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Tosefta
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Tosefta |
| Encyclopedia of Judaism: Tosefta |
("addition"). Collection of tannaitic teachings supplementing those in the Mishnah. The Tosefta, which is about four times as long as the Mishnah, is divided along the same lines. It, too, contains the same six "Orders" and their sub-division into the same tractates (although the Mishnah has at least three tractates---Tamid, Middot, and Kinnim---for which there is no Tosefta counterpart, while Avot De- Rabbi Natan may or may not be the Tosefta equivalent of Avot). The Tosefta is composed of baraitot (tannaitic teachings not included in the Mishnah; see Baraita), which are a major source for the talmudic discussion on any topic. Some of them are alternative versions of the Mishnaic text; others explain the Mishnah; while still others either add to the Mishnah or deal with fresh material.
The authorship of the Tosefta and the criteria for inclusion of its material have long been debated. The Talmud (Sanh. 61a) attributes the work to R. Nehemiah while stating that the Mishnah is the work of R. Meir. If this were true, it would explain the many similarities between the two works, for both men were students of R. Akiva. There is, however, no clear evidence regarding R. Nehemiah's authorship. Also, many scholars seem to regard the collection as eclectic, perhaps made by compiling various traditions from different sources, even when the sources are mutually contradictory. Like the Mishnah, the Tosefta often presents two sides to a dispute, without reaching a final decision.
Recent research has suggested that the Tosefta, as handed down, was unknown to the sages of either the Jerusalem or the Babylonian Talmuds, for there are numerous instances where the Talmud seeks to clarify questions which are clearly explained in the Tosefta. Nevertheless, it appears that the author or authors of the Tosefta lived in Erets Israel, for the style and substance of the Tosefta is much closer to that of the Jerusalem Talmud than to that of the Babylonian Talmud.
The baraitot contained in the Tosefta often reproduce the same text as the Mishnah, but there are instances where the two differ, sometimes only in wording but at other times also in content. On many occasions, the material found in the Tosefta has no counterpart in the Mishnah. As a rule, the Talmud accepts the Mishnah as the prime source for any interpretation and where a baraita is at odds with the Mishnah, the Mishnah is generally accepted as authoritative. Where there is a lacuna in the Mishnah, the baraita is generally regarded as binding. The definitive edition of the Tosefta is that of Saul Lieberman, Tosefta ki-Peshuta.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Tosefta |
Tosefta (tōsĕf'tə) , plural Toseftoth (–tōth) [Aramaic,=additional], collection of ancient Jewish teachings supplementing the Mishna or Oral Law and closely allied to it in organization. Like the Mishna, it was compiled by the Tannaim. Many of its teachings, called Baraitot, do not appear in the Mishna; others are merely elucidations or alternative versions of Mishnaic material. It contains a larger percentage of aggadic material than does the Mishna. The Tosefta is an independent work and has been made the subject of commentaries.
Bibliography
See H. L. Strack, Introduction to Talmud and Midrash (1931, repr. 1969); S. Lieberman, Tosefta Kifshuta (1955).
| Wikipedia: Tosefta |
The Tosefta (Aramaic: תוספתא) is a secondary compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.
Contents |
Overview
In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah (tosefta means "supplement or addition"). The Mishnah is the basic compilation of the Oral law of Judaism; it was compiled around 200 CE. The Tosefta is a Halakhic work which corresponds in structure almost exactly to the Mishnah, with the same divisions for sedarim ("orders") and masekhot ("tractates"). It is mainly written in Mishnaic Hebrew, with some Aramaic.
According to rabbinic tradition, the Mishnah was redacted by Judah haNasi in consultation with members of his yeshiva ("academy"), while the Tosefta was edited by Rabbis Chiya and Oshaiah (who was a student of Chiya) on their own, thus the Tosefta is considered less authoritative. (Rashi in his commentary on Talmud Sanhedrin 33a).
At times the text of the Tosefta agrees nearly verbatim with the Mishnah. At others there are significant differences. The Tosefta attributes laws that are anonymous in the Mishnah to named Tannaim. It also augments the Mishnah with additional glosses and discussions. The Tosefta as we have it today functions like a commentary on unquoted Mishnaic material. It offers additional aggadic and midrashic material, and it sometimes contradicts the Mishnah in the ruling of Halakha (Jewish law), or in declaring in whose name a law was given.
Origins
The traditional view is that the Tosefta should be dated to a period concurrent with or shortly after the redaction of the Mishnah. This view pre-supposes that the Tosefta was produced in order to record variant material not included in the Mishnah.
Modern scholarship can be roughly divided into two camps. Some, such as Jacob N. Epstein theorize that the Tosefta as we have it developed from a proto-Tosefta recension which formed much of the basis for later Amoraic debate. Others, such as Hanokh Albeck, theorize that the Tosefta is a later compendium of several baraitot collections which were in use during the Amoraic period.
More recent scholarship, such as that of Yaakov Elman, concludes that since the Tosefta, as we know it, must be dated linguistically as an example of Middle Hebrew 1, was most likely compiled in early amoraic times from oral transmission of baraitot.[1], "Babylonian Baraitot in Tosefta and the `Dialectology' of Middle Hebrew," Association for Jewish Studies Review 16 (1991), 1-29. Professor Shamma Friedman, has found that the Tosefta draws on relatively early tannaitic source material and that parts of the Tosefta predate the Mishnah.[2]
Alberdina Houtman and colleagues theorize that the Mishnah was compiled in order to establish an authoritative text on halakhic tradition. However, a more conservative party opposed the exclusion of the rest of tradition and produced the Tosefta to avoid the impression that the written Mishnah was equivalent to the entire oral Torah. The original intention was that the two texts would be viewed on equal standing, but the succinctness of the Mishnah and the power and influence of Yehuda Ha-Nassi made it more popular among most students of tradition.[3]
Ultimately, the state of the source material is such to allow divergent opinions to exist. These opinions serve to show the difficulties in establishing a clear picture of the origins of the Tosefta.
Commentary editions
Orthodox scholars
The definitive commentary on the Tosefta is by Rabbi Yehezkel Abramsky: Hazon Yehezkel (24 volumes, 1925-1975 in Hebrew).
Saul Lieberman's Tosefta Kifshuta is widely considered the authoritative critical edition of the Tosefta.[4]
Eli Gurevich's English translation and detailed commentary on the Tosefta is in the progress of being written. It can be downloaded for free from his website http://www.toseftaonline.org/.
Non-Orthodox scholars
The Tosefta has been translated into English by Rabbi Jacob Neusner and his students. They have also produced a commentary on Seder Zeraim.
Notes
- ^ Yaakov Elman, Authority & Tradition, Yeshiva Univ. Press, 1994
- ^ S.Y. Friedman, Le-Hithavvut Shinnuye ha-Girsaot be'Talmud ha-Bavli, Sidra 7, 1991.
- ^ Alberdina Houtman, Mishnah and Tosefta: A Synoptic Comparison of the Tractates Berakhot, Mohr Siebeck, 1996
- ^ See (for example) Jacob Neusner, The Law of Agriculture in the Mishnah and the Tosefta, Brill, 2005, especially page 1531.
See also
External links
- Tosephta in the Catholic Encyclopedia
- ToseftaOnline.org - A new free English translation, commentary and edited Hebrew text of the Tosefta, as well as MP3 shiurim (lectures) and various commentaries available for free download
- Full text at Mechon-Mamre
- Treasury of Talmudic Manuscripts, Jewish National and University Library
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