Introduction to Rabbinic Literature Part 1

(1) All the mitzvot that were given to Moshe on Sinai - they were given with their explanation, as it is written: "and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment." (Exodus 24:12) "The Law" - this refers to the written Torah; "the commandment" - this refers to the explanation. And He [HaShem] commanded to do [i.e., perform] the Law according to the commandment. And this commandment - this is called the Torah sheb'al Peh [Oral Law].

(2) The whole Torah was written by our teacher Moses before he died, in his hand. And he gave a book [of the Torah] to each and every one of the tribes. And one scroll he placed in the ark for a witness, as it is written: "Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee." (Deuteronomy 31:26).

(3) The commandment, which is the explanation of the law, he did not write. But [instead] he commanded to the Elders [of Israel], to Joshua and to the rest of all of Israel, as it is written: "All this word which I command you, that shall ye observe to do." (Deuteronomy 13:1) And because of this it is called the Oral Law.

(4) Even though the Oral Law was not written, Moshe our Teacher taught all of it [the law] in his Bet Din to the seventy elders. And Elazar, Pinchas and Yehoshua - [these] three received [the Law] from Moshe. And Yehoshua who was a student of Moshe our Teacher, he [Moshe] transmitted the Oral Law to him and instructed him in it. And likewise Yehoshua taught it all the days of his life.

...Rabbi Yehuda the son of Rabban Shimon - he is the one that is called Our Holy Rabbi - he, received it from his father and from Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua and from Rabbi Shimon his colleague.

(12) Rabbeinu Hakadosh composed the Mishnah. From the days of Moshe until Rabbenu Hakadosh they did not compose a composition from which to teach the Oral Law in public. But in each generation the head of the Beth Din, or the prophet that lived in that generation, would write for himself reminders of that which he had heard from his teachers, and then he would teach those orally in public.

(13) And so, each and every one wrote down for himself according to his ability, of clarifications of the Torah and its laws as he heard, and the innovations of each generation, about laws that weren't derived from tradition, but rather from the properties of the 13 principles, and which were decided upon by the Great Court. So it always was, until Rabbenu Hakadosh.

(14) He collected all the teachings, all the laws, and all the explanations and commentaries that were heard from Moses, our teacher, and which were taught by the courts in each generation concerning the entire Torah. From all these, he composed the text of the Mishnah. He taught it to the Sages in public and revealed it to the Jewish people, who all wrote it down. They spread it in all places so that the Oral Law would not be forgotten by the Jewish people.

(15) Why did Rabbenu Hakadosh make [such an innovation] instead of perpetuating the status quo? Because he saw the students becoming fewer, new difficulties constantly arising, the Roman Empire18 spreading itself throughout the world and becoming more powerful, and the Jewish people wandering and becoming dispersed to the far ends of the world. [Therefore,] he composed a single text that would be available to everyone, so that it could be studied quickly and would not be forgotten. Throughout his entire life, he and his court taught the Mishnah to the masses.

(18) Rav composed the Sifra and the Sifre to explain and make known the principles of the Mishnah, and Ribbi Hiyya authored the Tosefta to explain the contents of the Mishnah. Ribbi Hoshaya and bar Kappara also authored external Mishnayot to highlight the words of the Mishnah. And Ribbi Yohanan authored the Jerusalem Talmud in Eretz Israel approximately 300 years after the destruction of the (II) Temple...

(22) All these rabbis are the leaders of their generations - some of them were heads of Yeshivah, some the leaders of the Exile and some of the Great Bet Din (Sanhedri), and with them in each generations there were tens of thousands of disciples, learning from them and with them.

(23) Ravina and rav Ashe are the last of the sages of the Talmud. rav Ashe authored the Babylonian Talmud on the land of Shinar, approximately one hundred years after Ribbi Yohanan authored the Jerusalem Talmud.

(24) The essence of both Talmuds is an explanation of the words of the Mishnah and illumination of its depths, as well as matters which were innovated by each rabbinical court from the time of Rabbi Judah the Holy up to the completion of the Talmud. The two Talmuds, the Tosefta, the Sifra and Sifre, and the Toseftas - [are the sources from which ] will be clarified the concepts of forbidden and permissible, the impure and the pure, the punishable and the exempt, the qualified and the disqualified, as they have transmitted, person from person, all the way to Moshe at Sinai.

(25) They will also clarify the concepts decreed by the sages and the prophets of each generation, to create a fence for te Torah, as they have explicitly heard from Moshe "guard my guard" (Lev. 18:30) meaning: "make a guard for my guard."...

(26) They will also clarify the customs and regulations created in each generation, as was deemed necessary by the rabbinic court of the time, since one is not allowed to veer from them, as it is written "you shall not veer from their word to the right or to the left" (Deut. 17:11).

(27) ...Also, laws and legislations which are פלאיים [unique/distinct/without precedent] which they have not received from Moshe, and the Great rabbinical court of that generation analyzed using the methods of the interpretation of the Torah, and the elders reached a decision on what the law should be - all was included by rav Ashe in the Talmud - from the time of Moshe until Rav Ashe's time.

(28) The sages of the Mishnah wrote other books to explain the words of the Torah. Ribbi Hoshaya, a disciple of Ribbi Judah the Holy, wrote a commentary on Genesis, and Ribbi Yishmael commented on the Torah from Exodus to the end, a book called Mekhilta, Ribbi Akiva as well authored a Mekhilta. Other rabbis after them authored books of Midrash, and all this was written before the Babylonian Talmud.

(29) To conclude: Ravina, Rav Ashe, and their colleagues are the last sages of Israel who transmitted the Oral Law, and who decreed decrees, made regulations and created customs which became accepted by all Israelites wherever they live.

(30) After the court of rav Ashe, who authored and canonized the Talmud during his son's lifetime, the Israelites were dispersed all over the land in extreme measure, and have reached the end of the world and the far islands. There were also great wars and the roads were blocked by armies, and the level of Torah learning has diminished, and the Israelites did not gather in their Yeshivot to study by the tens of thousands as it was done before.

(31) Rather some individuals, the remnants named by God (see Joel 3:5), would gather in each town and country and study Torah, and master the works of all the sages, and from them they learned the way of the law.

(32) Each court which was established after the Talmud in any country, and made decrees, regulations, or customs, to its country or other countries, its decision have not spread through the whole people - because of the dispersion and the difficulty of traveling. Also, that court was considered an individual since the great court, of seventy members, has been annulled many years prior to the canonization of the Talmud. Th..

(33) Therefore we cannot force the residents of one country to follow the custom of another country, and we do not tell a court to make a decree similar to the one made by a different court [even] in the same country. Also, if one of the Geonim taught the way of the law in one manner, and a later court understood that it differs from the way of the law as written in the Talmud, we do not follow the earlier, but rather to the one whose argument is more convincing, regardless if he an earlier or later sage.

(34) These rules apply to the laws, decrees, regulations, and customs, introduced after eh canonization of the Talmud. However, all matters mentioned on the Babylonian Talmud are binding to all Israelites. We force all cities and all countries to follow all customs followed by the Talmudic sages, and to uphold their decrees and their regulations.

(35) [That is] because all these matters in the Talmud were agreed upon by all Israel, and the sages who regulated or decreed or made a custom or judged and taught that the law is such and such, are all the sages of israel or their majority, and they are the ones who received the whole transmission, person from person, all the way to Moshe at Sinai.

(36) All the sages who lived after the canonization of the Talmud and analyzed it, and made a name for themselves through their wisdom - are called geonim. And all these Geonim who lived in Israel, Shinar [Babylonia], Spain and France taught the way of the Talmud, revealed its mysteries and explained its matters, since its path is very deep [hard to comprehend]. Also, it is written in Aramaic with a mixture of other languages, since that language was the lingua franca of Shinar at the time of the canonization of the Talmud, but in other places and even in Shinar at the time of the Geonim, one would not know this language unless it was taught to him.

(37) The people of each city would ask many question of their contemporary Gaon, requesting explanation for the difficult matters of the Talmud, and the [Geonim] answered in accordance with their wisdom. The addressees would then gather the responses into books they would use for studying.

(38) The Geonim of each generation also wrote books to explain the Talmud, some explained single units, some explained specific chapters which present problems to his contemporary students, and some explained whole tractates and orders.

(39) They also wrote clear-cut laws, on timely matters of the forbidden and the permissible, the punishable and the exempt, so those who cannot fathom the Talmud will be closer to understanding [the laws]. This is the holy work in which all Israelite Geonim were engaged in, from the canonization of the Talmud until today, 1108 years after the destruction (1178 CE).

(40) And now the calamities are many and frequent, and the harsh times destroyed everything. The wisdom of our sages has been lost, and the intelligence of our scholars has been hidden [or: has collapsed]. Therefore, those explanations, responses, and laws written by the Geonim have become hard to decipher, and there are only few who can fully comprehend their contents. Needless to say, [fewer comprehend] the Talmud itself: the Babylonian, the Jerusalem Talmud, the Sifra, Sifre and the Toseftas - which all require breadth of mind, a wise soul, and lengthy time before one can conclude from them what is the correct way in the matters of the forbidden and the permissible and the rest of the laws of the Torah.

(41) Because of all that I, Moshe son of Ribbi Maimon of Sepharad, have decided to take action. I have relied on the Creator and analyzed all these writings. I found it necessary to write the conclusions which are derived from all these works; in matters of the forbidden and the permissible, the pure and the impure, with the rest of the laws of the Torah. All will be written in lucid language and few words, so that all people will be well versed in the totality of the Oral Law - with no questions and answers, with no "this one says so and that one says so" but rather clear, accessible, correct concepts, following the law distilled from all the books and commentaries created from the time of Ribbi Judah the Holy until today.

(42) In that manner all the laws will be revealed to children and adults alike [or the lesser and the greater], regarding the laws of each Mitzvah, and the laws of all matters established by the sages and the prophets. In summa [the purpose of my book is] that one will not need any other book regarding the Laws of Israel, but rather this book will gather the whole oral Law, with the regulations, customs, and decrees made from the time of Moshe until the canonization of the Talmud, as the Geonim have explained in all their works which they wrote after he canonization of the Talmud. That is why I named my book Mishne Torah [Second to the Torah] - because one reads first the Written Law and then reads this [book], and from it he knows the whole oral Law, and he does not need to read any other book between them.

(1) A woman is acquired in three ways, and she acquires herself in two ways. She is acquired through money, through a document, or through sexual intercourse. Through money: Beit Shammai say, "With a dinar [a specific unit of money] or with the equivalent value of a dinar." And Beit Hillel say, "With a perutah or with the equivalent value of a perutah." How much is a perutah? One eighth of an Italian issar [a specific unit of money equal to one twenty-fourth of a dinar]. And she acquires herself through a bill of divorce or through the death of the husband. A yevamah [a widow whose brother-in-law performed levirate marriage with her] is acquired through sexual intercourse, and acquires herself through chalitzah [the ceremony performed by the widow of a childless man as an alternative way to release herself from the obligation to wait for levirate marriage] or through the death of the yavam [one upon whom has fallen the obligation to perform levirate marriage].

(2) A Hebrew slave is acquired through money or through a document, and acquires himself through years [of service], through the Jubilee Year, or through prorated monetary [payment]. A Hebrew maidservant has an advantage over him, in that she acquires herself through [physical] signs [of puberty]. [A slave] who [has his ear] pierced is acquired through [the] piercing, and acquires himself through the Jubilee Year or with the death of the master.

(3) A Canaanite slave is acquired through money, through a document or through establishment of possession. And he acquires himself through money by a third party or through a document by himself. These are the word of Rabbi Meir. And the Sages say, "Through money by himself and through a document by a third party, providing that the money be from a third party.

(4) A large animal is acquired through transfer [of the reins], and a small animal through lifting [it]; these are the words of Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Elazar. The Sages say, "A small animal is acquired through pulling [it]."

(5) Mortgaged property is acquired through money, through a document, or through establishment of possession; and non-mortgaged [property] is acquired only through pulling [it]. Property which is non-mortgaged can be acquired along with mortgaged property through money, through a document or through establishment of possession; and that which is non-mortgaged can, [by association,] bind [itself to] that which is mortgaged [to force one] to take an oath regarding [that property].

(6) Anything that is used as currency for something else, once this [party to the transaction] takes possession [of it], this [other party] is obligated in its exchange. How so? If one exchanges a bull for a cow, or a donkey for a bull, once this one takes possession, this one is obligated for its exchange [i.e., the animal he agreed to exchange for it]. The Temple authority [acquires directly] through money, and the lay authority [acquires] through establishment of possession. A verbal statement [declaring an object as belonging] to the Temple [authority] is like [physical] transfer to the lay [authority].

(7) [With regard to] all commandments of the son which are [incumbent] upon the father, men are obligated, and women are exempt. And [with regard to] all commandments of the father which are [incumbent] upon the son, both men and women are obligated. And [with regard to] every positive commandment that is time-dependent, men are obligated and women are exempt. And [with regard to] every positive commandment which is not time-dependent, both men and women are obligated. And [with regard to] every negative commandment, whether it is time-dependent or it is not time-dependent, both men and women are obligated, except for: "You shall not round off [the corners of your head]" (Leviticus 19:27), "You shall not destroy [the corners of your beard]" (ibid.), and "You shall not become ritually impure for the dead" (Leviticus 21:1).

(8) The leanings, and the wavings, and the presentations, and the kemitsot [individual handfuls of the meal offering, which the priest takes to be put on the altar], and the incense offerings, and the melikot [instances of utilizing a slaughtering method used for bird sacrifices, employing the thumbnail instead of a knife], and the sprinklings, and the collections of blood are practiced by men, but not by women, except for the meal-offering of the sotah and of the female Nazirite, that they wave [them].

(9) Any commandment which is dependent on the Land [of Israel] only applies in the Land. And any commandment which is not dependent on the Land applies both in the Land and outside the Land, except for orlah [the fruit of a tree during the first three years after its planting, the consumption or usage of which is forbidden] and kilayim [the prohibition of planting together certain plants]. And Rabbi Eliezer says, "Also chadash [grain from the current year that one is forbidden to eat until after the sixteenth of Nissan]"

(10) Anyone who performs a single commandment is bestowed with goodness, his days are lengthened, and he inherits the Land. And anyone who does not perform a single commandment is not bestowed with goodness, his days are not lengthened, and he does not inherit the Land. Anyone who is [involved in] Scripture, the Oral Law, and proper social behavior will not easily [come to] sin, as it is stated, "And the three-ply cord is not quickly severed" (Ecclesiastes 4:12). Anyone who is not [involved in] Scripture, the Oral Law, and proper social behavior is not part of civilization.

(1) A man may betroth by himself and through an agent, and a woman may become betrothed by herself and through an agent. A man may have his daughter betrothed when she is a na'arah [a pubescent girl distinguished from a prepubescent girl and a post-pubescent young women in a number of halakhic situations], by himself and through an agent. [With regard to] one who says to a woman, "Be betrothed to me with this date, be betrothed to me with this [one];" if in one of them there is [at least] the value of a perutah, she is betrothed, and if not, she is not betrothed. [If he says,] "With this one, and with this one, and with this one," if there is [at least] the value of a perutah in all of them [combined], she is betrothed; and if not, she is not betrothed. If she was eating them one by one [as he gave them to her], she is not betrothed unless there is the value of [at least] a perutah in one of them.

(2) [If one says to a woman,] "Be betrothed to me with this cup of wine," and it is found to be of honey; "Of honey," and it is found to be of wine; "With this dinar [a specific unit of money] of silver," and it is found to be of gold; "Of gold," and it is found to be of silver; "On condition that I am rich," and he is found to be poor; "Poor," and he is found to be poor." [In all these cases] she is not betrothed. Rabbi Shimon says, "If he deceived her to [her] advantage, [she] is betrothed."

(3) [If one says to a woman, "Be betrothed to me] on condition that I am a kohen," and he is found to be a Levite; "A Levite," and he is found to be a kohen; "A netin [a Gibeonite]," and he is found to be a mamzer [the offspring of certain prohibited relationships who may not marry into the general Jewish population]; "A mamzer," and he is found to be a netin; "A village-dweller," and he is found to be a city-dweller; "A city-dweller," and he is found to be a village-dweller; "On condition that my house is near the bathhouse," and it is found to be far; "Far [from the bathhouse]," and it is found to be near; "On condition that I have an older daughter or maidservant," and he does not have; "On condition that I do not have [an older daughter or maidservant]," and he does have; "On condition that I do not have sons," and he has; "On condition that I do have [sons]," and he does not have. And in all [of these cases], even though she says, "It was in my heart to be betrothed to him even so," she is not betrothed. And the same is true [in cases where] she deceives him.

(1) A woman can be acquired in three ways anbd can acquire herself in two ways. She is acquired by money, document, or intercourse. By money, how so? If he gave her money or valuables and told her "[with this] you are sanctified unto me", "[with this] you are betrothed to me", "[with this] you are my wife", she is married to him, but if she gave him money or valuables and said "[with this] I am sanctified unto you", "[with this] I am betrothed to you", "[with this] I am your wife", she is not married to him. By document, how so? Need I say if the document is valuable? She would be married by the value of it. Rather say that even if he wrote it on clay or paper and gave it to her she is married to him. Intercourse - the rule is that intercourse for the sake of marriage renders her married but if it is not for the sake of marriage she is not married.

GEMARAH: A woman is acquired What is the difference here that it is written "a woman is acquired" and [the later mishna which states] "the man sanctifies"? Because the Tanna wanted to write "money", and money we have learned by analogy of the verb TAKE לקח - from the field of Ephron. It is written here (Deut. 22:13) "when a man takes a woman" and it is written there (Gen. 23:13) "I gave the money of the field, take it from me". And taking is called acquisition as it is written "the field which Abraham bought"