Jerusalem Talmud
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The Jerusalem Talmud or Talmud Yerushalmi (Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשָׁלְמִי), often the Yerushalmi for short, and also known as the Palestinian Talmud, is a collection of Rabbinic notes about the Jewish Oral tradition as detailed in the 2nd-century Mishnah.
The Jerusalem Talmud predates its counterpart, the Babylonian Talmud, by about 200 years, and is written in both Hebrew and Aramaic. It includes the core component, the Mishna, finalized by Rabbi Judah the Prince (c. 200 CE), and the written discussions of generations of rabbis in the Land of Israel (primarily in the academies of Tiberias and Caesarea), completed c. 350-400 CE into a series of books that became the Gemara (גמרא - from gamar: Hebrew "[to] complete"; Aramaic "[to] study"), which when combined with the Mishnah completes the Talmud.
There are two recensions of the Gemara, one compiled by the scholars of the Land of Israel and the other by those of Babylonia (primarily in the academies of Sura, Pumbedita, and Mata Mehasia, completed c. 500 CE). This later work of the same era (see Amoraim), known as the Babylonian Talmud, is seen as more authoritative, and is studied much more than the Yerushalmi. In general, the terms "Gemara" or "Talmud," without further qualification, refer to the Babylonian recension.
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[edit] Historical context
Following the redaction of the Mishnah, many Jewish scholars living in Roman-controlled Syria Palæstina moved to Persia due to the harsh decrees against Jews enacted by the emperor Hadrian after the Bar Kokhba's revolt. The remaining scholars who lived in the Galilee area decided to continue their teachings in the learning centers that had existed since Mishnaic times.
[edit] Composition and history
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia,
"Yerushalmi has not been preserved in its entirety; large portions of it were entirely lost at an early date,while other parts exist only in fragments. The editio princeps (ed. Bomberg, Venice, 1523 et seq.), on which all later editions are based, terminates with the following remark: "Thus far we have found what is contained in this Talmud; and we have endeavored in vain to obtain the missing portions." Of the four manuscripts used for this first edition (comp. the note at the conclusion of Shab. xx. 17d and the passage just cited), only one is now in existence; it is preserved in the library of the University of Leyden (see below). Of the six orders of the Mishnah, the fifth, Ḳodashim, is missing entirely from the Palestinian Talmud, while of the sixth, Ṭohorot, it contains only the first three chapters of the treatise Niddah (iv. 48d-51b)."
[edit] Comparison to Babylonian Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud naturally has a greater focus on the Land of Israel and the Torah's agricultural laws pertaining to the land because it was written in the Land of Israel where the laws applied. Despite this, it lacks analysis of the Mishnaic order of Kodashim, which deals with sacrificial rites and laws pertaining to the Temple which were not directly applicable following its 70 CE destruction. The Babylonian Talmud does examine this content. In both Talmuds, only one tractate of Tohorot is examined, since the other tractates deal exclusively with Temple-related laws of ritual purity.
Without the time and freedom given to the production of the Babylonian Talmud, the Jerusalem Talmud exhibits less coherence in its discussions, making it often a difficult work to understand. It is more abstruse in language and it differs from the Babylonian Talmud in language (being written in Western, rather than Eastern Aramaic), style, legal argumentation, and scope.
The Babylonian Talmud has traditionally been studied more widely and has had greater influence on the halakhic tradition than the Jerusalem Talmud. A notable exception are the Jewish Romaniotes, who traditionally follow and learn the Jerusalem Talmud.
With the modern Jewish return to the land of Israel the Jerusalem Talmud has taken on greater relevance and popularity with talmudic and rabbinical scholars. Modern scholars of the 19th and 20th centuries turned to the Yerushalmi as an invaluable source for the history of Judaism and the development of rabbinic law in late antiquity.
[edit] Translations into English
Talmud of the Land of Israel: A Preliminary Translation and Explanation Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, others. University of Chicago Press. This translation uses a form-analytical presentation which makes the logical units of discourse easier to identify and follow.
Schottenstein Edition of the Yerushalmi Talmud Mesorah/Artscroll. This translation is the counterpart to Mesorah/Artscroll's Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud (i.e. Babylonian Talmud). Mesorah/Artscroll's website for the Schottenstein Edition of the Yerushalmi Talmud
Both translations are problematic: Neusner's for its gross and often amateurish inaccuracies, and the Artscroll for its traditionalism, harmonization attempts, and the fact that they have not yet completed the entire Yerushalmi.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- The Yerushalmi--The Talmud of the Land of Israel: An Introduction, Jacob Neusner, Jason Aronson, 1992. ISBN 0-87668-812-1
- The Palestinian Talmud, Jewish Encyclopedia
- What is Talmud Yerushalmi?, faqs.org
- Jewish History: Talmud, Aish.com
- The Jerusalem Talmud, ORT
- Talmud/Mishna/Gemara, Jewish Virtual Library
- Jewish Law Research Guide, University of Miami Law Library
- A survey of Rabbinic Literature, Ohr Somayach
[edit] External links
- Jerusalem Talmud Full Text, mechon-mamre.org
