Top topics
Wikis
Quiz
Map
| Part of a series of articles on |
| Jews and Judaism |
|---|
  |
| Who is a Jew? · Etymology · Culture |
|
|
|
Jews by
country · Rabbis
Population comparisons Israel · United
States · Russia
Lists of
JewsIraq · Spain · Portugal · Gibraltar Italy · Poland · Germany · Bosnia Latin America · France England · Netherlands · Canada Australia · Hungary · India Turkey · Greece · Africa Iran · China · Pakistan · Romania · |
|
Timeline · Leaders
Ancient · Temple Babylonian exile Hasmoneans · Sanhedrin Schisms · Pharisees Jewish-Roman wars Christianity and Judaism Islam and Judaism Diaspora · Middle Ages Sabbateans · Hasidism · Haskalah Emancipation · Holocaust · Aliyah Israel (history) Arab conflict · Land of Israel Baal teshuva · Persecution Antisemitism (history) |
| Rabbinical Eras |
|---|
Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. But the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew term Sifrut Hazal (ספרות חז"ל; "Literature [of our] sages [of] blessed memory," where Hazal normally refers only to the sages of the Talmudic era). This more specific sense of "Rabbinic literature"—referring to the Talmudim, Midrash, and related writings, but hardly ever to later texts—is how the term is generally intended when used in contemporary academic writing. On the other hand, the terms meforshim and parshanim (commentaries/commentators) almost always refer to later, post-Talmudic writers of Rabbinic glosses on Biblical and Talmudic texts.
This article discusses rabbinic literature in both senses. It begins with the classic rabbinic literature of the Talmudic era (Sifrut Hazal), and then adds a broad survey of rabbinic writing from later periods.
Contents |
The Mishnah and the Tosefta (compiled from materials pre-dating the year 200) are the earliest extant works of rabbinic literature, expounding and developing Judaism's Oral Law, as well as ethical teachings. Following these came the two Talmuds:
Midrash (pl. Midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of reading details into, or out of, a Biblical text. The term midrash also can refer to a compilation of Midrashic teachings, in the form of legal, exegetical, homiletical, or narrative writing, often configured as a commentary on the Bible or Mishnah. There are a large number of "classical" Midrashic works spanning a period from Mishnaic to Geonic times, often showing evidence of having been worked and reworked from earlier materials, and frequently coming to us in multiple variants. A compact list of these works [based on (Holtz 1984)] is given below; a more thorough annotated list can be found under Midrash. The timeline below must be approximate because many of these works were composed over a long span of time, borrowing and collating material from earlier versions; their histories are therefore somewhat uncertain and the subject of scholarly debate. In the table, "n.e." designates that the work in question is not extant except in secondary references.
| Estimated date | Exegetical | Homiletical | Narrative |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Tannaitic period |
|||
|
400–650 CE |
|||
|
650–900 CE |
|||
|
900–1000 CE |
Midrash Psalms |
||
|
1000–1200 |
|||
|
Later |
The Geonim are the rabbis of Sura and Pumbeditha, in Babylon (650 - 1250) :
The Rishonim are the rabbis of the early medieval period (1000 - 1550)
The Acharonim are the rabbis from 1550 to the present day.
Meforshim is a Hebrew word meaning "(classical rabbinical) commentators" (or roughly meaning "exegetes"), and is used as a substitute for the correct word perushim which means "commentaries". In Judaism this term refers to commentaries on the Torah (five books of Moses), Tanakh, the Mishnah, the Talmud, responsa, even the siddur (Jewish prayerbook), and more.
Classic Torah and/or Talmud commentaries have been written by the following individuals:
Classical Talmudic commentaries were written by Rashi. After Rashi the Tosafot were written, which was an omnibus commentary on the Talmud by the disciples and descendants of Rashi; this commentary was based on discussions done in the rabbinic academies of Germany and France.
Modern Torah commentaries which have received wide acclaim in the Jewish community include:
Modern Siddur commentaries have been written by:
   | A survey of rabbinic literature - Road Map to Jewish Learning |
| | Judaic glossary - Electronic Texts at LETRS: Supplemental Glossary to Bar-Ilan's Responsa and Davka's Judaic Classics Library |
| | A timeline of Jewish texts - My Jewish Learning: A Timeline of Jewish Texts |
| | Chapters On Jewish Literature - Chapters On Jewish Literature (by Israel Abrahams) |
| | Young Israel library - Young Israel of Woodmere-Cybrary-Jewish Texts |
| | Mechon Mamre - Bible and Mishneh Torah for All - Jews and Gentiles / Mechon Mamre |
| | The Electronic Torah Warehouse - Cypess: The Electronic Parsha Warehouse |
| | Primary Sources @ Ben Gurion University - - - The Goldstein Goren International Center for Jewish Thought- Links - |
| | Comprehensive listing by category - Global Jewish Database - Global Jewish Database - Responsa Project - Books in the CD |
|
|
Search
