Rabbinic literature Totally Explained

Everything about Rabbinical Literature totally explained

Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. But the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew term Sifrut Hazal (ספרות חז"ל; "Literature [ofour] sages [of] blessed memory," where Hazal normally refers only to the sages of the Talmudic era). This more specific sense of "Rabbinic literature"—referring to the Talmudim, Midrash, and related writings, but hardly ever to later texts—is how the term is generally intended when used in contemporary academic writing. On the other hand, the terms meforshim and parshanim (commentaries/commentators) almost always refer to later, post-Talmudic writers of Rabbinic glosses on Biblical and Talmudic texts.
This article discusses rabbinic literature in both senses. It begins with the classic rabbinic literature of the Talmudic era (Sifrut Hazal), and then adds a broad survey of rabbinic writing from later periods.

Mishnaic literature

The Mishnah and the Tosefta (compiled from materials pre-dating the year 200) are the earliest extant works of rabbinic literature, expounding and developing Judaism's Oral Law, as well as ethical teachings. Following these came the two Talmuds:

The Jerusalem Talmud, c. 450
The Babylonian Talmud, c. 600
The minor tractates (part of the Babylonian Talmud)

The Midrash

Midrash (pl. Midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of reading details into, or out of, a Biblical text. The term midrash also can refer to a compilation of Midrashic teachings, in the form of legal, exegetical, homiletical, or narrative writing, often configured as a commentary on the Bible or Mishnah. There are a large number of "classical" Midrashic works spanning a period from Mishnaic to Geonic times, often showing evidence of having been worked and reworked from earlier materials, and frequently coming to us in multiple variants. A compact list of these works [basedon ] is given below; a more thorough annotated list can be found under Midrash. The timeline below must be approximate because many of these works were composed over a long span of time, borrowing and collating material from earlier versions; their histories are therefore somewhat uncertain and the subject of scholarly debate. In the table, "n.e." designates that the work in question isn't extant except in secondary references.

Estimated date	Exegetical	Homiletical	Narrative
Tannaitic period (till 200 CE)	Mekhilta Mekilta le-Sefer Devarim (n.e.) Sifra Sifre	Alphabet of Akiba ben Joseph (?)	Seder Olam Rabbah
400–650 CE	Genesis Rabbah Lamentations Rabbah	Leviticus Rabbah Pesikta de-Rav Kahana Midrash Tanhuma	Seder Olam Zutta
650–900 CE	Midrash Proverbs Ecclesiastes Rabbah	Deuteronomy Rabbah Pesikta Rabbati Avot of Rabbi Natan	Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer Tanna Devei Eliyahu
900–1000 CE	Midrash Psalms Exodus Rabbah Ruth Zuta Lamentations Zuta
1000–1200	Midrash Aggadah of Moses ha-Darshan Midrash Tadshe		Sefer ha-Yashar
Later	Yalkut Shimoni Midrash ha-Gadol Ein Yaakov Numbers Rabbah

Later works by category

Major codes of Jewish law

Hayyei Adam

The Responsa literature

Jewish thought and ethics

Jewish philosophy

Kabbalah

Aggada

The works of Hasidic Judaism

Jewish ethics and the Mussar Movement

Liturgy

The Siddur and Jewish liturgy

Piyyutim (Classical Jewish poetry)

Later works by historical period

Works of the Geonim

The Geonim are the rabbis of Sura and Pumbeditha, in Babylon (650 - 1250) :

She'iltoth of Acha'i [Gaon]

Halachoth Gedoloth

Emunoth ve-Deoth (Saadia Gaon)

The Siddur by Amram Gaon

Responsa

Works of the Rishonim (the "early" rabbinical commentators)

The Rishonim are the rabbis of the early medieval period (1000 - 1550)

The commentaries on the Torah, such as those by Rashi, Abraham ibn Ezra and Nahmanides.

Commentaries on the Talmud, principally by Rashi, his grandson Samuel ben Meir and Nissim of Gerona.

Talmudic novellae (chiddushim) by Tosafists, Nahmanides, Nissim of Geronda, Solomon ben Aderet (RaShBA), Yomtov ben Ashbili (Ritva)

Works of halakha (Asher ben Yechiel, Mordechai ben Hillel)

Codices by Maimonides and Jacob ben Asher, and finally Shulkhan Arukh

Responsa, for example by Solomon ben Aderet (RaShBA)

Kabbalistic works (such as the Zohar)

Philosophical works (Maimonides, Gersonides, Nahmanides)

Ethical works (Bahya ibn Paquda, Jonah of Gerona)

Works of the Acharonim (the "later" rabbinical commentators)

The Acharonim are the rabbis from 1550 to the present day.

Important Torah commentaries include Keli Yakar (Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz), Ohr ha-Chayim by Chayim ben-Attar, the commentary of Samson Raphael Hirsch, and the commentary of Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin.

Important works of Talmudic novellae include: Pnei Yehoshua, Hafla'ah, Sha'agath Aryei

Responsa, for example by Moses Sofer, Moshe Feinstein

Works of halakha and codices for example Mishnah Berurah by Yisrael Meir Kagan and the Aruch ha-Shulchan by Yechiel Michel Epstein

Ethical and philosophical works: Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, Yisrael Meir Kagan and the Mussar Movement

Hasidic works (Kedushath Levi, Sefath Emmeth, Shem mi-Shemuel)

Philosophical/metaphysical works (the works of the Maharal of Prague, Moshe Chaim Luzzatto and Nefesh ha-Chayim by Chaim of Volozhin)

Mystical works

Historical works, for example Shem ha-Gedolim by Chaim Joseph David Azulai.

Meforshim

Meforshim is a Hebrew word meaning "(classical rabbinical) commentators" (or roughly meaning "exegetes"), and is used as a substitute for the correct word perushim which means "commentaries". In Judaism this term refers to commentaries by the commentators on the Torah (five books of Moses), Tanakh, the Mishnah, the Talmud, responsa, even the siddur (Jewish prayerbook), and more.

Classic Torah and Talmud commentaries

Classic Torah and/or Talmud commentaries have been written by the following individuals:

Geonim

Saadia Gaon, 10th century Babylon

Rishonim

Rashi (Shlomo Yitzchaki), 12th century France
Abraham ibn Ezra
Nahmanides (Moshe ben Nahman)
Samuel ben Meir, the Rashbam, 12th century France
Rabbi Levi ben Gershom (known as Ralbag or Gersonides)
David ben Joseph Kimhi, the Radak, 13th century France
Joseph ben Isaac, the Bekhor Shor, 12th century France
Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi, the RaN, 14th century Spain
Isaac ben Judah Abravanel (1437-1508)
Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno, 16th century Italy

Acharonim

The Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna, 18th century Lithuania
The Malbim, Meir Lob ben Jehiel Michael

Classical Talmudic commentaries were written by Rashi. After Rashi the Tosafot were written, which was an omnibus commentary on the Talmud by the disciples and descendants of Rashi; this commentary was based on discussions done in the rabbinic academies of Germany and France.

Modern Torah commentaries

Modern Torah commentaries which have received wide acclaim in the Jewish community include:

Orthodox:

Haemek Davar by Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin
The Chofetz Chaim
Torah Temimah of Baruch ha-Levi Epstein
Kerem HaTzvi, by Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Ferber
Sefat Emet (Lips of Truth), Yehudah Aryeh Leib of Ger, 19th century Europe
The "Pentateuch and Haftaras" by Joseph H. Hertz
The Torah commentary of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch
Nechama Leibowitz, a noted woman scholar
Ha-Ketav veha-Kabbalah by Rabbi Yaakov Zwi Meckelenburg
The Soncino Books of the Bible

Conservative Judaism:

The five volume JPS Commentary on the Torah by Nahum M. Sarna, Baruch A. Levine, Jacob Milgrom and Jeffrey H. Tigay
Etz Hayim: A Torah Commentary by David L. Lieber, Harold Kushner and Chaim Potok

Modern Siddur commentaries

Modern Siddur commentaries have been written by:

Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan HaCohen, The Chofetz Chaim's Siddur

Samson Raphael Hirsch, The Hirsch Siddur, Feldheim

Abraham Isaac Kook, Olat Reyia

The Authorised Daily Prayer Book with commentary by Joseph H. Hertz

Elie Munk, The World of Prayer, Elie Munk

Nosson Scherman, The Artscroll Siddur, Mesorah Publications

Reuven Hammer, Or Hadash, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

My Peoples Prayer Book, Jewish Lights Publishing, written by a team of non-Orthodox rabbis and Talmud scholars.Further Information

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