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Jewish Studies
JUDAIC TEXTS
TANAKH || TALMUD || CODES || KABBALAH || MODERN TEACHINGS || LITURGY
Introduction:
This guide provides an introduction to the core texts of Jewish religious writing. Works are described and traditional Hebrew names are correlated with Greek and English equivalents as well as Library of Congress Subject Heading (LCSH) terms required for searching library catalogs. Examples of titles available in the UCSC Library collection are cited. (Note: Library holdings will be found in "McHenry Stacks" -- the open shelves in McHenry Library -- unless noted otherwise.) The organization follows the traditional historical development of Judaic literature beginning with the Torah, the various sources of commentary, especially the Talmud, and other texts through to modern teachings.Further reading: Back to the sources : reading the classic Jewish texts. BM496.5.B33 1984.
TANAKH (or TANACH), the Jewish name for the Bible, is an acronym derived from the first letter of its three major parts: תורה (Torah), נביאים (Nevi'im or Prophets), and כתובים (Ketuvim or Writings). Though also referred to as the "Old Testament" or Septuagint, the TANAKH differs slightly in content and organization from later compilations of the texts. (In addition, the term "Old Testament" with its implication that the TANAKH has been superseded by a newer testament raises other issues for Jews.) Researchers may also encounter another less-common synonym for the Hebrew Bible, Mikra or Miqra, as in the Mikra'ot Gedelot or Commentators' Bible.
further reading: Jewish Virtual Library http://http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Tanakh.html
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The Torah is the core text of Judaism, the source for everything else -- the laws, rituals, and commentary -- that follows. While the term "Torah" can be used in a number of ways, for our purposes here it refers specifically to the first five books of TANAKH. However, it can be worth knowing some of its other meanings. For instance, the word "torah" literally means "teaching" or "law" and is used in frequently in this general sense. "Torah" may refer to the entire TANAKH (Written Law) or the TANAKH plus the later commentary (Oral Law). The handwritten scroll containing the Five Books of Moses used in Jewish rituals is more properly called a Sefer Torah (Book of Torah). A printed volume of Torah may also be called a Chumash (derived from Hebrew root for "five"). Many editions of Torah include scholarly commentaries representing either compilations of interpretations or the work of a single writer.
Books of the Torah
| Hebrew | English/Greek | LCSH | sample titles:
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| תורה Torah | Pentateuch | Bible. O.T. Pentateuch |
| בראשית Bereishit | Genesis | Bible. O.T. Genesis |
| שמות Sh'mote Shemoth | Exodus | Bible. O.T. Exodus |
| ויקרא Vayikra | Leviticus | Bible. O.T. Leviticus |
| במדבר Bamidbar B'midbar | Numbers | Bible. O.T. Numbers |
| דברימ Devarim | Deuteronomy | Bible. O.T. Deuteronomy |
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Books of Nevi'im - Prophets
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Books of Ketuvim - Writings - Hagiographa
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The rabbinic literature includes the written record of the oral discourses that have come down to us as the Talmud. The term Talmud, in general usage, has come to represent the entire body of rabbinic commentary and disputation written down as the Mishnah, Tosefta, Midrash, and Gemara. However, Talmud is the proper name of the Gemara, the commentary on the Mishnah.
The Mishnah (משנה) is the written record the rabbis' oral discussions and decisions that took place over centuries until it was set down about 200 C.E. The text is organized into six major Sedarim or Orders and within these the Masekhetot or Tractates (see the table below). The Mishnah is also sometimes called Shas for Shisha Sedarim ("six orders"). The Tosefta is another, separate compilation of oral discourses but it does not have the authority of the Mishnah, largely because it was not carried forward by subsequent commentary. The Talmud or Gemara (גמרא) is the written record, primarily in Aramaic, of the oral rabbinic commentaries on the Mishnah. The Gemara commentary appears with the text of the Mishnah passage under discussion. While the Talmud is organized according to the Tractates of the Mishnah, not all of the Mishnah's Tractates are represented (or did not survive to our time) and not in the same sequence (see the table below). Further, there are two "editions" of the Talmud, known as the Bavli (בבלי or Babylonian) and the Yerushalmi (ירושלמי or Jerusalem or Palestinian or Israeli or Western) Talmuds, representing two major Jewish communities in the early centuries of the Diaspora. The Bavli is considered the more authoritative and is usually referred to simply as the Talmud. further reading: "Mishnah" and "Talmud" JewishEncyclopedia.com Orders and Tractates of the Mishnah and Talmud: The following table lists the major sections (Orders) and the individual sections (Tractates) that make up the Mishnah. These are correlated with the Tractates of the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, numbered according to the sequence in which they normally appear.
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| The Mishnah and Talmud, while often concerned with legal matters or Halakhah (הלכה = "law" or "path"), also contain non-legal discussion or Aggadah (אגדה = "discourse"). Much of this aggadic material is in the form of stories, such as legends, parables and folklore. Some of this material, along with similar discourses from other sources, has been collected in various works under the general heading of Midrash (מדרש = "interpretation"). The accounts contained in the Midrash may illustrate points of law or elaborate on the stories in the Torah or provide insights into Jewish culture. Responsa (שאלות ותשובות = She'elot u-Teshubot = "Questions and Answers") are discourses and judgments in the form of letters. Earlier Responsa were incorporated into the Mishnah and Talmud. In more recent times these are the primary means of addressing the application of the law codes to contemporary issues and circumstances. There are different collections of Responsa corresponding to the different branches of Judaism. further reading: "She'elot u-Teshubot" [Responsa] JewishEncyclopedia.com |
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THE CODES OF LAW
| The Law Codes represent further attempts to distill and organize the earlier body of legal decisions in order to make them more accessible. Though these are usually the work of individual scholars and despite their reductive and sometimes controversial nature, the Codes hold a significant place in Jewish law. For instance, the modern Responsa are based on the Law Codes rather than on the earlier sources. Two of the more important and well-known codes are the Mishneh Torah (משנה תורה = "second law" = Code of Maimonides) by Moses ben Maimon (aka Rambam or Maimonides, 1135-1204) and the Shulkhan Aruch (or Shulhan Aruh = שולחן ערוך = "set table" = Code of Jewish Law) by Yosef Karo (1488-1575). The Library's edition of the Code of Maimonides is not yet complete and a complete English translation of the Shulkhan Aruch has not been published. Many available editions of the Codes are compilations of entries from these and other sources. |
sample headings: sample titles: BM545 .M62 1960 BM545 .M62 BM560.G322 1961 |
| Instruction in Kabbalah (or Cabala or Qabbalah), the Jewish mystical tradition, was once reserved for men deemed well-grounded in Talmud and Torah and old enough to withstand the confusion brought on by its insights. Nowadays classes and books offer instant access to all who are interested. The current notoriety of Kabbalah ("the receiving") fueled by aggressive marketing and celebrity endorsements is only the most recent episode in a long history of controversies. The origins of Kabbalah are fittingly obscure. The first written Kabbalistic text (Sefer Ha-Bahir) dates from the 12th century. The Jewish enlightenment ("Haskalah" 18th c) suppressed mystical teachings in favor of rational approaches to belief and practice. The 20th century has seen a revival of Kabbalistic teachings and increasing influence on other Jewish teachings. Once-esoteric concepts such as Shekhinah, a feminine aspect of the divine, and tikkun olum ("repairing the world") have been incorporated into the wider tradition with a growing influence on Jewish thought and ritual. |
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| Judaism continues evolving and its ability to reassess teachings and adapt to new circumstances is especially apparent in the development of new teachings and movements during the modern era. Insightful, inspired and charismatic leaders, thinkers and teachers have continued the tradition of ongoing revelation of their classical predecessors. Some have helped spark new movements bringing renewed vitality to Jewish discourse and practice. The following provides a sampling of key teachers, the movements they help found, and writings that illustrate their contributions to modern Jewish thought. | |
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Teachers, Movements, Writings: Hasidism : The Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760) |
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Other Modern Teachers : |
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Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) philosopher
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Aryeh Kaplan (1934-1983) theologian
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| Jewish prayers and rituals are largely situational, relating to specific times and events. Thus there are prayers for different cycles of time -- daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly -- as well for most occurances -- waking, meals, going to the bathroom, going to bed, births, illness, death, travel, or seeing a rainbow -- that one may encounter along the way. Subsequently these different types of prayers are collected into different types of prayer books according to their time and setting.
The most common prayerbook is the Siddur (סדור pl. Siddurim) which come in several different versions. A complete Siddur contains prayers for daily observances, Shabbat (Sabbath), the new month. the annual festivals and holidays, and special occasions. Tehillim (תהלימ = Psalms) are included as readings for special occasions. Special Siddur editions cover selected parts of these observances. A prayerbook for the major annual holidays and festivals is called a Machzor (מחזור or Mahzor in the library catalog). In traditional Jewish practice where women were not taught Hebrew, special editions called Tkhines, written in Yiddish and edited accordingly, were published. Another special collection of prayers and readings is the Haggadah (הגדה pl. Haggadot), the text read during the Pesach Seder (Passover meal). Hundreds, if not thousands, of Haggadah editions have been published, each reflecting its community and times. Of local note is the Santa Cruz Haggadah (BM674.75 .R64 1991) with its New Age approach to recounting the Exodus. Collections including the blessings after a meal (Birkat HaMazon) and other blessings for rituals in the home are called Benchers. And, while not strictly prayerbooks, editions of Psalms (Tehillim) are often used for private prayer and meditation. |
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