Development & Authority - Unit

Tanakh

The Hebrew Bible, consisting of Torah (Law), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings).

Ezra and the Men of the Great Assembly

Jewish leaders in the post-biblical era following the return from Babylonian exile in 538 BCE and the building of the Second Temple in 516 BCE.

Tanna’im

Rabbinic sages living in the Land of Israel from approximately 10 CE to 220 CE who produced the Mishnah.

Amoraim

Rabbinic scholars living in the Land of Israel and Babylonia from approximately 200 to 500 CE who produced the Gemara.

Geonim

Great scholars of the post-Talmudic period who authored Codes of Jewish Law and Responsa (Teshuvot).

Mishneh Torah

A major code of Jewish law authored by Maimonides.

Shulchan Aruch

A comprehensive code of Jewish law authored by Yosef Karo.

Exodus 24:12 Exegesis (Berakhot 5a)

A rabbinic drash mapping 'tablets of stone' to the Ten Commandments, 'the law' to the Chumash, 'the commandment' to the Mishnah, 'which I have written' to the Prophets and Writings, and 'that you may teach them' to the Gemara, concluding all were given to Moses at Sinai.

Parable of the Wheat and Flax (Seder Eliahu Zuta 2)

A Midrashic parable where a king gives wheat and flax to two servants; the clever servant turns them into fine flour and a tablecloth, illustrating how human effort is required to process raw Torah into Oral Torah.

Upturned Mountain Covenant (Shabbat 88a)

Rav Avdimi bar Chama bar Chasa's statement that God held Mount Sinai over the Jewish people like an upturned tub, warning that refusal to accept the Torah would result in their burial there.

Re-acceptance of the Torah (Shabbat 88a)

Rava's teaching based on Esther 9:27 that the Jewish people willingly re-established and accepted the covenant of the Torah during the era of Achashverosh.

Tanur Shel Achnai

'The Oven of Achnai' described in Bava Metzia 59b, named because the scholars encompassed the dispute over its purity with arguments like a snake.

Lo BaShamayim Hi

'It is not in heaven' (Deuteronomy 30:12), invoked by Rabbi Yehoshua in Bava Metzia 59b to establish that legal rulings are determined by human Rabbinic majorities rather than divine voices or miracles.

Gates of Oppression (Bava Metzia 59b)

A tradition from the house of Rabban Gamliel's grandfather stating that while all other heavenly gates may be locked, the gates of prayer for victims of oppression (ona'ah) are never closed.

Court Nullification Requirements (Mishnah Eduyot 1:5)

The legal rule that a later rabbinic court cannot overturn a decision of a previous court unless it is greater than the earlier court in both wisdom and number.

Recording Minority Opinions (Mishnah Eduyot 1:5–1:6)

The preservation of rejected individual views in text so a future court may rely on them if needed, or to demonstrate that a specific person's tradition was previously nullified.

These and these are the words of the living God (Eruvin 13b)

A rabbinic principle addressing the legal disputes between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai, indicating that both opposing views carry sacred validity.

Beit Hillel's Conduct (Eruvin 13b)

The explanation for why the law follows Beit Hillel: because they were kindly and modest, taught both their own rulings and those of Beit Shammai, and quoted Beit Shammai's words before their own.

Midrash Genesis Rabbah 8:5

A Midrash describing how the ministering angels disputed over the creation of man, leading God to cast Truth to the ground and create man while the angels were still arguing.

Halachah

Traditional Jewish law derived from the Hebrew root meaning 'to go' or 'to walk,' defining the path a Jew is commanded to follow in civil and religious matters.