from bible to rabbinic literature in a nutshell
DESCRIPTION
Based on a class presentationTRANSCRIPT
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ספר ות ההלכה על קצה המזלג
Rabbinic Literature in a Nutshell
Presentation byJoab Eichenberg-Eilon, Ph.D.
The Hebrew Bible תנ"ך
• ך"תנ כתובים, נביאים, תורה =
• Tanakh = Torah, Nevi-im, Ketuvim
• Torah = teaching, law, theory…
• Nevi-im = prophets (including history)
• Ketuvim = writings (wisdom literature)
• The order of books in the Hebrew Bible is different from that of Christian Bibles
Torah -תורה
• Several meanings:– Teaching (related to “teacher” (מורה =
– The Law (related to “instruction” (הוראה =
– A theory (Theory of Relativity תורת היחסות)
– Sense of fullness ( "הרת עו לם" )
Torah as Law
• Torah = first 5 books of the Bible– Genesis בראשית “History”*
– Exodus שמות “History”* & laws
– Leviticus ו יקרא mostly ritual laws
– Numbers במדבר “History”* & laws
– Deuteronomy דברים Laws and Ethics
* “History” includes mythology and theology
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Commandments –תורה ומצוות
• Torah is considered as the ultimate source of Jewish Law from which all other laws are derived
• A law that comes directly from the Torah is superior to a law that was (מדאורייתא)inferred from the Torah or enacted later
• Tradition has it that the Torah included 613 commandments
Canonization of the Hebrew Bible
• Completed in the late 2nd Temple period• Until then communication with the divine
– Was direct with the Patriarchs and Matriarchs– Went through prophets and seers– Was enacted in the sacrifice cult in Jerusalem
• סוף נבואה – the End of Prophecy– Reincarnation of Judaism as the People of the
Book (or Books), relying on bible interpretation
Traditional Faith about Torah
• Torah was a gift given by God via Moses to the Israelites
• Receiving the Torah implied accepting it as part of a covenant and following its laws
• Torah is God’s communication = sacred
• Torah includes all the future interpretations (implied: accepted by the religious authority)
Ergo: Torah = vademecum
• Torah is the guide by which Jews must live
• Everything a Jew needs to know is in the Torah
• There are accepted methodologies of making inferences from the Torah to cases that are not mentioned in the Torah
• Example: lighting fire on Shabbat = electricity
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Rashi Commentary פירוש רש"י