Baraita
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Baraita
(Aram. "external teaching"; pl. baraitot). Any tannaitic statement not found in the Mishnah as well as certain amoraic statements in which the Mishnah is explained. Collections of such explanatory baraitot, arranged by R. ḥiyya and R. Oshaya and by Bar Kappafa, appear in the Toseeta and the Midrash Halakhah, while many laws found in them are cited in the Talmud. The legal authority of a baraita is less than that of a Mishnaic statement; hence, when there is a contradiction between the two, the Mishnah nearly always proves decisive, although there are some exceptions to this rule.
Tannaitic baraitot may be divided into various categories. There are those which supplement the Mishnah; or a baraita may also quote a Halakhah not found in the Mishnah; or it may contain a version of a halakhah differing from that cited in the Mishnah. These baraitot have a distinguishing introductory formula, such as tanya ("we have learned this") or tanu rabbanan ("the sages taught").
The numerous baraitot of amoraic origin are usually either brief explanations of or additions to the Mishnah; unlike the tannaitic baraitot, they do not contain differing opinions. Such baraitot were not given much weight by the talmudic sages. While most of the baraitot are halakhic in nature, a significant number (both tannaitic and amoraic)have an aggadic character.
Certain collections of baraitot, dating from the tannaitic period, form special units of their own. Prominent among them are (a) the Baraita de-Rabbi Meir, "on acquiring the Torah," which constitutes an extra chapter (no. 6) attached to tractate Avot of the Mishnah; (b) the Baraita de-Rabbi Yishma'el ("of 13 Rules"), which now forms part of the daily Morning Service; and (c) the Baraita de-Rabbi Eliezer ("of 32 Rules"), which is often printed after tractate Berakhot of the Babylonian Talmud. For further details, see Hermeneutics.
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Baraita
Baraita (Aramaic ברייתא: "external" or "outside"; pl. Baraitot (actually, Barayata). Also Baraitha, Beraita, Ashkenazi Beraisa) designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah. Originally, "Baraita" probably referred to teachings from schools outside of the main Mishnaic-era academies - although in later collections, individual Baraitot are often authored by sages of the Mishna (Tannaim).
According to Rambam (Introduction to Mishna Torah), the baraitot were compiled by Rabbi Hoshaya and Bar Kappara, although no compilation was passed down to us like the Tosefta was.
Because the Mishnah encapsulates the entire Oral Law in a purposely compact form (designed to both facilitate and necessitate oral transmission), many variant versions, additional explanations, clarifications and rulings were not included in the Mishnah. These were later compiled in works called the "Baraitot" - often in the form of a list of teachings by one sage. "Baraita" can thus also designate collections of such traditions. The main collections of Baraita are the Tosefta, and the Halakhic Midrashim (Mekhilta, Sifra and Sifre).
The authority of the Baraita is somewhat less than that of the Mishnah. Nevertheless, these works are the basic "proof-text" cross-referenced by the Talmudic sages in their analysis and interpretation of the Mishna; See Gemara. Here, a teaching from the Baraita is usually introduced by the Aramaic word "Tanya" ("It was orally taught") or by "Tanu Rabanan" ("Our Rabbis have orally taught"), whereas "Tnan" ("We have orally taught") introduces quotations from the Mishnah. Anonymous Baraitot are often attributed to particular Tannaim by the Talmud. In the Jerusalem Talmud, references to Baraitot are less common.
The style of the Baraita is basically indistinguishable from that of the Mishna, but some come closer to Mishnaic idiom than others. For example, the second chapter of Kallah Rabbathi, a beraita compilation, is often appended to Pirkei Avoth, as both are similar in style and content.
See also
References
- Maimonides Introduction to the Mishneh Torah (English translation)
- Tosefta and Baraita (Hebrew), Maimonides Introduction to the Commentary on the Mishna
- The Oral Tradition, Aryeh Kaplan
- Baraita, jewishencyclopedia.com
- What is a Beraita?, askmoses.com
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