Unit 2: The Rabbinic Revolution

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, texts, historical figures, and structural concepts of Unit 2: The Rabbinic Revolution.

Hevruta (חַבְרוּתָא)

A traditional Jewish study partnership where two learners read texts aloud, debate, question, and analyze rabbinic literature together.

Zekeinim (זְקֵנִים)

Elders; a group of leaders in the chain of transmission who received the Torah from Joshua and passed it on to the Prophets.

Din (דִּין)

Judgment or legal justice; highlighted in Pirkei Avot 1:1 in the instruction to "be deliberate in judgment."

Talmidim (תַּלְמִידִים)

Students or disciples; highlighted in Pirkei Avot 1:1 in the instruction to "raise up many students."

Si’yag (סְיָג)

A fence or protective legal boundary erected around the commandments to prevent individuals from transgressing Torah law.

Rav (רַב)

A Hebrew term meaning master or teacher.

Tannaim (תַּנָּאִים)

"Repeaters" or "teachers"; the generation of rabbinic sages who lived from approximately 10 to 220 CE and created the Mishnah.

Amoraim (אָמוֹרָאִים)

"Speakers" or "interpreters"; the generation of rabbinic sages active from approximately 200 to 500 CE whose discussions on the Mishnah constitute the Gemara.

Torah She’bichtav (תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב)

The Written Torah; the books of the Hebrew Bible (TaNaKh) consisting of Torah, Prophets (Nevi'im), and Writings (Ketuvim).

Torah She’be’al Peh (תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה)

The Oral Torah; the unwritten laws, interpretations, and discussions transmitted across generations and eventually compiled into the Mishnah and Gemara.

Seder (סֵדֶר)

One of the six major topical "orders" or primary sections of the Mishnah (such as Zeraim, Moed, Nashim, Nezikin, Kodashim, and Tahorot).

Masechet (מַסֶּכֶת)

A tractate; an individual book within a Seder of the Mishnah organized around a specific topic.

Perek (פֶּרֶק)

A chapter within a tractate (Masechet) of the Mishnah or within a book of the Torah.

"A mishna" (מִשְׁנָה)

An individual law, teaching, or paragraph within a chapter of the Mishnah.

"THE Mishna" (הַמִּשְׁנָה)

The foundational written compilation of the Oral Law, edited and organized into Six Orders around 200 CE by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi.

Gemara (גְּמָרָא)

"Teaching" in Aramaic; the recorded rabbinic analyses and discussions commenting on the Mishnah.

Talmud (תַּלְמוּד)

The monumental compilation of Jewish law and lore composed of the Mishnah together with the Gemara.

Anshei Knesset HaGedolah (אַנְשֵׁי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה)

The Men of the Great Assembly; the early rabbinic leadership body that received the Torah from the Prophets and formulated three foundational principles for maintaining Jewish law.

Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai

A prominent Tannaitic leader who escaped the Roman siege of Jerusalem disguised in a coffin and negotiated with Vespasian to establish the rabbinic center at Yavneh.

Yavneh

The city where Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai re-established the Sanhedrin and an academy for studying Jewish law following the destruction of the Second Temple.

Biryonim

The militant zealot faction in besieged Jerusalem that insisted on waging war against Rome and burned the city's food stores.

Abba Sikra

The leader of the Biryonim rebels in Jerusalem and nephew of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai who aided his uncle's covert escape from the besieged city.

Vespasian

The Roman general besieging Jerusalem who became Emperor and granted Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai's request to spare Yavneh and its sages.

Rabban Gamliel II

Tannaitic sage who instituted practical alternatives to the Temple cult, such as designating synagogues as local miniature Temples, requiring communal Torah reading on Mondays, Thursdays, and Shabbat, and developing holiday home liturgies like the Passover Seder.

Rabbi Akiva

A leading Tanna who expanded and dynamically interpreted the Oral Law to meet changing circumstances and began categorizing oral teachings into structured collections for memorization.

Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi

The rabbinic leader who compiled, edited, and committed the Oral Law to writing around 200 CE in the form of the Six Orders of the Mishnah.

70 CE

The year Roman forces destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem, ending sacrificial service and prompting the emergence of Rabbinic Judaism.

586 BCE

The approximate year Babylonian forces destroyed the First Temple in Jerusalem and ended the Judean monarchy.

516 BCE

The approximate year construction of the Second Temple was completed, reinstating priest-led sacrificial worship.

Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli)

The compilation of rabbinic discussions on the Mishnah completed in Babylonia around 500 CE.

Talmud Yerushalmi

The compilation of rabbinic discussions on the Mishnah produced by the sages in the Land of Israel around 400 CE.

Midrash

A genre of rabbinic literature developed between roughly 200 and 800 CE that interprets biblical texts and uncovers deeper meanings by filling narrative gaps.

Halakhic Codes

Comprehensive, systematically organized bodies of Jewish law derived from the Written and Oral Torah (developed roughly 600–1500 CE and onward) to govern religious observance, ethics, and daily life.

Responsa

Collections of written legal rulings and answers authored by rabbinic authorities from roughly 600 CE to today in response to specific questions about Jewish law.

Zeraim (זְרָעִים)

"Seeds"; the first Order of the Mishnah, dealing with agricultural obligations, tithes, and daily blessings.

Moed (מוֹעֵד)

"Festival" or appointed times; the second Order of the Mishnah, detailing the laws of Shabbat and the Jewish holidays.

Nashim (נָשִׁים)

"Women"; the third Order of the Mishnah, regulating marriage, divorce, contracts, and vows.

Nezikin (נְזִיקִין)

"Damages"; the fourth Order of the Mishnah, governing civil and criminal law, court operations, and damages.

Kodashim (קֳדָשִׁים)

"Holy things"; the fifth Order of the Mishnah, addressing Temple sacrifices, priestly rituals, and dietary slaughter.

Tahorot (טֳהָרוֹת)

"Purities"; the sixth Order of the Mishnah, outlining the laws governing ritual cleanliness, defilement, and purification rites.

Kamtza and Bar Kamtza

The figures in a famous Talmudic story whose interpersonal feud and public humiliation set off the sequence of events that brought about the destruction of Jerusalem.