What is the Name of the Oral Torah in Judaism?

What is the Name of the Oral Torah in Judaism?

• The first part of the Oral Torah is the Mishnah
• The second part of the Oral Torah is the Talmud
• The Midrash is also a part of the Oral Torah

The Mishnah

The Oral Torah was spoken, and handed down from father to son. However, as you can imagine, as the number of laws increase, it becomes a monumental task to remember them all and maintain accuracy. Something as important as this should be written and its accuracy maintained.

In 200 CE, Judah brought together a team of scholars to write down all the laws so that anyone who wanted to learn them would find them all in one place. The first part of the Oral Torah was therefore named Mishnah, which means to repeat or study.

The Talmud

The Talmud is a combination of the Mishna and the Gemara. The Gemara consisted of new laws including proverbs and parables. It consists of many small interesting statements. For example, my favourite is, charity knows neither race nor creed.

The Midrash

The Midrash, which means to search out, consists mainly of biblical stories. Many people will remember such stories of King David, or Jonah who was swallowed by a big fish.