tannaitic

Tannaitic refers to the era and the literature of the Tannaim, the early rabbinic sages whose legal opinions and interpretations of the Hebrew Bible shaped Rabbinic Judaism. The Tannaim lived roughly from the late Second Temple period into the early centuries of the Common Era, with the Mishnah—compiled by Judah haNasi in the early 2nd century CE—standing as their central written record. The term also encompasses other tannaitic works, such as the Baraïtôt collections, the Tosefta, and early midrashic compilations like Sifra (on Leviticus) and Sifre (on Deuteronomy), which preserve oral rulings and scriptural exegesis transmitted during that period.

The Mishnah organizes rulings into six orders: Zeraim, Moed, Nashim, Nezikin, Kodashim, and Tohorot, and records debates among leading tannaim, including Hillel and Shammai, as well as Amoraim and later sages. Tannaitic literature emphasizes concise legal rulings, casuistic argumentation, and the interpretation of Torah law for everyday practice, including ritual purity, Sabbath and festival observance, marriage and inheritance, and civil law. The period ends as the Amoraim begin to elaborate the Babylonian and Jerusalem Gemara, completing the Talmud in partnership with the Mishnah.

Linguistically, Tannaitic sources are primarily in Hebrew, with occasional Aramaic terms. The Tannaitic era established a foundational corpus for later rabbinic authority and community practice, influencing Jewish law, liturgy, and ethical instruction for centuries.