Rabbinic Literature

Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, 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 (Hebrew: ספרות חז"ל‎ "Literature [of our] sages," where Hazal normally refers only to the sages of the Talmudic era). This more specific sense of "Rabbinic literature"—referring to the Talmudim, Midrash
Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש‎), 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.

Contents

1 Mishnaic
Mishnaic literature 2 The Midrash 3 Later works by category

3.1 Major codes of Jewish law 3.2 Jewish thought and ethics 3.3 Liturgy

4 Later works by historical period

4.1 Works of the Geonim 4.2 Works of the Rishonim (the "early" rabbinical commentators) 4.3 Works of the Acharonim (the "later" rabbinical commentators)

5 Meforshim

5.1 Classic Torah
Torah and Talmud
Talmud commentaries 5.2 Modern Torah
Torah commentaries 5.3 Modern Siddur
Siddur commentaries

6 See also 7 Bibliography 8 External links

8.1 General 8.2 Links to full text resources 8.3 Glossaries

Mishnaic
Mishnaic literature[edit] The Mishnah
Mishnah and the Tosefta
Tosefta (compiled from materials pre-dating the year 200 CE) 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
Jerusalem Talmud, c. 450 CE The Babylonian Talmud, c. 600 CE The minor tractates (part of the Babylonian Talmud)

The Midrash[edit] 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
Bible or Mishnah. There are a large number of "classical" Midrashic works spanning a period from Mishnaic
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 [based on (Holtz 1984)] 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 is not extant except in secondary references.

Extra-canonical rabbinical literature ("n.e." designates "not extant")

Estimated date Exegetical Homiletical Narrative

Tannaitic period (till 200 CE)

Mekhilta of Rabbi
Rabbi Ishmael Mekhilta of Rabbi
Rabbi Shimon Mekilta le-Sefer Devarim
Mekilta le-Sefer Devarim (n.e.) Sifra Sifre

Alphabet of Akiba ben Joseph
Alphabet of Akiba ben Joseph (?)

Seder Olam Rabbah

400–650 CE

Genesis Rabbah Lamentations Rabbah

Leviticus Rabbah Pesikta de-Rav Kahana Midrash
Midrash Tanhuma

Seder Olam Zutta

650–900 CE

Midrash
Midrash Proverbs Ecclesiastes Rabbah

Deuteronomy Rabbah Pesikta Rabbati Avot of Rabbi
Rabbi Natan

Pirkei de- Rabbi
Rabbi Eliezer Tanna Devei Eliyahu

900–1000 CE

Midrash
Midrash Psalms Exodus Rabbah Ruth Zuta Lamentations Zuta

1000–1200

Midrash
Midrash Aggadah of Moses ha-Darshan Midrash
Midrash Tadshe

Sefer ha-Yashar

Later

Yalkut Shimoni Midrash
Midrash ha-Gadol Ein Yaakov Numbers Rabbah

Later works by category[edit] Major codes of Jewish law[edit] Main article: Halakha

Mishneh Torah Arba'ah Turim Shulchan Aruch Beit Yosef Chayei Adam The Responsa literature

Jewish thought and ethics[edit]

Jewish philosophy

Philo Isaac Israeli Emunot v'Dayyot Kuzari Guide for the Perplexed Bachya ibn Pakuda Sefer Ikkarim Wars of the Lord Or Adonai

Kabbalah

Sepher Yetzirah Bahir Zohar Pardes Rimonim Etz Hayim

Aggada Hasidic thought

Tanya Kedushas Levi Likutey Moharan

Musar literature

Mesillat Yesharim Shaarei Teshuva Orchot Tzaddikim Sefer Chasidim

Liturgy[edit]

The Siddur
Siddur and Jewish liturgy Piyyutim (Classical Jewish poetry)

Later works by historical period[edit] Works of the Geonim[edit] The Geonim are the rabbis of Sura and Pumbeditha, in Babylon
Babylon (650 - 1250) :

She'iltoth of Acha'i [Gaon] Halachoth Gedoloth Emunoth ve-Deoth (Saadia Gaon) The Siddur
Siddur by Amram Gaon Responsa

Works of the Rishonim (the "early" rabbinical commentators)[edit] 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. Commentaries on the Mishnah, such as those composed by Maimonides, Obadiah of Bertinoro, and Nathan ben Abraham Talmudic novellae (chiddushim) by Tosafists, Nahmanides, Nissim of Gerona, Solomon ben Aderet
Solomon ben Aderet (RaShBA), Yomtov ben Ashbili (Ritva) Works of halakha (Asher ben Yechiel, Mordechai ben Hillel) Codices
Codices by Maimonides
Maimonides and Jacob ben Asher, and finally Shulkhan Arukh Responsa, e.g. by Solomon ben Aderet
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)[edit] The Acharonim are the rabbis from 1550 to the present day.

Important Torah
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, e.g. by Moses Sofer, Moshe Feinstein Works of halakha and codices e.g. Mishnah
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
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto and Nefesh ha-Chayim by Chaim of Volozhin) Mystical works Historical works, e.g. Shem ha-Gedolim by Chaim Joseph David Azulai.

Meforshim[edit] Meforshim is a Hebrew word meaning "commentators" (or roughly meaning "exegetes"), Perushim means "commentaries". In Judaism
Judaism these words refer to commentaries on the Torah
Torah (five books of Moses), Tanakh, Mishnah, Talmud, the responsa literature, or even the siddur (Jewish prayerbook), and more. Classic Torah
Torah and Talmud
Talmud commentaries[edit] Classic Torah
Torah and/or Talmud
Talmud commentaries have been written by the following individuals:

Geonim

Saadia Gaon, 10th century Babylon

Rishonim

Rashi
Rashi (Shlomo Yitzchaki), 12th century France Abraham ibn Ezra Nahmanides
Nahmanides (Moshe ben Nahman) Samuel ben Meir, the Rashbam, 12th century France Rabbi
Rabbi Levi ben Gershom (known as Ralbag or Gersonides) David ben Joseph Kimhi, the Radak, 13th century France Joseph ben Isaac, also known as 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
Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna, 18th century Lithuania The Malbim, Meir Lob ben Jehiel Michael

Classical Talmudic commentaries were written by Rashi. After Rashi
Rashi the Tosafot
Tosafot were written, which was an omnibus commentary on the Talmud
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
Torah commentaries[edit] Modern Torah
Torah commentaries which have received wide acclaim in the Jewish community include:

Haemek Davar by Rabbi
Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin The Chofetz Chaim Torah
Torah Temimah of Baruch ha-Levi Epstein Kerem HaTzvi, by Rabbi
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 Uebersetzung und Erklärung des Pentateuchs ("Translation and Commentary of the Pentateuch") by Samson Raphael Hirsch Nechama Leibowitz, a noted woman scholar Ha Torah
Torah vehaMitzva ("The Torah
Torah and the Commandment") by Meïr Leibush, the "Malbim" Ha-Ketav veha- Kabbalah
Kabbalah by Rabbi
Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg The Soncino Books of the Bible

Modern Siddur
Siddur commentaries[edit] Modern Siddur
Siddur commentaries have been written by:

Rabbi
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan
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
Book with commentary by Joseph H. Hertz Elie Munk, The World of Prayer, Elie Munk Nosson Scherman, The Artscroll
Artscroll Siddur, Mesorah Publications Jonathan Sacks, in The Authorised Daily Prayer Book
Book of the British Commonwealth (the new version of "Singer's Prayer Book") as well as the Koren Sacks Siddur. Reuven Hammer, Or Hadash, a siddur commentary built around the text of Siddur
Siddur Sim Shalom, United Synagogue
Synagogue of Conservative Judaism My Peoples Prayer Book, Jewish Lights Publishing, written by a team of non-Orthodox rabbis and Talmud
Talmud scholars.