Chazal

Chazal or Ḥazal () are the Jewish sages of the Mishnaic and Talmudic eras, spanning from the final 300 years of the Second Temple period until the 7th century, or . Their authority was mostly in the field of ''Halakha'' (Jewish law) and less regarding Jewish theology.

Rabbinic eras (eras of ''Halakha'')

Chazal are generally divided according to their era and the major written products thereof:
* '' Soferim'' ("scribes"): Sages from the period preceding Ezra the scribe and up to the '' Zugot'' era, including the men of the Great Assembly. Traditionally, the era of ''Soferim'' is assumed to have stretched from the '' Matan Torah'' ("giving of the Law"; i.e., the receipt of the Torah by Moses on Mount Sinai) to the era of the earliest ''Halakha'', including the times of Simeon the Just.
* '' Zugot'' ("pairs"): Five pairs of sages from consecutive generations who lived during a period of roughly 100 years toward the end of the Second Temple era. (142BCE)
* ''Tannaim'' ("teachers"): The sages of the Mishnah who lived in the Land of Israel until 220CE. In addition to the Mishnah, their writings were preserved in the Midrash. Key figures among the ''Tannaim'' include Yohanan ben Zakkai, Rabbi Akiva, and Judah haNasi.
* ''Amoraim'' ("expounders"): The sages of the Talmud active during the codification of the Mishnah and until the finalization of the Talmud (220CE500CE). The ''Amoraim'' were active in two areas: the Land of Israel and Babylon. In addition to the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud, their writings were preserved in ''midrashim'', such as ''Midrash Rabba''.
* ''Savoraim'' ("reasoners"): The sages of '' batei midrash'' (houses of Torah study) in Babylonia from the end of the era of the ''Amoraim'' (5th century) to the early ''Geonim'' (from the end of the 6th century or the midst of the 7th century).

Chazal's authority

Until the end of the ''Savoraim'' era, Chazal had the authority to comment on the Torah according to the standards of Talmudical hermeneutics as defined by the Law given to Moses at Sinai—sometimes even expounding a word or phrase outside its plain and ordinary sense."הלכה למשה מסיני"
(Hebrew wikipedia)

Jewish Virtual Library Nowadays in Orthodox Judaism, the authority of Chazal is not delegated to the current generation's sages; thus, the Torah cannot be commented upon in matters concerning ''Halakha'' if it contradicts Chazal's commentary.

Until the middle of the ''Tannaim'' era, when there was a Sanhedrin (a high court of Jewish law), Chazal had also the authority to decree restrictions and to enact new religious regulations—in any matter they saw fit—concerning issues that were not included in the Torah, written or oral. The Rabbinic ''mitzvot'' (commandments) include the holidays of Purim and Hanukkah, the laws of '' muktzeh'' ("set-aside items") on Shabbat, the ritual washing of one's hands (''netilat yadayim'') before eating bread, the construction of ''eruvim'' (liminal gateways), and the institution of the current schedule of daily prayer services: ''shacharit'' (morning prayer), ''mincha'' (afternoon prayer), and '' ma'ariv'' (evening prayer).

See also

* Jewish commentaries on the Bible

Footnotes

References

External links

*

{{Savoraim

Acronyms
Talmud concepts and terminology