talmud Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun the collection of ancient rabbinic writings on Jewish law and tradition (the Mishna and the Gemara) that constitute the basis of religious authority in Orthodox Judaism

Chald. talm&umac;d instruction, doctrine, fr. lamad to learn, limmad to teach.

The body of the Jewish civil and canonical law not comprised in the Pentateuch. ✍ The Talmud consists of two parts, the Mishna, or text, and the Gemara, or commentary. Sometimes, however, the name Talmud is restricted, especially by Jewish writers, to the Gemara. There are two Talmuds, the Palestinian, commonly, but incorrectly, called the Talmud of Jerusalem, and the Babylonian Talmud. They contain the same Mishna, but different Gemaras. The Babylonian Talmud is about three times as large as the other, and is more highly esteemed by the Jews.