Talmud

A collection of rabbinical teachings, laws, and discussions about how to understand and apply the Torah in everyday life. It was written over several centuries and is one of the main texts used in Judaism to guide religious practice and legal decisions. The Talmud began with the Mishnah, a written record of Jewish oral traditions compiled around 200 AD by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi. Later, Jewish scholars wrote extensive discussions and commentary on the Mishnah, called the Gemara. The Mishnah and Gemara together form the Talmud. Two versions were produced: the Jerusalem Talmud, and the more extensive Babylonian Talmud, which became the primary text studied in most Jewish communities. Jewish scholars in Jerusalem wrote down their interpretations of the Mishnah, creating the Jerusalem Talmud. At the same time, another group of scholars in Babylonia (modern-day Iraq) studied the same Mishnah and produced their own, more detailed commentary, which became the Babylonian Talmud. Today, the Talmud is typically published as a multivolume set rather than a single book.