Torah in Chinese - Inner Stream - Parsha Torah in Chinese Discuss (8) Thirty-seven days before his passing, Moses set out to teach the Torah. You might think that Moses would use his remaining weeks to teach hitherto unrevealed mysteries, but he did no such thing. Instead, he translated the Torah into the seventy languages. 1 All this for a people who did not even speak these languages. Have you ever attended a lecture in a language you did not understand? I have, and I must tell you that it left me uninspired. Why did Moses teach the Torah in languages his students didn’t understand? This question should actually be asked of G‑d. The Talmud teaches that G‑d uttered the Ten Commandments in all seventy languages, though only the Hebrew version was heard. 2 What was the point of speaking in languages that no one understood, let alone heard? These questions are compounded when we consider that the written Torah includes several words in Aramaic, Greek, Kapti and Afriki 3 —languages probably unknown to the Jews of that time!

Talmud in Aramaic One can argue that translating the Torah and the Ten Commandments into secular languages paved the way for future Jewish worship in the diaspora. Lest one argue that the Torah should be studied and practiced only in Israel, these foreign words would testify that Torah is not the exclusive property of Hebrew-speaking countries. But this would not explain why the Talmud was written in Aramaic. It can be argued that Aramaic was the Jewish vernacular of that time, and our sages wrote the Talmud in a language understood by most Jews of that time. Still, does writing in the vernacular outweigh the value of documenting G‑d’s Torah in G‑d’s language? 4 Linguistic Origins The seventy languages were formed at the biblical Tower of Babel. In the year 1996 from creation (1765 BCE), the descendents of Noah gathered to build a tower from which they planned to wage war against G‑d. The group was perfectly united in their heresy, so G‑d set out to divide them. G‑d caused each tribe to form its own language. The group, now divided along lingual lines, could no longer cooperate in their joint endeavor.

Unable to understand each other, instructions and requests drew blank stares or incorrect responses. They soon grew frustrated with each other, and dispersed. 5 Is It Appropriate? The Torah makes note of the fact that the Tower of Babel was built not of stone, but of brick. 6 Why is this significant? The chassidic masters explain that bricks are manmade, but stones are created by G‑d. This is precisely the difference between Hebrew and other languages. Hebrew is a divine tongue, its letters formed by G‑d. The secular languages are products of human convention. 7 This reinforces our original question: Should G‑d be worshipped in a language of human convention? Furthermore, this story indicates that secular languages were spawned in the heretical Tower of Babel. Should a language spawned in heresy be used in ecclesiastical worship? Everything Must Serve Our sages taught that every created being must serve to enhance G‑d’s glory. 8 If this is true of physical objects, then it must surely apply to languages too, even languages of human convention. Moreover, letters and words are vessels that contain ideas, sentiments and knowledge.

Because all knowledge comes from G‑d, there must be a spark of divinity in every letter, regardless of language. If the secular languages are not used in ecclesiastical worship, the divine sparks embedded in them would remain forever captive in their secular mold. When G‑d uttered the Ten Commandments in all seventy languages, He bridged the gap between letters of heresy and letters of faith, and thus elevated the secular language for use in divine service. In a similar vein, Moses’ translation of the Torah into all seventy languages empowered us to draw the secular and mundane into the sanctity of Torah. 9 Removing the Bulwark Why did Moses wait nearly forty years before he translated the Torah? Why were G‑d’s translations of the Ten Commandments not heard by the nations? Because of Sichon and Og, monarchs of the Emorite and Bashanite kingdoms. Neighboring nations paid these powerful and influential kingdoms to defend their borders against the Jewish approach. The mystics see in these kingdoms not only a physical bulwark against the Jews, but also a spiritual bulwark against the Torah. Sichon and Og resisted the Torah’s influence over the seventy nations and the Torah’s use of the seventy languages.

When these powerful kingdoms were finally vanquished, 10 Moses was permitted to translate the Torah. Their destruction spelled the end of their resistance. The path was now paved for the secular to be sanctified and the mundane to be uplifted. The seventy languages could now be drawn into the sacred realm of Torah. 11 This is why our sages wrote books on Torah in secular languages rather than the holy tongue. The Talmud was written in Aramaic. Maimonides wrote books in Arabic. Rashi often translated Hebrew words into French. This tradition is continued today when we translate and study the Torah in the English language. Every time the Torah is taught in a secular language, the letters and sentences of that language are drawn into the realm of the sacred, and their sparks are redeemed. This gradually purifies our world and brings us inexorably closer to the time of total divine revelation, the messianic era. Footnotes The Hebrew Language - My Jewish Learning The Hebrew Language Hebrew Vowels Hebrew is the traditional language of the Jewish people. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet (commonly referred to as the aleph-bet, after the first two letters, aleph and bet).

In addition, the language includes five final letters: When the letters khaf, mem, nun, pey, and tzade are the last letters of a word, they are written differently. Hebrew is a Semitic language–like Arabic and Aramaic –and like most ancient Semitic languages its alphabet has no vowels . However, sometime between the middle and end of the first millennium, rabbis known as the Masoretes instituted a system of dots and dashes to indicate how words were to be pronounced. Torah scrolls and most contemporary Hebrew writing are still written without vowels. Unlike English, Hebrew is read and written from right to left. There are numerous types of Hebrew script. The most familiar is the block letters used in Torah scrolls and most printed texts. This was originally referred to as ktav ashuri, or Assyrian script. It is contrasted with ktav ivri, which was an earlier script probably used until a few hundred years prior to the Common Era. In addition, there is a cursive script for Hebrew as well as a script named after the medieval commentator Rashi , which was used in Rashi’s works on the Bible and Talmud , as well as in other texts.

The earliest Hebrew texts date from the end of the second millennium BCE. Hebrew was employed as both a written and spoken language until the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. After that, Hebrew was used primarily as a literary and liturgical language. The Bible (except for parts of Ezra and Daniel ) is written in Hebrew, as is the Mishnah , the corpus of Jewish law edited during the second and third century CE. The Gemara –books of rabbinic legal discussions interpreting the Mishnah–is largely written in Aramaic with some Hebrew, while medieval Jewish literature is written primarily in a combination of Hebrew and Aramaic. Because it is the language of sacred texts, Hebrew itself was often considered sacred. In post-biblical times, it was referred to as lashon ha-kodesh, the holy language. Hebrew was often thought to be the language of the angels, and indeed, of God . According to rabbinic tradition, Hebrew was the original language of humanity. It was spoken by all of humankind prior to the dispersion described in the Tower of Babel story in Genesis . In addition, the Hebrew language was thought of as the tool that God used to create the world.

A midrash states that, “Just as the Torah was given in lashon ha-kodesh, so the world was created with lashon ha-kodesh.” Similarly, the mystical book Sefer Yetzirah , describes the creation of the world through the manipulation of the Hebrew alphabet. By MJL Staff | January 24, 2003 Hebrew is the traditional language of the Jewish people. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet (commonly referred to as the aleph-bet, after the first two letters, aleph and bet). In addition, the language includes five final letters: When the letters khaf, mem, nun, pey, and tzade are the last letters of a word, they are written differently. Hebrew is a Semitic language–like Arabic and Aramaic –and like most ancient Semitic languages its alphabet has no vowels . However, sometime between the middle and end of the first millennium, rabbis known as the Masoretes instituted a system of dots and dashes to indicate how words were to be pronounced. Torah scrolls and most contemporary Hebrew writing are still written without vowels. Unlike English, Hebrew is read and written from right to left.

There are numerous types of Hebrew script. The most familiar is the block letters used in Torah scrolls and most printed texts. This was originally referred to as ktav ashuri, or Assyrian script. It is contrasted with ktav ivri, which was an earlier script probably used until a few hundred years prior to the Common Era. In addition, there is a cursive script for Hebrew as well as a script named after the medieval commentator Rashi , which was used in Rashi’s works on the Bible and Talmud , as well as in other texts. The earliest Hebrew texts date from the end of the second millennium BCE. Hebrew was employed as both a written and spoken language until the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. After that, Hebrew was used primarily as a literary and liturgical language. The Bible (except for parts of Ezra and Daniel ) is written in Hebrew, as is the Mishnah , the corpus of Jewish law edited during the second and third century CE. The Gemara –books of rabbinic legal discussions interpreting the Mishnah–is largely written in Aramaic with some Hebrew, while medieval Jewish literature is written primarily in a combination of Hebrew and Aramaic.

Because it is the language of sacred texts, Hebrew itself was often considered sacred. In post-biblical times, it was referred to as lashon ha-kodesh, the holy language. Hebrew was often thought to be the language of the angels, and indeed, of God . According to rabbinic tradition, Hebrew was the original language of humanity. It was spoken by all of humankind prior to the dispersion described in the Tower of Babel story in Genesis . In addition, the Hebrew language was thought of as the tool that God used to create the world. A midrash states that, “Just as the Torah was given in lashon ha-kodesh, so the world was created with lashon ha-kodesh.” Similarly, the mystical book Sefer Yetzirah , describes the creation of the world through the manipulation of the Hebrew alphabet. The Haskalah , the Jewish Enlightenment, sparked a renewed interest in Hebrew, particularly biblical Hebrew, which the maskilim (the proponents of the Enlightenment) viewed as a purer form of the language. Journals, newspapers, and literature were written in Hebrew, but there were many problems with adapting this ancient language to the needs of modern prose.

Many of these problems were addressed by S.Y. Abramowitz (better known as Mendele Mokher Seforim ), who created an amalgam of rabbinic and biblical Hebrew that suited modern literary needs. While the creation of a corpus of secular Hebrew literature was impressive, the reinstitution of Hebrew as a spoken language was almost miraculous. Hebrew had not been a spoken language for two millennia, and yet at the end of the 19th century, European Jews dreaming of a cultural renaissance in Palestine began to resurrect the language. Eliezer ben Yehuda is considered the father of Modern Hebrew. He developed a vocabulary for Modern Hebrew, incorporating words from ancient and medieval Hebrew, in addition to creating new words. In 1922, Hebrew became one of the official languages of British Mandate Palestine , and today it is a modern language spoken by the citizens of Israel and Jews around the world. What is Aramaic? - torah mishnah and talmud miscellaneous hebrew / languages other languages What is Aramaic? COMMENT A.

Aramaic (pronounced a-ra-MAY-ik) is an ancient, mostly defunct group of related Semitic dialects originating in, and very similar to, Hebrew. Their similarity extends to their written alphabet, which looks like a prototype of Hebrew and is written right-to-left as well. At one point in time, Aramaic was the lingua franca of Mesopotamia and the whole Middle East, functioning in society the same way English does today. There are two major dialects of Aramaic: Eastern (a.k.a. Syriac), and Western (a.k.a. Palestinian); which is still spoken in parts of Syria today. B. The word "Aramaic" comes from the biblical Aram (pronounced AH-rahm), son of Shem and grandson of Noah . Being that there weren't exactly a whole lot of people alive in the world at that time (it was right after the Great Flood), whole nationalities sprung from single individuals. Thus, Aram was the father of the ancient civilization of the Arameans, who spoke--you guessed it--Aramaic. Contrary to the claims of some confused people, Aramaic has no relationship to Assyrian.

In addition to the Talmud, there are several other Jewish books written in Aramaic: much of the Book of Daniel, as well as much of the Zohar, and other books of Kabbalah C. Aramaic is also an adjective describing someone or something pertaining to Aram, or to the territory, inhabitants, language, or literature of Syria and Mesopotamia; more specifically, the northern branch of the Semitic family of languages, including Syriac and Chaldee. How is Aramaic used today? 1. The Talk of the Day Aramaic was society's primary spoken language in the Talmudic Era, thus, the Talmud Hebrew - Language Information & Resources Home » Resources » Languages » Hebrew Hebrew The Hebrew language has been an essential cultural aspect of the Jewish people’s religion, education, and literature since as far back as the 11th century BC. Throughout the dispersion of the Jewish peoples from Palestine and the persecution suffered in the Holocaust, the Hebrew language has been preserved and is still actively used to this day. Origins and Classification of the Hebrew Language The Hebrew language is classified as part of the Semitic language subfamily, which is categorized among the Afroasiatic language family.

Linguists divide the Semitic language group into four sections: the South Central group, the South Peripheral group, the North Peripheral group, and the North Central group. Hebrew belongs to the North Central group of Semitic languages, along with Aramaic language and ancient languages like Phoenician. It is believed that the Hebrew language was adopted by the Israelites when they took the land of Canaan; for this reason, the Hebrew language is further classified specifically as a Canaanite language. Early History of the Hebrew Language The oldest known examples of the written Hebrew language date from circa the 11th or 10th century BC – much earlier than most other contemporary world languages. Much of the Old Testament was written in Ancient Hebrew. In biblical times, the Ancient Hebrew language, also referred to as Biblical Hebrew, was used by the Jewish people, and much of the Old Testament was written in Ancient Hebrew. Most scholars believe that Ancient Hebrew survived as a living language – meaning it was still developing and undergoing changes – from about the 12th to 2nd centuries BC. Around the 3rd century BC, the Jewish peoples of Palestine began using Aramaic as a spoken language.

While Aramaic also came to be used for secular writings, Hebrew was preserved as the language of the Jewish religion. Development of Mishnaic Hebrew Mishnaic Hebrew, also known as Rabbinic Hebrew, dates from circa 200 AD. It was the language of the Mishna, or Shas, which is considered to be the first major written chronicle of the Jewish oral traditions of the Old Torah. According to the Talmud, the project of the Mishna was undertaken due to fears that old Jewish oral traditions would be lost or forgotten due to the passage of time and the persecution of Jews. Mishnaic Hebrew, which had strong roots in the Aramaic, was adopted solely as a written language. Being more adaptable than Ancient Hebrew, Mishnaic Hebrew borrowed from other languages, such as Greek and Persian. Later, Arabic influences were also seen, thanks to translations of Arabic scholarly works. The Role of Zionism in the Revival of Hebrew Although the Hebrew language was preserved as the language of the Jewish religion and literature, spoken Hebrew became less common over time.

However with the efforts of Zionism, the movement aimed to unite the Jewish people of the Diaspora to settle in Palestine, the late 19th century saw a revival of spoken Hebrew. The Zionist movement peaked when the Jewish Agency proclaimed the independent State of Israel in 1948. Hebrew was named the official language of the country. Along with Arabic, Hebrew is still one of the official languages of the modern country of Israel, where it is spoken today by nearly 5 million Jewish inhabitants. Development of Spoken Hebrew The development of a common spoken Hebrew language in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was due largely to the efforts of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. After immigrating to Palestine in 1881, Ben-Yehuda recognized the need for an everyday spoken Hebrew language and set out to develop such a Hebrew language based on the literary and religious written Hebrew. Many saw Ben-Yehuda’s work as pointless or even blasphemous, because they believed that Hebrew should be retained strictly as the holy language of the Torah, rather than being adapted for use in everyday conversation.

As an increasing number of Jews immigrated to Palestine from a diverse variety of countries and speaking different languages, however, the need for a common language between Jewish peoples in Palestine became glaringly obvious. This spurred on the movement for a development of a common spoken Hebrew vernacular. The Hebrew Alphabet and Written Hebrew Language The earliest known alphabet used for writing Hebrew is one belonging to the Canaanite group of Semitic languages. With the Jewish peoples’ adaptation of Aramaic script, this Early Hebrew later evolved into a script known as Square Hebrew. Square Hebrew is the source of modern written Hebrew, although today’s written Hebrew generally uses a more recently developed cursive-style script. Modern written Hebrew utilizes an alphabet of 22 characters. There are no vowels in the Hebrew alphabet; long vowels are often expressed with unpronounced consonant sounds, while some works use masoretic points (dashes or dots) to indicate the presence of a vowel. A series of adaptations from Biblical Hebrew have allowed the modern Hebrew language to continue to function in the modern context. Yiddish, Ashkenazi (a language spoken by Jews in Eastern Europe), and other languages spoken by immigrants in Israel have all influenced the modern Hebrew language we know now.

Hebrew in the Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls are a batch of approximately 900 documents discovered in the late 1940s to 1950s in eleven caves located on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. Along with Aramaic and Greek, Hebrew is one of the languages comprising the ancient documents, which are written on parchment and papyrus. Hebrew sections of the Dead Sea Scrolls include Biblical excerpts from the Hebrew Bible, which make up approximately 40 percent of the scrolls’ content. The discovery of the documents was a landmark event for Jewish and Hebrew language culture and history. Get Your FREE Quote The Talmud | ReformJudaism.org Print The Talmud (Hebrew for “study”) is one of the central works of the Jewish people. It is the record of rabbinic teachings that spans a period of about six hundred years, beginning in the first century C.E. and continuing through the sixth and seventh centuries C.E. The rabbinic teachings of the Talmud explain in great detail how the commandments of the Torah are to be carried out. For example, the Torah teaches us that one is prohibited from working on the Sabbath. But what does that really mean?

There is no detailed definition in the Torah of “work.” The talmuidc tractate called Shabbat therefore devotes an entire chapter to the meaning of work and the various categories of prohibited work. The Talmud is made up of two separate works: the Mishnah, primarily a compilation of Jewish laws, written in Hebrew and edited sometimes around 200 C.E. in Israel; and the Gemara, the rabbinic commentaries and discussions on the Mishnah, written in Hebrew and Aramaic, which emanated from Israel and Babylonia over the next three hundred years. There are two Talmuds: the Y’rushalmi or Jerusalem Talmud (from Israel) and the Bavli or Babylonian Talmud. The Babylonian Talmud, which was edited after the Jerusalem Talmud and is much more widely known, is generally considered more authoritative than the Jerusalem Talmud. Rabbi Y’hudah HaNasi (Judah the Prince) is thought to be the editor of the sixty-three tractates of Mishnah in which the laws are encoded. The main editor of the Gemara is generally assumed to be Rav Ashi, who spent over fifty years collecting the material.

The final revision and editing were most likely undertaken by Ravina (500 C.E.) The Talmud’s discussions are recorded in a consistent format. A law from the Mishnah is cited, followed by rabbinic deliberations on its meaning (i.e., the Gemara). At times, the rabbinic discussions wander far afield from the original topic. The Rabbis whose views are cited in the Mishnah are known as Tannaim (Aramaic for “teachers”), while the Rabbis quoted in the Gemara are known as Amoraim (“explainers” or “interpreters”). The Talmuds, especially the Talmud of Babylonia, also contain a good deal of aggadah: commentary on biblical narratives, stories about biblical figures and earlier Rabbinic sages, and speculations concerning physical reality and human nature. In short, anything that was of interest to the Rabbis wound up in the Talmud, which in turn became a kind of encyclopedia of the Rabbinic mind. As books of law, the Talmuds differ greatly from the Mishnah in style and approach.

The Mishnah states its rules in a straightforward manner, usually not supporting them with scriptural references or other argumentation. The Talmuds (and this is especially true of the Babylonian Talmud) are dialectical: their predominant form is debate, in which propositions are raised, attacked, refuted, and modified through the give-and-take of argument and counterargument. Thus for example, if a person wanted to find out about the laws related to Rosh HaShanah, one would go to the tractate called Rosh HaShanah and would find there numerous laws and customs related to the festival. Likewise, if one wanted to find the laws and customs about Shabbat, one could go to the tractate of the same name. “Correct” answers emerge out of the process of argument that fills the Talmud and all the books written to explain it. They are tentative conclusions whose rightness is based upon the ability of one school of thought to persuade the community of Rabbinic scholars that its point of view represents the best understanding of Torah and of God’s demands upon us. As the earliest rabbinic interpretation of the Bible, the Talmud is indispensable to understanding the laws and customs still practiced today.

The Talmudic discussion and its conclusions provide us with the origins of our many laws and customs. Studying the Talmud can help us search for the many important issues and values that are essential to a thinking and committed Jew. To study Talmud is to take one’s part in the discourse of the generations, to add one’s own voice to the chorus of conversation and argument that has for nearly two millennia been the form and substance of Jewish law. Source: A Taste of Text: An Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash, by Ronald H. Isaacs Jewish Living: A Guide to Contemporary Reform Practice (Revised Edition), by Mark Washofsky Tags: Why Is the Talmud in Aramaic? - Talmud Talmud Why Is the Talmud in Aramaic? Why Is the Talmud in Aramaic? Discuss (24) Question: Since the Talmud is such a fundamental work in Judaism, why wasn’t it written in Hebrew, like the Bible and the Mishnah? Isn’t Hebrew considered “the holy tongue”?

Answer: Before we get into why the Talmud was written in Aramaic, a brief overview of the history of the language is in order. Aramaic is an ancient language that has been around for over 3,000 years. It was the official language of the first Aramean states, and later became the common language, or lingua franca, of the Assyrian and Persian empires. There is even a sprinkling of Aramaic in the Bible. One example is the phrase yegar sahaduta, spoken by Laban the Aramean ( Genesis 31:47) . In fact, the Jerusalem Talmud 1 notes that Aramaic is found in all three sections of the Bible: the Torah (five books of Moses), 2 Nevi’im (prophets) 3 and Ketuvim (writings). 4 Eventually, during the Middle Aramaic period (approximately 200 BCE–200 CE), Aramaic began to split into two major groups of dialects, the Eastern and Western Aramaic languages. 5 The Western Aramaic languages were used largely in the area that was under Roman (and later Byzantine) rule.

The Jerusalem Talmud, composed in Israel, is written in a Western Aramaic dialect. The Eastern Aramaic languages flourished in the Persian Empire, and as a result the Babylonian Talmud, written in Persian-dominated Babylon, is in an Eastern Aramaic dialect. 6 During the Mishnaic era, the translations of the Bible known as Targum Onkelos and Targum Jonathan were written in Western Aramaic. According to some, these Aramaic translations of the Torah (targumim) were originally part of the oral tradition going all the way back to Moses at Mount Sinai. 7 When the Jews returned to Israel from the Babylonian exile and rebuilt the Second Temple, they spoke mostly Aramaic. Hebrew, the “holy tongue,” was reserved for holy matters, such as prayer, and was not used for ordinary social and commercial activities. 8 The Talmud was written in Aramaic, the language of the masses, so that it would be accessible to all. After all, the goal of study is to understand what has been learned so that it can be incorporated into our lives.

From Aramaic to Arabic Later, during the Islamic conquests, Aramaic was overtaken by Arabic as the common language of the Middle East. That’s why some of the greatest Jewish works, like those of Rabbi Saadiah Gaon and Maimonides, were written in Arabic. Fulfilling a Mitzvah The very last mitzvah in the Torah is the obligation for every Jew to write a Torah scroll, as the verses state, “Now, write for yourselves this song, and teach it to the children of Israel. Place it into their mouths, in order that this song will be for Me as a witness for the children of Israel.” 9 The Talmud explains that these verses indicate an obligation for every person to write the whole Torah. (For more on how one fulfills that mitzvah nowadays, see here ). In a fascinating talk, the Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that writing the Talmud in Aramaic was a fulfillment of this mitzvah. How? The eminent Talmudist Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel (c.

1250–1327), known as the Rosh, writes that in previous eras, when we were forbidden to write down the Oral Law, a Torah scroll was the only text that Jews could actually use for study. And so, it was also the only way to fulfill this mitzvah of writing a Torah scroll. Nowadays, however, when it is permissible to write down the Oral Law, and the Torah scroll is stored in the synagogue for public readings rather than used as a study text, it is possible that the obligation of writing a Torah scroll can also be fulfilled by acquiring other holy books that can be used for study. 10 And so, when the sages wrote their works in Aramaic or Arabic, they weren’t just being practical; they were fulfilling the mitzvah of writing Torah. For after all, the mitzvah is to write Torah in a way that people can learn and understand. If most Jews spoke or understood Aramaic or Arabic, then that was the language to be used to fulfill the mitzvah of writing a Torah. 11 The mitzvah of writing a Torah applies not only to publishers and authors, but to every person.

It is for this reason that the Rebbe constantly encouraged people to buy Jewish texts for their homes (at the very least, the basics like Chumash, Mishnah, Talmud, Jewish law) in a language that they could learn and understand. The Rebbe also made this mitzvah one of his 10-point mitzvah campaigns . So now that you know why the Talmud was written in Aramaic, it’s time for you to go out and get your own Jewish books. Not only will you be doing a mitzvah, you may even end up learning something new! Footnotes The Talmud and other Literature - Israel & Judaism Studies The Talmud and other Literature THE TALMUD AND OTHER LITERATURE OF JUDAISM By Rabbi Raymond Apple, Senior Rabbi of the Great Synagogue, Sydney Mohammed’s description of Jews and Christians as “People of the Book” is particularly apt. The Hebrew Bible (referred to by Christians as the 'Old Testament') is indeed the central basis of Judaism. It is not so much a single religious work as a library of books of Jewish history, law, poetry, ethics and philosophy, written and collated over a period of centuries.

The Hebrew word for the Bible is the TaNaKH, an acronym standing for Torah (the Five Books of Moses), Nevi’im (historical and prophetic books) and Ketuvim (other sacred writings such as Psalms and Proverbs). The first five books of the Bible, described as the Torah, comprise both an early history of mankind and of the Jewish people, and a code of Divine commandments, which are holy, binding and authoritative for the traditional believing Jew. Its author is regarded as God, though the actual writing down of the material was by Moses. With the written Torah came the 'Oral Law', a large body of explanatory material which orthodox Jews regard as having been transmitted by God to Moses and originally passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. Thus each generation found insights in the Torah, but believed them to have been latent in the traditional material. Though this tradition continued to be called the oral Torah, in fact it began to take written form in the early centuries of the Common Era, probably first in written notes and then in extensive written works. The oral Torah grew over the ages and became so extensive that in the 2nd century CE it was edited into a single text.

In the original form, with the name 'Midrash' ('seeking out), it had followed the sequence of the Biblical text, but later it was re-organised under subject headings and known as the 'Mishnah' ('repetition', probably because it was learned by rote memorisation). The Midrash covered both legal and ritual teachings (halakhah) and historical and philosophical material (aggadah). The halakhic aspect was easier to handle in Mishnah form, and the Mishnah covers practical subjects as diverse as prayer and worship, agricultural work, Sabbath and festivals, marriage and divorce, civil and criminal law, Temple rituals, food laws and rules of ritual purity. The Mishnah was edited in the 2nd century CE by Rabbi Judah HaNasi ('the Prince'). During the next few centuries rabbinical analysis of the Mishnah, known as 'Gemara', continued with the participation of many of the people as a whole, especially during two months of the year when agricultural work was not demanding and most people had time to devote to study. The extensive combined version of Mishnah and Gemara became known as the 'Talmud' ('learning').

There are two versions of the Talmud, the Babylonian Talmud, which is larger and more authoritative, and the Jerusalem Talmud. References to “the Talmud” are to the Babylonian Talmud. Aggadah continued to develop separately in the Midrash form, providing an extensive commentary on the Biblical text. Much Midrash material began as sermons in which the weekly scriptural lessons were expounded before an ancient congregation. The language of the Midrash is Hebrew; Talmudic material is in a combination of Hebrew and Aramaic, an associated Semitic language. (Aramaic was the language of the Assyrian conquerors, adopted by the Babylonians, which became the dominant language of the Middle East, and it is used in a number of Jewish prayers and documents.) Jewish religious writings may be categorised as summarised below, though there is really no demarcation between “religious” and “secular” works in traditional Judaism, which deems everything to be part of one whole. Ideological secularism is a modern development; and some Jewish thinkers like Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook have argued that the so-called secularist or atheist is deep-down a believer seeking spirituality.

Post-Talmudic categories of Jewish writings include: Biblical and Talmudic commentaries, e.g. by Rashi (the acronym for Rabbi Solomon Itzhaki) writing in the Rhineland in the 11th century CE. Philosophical works e.g. Moreh Nevukhim (“The Guide to the Perplexed”) and other works written by the Spanish-born Rabbi Moses Maimonides, a personal physician to Saladin, the Kurdish ruler of Egypt, in the 12th century. Ritual and legal codes, e.g. the Shulhan Arukh (“The Laid Table”) by Rabbi Joseph Karo, writing in Safed in Israel under Turkish rule in the 16th century. Mystical works, e.g. the Zohar (“The Book of Splendour”), written in Spain in the 15th century but ascribed to a 3rd century mystic. Poetry, e.g. by Judah Halevi, poet and philosopher, in 11th century Spain Responsa - Rabbinical responses to queries on Jewish belief, practice and law, regarded as authoritative, depending on the reputation of the particular rabbi.

These have continued from Talmudic times to the present day, when responsa often address bio-ethical problems. Most of the material is written in Hebrew but there were many works in other languages (or Jewish versions of other languages, such as Ladino or Judeo-Spanish, and Yiddish, Judeo-German). Rashi is famous for including medieval French words in his Hebrew commentaries to the Bible and Talmud. There are translations of most classical Jewish writings in English and other languages, and modern authors on Jewish subjects write in a variety of vernaculars. A basic introduction to the Jewish literature begins in part-time religious schools and Jewish day schools. There is also a Jewish tradition of continuing adult study, including discussion groups studying the Talmud and other Jewish literature organised by most synagogues. Many universities offer courses in Jewish subjects, and there are “yeshivot” (Talmudical colleges) in major cities. A great help has been the development of modern means of technological communication, especially the Internet, which enables anyone with access to a computer to open up what might once have been a closed world.

© Rabbi Raymond Apple 2004 Key Jewish Texts, from A Short Introduction to Midrash The word 'Midrash' comes from the Hebrew root darash meaning ‘to investigate’ or to ‘seek out’. Indeed Midrash is exactly that—it is an investigation of the Biblical text in order to try and probe its deeper meaning/s. Midrash therefore refers to both a method of interpretation (exegesis) and a body of literature that is a result of this literary methodology. Midrash is an ancient form of exegesis but it continues to be practiced in Jewish communities in the present as Jews continue to search for meaning and relevance in their sacred texts. According to James Kugel (in The Bible As It Was) Midrashic method rests upon four basic assumptions concerning the Biblical text: The Biblical text is cryptic i.e. not self-evident. We therefore need to search the text to understand its true or multi layered meanings. The Biblical text is perfect and self-referential.

For example, if the text seems to contradict itself (such as the different accounts of the number of Israelites that left Egypt), this simply means that we have not understood its true meaning OR the answer is to be found elsewhere in the Bible. The Biblical text does not simply describe Israel’s collective past but is relevant to its present—particularly to current beliefs and practices. The Biblical text is in some way Divine in origin or divinely inspired. Jacob Neusner, in The Way of Torah, sees Midrash as comprised of three elements, Exegesis, Starting with Scripture and Ending in community. Midrash can begin as word play, a concern with textual irregularity, word play, parable and all of the above. Ultimately it seeks to provide a ‘lesson’ of sorts—whether that be to expound a verse more clearly and with greater relevance to contemporary communal needs, to make a political or theological point or seek out an answer to a question posed by the text itself. It is a varied and immense literature spanning the entirety of Scripture, beginning, some argue, within the Biblical text itself, reaching its greatest heights in classical Rabbinic literature and continuing into the present day.

Midrash is a corpus of literature that has enabled Jewish communities to remain in dialogue with a living Biblical text—bridging the gap between past and future—and enabling the text to intersect and inform the day-to-day life of generations of Jewish communities. © Avril Alba, Director of Education, Sydney Jewish Museum, 2005 A Typical Midrash about Moses Moses, by Jose de Ribera, 1638 A Midrash tells us that during the seven days when Moses was at the burning bush each day he pleaded with God to send someone else). In the end of the Midrash, God informs Moses that because of his unwillingness to take on the task during those seven days he will not be permitted to ascend to the priesthood. Rather, it is Aaron and his descendants who will become the priests. However, for seven days, when the Tabernacle is dedicated, Moses will be allowed to perform the priestly functions, but not after that. Moses' reaction to what might be perceived as a punishment is to rejoice over the good fortune of his elder brother Aaron.

After all, Midrash tells us, one reason why Moses is reluctant to take on the leadership role is because he is afraid that Aaron will be jealous that his younger brother is the leader of the people. However, God informs him that Aaron will rejoice at seeing Moses and hearing that he is to lead the mission to Pharaoh, and indeed he does. For this Aaron is rewarded; let "that same heart that rejoiced in the greatness of his brother [have] precious stones (the priestly breastplate) set upon it." And so Aaron rejoices at God's choice of Moses as leader and Moses then rejoices at the choice of Aaron as high priest, even though the Midrash portrays this as Moses' punishment for not being eager to go on God's mission. Nevertheless, when Moses is given the instructions on how to build the Tabernacle he tells God in a Midrash that he is ready and able to serve as priest. How can this be so if had been informed at the burning bush that Aaron was to serve priest and if Moses himself had actually rejoiced over this? We all know of times in our lives when we "conveniently" forget something and then are stunned when we later "discover" it.

When Moses "learns" that Aaron is to become priest and that he is to be "demoted" to the status of a mere Levite (as will his sons) he does not react negatively. Rather, he rejoices, just as Aaron rejoiced in Moses' choice earlier on. The choice of Aaron, the elder brother, as priest now means that the rejection of the elder in favor of the younger that runs through the entire book of Bereshit/Genesis has now been "set right." Moses, the younger, may indeed be the leader, but his sons not only do not inherit his position, but they are all but forgotten in our narrative. It is Aaron, the elder, who is given the religious leadership position that will then be inherited by his sons. The rejection of Moses and his sons and the reversal of the ancient patterns could easily be viewed by Moses with anger or disdain. And yet it is not. The relationship between Moses and Aaron is one that involves both loss and gain for each brother while at the same time involving altruistic love of each brother for the other that is symbolized by their reactions when the other is chosen. In the Torah we are told that Moses' primary attributes were that of greatness and humility.

In reality it is his humility that is at the heart of his greatness. Though Aaron is appointed "kohen gadol" (literally, great priest) Moses' humility allows him to rejoice, much as his humility caused him to reject God's initial call for fear that Aaron would be hurt. This is the meaning underlying the seemingly innocuous "and as for you" that begins the command for Moses to prepare the oil, decorate the courtyard of the Tabernacle and instruct others to prepare Aaron's garments.

In this way the "and as for you" is not viewed as further punishment for Moses' initial reticence (i.e., God saying "And as for you if you're going to hesitate to follow my orders not only am I going to take away the priesthood, but I am going to make you prepare everything for your brother the priest and then let you serve as priest for seven days only so you can then hand the duties over to him!”) Instead, it becomes an acknowledgement of Moses' humility and his ability to rejoice for his brother (Read as, "And as for you, you have shown your greatness through your humility and your concern for your brother, and so you shall have the pleasure of preparing all that he needs to begin his priestly service, including dedicating the sanctuary that is then to be his domain from then on.") (Adapted by Avril Alba from www2.jrf.org/recon-dt/dt.php?id=73 ) For extracts from the literature which demonstrate the principal beliefs of Judaism, see Core Ethical Teachings of Judaism Jewish Aramaic - My Jewish Learning Jewish Aramaic The Hebrew Language Jewish Aramaic was the vernacular of Jews in the Land of Israel in the first century.

It is still spoken by Jewish Kurds today. In addition, important Jewish texts and the Mourners Kaddish are also written in Aramaic. This article gives a brief overview of this ancient Jewish language. This article is reprinted with permission from . The Aramaic language has been around for over 3,000 years, beginning in the 11th century B.C.E as the official language of the first Aramean states in Syria. A few centuries later it became the official language, or lingua franca, of the Assyrian and Persian empires, covering vast areas and gradually splitting into two major (groups of) dialects, Eastern and Western. A Living Language Citadel of Hewler The first attested Jewish Aramaic texts are from the Jewish military outpost in Elephantine, ca. 530 B.C.E. Other Jewish Aramaic texts are the Books of Ezra (ca. 4th century B.C.E.) and Daniel (165 B.C.E.). Starting around 250 C.E., Bible translations such as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan began to appear.

The division into Eastern and Western Aramaic is most evident in the Palestinian (Yerushalmi) Talmud (Western, completed ca. 5th century C.E.; and Midrashim, ca. 5th-7th centuries C.E.) and the Babylonian Talmud (Eastern, finished ca. 8th century C.E.). With the Islamic conquests, Aramaic was quickly superseded by Arabic. Except for some occasional bursts such as the Book of Zohar and other Kabbalistic literature (ca. the 12th cent), it almost ceased as a literary language, but remained as ritual and study language. It continued its life as a spoken language until our days by the Jews and Christians of Kurdistan (“Eastern”) and three villages (mostly Christians and some Muslims) in Syria (“Western”). Syriac-Aramaic is still used as a ritual language among many Near Eastern Christians. Jewish Neo-Aramaic The oldest literature in Jewish (and Christian) Neo-Aramaic is from ca. 1600 C.E.

It includes mostly adaptations or translations of Jewish literature, such as Midrashim (homiletic literature), commentaries on the Bible, hymns (piyyutim), etc. Jewish Neo-Aramaic may be divided into three or four major groups of dialects, some mutually intelligible, and others not or hardly so. Also, in a few towns both Jews and Christians spoke Neo-Aramaic, but using distinct dialects. The Neo-Aramaic-speaking Jews emigrated to Israel in the early 1950s, and their language was superseded by Hebrew. By Yona Sabar | June 25, 2003 Jewish Aramaic was the vernacular of Jews in the Land of Israel in the first century. It is still spoken by Jewish Kurds today. In addition, important Jewish texts and the Mourners Kaddish are also written in Aramaic. This article gives a brief overview of this ancient Jewish language. This article is reprinted with permission from . The Aramaic language has been around for over 3,000 years, beginning in the 11th century B.C.E as the official language of the first Aramean states in Syria.

A few centuries later it became the official language, or lingua franca, of the Assyrian and Persian empires, covering vast areas and gradually splitting into two major (groups of) dialects, Eastern and Western. A Living Language Citadel of Hewler The first attested Jewish Aramaic texts are from the Jewish military outpost in Elephantine, ca. 530 B.C.E. Other Jewish Aramaic texts are the Books of Ezra (ca. 4th century B.C.E.) and Daniel (165 B.C.E.). Starting around 250 C.E., Bible translations such as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan began to appear. The division into Eastern and Western Aramaic is most evident in the Palestinian (Yerushalmi) Talmud (Western, completed ca. 5th century C.E.; and Midrashim, ca. 5th-7th centuries C.E.) and the Babylonian Talmud (Eastern, finished ca. 8th century C.E.). With the Islamic conquests, Aramaic was quickly superseded by Arabic. Except for some occasional bursts such as the Book of Zohar and other Kabbalistic literature (ca.

the 12th cent), it almost ceased as a literary language, but remained as ritual and study language. It continued its life as a spoken language until our days by the Jews and Christians of Kurdistan (“Eastern”) and three villages (mostly Christians and some Muslims) in Syria (“Western”). Syriac-Aramaic is still used as a ritual language among many Near Eastern Christians. Jewish Neo-Aramaic The oldest literature in Jewish (and Christian) Neo-Aramaic is from ca. 1600 C.E. It includes mostly adaptations or translations of Jewish literature, such as Midrashim (homiletic literature), commentaries on the Bible, hymns (piyyutim), etc. Jewish Neo-Aramaic may be divided into three or four major groups of dialects, some mutually intelligible, and others not or hardly so. Also, in a few towns both Jews and Christians spoke Neo-Aramaic, but using distinct dialects. The Neo-Aramaic-speaking Jews emigrated to Israel in the early 1950s, and their language was superseded by Hebrew.

Aramaic is a close sister of Hebrew and is identified as a “Jewish” language, since it is the language of major Jewish texts (the Talmuds, Zohar, and many ritual recitations, such as the Kaddish). Aramaic has been until our present time a language of Talmudic debate in many traditional yeshivot (traditional Jewish schools), as many rabbinic texts are written in a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic. Jewish Neo-Aramaic is both an “extension” of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic (as can be seen from its hundreds of reflexes in Jewish Neo-Aramaic), and a Neo-Jewish language. The Jewish Neo-Aramaic texts are written in a Hebrew alphabet, like most Jewish languages, but the spelling is phonetic, rather than etymological (e.g. כמשא ‘five’, rather than חמשא, and שואא ‘seven’, instead of שבעא). As in other Jewish languages, many Judaic and even some secular terms are borrowed from Hebrew, rather than being inherited from traditional Jewish Aramaic, e.g., Hebrew עולם ‘world’, rather than Aramaic עלמא.

The Hebrew loanwords were one of the major features that distinguished Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects from their Christian counterparts, in addition to minor or quite major grammatical differences. Yet what may be a typical grammatical or lexical feature of a Jewish dialect in one place may be known elsewhere as a Christian feature.

Question: The Talmud was written in Hebrew and which other language?
Answer: Aramaic