Most of you have heard of the Talmud. This collection of anecdotes, aphorisms, teachings-aka, the oral law of Judaism- is comprised of two collections. The first one is the Mishna (‘repeated study’). This is the older collection arranged by Rav Yehuda haNasi (Venerated Prince Rabbi Yehuda, the head of the Sanhedrin) around 200 CE. Most of this material had been transmitted from generation to generation since the Babylonia Exile (the time of the prophet/scribe Ezra), ca 450 BCE. The Gemara (‘completion’), the discussion and aggrandizement of the facets of the Mishna, was completed two centuries later. Together, these comprise the Talmud.
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