Mishnah, Tosefta, and Talmud
The Mishnah, Tosefta, and Talmud have been a treasure trove of information for both Judaism and Christianity. The order of compilation in time is Mishnah, Tosefta, and Talmud. The Mishnah is a codification of Oral Law. The Mishnah was redacted by Judah the Prince (Yehudah haNasi) around 189 CE. The information in the Mishnah had been around for a long time (Jesus quotes it quite a bit!), but Judah the Prince was the first to organize it in a written, systematic form. The Tosefta was made about 40-75 years later as a supplement to the Mishnah. The redactors were students of Judah the Prince. The Tosefta attributes quotes from the Mishnah to certain Rabbis and adds some commentary. The Babylonian Talmud was made to explain the Mishnah and Tosefta. Babylonian Talmud is more comprehensive than the Jerusalem Talmud, and deals more with doctrinal issues. The Babylonian Talmud was written about 200 years after the Jerusalem Talmud. The Jerusalem Talmud isn’t comprehensive because the Jews were expelled from Israel, significantly reducing the number of Rabbis that contributed to it. It differs from the Babylonian Talmud because a significant portion of the Jerusalem Talmud deals with laws that can only be performed in Israel, which was a major reason most Jews never studied it. Now that Jews have a homeland in Israel, the Jerusalem Talmud is becoming popular again.
These texts can be purchased here:
The Jerusalem Talmud: A Translation and Commentary
Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi, his life and times.
The Mishnah: A New Translation
The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew With a New Introduction (volume 1 and 2)
