The Talmud - Pathways

arguments and it seems to the uneducated eye that the rabbis are merely
splitting hairs, and that some of the arguments have absolutely no basis in
everyday life. But this is not so.
The reason why the rabbis argued about things that may not have any
application to everyday life was to try to get to truth in an abstract way – to
understand the logic and to extract the principle. These rabbis were
interested in understanding reality and in doing the right thing. Reality is
what Judaism is all about – the ultimate reality being God.
Another important point is that much of the dispute is focused on relatively
minor points while the larger issues were generally not disputed. You don’t
see a single argument as to whether or not you can eat pork, or whether or
not you can light a fire on Shabbat. These things were given, they were
totally agreed upon. Only small points were subject to discussion. And these
rabbis were wise enough to know that a day would come when the
principles established by getting to the kernel of truth would have far
reaching implications.
Gemara
When you look at the page of the
Babylonian Talmud today, you will find the
Hebrew text of the Mishnah is featured in
the middle of the page. Interspersed
between the Hebrew of the Mishnah are
explanations in both Hebrew and Aramaic
which are called the Gemara.
The Aramaic word Gemara means “tradition.” In Hebrew, the word Gemara
means “completion.” Indeed, the Gemara is a compilation of the various
rabbinic discussions on the Mishnah, and as such completes the
understanding of the Mishnah.
The texts of the Mishnah and Gemara are then surrounded by other layers
of text and commentaries from a later period.
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