Talmud
the name of the fundamental code of the Jewish civil and canonical law, comprising the "Mishna" and the "Gemara," the former as the text, the later as the commentary and complement. The oldest codification of Halachoth, or single ordinances, is due to the school of Hillel. Simon, son of Gamaliel II., and great-grandson of Gamaliel I., mentioned in the New Testament, and his school carefully sifted the material thus brought together. He died A. D. 166. His son Jehudah Hannasi, commonly called Rabbi, who died 219, brought the work to and his its close in six portion treatises (Mesichtoth), and 524 chapters (Perakim), which contain the single "Mishnas." But besides this authoritatively compiled code there were a number of other law collections, partly anterior to it, and not fully embodied in it, partly arising out of it as supplements, complements, bylaws, and the like-partly portions of the ancient Midrash, partly either private text-books composed by the masters of the academies for their lectures or enlargements of the existing "Mishna." All this additional material was collected, not rarely together with the dissensions which begot it, under the name of "Baraitoth," "foreign," "external," by Chaiya and his school, in the succeeding generation.
Not to be confounded with them, however, are the collections of "Toseftas," "supplements," or "Great Mishnas," which, commenced at the time of Jehudah Hannasi himself, and continued after his death by his scholar Chaiya and Hoshaiya, embody much of what has been purposely left out in the concise "Mishna," which only embraced the final dicta and decisions. Such "additions" we possess now to 52 treatises, forming together 383 Perakim or chapters. All these different sources of the "Oral Law" -finally redacted before the end of the 3d century, though probably not committed to writing till A. D. 550-belong to the period of from about 30 B. c. to about A. D. 250.
The further development of this supplementary, oral, or second law-in fact rather an exegesis thereof-together TALMUD with the discussions raised by apparent contradictions found in the individual enactments of the Mishnic doctors, is called "Gemara"-i. e. discussion, complement, or, according to another explanation, doctrine. This "Gemara" contains, apart from the Halacha, which is generally written in Aramaic, also a vast number of non-legal, chiefly Hebrew, fragments al, chiefly Hebrew, fragments - homiletic matter, tales, legends, and the like called Haggada.
There are two "Talmuds," the one called the "Talmud of the Occidentals," or the "Jerusalem (Palestine) Talmud," which was closed at Tiberias, and the other the "Babylonian Talmud." The first of these now extends over 39 treatises of the "Mishna" only, though it once existed to the whole of the first 5 Sedarim or portions. It originated in Tiberias in the school of Johanan, who died A. D. 179. There is less discussion and more precision of expression in this than in the second or "Babylonian Talmud," emphatically styled "our Talmud," which was not completed until the end of the 5th century, and which makes use of the former. As the real editor of the "Babylonian Talmud" is to be considered Rabbi Ashe, president of the Academy of Sora in Babylonia (A. D. 375- 427).
Both the "Mishna" and the Palestine "Gemara" had, notwithstanding the brief period that had elapsed since their redaction, suffered greatly, partly by corruptions that had crept into their (unwritten) text through faulty traditions, partly through the new decisions arrived at independently in the different younger schools of which there flourished many in different parts of the Dispersionand which were at times contradictory to those arrived at under different circumstances in former academies. To put an end to these disputes and the general confusion arising out of them, which threatened to end in sheer chaos, Rabbi Ashe, aided by his disciple and friend Abina or Rabina I. (abbreviated from Rab Abina), commenced the cyclopean task of collecting anew the enormous mass of Halachistic material which by that time had grown up.
This took him, with the assistance of 10 secretaries, no less than 30 years; and many years were spent by him in the revision of the work. The final close of the work, however, is greatly due to Rab Abina II., head of the Sora Academy (473-499). He was the last of the Amoraim expounders, who used merely oral tradition. After them came the Saboraim, the reflecting, examining, critical, the real completers of the Babylonian Talmud, and by many in ancient and modern times declared to have first re- TALMUD The "Babylonian Talmud," as now exwriting. tant, comprises the "Gemara" to almost of the first, and to the first of the last (portions), further to the first treatise of the first, and to the first of the last order. The rest, if it ever existed, seems now lost. The whole work is about four times as large as the Jerusalem one, and its 36 treatises, with the commentaries generally add added to them in our editions (Rachi and Tosafoth), fill 2,947 folio leaves. The language of the Talmud is, as we said, Aramaic (western and eastern), closely approaching to Syriac. The additional matter-quotations and fragments from older Midrash and Gemfragments from older Midrash and Gemara collections, Haggada, etc. -is principally written in Hebrew. The masters of the "Mishna" (Tannaim) and of the "Gemara" (Amoriam) were followed by the Saboraim. The code of the oral law had come to a close with the second named; and not its development, but rather its proper study, elueidation, and carrying into practice was the task of the generations of the learned that followed. that followed. tradict, but only opined on the meaning and undertook the task of inculcating and popularizing the teachings laid down by their sires; apart from bestowing proper care upon the purity of the text, and adding some indispensable glosses.
The best commentaries of the "Mishna" the "Babylonian Talmud" by Rashi and the Tosafists of France and Germany.
An abstract of the Talmud for practical legal purposes by Maimonides is called first printed at Naples, 1492; the "Talmud of Jerusalem" at Venice, by D. Bomberg, 1523. The "Babylonian Talmud" was first published at Venice by him in 1520. It is generally printed in 12 folios, the text on the single pages being kept uniform with the previous editions to facilitate the references. No translakept uniform with the previous editions ried further than a few single treatises. to facilitate the references. No transla- tion of the "Gemara" has ever been carhand has been translated repeatedly into ried further than a few single treatises. hand has been translated repeatedly into The complete "Mishna" on the other refrain here from attempting a general characterization of the Talmud, a work completely sui generis, which is assuredly one of the most important records of humanity. completely sui generis, which is assuredrocky fragments broken off from the face of a steep rock by the action of the TAMARIND ground, and the toes are drawn toward weather, and accumulating at its base in fortification. In surgery, a variety of club-foot, in which the heel rests on the ground, and the toes are drawn toward the leg. and on the Philadelphia and Reading, and the Central of New Jersey railand on the Philadelphia and Reading, and the Central of New Jersey railroads; 40 miles N. of Reading. Here are a high school, waterworks, electric lights, National and State banks, and several daily and weekly newspapers. It has large coal interests, flour, powder, and planing mills, machine shops, and several foundries. Pop. (1910) 9,462; (1920) 12,363. miles 2 above flowing between the counties of Cornflowing between the counties of Cornwall and Devonshire; empties into Plymouth Sound, a river of Tasmania, formed by the flowing into Bass's Straits at Fort Dalrymple. flowing into Bass's Straits at Fort Dal-