature - Meforshim
• Rabbinic literature - Bibliography

Read more here: » Rabbinic literature: Encyclopedia - Rabbinic literature

Merkabah (מרכבה, literally: "chariot") is the term used to describe the earliest form of Jewish mysticism, usually "Merkabah mysticism" in English. Based on the imagery found in the Biblical book of Ezekiel, merkabah became a preoccupation of some Jews during Second Temple times (probably in the 2nd c. BCE) and was the dominant form of mystical speculation amongst Jews until the 11th century CE, w ...

Including:

• Merkabah - History
• Merkabah - Key Texts

Read more here: » Merkabah: Encyclopedia - Merkabah

In 1554 the Vatican issued a papal bull censoring the Talmud and other Jewish texts, resulting in the removal of references to Yeshu. The primary references to Yeshu are found in uncensored texts of the Babylonian Talmud and the Tosefta. No known manuscript of the Jerusalem Talmud makes mention of the name although one translation (Herford) has added it to Avodah Zarah 2:2 to align it with similar text of Chullin 2:22 in the Tosefta. All later usages of the ...

See also:

Yeshu, Yeshu - Interpretations of the name, Yeshu - Primary references to Yeshu, Yeshu - Tosefta, Yeshu - Babylonian Talmud, Yeshu - Ben-Pandera and ben-Stada, Yeshu - ben-Pandera, Yeshu - ben-Stada, Yeshu - Jesus Connection ?, Yeshu - The medieval Toledot Yeshu narratives, Yeshu - Identification of Yeshu with Jesus, Yeshu - Yeshu as a literary device, Yeshu - Criticism of the identification of Yeshu with Jesus

Read more here: » Yeshu: Encyclopedia II - Yeshu - Primary references to Yeshu

Yeshu - ben-Pandera. In the Tosefta reference to Yeshu, the title ben-Pandera (son of Pandera) is added after the name. The surname Pandera is not known from any graves or inscriptions, but the surname Pantera (the Latin form of Pantheras, literally meaning Panther), is unusual but not unknown. A first century tombstone in Bingerbrück, Germany has an inscription which reads: "Tiberius Iulius Abdes Pantera of Sidon, aged 62, a soldier of 40 years' ...

See also:

Yeshu, Yeshu - Interpretations of the name, Yeshu - Primary references to Yeshu, Yeshu - Tosefta, Yeshu - Babylonian Talmud, Yeshu - Ben-Pandera and ben-Stada, Yeshu - ben-Pandera, Yeshu - ben-Stada, Yeshu - Jesus Connection ?, Yeshu - The medieval Toledot Yeshu narratives, Yeshu - Identification of Yeshu with Jesus, Yeshu - Yeshu as a literary device, Yeshu - Criticism of the identification of Yeshu with Jesus

Read more here: » Yeshu: Encyclopedia II - Yeshu - Ben-Pandera and ben-Stada

Many Jews and Christians have traditionally assumed that the term Yeshu in the Talmud and Tosefta refers to Jesus. Since at least the 12th century the standard Hebrew name for Jesus has been Yeshu. As well, according to articles in The Jewish Encyclopedia (1906), by professor of Hebrew literature Joseph Dan in the Encyclopedia Judaica (1972), and the Encyclopedia Hebraica (Israel) many of the stories about Yeshu in rabbinic literature are understood to be about the Christian Jesus. This is also the view of Steven Bayme, ...

See also:

Yeshu, Yeshu - Interpretations of the name, Yeshu - Primary references to Yeshu, Yeshu - Tosefta, Yeshu - Babylonian Talmud, Yeshu - Ben-Pandera and ben-Stada, Yeshu - ben-Pandera, Yeshu - ben-Stada, Yeshu - Jesus Connection ?, Yeshu - The medieval Toledot Yeshu narratives, Yeshu - Identification of Yeshu with Jesus, Yeshu - Yeshu as a literary device, Yeshu - Criticism of the identification of Yeshu with Jesus

Read more here: » Yeshu: Encyclopedia II - Yeshu - Identification of Yeshu with Jesus