The Literature of the Sages Part One Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum SECTION TWO THE LITERATURE OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE IN THE PERIOD OF THE SECOND TEMPLE AND THE TALMUD I. MIQRA Reading, Translation and Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity Editor: M. J. Mulder 2. JEWISH WRITING OF THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Qumran Sectarian Writings, Philo, Josephus Editor: M. E. Stone 3. THE LITERATURE OF THE SAGES FIRST PART: Oral Tora, Halakha, Mishna, Tosefta, Talmud, External Tractates SECOND PART: Midrash, Aggada, Midrash Collections, Targum, Prayer Editor: S. Safrai Advisory Editors: Y. Aschkenasy, D. Flusser, J. Goldin, H. Kremers, Th. C. de Kruyf, R. Le Deaut, G. W. MacRae (deceased), K. Stendahl, E. Tov Executive Editors: W. J. Burgers, H. Sysling, P. J. Tomson Published under the Auspices of the Foundation Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum, Amsterdam The Literature of the Sages First Part: Oral Tora, Halakha, Mishna, Tosefta, Talmud, External Tractates Editor: Shmuel Safrai Executive Editor: Peter J. Tomson 1987 Van Gorcum, Assen/Maastricht Fortress Press, Philadelphia ® 1987 by Stichting Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm or any other means without written permission from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Literature of the Sages. (Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum; ll/3a- ) Bibliography: v. 1, p. Contents: v. 1. Oral tora, Halakha, Mishna, Tosefta, Talmud, External Tractates. 1. Rabbinical literature—History and criticism. I. Safrai, Shmuel, 1919- . II. Series: Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum; section 2, etc. BM496.5.L57 1987 296.1 86-45910 ISBN 0-8006-0605-1 (Fortress Press: v. 1) ISBN 90-232-2282-2 (Van Gorcum: v. 1) Printed in The Netherlands by Van Gorcum, Assen Foreword In the foreword to Volume Two, the first to have appeared in Section Two, the Board of the Compendia Foundation apologized for the long delay that had occurred since the completion of Section One. A number of reasons which today have only a historical interest caused this delay. The Board is happy to be able to present another volume after a much shorter interval. The present work is actually the First Part of Section Two, Volume Three, which deals with The Literature of the Sages. While work on this volume was in progress, it became clear that the subject matter was too voluminous to be managed in one book. The Board then decided to split Volume Three into two Parts, the first of which has now been realized. In order to enhance the usefulness of the separate Parts, both are provided with an accumulative biblio graphy and indices. The Board of the Foundation wishes to thank most heartily Professor S. Safrai of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who, having cooperated actively in the Compendia project as a whole from the beginning, is the Editor of the present work. The Board is aware of the heavy burden of this task and it is equally aware of the unique character of the volume which, through his learning and insight, can now be presented to the learned and interested public. Much gratitude is also due to the authors of the various parts of this work. They are all specialists in their own fields, and we are convinced that their contributions in many cases break new ground. No work of scholarly quality can be published without the assistance of its Executive Editors. The Board wishes to express its indebtedness to Dr. W. J. Burgers without whose keen insight and great experience the production of this Section, including the present work, would have been hardly possible, and Mr. P. J. Tomson who carried out the actual editing with great expertise and exactitude. This publication was made possible through grants from various institutions, of which we wish to mention specially the Prins Bernhard Fund, Amsterdam and the Anne Frank Fonds, Basle. The Board expects the publication of Section Two, Volume One, to take place in the first half of 1988, and of Volume Three, Part Two, in another year. The Board accepts full responsibility for this order of publication. R. A. Levisson, President Y. Aschkenasy, H. de Bie, L. Dequeker, J. van Goudoever (Secretary), A. van der Heide, H. Kremers, Th. C. de Kruijf, H. E. Oving (Treasurer). H. van Praag. V A Note on Transliteration Transliteration of Hebrew and Aramaic follows a most simple system with a dual aim: to produce the modern Hebrew pronunciation for anglophones, and not to bother the reader with illegible pedantry. The specialist will know for himself. Where necessary, Hebrew types are used. This same system is also used for titles of rabbinic documents and names of Sages. German transliterations common even in English scholarly literature have been eliminated: thus Tsitsit and not Tzitzit; Yonatan instead of Jonathan. Names not typical for the world of the Sages, however, such as biblical names, are given in their usual form: hence Joshua, Judah and Ezekiel. For Hebrew book titles see bibliography. Acknowledgements The contributions by S. Safrai were translated from the Hebrew by J. Schwartz and P.J. Tomson; Ms. V. de Rijk-Chan assisted in language editing. The sections written by M. Krupp were translated from the German by K. Smyth. Ms. T.L. Bak re-typed several chapters. Indices were prepared by H.L.M. Ottenheim. Translations of Hebrew sources were often adapted to give a more effective rendition. Otherwise, the Revised Standard Version of the Bible and H. Dan- by's translation of the Mishna are followed. Translations of Philo and Josephus follow the Loeb edition. The Editors gratefully acknowledge permission to publish reproductions of manuscript pages from the following libraries: Leiden, Universiteitsbiblio- theek; Cambridge, University Library; Budapest, Magyar Tudomanyos Aka- demia Konyavtare. The Israel Department of Antiquities graciously provided a photograph of a mosaic floor with the permission to publish it. Finally, the Editor wishes to express his gratitude to the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities. The facilities it offered him during the academic year 1980-81 greatly helped in laying the foundations for this book and creating part of its contents. VI Contents FOREWORD V A NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION VI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS VI CONTENTS VII INTRODUCTION by Shmuel Safrai XV CHAPTER ONE: THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND by hay ah M. Gafni 1 Defining the Rabbinic Period 1 Second Temple Institutions and the Sages 3 The Pharisaic Movement 7 Hillel and The House of Hillel' 10 Hasidim and Zealots 12 The Destruction and the Yavne Period 14 Bar Kokhba and the Later Tannaic Period 20 The Amoraic Period in the Land of Israel 24 The Amoraic Period in Babylonia 27 Bibliography 33 CHAPTER TWO: ORAL TOR A by Shmuel Safrai 35 Preliminary Questions 35 The Scope of Oral Tora 37 VII Origin and Nature of Oral Tora The Existence of Oral Traditions 39 The Conception of Oral Tora 42 The Prohibition on Writing 45 The Innovative Character of Oral Tora 50 The Beginnings of Oral Tora 52 Oral Tora 'from Sinai' 56 Ways of Literary Creation The Creative Process in Teaching 60 A Learning Community 63 The Importance of Questions 66 Collective Authorship 69 Redaction in Teaching 71 Oral Tora and Rabbinic Literature Oral Tora Written Down 72 Study from Oral Texts 75 The Composition of the Collections 77 Literary Parallels 80 Tannaic and Amoraic Literature 82 Tannaic Traditions Preserved in Amoraic Literature 86 The Terminology of Oral Tora Halakhic and Legal Terms 89 Religious Concepts 92 Exegetical and Dialectical Terms 95 Terms for Literary Genres and Units 98 Terms for Administrative Functions 99 Central Religious Concepts Developed in Oral Tora The Study of Tora 102 The Observance of Mitswot 106 Repentance 108 Man 111 Selective Bibliography 115 CHAPTER THREE: HALAKHA by Shmuel Safrai General Characteristics Definition and Significance 121 Halakha and the Bible 123 The Scope of the Halakha 125 Halakha and Life in the Tannaic Period 128 Origins of the Halakha Halakha in Later Biblical Books 134 VIII Halakha in Judith 136 Halakha in the Septuagint 137 Halakha in Jubilees 140 Halakha in the First Book of Maccabees 144 The Origin of Independent Halakha 146 A 'Period of the Scribes'? 148 Midrash and Independent Halakha 153 Sources of the Halakha of the Sages 155 Midrash as a Source of Halakha 155 Legislation and Case Law 163 Controversies 168 Custom 175 Precedents 178 'Halakha to Moses from Sinai' 180 Stages in the History of Tannaic Halakha 185 The Controversies Between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel 185 The Decision in Favour of Beit Hillel 194 R. Akiva 200 Selective Bibliography 208 CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISHNA - A STUDY BOOK OF HALAKHA by Abraham Goldberg 211 Origins and Development 215 R. Akiva and his Pupils 217 The Four Layers 218 Principles of Editing 222 Arrangement 227 Zeraim 228 Moed 229 Nashim 230 Nezikin 230 Kodashim 231 Toharot 232 The More Important Teachers 235 First Generation (at Yavne) 236 Second Generation 236 Third Generation (at Usha) 237 Fourth Generation 238 Language 238 Text 240 Reduction to Writing 241 Authority 243 IX Bibliography 244 Commentaries 244 Editions 247 Translations 248 Introductions 249 Manuscripts of the Mishna (by Michael Krupp) 252 The Three Complete Mishna Manuscripts 253 Other Mishna Manuscripts and Fragments 255 Mishna with Maimonides' Arabic Commentary 256 Mishna with Hebrew Translation of Maimonides 258 List of MSS. with Maimonides' Commentary 260 CHAPTER FIVE: THE TRACTATE AVOT by M. B. Lerner 263 Name 263 Contents and Structure 264 Literary Characteristics 267 Aim 272 Perek Kinyan Tora 273 Bibliography 275 The Textual Criticism of Tractate Avot (by S. Sharvit) 277 Textual Authorities 277 Critical Editions of Avot 280 Selected Bibliography 281 CHAPTER six: THE TOSEFTA - COMPANION TO THE MISHNA by Abraham Goldberg 283 Character and Date 283 Arrangement and Contents 284 The Structural Layers 285 Commentary and Supplement to the Mishna 289 The Tosefta and the Baraitot in the Talmudim 292 Editing 293 Tannaim Prominent in the Tosefta 295 Fourth Generation 295 Fifth Generation 297 Bibliography 298 Editions 298 Commentaries and Translations 298 Introductions and Research 300 The Tosefta Manuscripts (by Michael Krupp) 301 X