The MISHNAH and the TALMUD
Yaakov, Béla Orbán
The MISHNAH...
oral teaching...and its explanations: the TALMUD
The attack of Jerusalem and the situation of civil war ended by the plundering and the destruction of the Sanctuary by the Roman troops in 70 after J.C.
In 69, rabbi Johanan Ben Zakaj went to Vespasian, Roman chief-warrior and greeted him as the next emperor...
This gesture granted him the gift of the town of Javne (Jamnia) where he taught and where it was allowed to study.
It is here that the third part of the Bible (the Holy Scriptures) was written in Hebrew.
Under the emperor Hadrian, a new war of Jewish independence took place between 132 and 135 following which, Jerusalem became a Roman military base, (Aelius-Aelia Capitolina) and Israel was named Palestine, from the Philistines already disappeared since long before from that ground.
However, the Jewish schools which survived in this period of devastation continued to develop their "oral teachings", the system of laws and teachings: the MISHNAH.
Mishnah treats 6 topics out of 63 volumes plus a volume of introduction:
Brackot - Blessings (daily prayers and the order of the worship...)
1.ZRAIM- seeds
agricultural laws of the Torah and their debate
2. MOED - festival
Contains the directives for the feast days and other special days
3. NASIM- Women
Wedding legislation
4.NEZIKIM- Damages
Penal, legal and civic Instructions
5.KODASIM - Holinesses
Laws concerning the Sanctuary and the order of the offerings
6. TOHOROT - Hygiene
Paternal and medical instructions concerning the ritual purification.
The writing of Mishnah, these "oral teachings" was enclosed at around 219 by Juda HaNassi...
The argument on the relation between Torah and Mishnah in the Jewish schools which lasted for centuries, finally led to the writing of the "Great Encyclopedia" of Judaism:
The TALMUD.........
When towards 360 in Palestine of that time, the high schools had to be closed because of the arrival of Christianity to the power (or rather of the Roman imperial religion), the writing of Talmud continued in Babylon and led to the writing of only 36 volumes and the Brackot (introduction)...
These books didn’t talked anymore, neither about the agriculture nor about the Sanctuary, since those were closed about the year 500.
Another Talmud is the Talmud of Jerusalem...
This one does not treat the Mishnah really deeply, it is thus neither dense, nor complete...
