Guemará

Guemará, sometimes spelled Gemara, is the component of the Talmud that contains rabbinic analysis, discussion, and commentary on the Mishnah. Together with the Mishnah, it forms the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism. There are two major compilations: the Babylonian Gemara (Talmud Bavli) and the Jerusalem Gemara (Talmud Yerushalmi). The Guemará preserves legal reasoning, disputes, narratives, and ethical reflections, and it explains and expands the Mishnah through dialectical argument, analogy, and scriptural interpretation.

Origins and dating: The Mishnah was redacted by Judah haNasi in the early 2nd century CE. The Babylonian Gemara was produced in the academies of Babylonia and completed roughly between the 5th and 6th centuries CE. The Jerusalem Gemara developed in the Land of Israel and was completed earlier, probably in the 4th–5th centuries CE.

Language and style: The Guemará is written primarily in a mixture of Aramaic and Hebrew, with numerous technical terms and frequent citations to scriptural verses. It presents legal analysis, narrative material (aggadah), and methodological discussions that illuminate the Mishnah.

Structure: Guemará is organized by Seder (order) and Masekhet (tractate); each tractate has chapters and is paged in two-sided folios known as daf, with pages cited by a page and side (e.g., 2a, 2b). The text is studied with classical commentaries and later scholia.

Editions and study: The most widely used printed edition is the Vilna Shas, which presents the Bavli with standard accompanying commentaries. The Yerushalmi exists in separate editions and remains central in certain communities and study traditions.

Impact: Guemará is foundational for Halakha (Jewish law) and for classical Jewish philosophy and ethics. It is studied in yeshivas and universities and remains a central source for rabbinic authorities, often in conjunction with medieval and modern commentaries.