jennifer rodgers-rabbinic lit. paper

8/8/2019 Jennifer Rodgers-Rabbinic Lit. Paper

1/15

Introduction to Bavli Gittinby

Jennifer Rodgers

8/22/2009Rabbinic Literature

Dr. Akiva Cohen

Feinberg Center

Talbot School of Theology


2/15

2

The tractate Gittin, in the Babylonian Talmud, orBavli, is based, as all of the Gamara, on the

writings of theMishnah. Gittin is the sixth tractate of the third order,Nashim, of theMishnah.

Gittin is appropriately found in this order that deals with issues concerning women, as the

content of the tractate seems largely aimed at protecting a woman from abuse in marriage or in

the process of divorce.This tractate primarily discusses the legal grounds and procedure for

disannulment of marriages, through the giving and receiving of a Get, which is a bill of

divorcement, or legal letter of divorce. The Babylonian Talmud has ninety pages written on the

nine pages of Tractate Gittin, distinguishing this tractate as a significant place of rabbinic

discussion.

Historical Background ofBavli Gittin

Date

The estimated date of the compilation of the Babylonian Talmud is an issue very much debated

by scholars. Its origins are widely believed to be in the Amoraic times (230-500 C.E.), though

the Amoraic contributors certainly included midrashim from the earlier era of the Tannaiim.

The issue of the date of theBavlis completion is more contested, however, some believing it to

have originated and been completed in Amoraic times, and others seeing it as being finished as

late as Geonic times,1 pushing the date of its closing back nearly another hundred years. This

view sees the book as being smoothed over by the leading rabbis of the period (ca. 500) ,

1 Catherine Hezser, Classical Rabbinic Literature in The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies, Ed. Goodman,Martin; Cohen, Jeremy; Sorkin, David, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005),115.


3/15

3

known as Savoraim.2 The debate hinges, more or less, on two Talmudic references that discuss

the closing of the horaah, which may, or may not, indicate the final completion of theBavli.3

There are some Talmudic scholars who do not accept that there was ever a final formal redaction

of the Talmud, believing the body of literature to have been locally developed and expanded on

throughout the years, until the current text remained.4

Manuscripts and Printed Copies of the Bavli

The manuscripts of the Babylonian Talmud contain both Hebrew and Aramaic sections, with the

Hebrew sections usually being considered as having been written first. The actual authors of the

various sections of the texts are not named, but it is clear that the Babylonian Talmud is a

collective work. 5 Several mentions are found of the existence of completedBavli manuscripts,

in letters and other rabbinic writings, one letter testifying of a manuscript as early as the 10th

Century. Records have been kept of the evidence for many pre-printing press, hand-written

Babylonian Talmud manuscripts from throughout the years.6

The first printed complete edition of theBavli was printed by Daniel Bomberg, a

Venetian Gentile, in ca. 1520. It is because of the layout of Bombergs initial printing that the

Talmud page is laid out in its A/B, front-back page format today.7

2 H. L. Strack and G. Stemberger,Introduction to Talmud and Midrash, trans. Markus Bockmuehl, (Minneapolis:Fortress Press,1992), 2053 Strack192-93.4 Abr. Weiss,The Babylonian Talmud as a literary unit: its place of origin, development and final redaction, (NewYork,1943), 256.5 Hezser,115-166 A list of these manuscripts is found in Stracks Introduction to Talmud and Midrash, 209-212.7 Adin Steinsaltz,The Essential Talmud, (Cambridge: Basic, 2006), 76.


4/15

4

Literary Shape of the Bavli Gittin

The Tractate Gittin is styled like other sections of the Talmud, with various authors

interacting and discussing issues rather than providing outlined sections on each authors

viewpoint.8

In Neusners view on the structure of theBavli, he expresses how important it is to see the

structure of the work in order to approach it correctly. In his translation of the tractate Gittin, he

writes:

If the document exhibits structure and sets forth a system, then it is accessible to questions of

rationalityIf we discern no structure and perceive no systematic inquiry or governing points ofanalysis, then all we find here is inert and miscellaneous information, facts but no propositions,arguments and viewpoints. 9

8 Hezser,1169Bokser, Ben Zion. The Wisdom of the Talmud: A Thousand Years of Jewish Thought. Unknown: Citadel

Press, 2001.

Cohen, A. Everyman's Talmud. London: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1934.

Epstein, J.N. Introduction to Amoraitic Literature: Babylonian Talmud and Yerushalmi. Edited by Ezra

Zion Melamed. Jerusalem: Magnes, 1962.

Hezser, Catherine. "Classical Rabbinic Literature." In The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies, edited by

Martin Goodman, Jeremy Cohen and David Jan Sorkin, 115. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Jacobs, Louis. Structure and Form in the Babylonian Talmud. . Cambridge [England]: Cambridge

University Press, 1991.

Jonsson, Jakob. Humour and Irony in the New Testament: illuminated by parallels in the Talmud. Boston:

Brill, 1985.

Kraemer, David Charles. The Mind of the Talmud: An Intellectual History of the Bavli. US: Oxford


Maurice Simon, M.A. Gittin: Translated into English with Notes, Glossary and Indices. Vol. IV, in The

Babylonian Talmud: Seder Nashim in Four Volumes, edited by Rabbi Dr. I Epstein, xi. London: Soncino

Press, 1936.


5/15

5

Neusner holds that theBavli is in fact a very organized work, with one voice of the

collective sages who contributed, arranged in a way that necessitates reading theMishnah in the

way it is ordered. He says that the contributors all followed a particular set of rules in writing,

some few questions or procedures, directed always toward one and the same prior writing. Not

only so, but a fixed order of discourse dictated that a composition of one sort, A, always comes

prior to a composite of another sort, B. A simple logic instructed framers of composites, who

sometimes also were authors of compositions, and who sometimes drew upon available

compositions in the making of their cogent composites. So we now have to see theBavli as

entirely of a piece, cogent and coherent, made up of well-composed large-scale constructions.10

In observing the tractateBavli Gittin, one may be persuaded toward Neusners

perspective, as there does seem to be a somewhat unified and organized discussion of the

mishnaic content. There are throughout the tractate, however, still movements completely away

from the subject of the Get, and even the more general topic of divorce, dealing with issues that

seem to have arisen in a manner that could only be truly understood by the eyewitness to thedebate. Such discussions and diversions from the theme of the tractate may lead one to

Neusner, Jacob. The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary. Vol. 11. 36 vols. Peabody,

Massachusetts: Henrickson, 2005.

. The Reader's Guide to the Talmud. Boston: Brill, 2001.

Steinsaltz, Adin. The Essential Talmud. Cambridge: Basic, 2006.

Strack, H.L., and G. Stemberger. Introduction to Talmud and Midrash. Translated by Markus Bockmuehl.

Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.

Weiss, Abr. The Babylonian Talmud as a literary unit: its place of origin, development and final redaction.

New York, 1943.

10 Jacob Neusner,The Readers Guide to the Talmud, (Boston: Brill, 2001), 3-4.


6/15

6

consider, for instance, the position of J.N. Epstein who opposites Neusners position, holding

that theBavli is a more eclectic work, and that it uses many sources and unites layers from

different eras and generations, different authors, redactors and schools: Every single tractate is a

book in itself.11

Literary Forms within the Bavli

Literary forms within theBavli include mashal(parable) and nimshal(application),chreia

(pronouncement story of a sage),maaseh (case story), the homily and the diatribe.12 Discussions

of a mishnaic text often are represented as being the words of different Amoraic rabbis, each one

giving their interpretation of the passage. These quotations are possibly often pseudipigraphic,

and in some cases there is great reason to believe them to be so. For instance, some passages

will quote as many as five different rabbis on a given statement, leading the historian to conclude

that the statement was not necessarily a direct quotation, but rather a particular idea attributed to

these rabbis thinking and teaching.13

Theological Perspective

The purpose of theBavli is not to bring new truth, but rather to apply reason to what has already

been accepted, namely the Tenach andMishnah. In The Mind of the Talmud: An Intellectual

History of the Bavli, David Charles Kraemer elaborates on the way the Babylonian Talmud was

designed to discover truth. He writes:

11 J. N. Epstein,Introduction to Amoraitic Literature, Ed. Ezra Zion Melamed, (Jerusalem: Magnes,1962), 426.12 Hezser,126-2713

Louis Jacobs, Structure and Form in the Babylonian Talmud. (Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press,

1991), 6-7.


7/15

7

In theBavli, reason is not asystem but aparticipant, a partner or player in a total system inwhich alternative authoritative sources of truth are always present and often primary. Theperceived meaning of those authoritative sources- scripture orMishnah, in particular- may bedependenton the application of human reason, but in contrast with philosophy, reason is rarelythe originatingsource in theBavli. Reason may be the midwife of truth in theBavlis system,

but it is not the mother of that truth.14

The Babylonian Talmud provides application and a reasonable approach to the particular

information that is laid out in the books of Moses and theMishnah. In relation to the tractate

Gittin, the Bible, for instance, allows the termination of marriage through divorce, without ,

however, defining the grounds for divorce, the procedure by which it was carried out, or the fate

of the dissolved family.

15

Gittin gives the further guidelines for the particular foundation,process and dealing with the aftermath of divorce, not seeking to overwrite the written Torah,

but rather presenting how the Law was to be worked out without compromising the original

intent of the text.

Content ofBavli Gittin

Gittin is not simply a tractate aboutdivorce, but is almost completely a detailed discussion of the

validity and process of giving and receiving a divorce document , orGet. Translator and

commentator on theBavli, Maurice Simon M.A. writes:

From the nature of its subject, Gittin is concerned largely with questions of legal procedure andterminologyThrough its preoccupation with writs on divorce, it has necessarily to touch

14 David Kraemer,The Mind of the Talmud: An Intellectual History of the Bavli, (US:Oxford,1990),188.15 Ben Zion Bokser,The Wisdom of the Talmud: A Thousand Years of Jewish Thought. (Unknown: Citadel Press,2001), 2.


8/15

8

frequently on problems of conjugal relationships; and it is for this reason , no doubt, that it wasincluded in the Seder Nashim. To avoid misunderstanding, however, the fact must beemphasized that the main theme of Gittin is not divorce, either in its legal or its moral aspect, butthe validity of the document which effects divorce.16

The tractate is organized into nine chapters, the first three dealing primarily with cases in which

the invalidity of a Getcould be declared by theBethdin.17 In Chapter One, there is a discussion

as to what particularly is involved in theMishnahs words regarding what kind of written and

spoken testimony of the Getmust be present in order for it to be valid. TheMishnah states that

He who delivers a writ of divorce from overseas must state , In my presence it was written, and

in my presence it was signed18 while inEretz Israel, it is said that a deliverer of a writ of

divorce is not obligated to state this. Why there is this discrimination and what then, is the

qualification for witness inEretz Israelbecomes the discussion of the contributors of theBavli

(Gamara).19 Also in Chapter One, the Gamara discusses the rights of a wife and a slave to

maintenance (12a-13a) [and] the case of a Getdelivered after the death of the husband, in

connection with which the whole subject of deathbed and other instructions is discussed (13a-

15a).20

Chapter Two continues the conversation of when and how the Getwas written and signed. The

sages address the material the document was written and signed with and on, along with the

qualifications for witnesses. Special attention is also given to who might deliver the Getwith

much discussion as to the reasoning behind theMishnahs words, All are valid for delivering a

writ of divorce, except for a deaf-mute, an idiot, and a minor, a blind man, and a gentile.2122

16 Maurice Simon, xi17 Simon, xi18Git. 1:119 b. Git. 2a-11b.20 Simon, xii21Git. 2:522 b. Git. 15a-24b


9/15

9

Chapter Three gives rules regarding the writing of a Getonly for a particular woman to avoid

any generic documents being produced, potentially causing confusion and leading to a more

nonchalant approach to divorce.23 The sages further discuss issues of presumption (such as in

the case of a Getwritten, but not delivered before a mans death), and retrospective decision.24

In Chapter Four ofBavli Gittin, regulations are given concerning the cancelling or

changing of a Get. These rules were given to prevent various abuses that a husband might take

in regards to his wife. For instance, if a man could easily divorce and remarry his wife, marriage

would be taken too lightly, and the relationship within it not much more than fornication. This

chapter also extensively covers other issues related to abuses of documents,

such as theemancipation of slaves. Simon points out that prominent among the regulations made for the

better adjustment of society is Hillels institution of theProsbul, which is discussed in (36a-

37b).25 Thisprosbul (from the Greek before the assembly of

counselors), attributed to Hillel, regarded the rights of the poor to obtain a loan.

Chapter Five departs from the particular subject of the Getand divorce and contains

discussion and rulings regarding several other legal issues. It covers diverse areas, such as that

of guardianship of minors, who has responsibility for someone accidently eating a waive offering

and whether there is to be regulation concerning working alongside those of another class.

Returning to the topic of the Get, Chapter Six gives details for what rights and

responsibilities a man has in giving a divorce, and what constitutes lawful reception of that

divorce by the woman. A major discussion centers on whether or not a minor girl is able to be

23 b. Git24a-28a24 Simon, xii25 Simon, xii


10/15

10

receive a divorce, as she is not technically able to receive anything for herself, being yet under

her fathers stewardship.26

Chapter Seven begins with theMishnah regarding a man writing a divorce in a state of

delirium. TheBavli begins by defining a delirium and then offers standards for evidence to

determine whether or not a man is truly delirious. The conversation then goes on to provide

various remedies for delirium and incantations to be said against it. Cures for all kinds of

ailments are described as well in this chapter.27 Chapter Seven also covers the case of giving a

Getto a woman when her husband does not return from a journey for a long time. 28

Chapter Eight discusses whether a Getis considered received if it is thrown or tossed at awife by a husband. In the context of this discussion, an important statement is made, attributed

to Raba. There is no distinction between a betrothed woman and a married one.29 The

regulation for divorce toward a betrothed woman was therefore, the same as that toward a

married woman. Various types of invalid Getare defined, as also the penalties incurred by a

woman for marrying again on the strength of such a Get (79b-82a).30

Finally, the tractateBavliGittin concludes, with Chapter Nine explaining what is

permitted in regards to remarriage for a divorced woman. This was particularly important as it

related to the priestly tribe, as a priest was not to marry a divorced woman. The complete

severing of a mans rights to a woman once he has divorced her is set. In this chapter, several

instances in which a divorce is not valid are listed. In the last section of the tractate, the ethics of

divorce are considered, as to whether or not certain instances would be considered decent reason

to divorce. It is said that a man may divorce for almost any reason, and inMishnah saysFrom

26 b. Git. 63a-65a27 b. Git. 67b-71b28 Simon, xiii29 b. Git77b30 Simon, xiii


11/15

11

the words, if she find no favour in his eyes, R. Akiba argued, He may divorce her even if he

found another woman more beautiful than she31

In the final words of the tractate there seems to be a definite caution against frivolous

divorce in words that indicate its sad nature, particularly in the case of a first wife, for whom a

husband was expected to have a special love:

For a hateful one put away (Mal. 2:16)-

R. Judah says, If you have hated her, put her away.

R. Yohanan says, He who puts his wife away is hated.

They do not differ, one speaks of the first marriage, the other, the second, in line with whatR.Eleazer said,Whoever divorces his first wife-even the altar sheds tears for what he has done:

And this further you do, you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with

sighing, insomuch that he regards not the offering any more, neither receives it with goodwill at

your hand. Yet you say, Why? Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife

of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and the

wife of your covenant (Mal. 1:13-14)32

31Git. 9:1032 b. Git 90b


12/15

12

Bibliography

Bokser, Ben Zion. The Wisdom of the Talmud: A Thousand Years of Jewish Thought. Unknown: Citadel

Press, 2001.

Cohen, A. Everyman's Talmud. London: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1934.

Epstein, J.N. Introduction to Amoraitic Literature: Babylonian Talmud and Yerushalmi. Edited by Ezra

Zion Melamed. Jerusalem: Magnes, 1962.

Hezser, Catherine. "Classical Rabbinic Literature." In The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies, edited by

Martin Goodman, Jeremy Cohen and David Jan Sorkin, 115. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Jacobs, Louis. Structure and Form in the Babylonian Talmud. . Cambridge [England]: Cambridge


Jonsson, Jakob. Humour and Irony in the New Testament: illuminated by parallels in the Talmud. Boston:

Brill, 1985.

Kraemer, David Charles. The Mind of the Talmud: An Intellectual History of the Bavli. US: Oxford


Maurice Simon, M.A. Gittin: Translated into English with Notes, Glossary and Indices. Vol. IV, in The

Babylonian Talmud: Seder Nashim in Four Volumes, edited by Rabbi Dr. I Epstein, xi. London: Soncino

Press, 1936.

Neusner, Jacob. The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary. Vol. 11. 36 vols. Peabody,

Massachusetts: Henrickson, 2005.

. The Reader's Guide to the Talmud. Boston: Brill, 2001.

Steinsaltz, Adin. The Essential Talmud. Cambridge: Basic, 2006.

Strack, H.L., and G. Stemberger. Introduction to Talmud and Midrash. Translated by Markus Bockmuehl.

Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.

Weiss, Abr. The Babylonian Talmud as a literary unit: its place of origin, development and final redaction.

New York, 1943.


13/15

13

Appendix A: Gittin and the New Testament

While the actual writing down of the Talmud occurred later than the writing of the New

Testament, the words and thoughts of many of the rabbis came from a much earlier time, and

some are even believed, in Judaism, to have originated at Mount Sinai when Moshe received the

Torah. Because of the great presence of rabbinic teaching and the equation of this teaching as

being on the same level as the books of Moses, it is important to gain a perspective on how the

thoughts and teachings of the rabbis would have affected the words and actions of the men and

women in the Bible. Study of rabbinic writings can have great value in understanding thehistorical context of a given text of Scripture, and even the tractate Gittin sheds light on

understanding several New Testament passages.

Things easily overlooked by the Christian scholar may have greater meaning if understood in

light of the Talmud. For one example, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37),

there is mention of three men who pass by the beaten man on the way to Jericho-first , a priest,

then a Levite, and finally the Samaritan. The order of the passers-by mimics the order of the

readers of Torah in the synagogue according to Gittin 5, 8.33 Yeshua must have meant to draw

on the rank of the travelers, in his story, perhaps to point out that they were given opportunity to

do righteousness in the order of their rank, and then passed it up, except in the case of the

Samaritan, who was proved to be the truly righteous man in the parable.

Both the way that Yeshua was similar to contemporary rabbis, and the ways he was very

different, can be seen in studying rabbinic literature. In Matthew 5, Yeshua is teaching about

33Jakob Jonsson, Humour and Irony in the New Testament: illuminated by parallels in the Talmud, (Boston: Brill,

1985), 116


14/15

14

divorce and says that it is permitted to give a Getto your wife, but somewhat changes the

standard. He says that everyone that divorces his wife, except on the grounds of sexual

immorality, makes her commit adultery. Even as the Talmud teaches, Yeshua says that

whoever marries a divorced woman is committing adultery. The uniqueness in Yeshuas

teaching is that he only permits divorce in the case of sexual immorality, while we have seen

in Gittin that divorce could be permitted if a mans wife burned his bread , or if he simply found a

woman more beautiful than she.

We also gain insight into the form of the New Testament through the Talmud. Professor Vernon

K. Robbins points out the parallels between the book of James and the first section of tractate

Gittin. In the tractate, there is a rabbinic discourse which leads to the inductive reasoning on

what must be done to validate witness and delivery of a Get. In the book of James, we see a

similar pattern of posing opposite situations to come to a final reasoning of how one is to

respond in regards to partiality.34

34 Vernon K. Robbins, A Comparison of Mishnah Gittin 1:12:2 and James 2:1-13 from a Perspective of Greco-Roman Rhetorical Elaboration, in Jack N. Lightstone, Mishnah and the Social Formation of the Early RabbinicGuild: A Socio-Rhetorical Approach. Studies in Christianity and Judaism/tudes sur le christianisme et le judasme11. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press for the Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion/CorporationCanadienne des Sciences Religieuses, 2002: 201-216.


15/15

15

Appendix B: Personal Application of Rabbinic Literature Course

Taking an initial plunge into the world of rabbinic literature has opened my eyes to not

only more content of Judaism, but to the thinking process behind the Jewish approach to the

Word of God, and life in accordance to His Law. I have appreciated the guided reading through

various types of literature in the Mishnah and Talmud, as I have gained a better understanding of

how to approach these difficult texts. I can see the way that arguments are formed and how the

rules for interpretation differ from the established hermeneutical principles of my comfort zone

of conservative Christianity.

One very valuable gain from the study of rabbinic literature can be the change in

approach to some New Testament writings. The style of the rabbinic conversation in the Talmud

can be applied to my reading of the Jewish writers of the New Testament. Through familiarity

with some rabbinic teaching, I can also become more aware of the background behind the words

of Yshua and the Apostles.

Another benefit of this study is in relationship to my ministry to Jewish people. Though I

have not yet gained a proficiency in understanding rabbinics to be able to support messianic

prophecies or debate issues, I have gained a vocabulary and an inquisitiveness to be able to

initiate dialogues with religious Jewish people, possibly allowing for bridges to be built and real

relationships to form.

jennifer rodgers-rabbinic lit. paper

Documents