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13 - The Tosefta

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2008

Paul Mandel
Affiliation:
Department of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, University of Haifa
Steven T. Katz
Affiliation:
Boston University
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Summary

THE NA"ME “TOSEFTA” AND THE ORIGIN OF THE WORK

As with most names of individual works of rabbinic literature, so too the name “Tosefta,” literally “supplement,” did not originally denote one particular work, but rather a characteristic type of traditional teaching of the tannaitic period. Teachings of this period were transmitted orally in the form of short sayings, presented anonymously or attributed to a particular sage; these traditions were memorized through repetition (Hebrew shanah). The sayings dealt mainly, although not exclusively, with law (halachah), and provided the basis for what was later called the “Oral Torah” (torah she-al peh), or “orally transmitted instruction.” The individual sayings were thus called either mishnah or halachah. Some of these sayings were, in time, supplemented by clarifying remarks or additional legal material. As the original sayings were transmitted together in various collections, so too the supplemental sayings were collected and transmitted (most probably orally); an individual supplemental saying was called tosefet (Aramaic [det.] tosefta), a collection of these (in plural): tosafot (Aramaic [det.] tosefata). These two corpora, halachot and tosafot, along with the aggadot (transmitted non-legal traditions), comprised the basic curriculum of study (the “Oral Torah”) for the Sages of the first two centuries of the Common Era (the Tannaim).

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

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  • The Tosefta
    • By Paul Mandel, Department of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, University of Haifa
  • Edited by Steven T. Katz, Boston University
  • Book: The Cambridge History of Judaism
  • Online publication: 28 March 2008
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521772488.015
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  • The Tosefta
    • By Paul Mandel, Department of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, University of Haifa
  • Edited by Steven T. Katz, Boston University
  • Book: The Cambridge History of Judaism
  • Online publication: 28 March 2008
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521772488.015
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Tosefta
    • By Paul Mandel, Department of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, University of Haifa
  • Edited by Steven T. Katz, Boston University
  • Book: The Cambridge History of Judaism
  • Online publication: 28 March 2008
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521772488.015
Available formats
×