What Is the Talmud? A Clear Introduction for Believers
Read the transcript below, or watch the video teaching by Samuel.
Introduction to the Talmud
Shalom, this is Samuel from Netivyah.
In the past, we have published specific materials about the Talmud, like Joseph Shulam’s video on Bava Batra 60B, his lecture on the Heretical Rabbis of the Talmud, and our magazine on Yeshua in the Talmud, but never have we provided you with an introduction to the Talmud to understand better what we are talking about when we talk about the subject of "Talmud."
Now we’re making up for that with a short series explaining: what the "Talmud" is and what it talks about; its history and how it came to be; as well as how should we as believers approach and relate to this body of literature.
First of all, I want to point out that generally, when people talk about the "Talmud," they usually refer to the Babylonian Talmud unless they specify otherwise. There is a second Talmud called the "Jerusalem Talmud," which is much shorter and not used as much, but I will explain more about the difference between these two versions in the next session about the History of the Talmud.
In this first video, I would like to give you a general introduction/or overview of what the Talmud is.
The Talmud (which means "learning" or "instruction") represents the central body of literature of Rabbinic Judaism covering subjects regarding all aspects of Jewish life, faith, and practice.
It is basically a vast compilation of teachings, discussions, and opinions of many different Rabbis and is generally divided into two main parts: the Mishna & the Gemara.
The Mishna
The word Mishna means repetition, which was the main method of keeping and preserving tradition by oral means. The Mishna therefore presents us with the first extensive and major written compilation of the Jewish oral traditions, also known as the "Oral Law." According to Jewish tradition, this "Oral Torah" was given to Moses on Mount Sinai along with the written Torah that constitutes the first five books of the Bible, even though this claim is historically inaccurate.
This work is organized into 6 ‘orders’ called "Sedarim" in Hebrew, which are then divided into 63 tractates altogether and from there into chapters and paragraphs.
The first order is called ‘Zeraim,’ meaning "Seeds," and it talks and teaches about the topics of prayer and blessings, dietary laws, as well as agricultural laws, like for example, the laws regarding the gifts to the poor when harvesting one’s field, vineyard, or trees, or tithing.
Number two is ‘Moed,’ meaning "an appointed time, place, or meeting." Here we find teachings, laws, and traditions regarding the Shabbat and the appointed times, the holidays that are part of the biblical calendar, as well as fasting.
Then we have ‘Nashim,’ meaning "Women," which talks about, as the name says, women, but also about engagement, marriage, and marital responsibilities, family life, and divorce. Here we also find the laws of the Nazirite as well as laws regarding vows.
The order of Nashim is followed by ‘Nezikin,’ meaning "damages," which talks about a variety of issues, but mainly about civil matters like damages and compensations, one’s rights and responsibilities as an owner of property, courts and criminal law, witnesses, and oaths. It also talks about finances, idolatry, and how to live in an idolatrous culture, and it contains a famous tractate called Pirkei Avot (chapters of the Fathers), which to me personally is one of the most interesting tractates of the Mishna, as it is solely made up of ancient ethical teachings and sayings.
The second to last order is ‘Kodashim,’ meaning the "holies," and it deals with all kinds of Temple-related matters, which is very interesting if you are trying to understand what the Second Temple was like and how the biblical laws and procedures were put into practice during that period of time. It deals in great detail with sacrifices and offerings, slaughter, the laws of the firstborn, as well as the intentional committing of certain sins.
Last but not least, we have ‘Tohorot,’ meaning "Purities," which, as the title implies, talks about purities and impurities of vessels, foods, and people. It describes certain diseases and the laws and procedures pertaining to them, the ‘red heifer,’ and ritual immersions.
The Gemara
Now to the second part of the Talmud, the Gemara, which means "study" in Aramaic and "completion" in Hebrew.
The Gemara is not a unique type of work that could function as a "stand-alone" like the Mishna, but it rather serves as its complement, featuring extensive commentaries, explanations, and discussions on the Mishna. Both together form what we know as the "Talmud."
As I mentioned in the beginning of this video, you can see now that this compilation of traditions, discussions, and laws deals with every aspect of Jewish life, which explains why this body of literature has been the most central body of Jewish rabbinical literature until this very day. And while it deals a lot with oral traditions and customs, it also heavily draws from and references the Hebrew Bible.
Now if you would like to know more about the history of how and when this enormous work came together and why there is more than just one Talmud, stay tuned for part 2 next week.
The Talmud’s History: From the Great Assembly to Babylon
Read the transcript below, or watch the video teaching by Samuel.
Introduction
Shalom, this is Samuel from Netivyah,
This is the second episode in our short series on the Talmud. If you haven’t seen the first video yet, I highly encourage you to do so! You can find the link to episode one in the description below or in the end-screen of this video.
Last week we learned what the Talmud is, about its structure as well as its content.
Today we are going to unpack the history of the Talmud: how it came to be and why there are two different “versions” of the Talmud?!
For this, we’ll have to go back in history all the way to the end of the Babylonian exile in the latter half of the 6th century BCE, when the return of the exiles and the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah ushered in a very religious period in the land of Israel.
The Great Assembly
In Israel, something that is called the “great assembly” started to form, while over time houses of studies as well as synagogues started popping up all over.
The formation of the “great assembly” might have happened as early as the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, and the period of the great assembly is seen by some as a connecting link in the chain of tradition between the Prophets and the sages, and it functioned as an early form of the Sanhedrin, which was basically the rabbinical supreme court that governed the affairs of ancient Israel.
This supreme council was composed of 71 sages, although in its earliest form-as the "Great Assembly"-it originally consisted of around 120 scholars. Its members included educated and wise men, Torah scholars, priests, scribes, nobles, and businessmen.
The Zugot
So, before the start of the Common Era, Jewish sages - later referred to as the "zugot" (meaning ‘pairs’) - began formulating and establishing the core principles of rabbinic interpretation, belief, and practice. They also provided government and legislation, since according to tradition, they jointly led the Sanhedrin.
These two ‘heads’ that jointly led fulfilled distinct roles:
One of them filled the role of the ‘Nasi’, meaning “Prince”, or in more modern terms, “President”. This role was usually fulfilled by a descendant of King David. He was seen as the preeminent political leader in Israel.
Traditionally, his responsibility was to ensure that conflicts were resolved peacefully and that the spirit of compassion and brotherly love described in the Torah was upheld during the legal decision-making process.
The other one filled the role of ‘Av Beit Din’, which means “father” or “head of the court”. He was kind of like a vice president but also had his own individual responsibilities.
According to tradition, his role was to ensure that every decision the council reviewed aligned with the Torah and followed proper legal standards.
Now, why am I telling you all of this about the ‘Sanhedrin’, and the ‘zugot’, the pairs of leaders that led together?
Because it was in this framework that tradition was kept, discussed, developed, and passed on by these sages. There are countless references in the Talmud to the teachings and sayings of these leaders, as well as to the ‘great assembly’ that we just talked about.
Now we’re arriving at a period of great transition and change. We’re getting to the time when Rabbinic Judaism began to take shape-to a time when centuries of oral traditions, teachings, and interpretations were gradually woven together into what we now call the ‘Talmud’.
Rabbinic Academies
This transformative era began in the shadow of a national tragedy that took place in the year 70 CE: the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the following expulsion of the Jewish people from the city. In response, a new center of religious authority was established in Yavne, where Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai transformed his school into the spiritual and legal heart of Jewish life.
This marked the birth of rabbinic academies. At first, these were modest gatherings of scholars rather than the grand institutions that would develop in later generations. Their purpose was to safeguard the spiritual legacy of Israel. These circles of scholars dedicated themselves to studying, compiling, debating, and transmitting the oral traditions and their interpretations.
During this time, the functions of the Jerusalem Sanhedrin were ‘revived’ in Yavne. The elders there operated as a kind of relocated Sanhedrin, addressing the urgent legal and theological challenges of the post-Temple reality, which are: how to live without the Temple, the priesthood, and the sacrificial system? With priestly authority being dispersed, the Pharisaic rabbis stepped in to fill the leadership vacuum.
One of the most pivotal figures of this era was Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, who approximately lived from 135–217 CE, a descendant of King David and a leading sage from the Galilean academy at Beit She’arim. In the city of Tzipori, with the help of fellow scholars, he completed the monumental task of compiling the vast collection of oral traditions that had been taught and debated in these academies into a written work known as…
The Mishnah. Here we go. We have arrived at the compilation and completion of the first part of the Talmud.
The Talmud
As I said in last week's episode, the “second part” of the Talmud, the ‘Gemara’, was developed as a complement to the Mishnah, featuring extensive commentaries, explanations, and discussions on its content.
This happened in the rabbinic academies throughout the successive generations of rabbinical scholarship and produced two Talmuds: the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud.
But why two?
After the completion of the Mishnah around the year 220 CE, it was studied and discussed by successive generations of rabbis in academies in Israel and in Babylon.
Each group compiled extensive commentaries of their own on the Mishnah, which constitute the Gemara, and thus two different Talmuds were created by the respective academies, both written in different Aramaic dialects.
The Jerusalem Talmud, despite its name, was actually compiled in the Galilee during the 3rd century. Its title can be somewhat misleading, as it wasn’t created in Jerusalem itself. While it’s not as extensive or detailed as the Babylonian Talmud, it includes unique material that doesn’t appear in the later compilation.
Though shorter and less widely studied, the Jerusalem Talmud predates the Babylonian Talmud by about 200 years, making it particularly valuable for those seeking deeper insight into the Jewish context of the late Second Temple period and the time of Yeshua.
Now that you know what the Talmud is, and how it developed, the question remains: ‘How is this relevant for me as a believer in Yeshua the Messiah?’
So, if you are interested in the answer to that question, as to how one as a believer should relate to and approach the Talmud, I invite you to tune back in next week for the third session of this mini-series.
How Can Believers Relate to the Talmud?
Read the transcript below, or watch the video teaching by Samuel.
Shalom, this is Samuel from Netivyah. This is the third video in our short series where we talk about what the Talmud is, how it came to be, and, in today’s session, about how one as a believer can relate to the Talmud.
Heritage
I would like to start by briefly talking about one of the reasons why studying parts of the Talmud can be valuable - especially for Jewish believers, but also for non-Jewish believers living in Israel. Simply put, it's part of the people's heritage. It has shaped the thinking, culture, and way of life of our nation for centuries - and still does today.
Understanding the culture we live in, which was so deeply shaped by these writings, helps us stay connected to our own people rather than becoming estranged from them. This also strengthens our witness as followers of Yeshua here in Israel.
Heritage plays a big role in shaping identity. It’s important - for everyone, Jew or not - to know where they come from, who their ancestors were, how they lived, and what they believed.
When we talk about heritage, it is important to note that usually, not every aspect of one’s heritage is entirely good, just like not every aspect of one's heritage is entirely bad.
The Bible Above All Else
Which brings me to my next point, that is: while some things in the Talmud are good, beneficial, and reflect a great deal of wisdom, there are also a lot of things that are negative and definitely not good.
That’s why one should approach this subject with caution, and with the right perspective.
Our foundation needs to be first and foremost the whole Bible - from the beginning of the book of Genesis to the end of the book of Revelation. This is our only binding and authoritative foundation. A lot of what we study or read outside of it can be beneficial and helpful, but should always be tested with the word of God, and should never be given the same level of authority or importance as God’s word. (This is not only true for Talmud but for any kind of religious literature, whether Jewish or Christian.)
Here I believe it is important to bring up the principle that we find in the New Testament, especially in Paul's letters, that what might be o.k. for one person might have a negative effect on another. And this principle can be applied to every aspect of life.
Everyone of us is on a journey of faith, but not everyone of us is in the same place on that journey. And everyone of us started this journey with a different background and past.
I assume that 5 years ago you were not where you are today in your journey of faith, just as I am not today where I was then. And that’s a good thing!
Sometimes it is hard to draw one line as a universal standard for everybody when many people are finding themselves in different places in their journey of faith as they worship the God of Israel and follow His Messiah, Yeshua, and aspire to grow more and more into His likeness.
Despite the difficulty to draw one boundary or establish one principle for all, I believe it is good and safe to have everybody first put the Bible above all else and then examine his own heart and to heed the counsel that whatever pulls or draws us away from Yeshua or might cause friction in our relationship with Him, we do well to stay away from it.
Is it Useful?
Now we get to the burning question: whether there could be a general benefit of dealing with the subject of Talmud for all believers in Yeshua?
My answer to that question is yes. And my first point in this regard is very practical: many sections in the Talmud provide a help and a practical way to put the word of God into practice. This is especially helpful when it comes to issues where the meaning and the ‘why’ of certain commandments in the Bible are stated very clearly, but the ‘how’ is very vague.
Like for example, how do we celebrate Pesach? How do we build a sukkah, and what are we even talking about when we talk about a ‘sukkah’? What about the four species that we wave on Sukkot?
Now, are these exact Talmudic instructions and traditions on the “how to” the only way to obey the biblical command behind them, and are they binding? No; but one could say: ‘why try to reinvent the wheel when we already have it?’
My second point briefly goes back to the last two episodes, where we discovered what the Talmud talks about and how it came to be. I also mentioned that since the Jerusalem Talmud predates its Babylonian counter-piece by 200 years, that it is of special interest for people who are trying to better understand the background and context of the time of Yeshua, the land of Israel, and the New Testament along with its content.
For example, the scene we encounter in Matthew 19 about marriage and divorce. Through the context of the Talmud, we know that when it says that they came to "test" Yeshua regarding this subject, that they wanted to know - or ‘test’ - whether he supported the position of the house of Shammai or of the house of Hillel.
In our last video we spoke about the time period of the ‘zugot’, and Shammai and Hillel were one pair, and probably the most famous one that presided over the Sanhedrin. There were quite a few spicy disputes at the time of Yeshua and even before, between the legal interpretations of the house of Shammai and the house of Hillel.
So, even though Shammai was a more extreme and strict character, and Yeshua's teachings certainly don't align in many ways with the house of Shammai, in this specific answer He "sided" with the ruling of Shammai - or at least gave the same answer - because according to the word of God, it was the right position on this subject.
There are many more such examples, and if you would like to learn more about them, I highly encourage you to check out our content referenced in the description of this video below, where we have added several resources that we have published over the years.
Having said all of that, I’d like to say that I’m not trying to promote the Talmud in any way, nor completely shun it. Our goal is to provide you with information, and for those who wish to approach this subject, we hope to convey to you a healthy perspective and balance in this regard.
I hope that you enjoyed this short series and that it indeed was helpful to you to get a better understanding of the subject.
If you did enjoy this mini-series and would like for me to record a short “bonus episode” giving a brief panoramic overview of Rabbinic literature as a whole, with a short overview of some of the most important works besides the Talmud, and to answer questions like what are the Targumim and what is midrashic literature, then let me know in the comments below, and we’ll be happy to provide you with a bonus episode!