0

As I understand it, the Babylonian Talmud was written in the 3rd to the 5th centuries CE. At that point, Judaism was already a well-established religion. The Babylonian Talmud contains explanations and commentaries on the Oral and Written law (correct me if I'm wrong please).

What I don't understand is why the Babylonian Talmud is considered scripture or "almost" scripture. What was special about the Babylonian rabbis that made their thoughts and arguments more authoritative than, say, contemporary rabbis?

In contrast, in Christianity, the "commentaries" are the letters written by people blessed with holy spirit such as Paul. Thus, it makes sense that new commentaries cannot be added or old ones challenged because there can be no new apostles. Is there some similar explanation for the authoritativeness of the Babylonian Talmud?

Loewian
  • 17,746
  • 2
  • 29
  • 60
Stand with Gaza
  • 192
  • 6
  • What do you mean by this phrase: “ What I don't understand is why the Babylonian Talmud is considered scripture or "almost" scripture.” – Dr. Shmuel Jan 22 '20 at 05:04
  • The Babylonian Talmud is not the last say in the modern practice of a law, it is the first. – Dr. Shmuel Jan 22 '20 at 05:06
  • I mean as in "holy book" If it is not holy, why can't, say, 21st century French rabbis get together and write the French Talmud? If it is holy, then what makes it holy? Maybe "holy" isn't the right word, but I hope you get what I mean. – Stand with Gaza Jan 22 '20 at 05:21
  • 1
    We believe that the Oral Law and Written Law were both given to Moses at Mt. Sinai. It was forbidden to write down the Oral Law, which was transmitted in a chain from Moses to Joshua down to the Babylonian exhile. When Roman persecution and exhile threatened to disrupt the continued teaching of the Oral Law, the decision was made to record discussions of the Law, (first in Israel, resulting in the "Jerusalem Talmud", later in Babylon, resulting in the Babylonian Talmud.) A group of 21st century French rabbis would presumably have no new Oral tradition dating back to Mt. Sinai – יהושע ק Jan 22 '20 at 05:50
  • Further, most religious Jews believe that "ruach ha-Kodesh" (Very loosely translated as "the spirit of G-d") guided the discussions recorded in both Talmuds – יהושע ק Jan 22 '20 at 07:14
  • This question is premised on an oversimplified understanding of the authority of the Talmud. You may be interested in the following related questions. Regarding the authority of the Babylonian vs. Jerusalem Talmuds: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/13058 https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/13054 https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/92735. The authority of the Talmud/talmudic sages/pre-Talmudic Sanhedrin: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/43888 https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/26047 https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/35952... – Fred Jan 22 '20 at 07:52
  • ...Disagreements between sages of different epochs (intra-talmudic and post-talmudic): https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/53534 https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/27246 https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/17249. Emphasis on Babylonian Talmud: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/40916 https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/40929. On the orality of the Oral Law: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/7870 & linked questions. More on the nature & authority of the Oral Law: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/38763 https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/61198 https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/23343... – Fred Jan 22 '20 at 08:03
  • ... https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/48569 https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/89298 https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/65924 https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/65974 https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/73531 https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/7866 and https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/85703. Feel free to look through relevant tags to find more questions that may interest you. Hope this is helpful! – Fred Jan 22 '20 at 08:08
  • @BjörnLindqvist: The Christian equivalent of the Talmud is the patristic corpus, rather than Pauline epistles. –  Jan 28 '20 at 08:58

1 Answers1

3

Maimonides writes in the Introduction to Mishneh Torah that the Babylonian Talmud is authoritative because it contains the rulings of all (or at least a majority) of the Sages of the time, and its rulings were accepted by all Israel.

Joel K
  • 43,068
  • 4
  • 62
  • 166