|
Understanding Written and Oral Traditions in Judaism
Part 2: The Oral Tradition – Mishnah
The Mishnah ("Repetition") is the first part of the Oral Tradition that was compiled between 200 BCE and 100s CE. The Mishnah has six
divisions called Sedarim and are believed to have been redacted into their present form by Rabbi Juhah HaNasi, the last of the generation of Jewish scholars called the Tannaim or "teachers." The Mishnah is
written in very easy Hebrew and short sentences designed to convey the most information in the fewest words. It contains a selection of rabbinic interpretations of Jewish law, both interpretations that were
rejected as well as the ones accepted.
Jewish tradition teaches that we are not to add to the Written Tradition which our rabbis of old understood to mean also a prohibition against
writing down the Oral Tradition. However, the instability of ancient Israel brought about by the increasing Roman presence in the Land necessitated the writing down of Oral Tradition. There was a fear
that much of this tradition could otherwise be lost. To avoid a direct violation of Jewish teaching, R. Judah HaNasi is said to have collect the teaching notes of the great teachers of his time. The
notes that were kept comprise the Mishnah. The notes that were not included in the Mishnah are called baraitot.
At one time, the collection of Mishnah was its own publication. Later, it also became the basis for organizing the discussions that comprise
the Talmud. Next month, I'll examine the second part of the Oral Tradition.
|
