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Rabbinical Works

Pirqe Aboth

Hebrew: "Sayings of the Fathers" The only tractate in the Mishna that is devoted entirely to transmitting non-legal opinions. Aboth catalogs the wisdom sayings of rabbinic sages, including several of the 2nd temple period, without providing any connecting narrative frame. It was probably composed before & originally published independently of ...

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Prayer and Piety Texts

Quotes from the ancient rabbi's...

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Apocalyptic Speculation Quotes

A Human's Cosmic Status, The Last Judgment, The Ultimate Champion, Enoch's Vision, Ascension of Enoch, Revelation of the Primal Human, The First Scribe, Enoch Taken by God, Enoch Enthroned, Transformation of Enoch, Esoteric Speculation Restricted, Proper Interpretation, Dangers of Speculation, Aqiba's Ascent, Elisha ben Abuyah's Apostasy, Replying ...

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Mishna

The Hebrew term meaning "Repetition." The oral Torah of the Pharisees was not recorded in a set written form before the 2nd c. CE. Instead this body of tradition was preserved primarily through recitation & memorization. Standardization of the form & content of rabbinic tradition became necessary after the destruction of the temple in Jerus...

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Talmud

Hebrew term for "Learning" or "Study." The word acquired a technical sense among Jews as reference to the collections of discussions & debates among generations of rabbis who studied the Mishna. The core of the Talmud is the text of the Mishna itself. Thus, it retains the Mishna's order of tractates. The supplementary discussions, which add mat...

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List of Abbreviations

Used in Reference to Rabbinic Writings by Alfred Edersheim. The Mishnah is always quoted according to Tractate, Chapter (Pereq) and Paragraph (Mishnah), the Chapter being marked in Roman, the paragraph in ordinary Numerals. Thus Ber. ii. 4 means the Mishnic Tractate Berakhoth, second Chapter, fourth Paragraph. The Jerusalem Talmud is distinguished...

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Ancient Roman Catapult Picture

A machine for hurling heavy stones. The "catapulta" was one of the three common types of artillery ("tormenta"), used by the Romans in storming a town....

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Kodesh

Hebrew Bible and basic rabbinic texts (Mishna, Tosefta, and Talmuds). You need Hebrew fonts to use this. [Online Text Archives] [Study Tools] [Collections]...

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Taylor-Schechter Genizah

Taylor-Schechter collection of the Cairo Genizah documents. Very early Jewish papyri. [Online Text Archives] [Study Tools] [Collections]...

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The Gemara (Talmud) - A Brief Explanation

The Gemara (Tamud) both are synonymous and derive from words meaning "study" or "learning." "Talmud" is Hebrew, whereas "Gemara" (in the present sense) is found only in the Aramaic dialect of the Babylonian Talmud. The Talmud is composed in a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic (which was the spoken vernacular of Babylonian Jews). The Talmud is a comment...

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