The Talmud

The Talmud

The Talmud (also called Gemara as well as Shas and also Babylonian Talmud and by Talmudic commentators Sea of Talmud or Talmud of Babylon) is the commentary of the Amoraim on the laws stated by the Tannaim in the Mishnah and Baraita, and it is one of the fundamentals of the Oral Torah. There are two compilations that gather within them the innovations and teachings of the Amoraim's study halls: the Babylonian Talmud written by the Amoraim who dwelt in Babylon and the Jerusalem Talmud written by those who dwelt in the Land of Israel.

The Way of the Talmud

The Mishnah was written by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi and the Tannaim in great brevity. Therefore, the Amoraim studied the words of the Mishnah in depth and explained it in their study houses. Through discussion and dialectic reasoning, many laws were innovated from the Mishnah and Baraita.

Although there were many dialectics in the scholars' study houses, not all of them were arranged in the Gemara, and the give-and-take brought in the Gemara is only what directly relates to understanding the subject and practical halacha.

Babylonian Talmud

The Babylonian Talmud was written by the people of Babylon, and in it are explanations of the Mishnah and the teachings of the Babylonian sages. The way of the Babylonian Talmud is dialectical reasoning and clarification of the halacha through questions and answers ("the discussions of Abaye and Rava"). Therefore, the Sages said that "He has set me in dark places" refers to the Babylonian Talmud, as they would contradict each other in disagreement and were not comfortable with each other, and the path to a conclusion is generally long and intricate, and therefore it is said "He has set me in dark places" - this is the Babylonian Talmud, as they could not arrive at the intermediate position.

It is brought in Chassidic teachings that the superiority of the Babylonian Talmud is in the aspect of "returning light" (as opposed to the Jerusalem Talmud which is in the aspect of "direct light"). Therefore, the Babylonian Talmud also clarifies the kelipat nogah of the lands of the nations. And through the abundance of dialectic reasoning with questions and answers in the aspect of "returning light," it reaches the level of the primordial concealment which is higher than the concealment of the revelation that is revealed through the "direct light" of the Jerusalem Talmud.

Jerusalem Talmud

The Jerusalem Talmud was written in the Land of Israel and contains explanations of the Mishnah as studied by the people of the Land of Israel. Among the central Amoraim whose teachings are in the Jerusalem Talmud are Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish.

It is explained that the superiority of the Jerusalem Talmud is higher than the Babylonian Talmud and it is in the aspect of "direct light" without abundant questions and dialectics. Therefore, the Sages said about Rabbi Zeira that he fasted one hundred fasts in order to forget the Talmud of Babylon, so that he could study the Talmud of the Land of Israel. It is also brought that they were comfortable with each other in halacha, not that they agreed with each other but that they were comfortable with each other to accept the reasoning of those who disagreed with them. And necessarily, an intermediate position emerges from between the two.

Disputes between the Talmuds

In many places, the Babylonian Talmud and Jerusalem Talmud disagree with each other. The Rebbe says about this: "The well-known principle is that one should strive not to increase disputes. This applies even regarding the Babylonian Talmud and Jerusalem Talmud – meaning, despite the fact that the learning approach of the Jerusalem Talmud is different from the learning approach of the Babylonian Talmud, to the extent that our Sages said one needs to forget the Babylonian Talmud in order to be able to attain the learning approach of the Jerusalem Talmud, nevertheless, one should strive to minimize disputes between the Babylonian Talmud and Jerusalem Talmud, even when this involves only a forced explanation."

Its Nature and Excellence

It is explained in Pri Etz Chaim that Kabbalah is in Atzilut, Talmud is in Beriah, Mishnah is in Yetzirah, and Scripture is in Asiyah. It is explained in this discourse that the concept of Talmud being in Beriah means that Torah extends even to Beriah, as Talmud involves comprehension of essence, unlike Kabbalah which is in the world of Atzilut where comprehension of essence is not possible. But the Talmud differs from Scripture, as Scripture extends down to the world of Asiyah, where the main aspect of Scripture is that it is written on parchment with ink, unlike Talmud whose main aspect is intellectual contemplation and can come in different letters ("oral matters you are not permitted to say in writing," unlike the Written Torah).

Page Format

The Rebbe instructed Rabbi Aharon Mendelson, owner of Sifrei Yisrael company who developed software for typesetting the Shas, to keep the letters of the Dibur Hamaschil (heading) of Rashi in rounded script as in the original Vilna Shas and not to change them to square script.

Learning Gemara

The Alter Rebbe established a division of the Shas for Chabad chassidim, so that each chassidic community would complete the entire Shas together – including Mishnah tractates that don't have Gemara – within one year. Today, the custom is to arrange the division of Shas on Yud-Tes Kislev.

The Rebbe Maharash stated: "It is inappropriate for a Jewish householder not to study Gemara every day," and established that "at the very least, everyone needs to study one tractate of Gemara in a year."

The Rebbe Rayatz instructed that every chassid should establish a daily session for in-depth study of Gemara. The Rebbe explained this as being because a person with the ability to study in-depth who doesn't do so, this is considered, in a subtle way, as bitul Torah (neglect of Torah study), since he is not utilizing all his intellectual powers for Torah study.

The Rebbe's Explanations

Hadranim on the Shas

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Rules in Shas and Its Commentators

• Bavli and Yerushalmi The difference between the learning approach of the Bavli and Yerushalmi. Hitva'aduyot 5742 Volume 4 p. 2080 (p. 334)
• Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel The foundation of their disputes throughout the Shas. Likkutei Sichos Volume 7 p. 114 (p. 126)
• Rav and Shmuel The foundation of their disputes throughout the Shas. Likkutei Sichos Volume 16 p. 1 (p. 16)