Talmud (oral law) – The Law believed by Orthodox Jews to have been given to Moses but which was not written down for centuries

(Pronounced tal-mud)

To remember the meaning of Talmud in Judaism, use the following mnemonic:

Her talent for making shapes out of mud (talmud) was talked about for centuries afterwards, then someone decided to write it down in a book.

The Talmud is the source from which Jewish law is derived. It comprises the Mishnah and the Gemara.

The Mishnah is the original, written version of the oral (spoken) law. The Gemara is the record of the discussions by rabbis following this writing down of the law, including their differences of opinion on certain parts.

Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi, who lived from around 135 to 219 CE, is closely associated with the compilation of the Mishnah. During his time there were numerous rebellions against Roman rule in Palestine, which resulted in huge loss of life and the destruction of many of the Yeshivot (institutions for the study of the Torah).

This appears to have led Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi to the conclusion that the traditional telling of the law from rabbi to student was under threat and so needed to be written down for future generations.

Some Orthodox Jews study a page of the Talmud every day – this is known as Daf Yomi, the Hebrew expression for page of the day.