It has been said that: "There would be no Christianity without a Christ, and there would be no Judaism without the Oral Law."
Some Jewish scholars claim that the Oral Torah was not written down before about 200 c.e. (A.D.) when Judah Ha Nassi (Judah The Prince) had it codified.
The Amoraim (200-500 c.e.) - early teachers, were very much against the Oral Law being put into writing. They opposed it vigorously, yet we have the record that R. HIYYA was quoted as having gone to the bath-house with a haggadah book. SO there is much uncertainty as to when the Mishna etc. began being committed to paper!
A Baraitha was a teaching from 0-200 c.e. NOT included in the Mishna. One such teaching states
that the closer you are to the original source, the more correct you are. In other words, Moses knew
the most about the Oral Law, and he knew what others would later "DISCOVER." This DISCOVERING
of the Law is a key issue, since OTHER scholars claim that EVERY word was passed on verbatim
from Moses all the way through to Judah Ha Nassi, like a game of "Telephone."
It was also said: "He who violates the oral law is worse than he who violates the written law."
Three key developers of the Mishna were: Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Meir (NOT Golda!), and
Judah Ha Nassi, a very wealthy man.
Whenever a teaching is anonymous it is attributed to R. Meir.
More coming..... watch this space!
From: jnixon@eng.mindspring.net (John F. Nixon) Date sent: 19 Jun 1997 10:51 bry@mnsinc.com (Bry) writes: > >The Josephus reference to Jesus is quite real, according to scholarly > >opinion. Only a minority reject it whosale. Most believe a couple of > >phrases were added to it, but it is still a remarkable confirmation of > >the existence and popularity of Jesus. Here it is, Antiquities 18.3.3, > >with the doubtful material removed. > > > >"At about this time lived Jesus, a wise man. . .he was a teacher of such > >people as accept the truth with pleasure. He won over many Jews and many > >of the Greeks. . . When Pilate, upon an indictment brought by the > >principal men among us, condemned him to the cross, those who had loved > >him from the very first did not cease to be attached to him. And the > >tribe of the Christians, so-called after him, has to this day still not > >disappeared." > >What does Josephus say about the Pharisees? He doesn't mention an > >unbroken tradition going back to Moses. Since that is the primary > >touchstone of the Orthodox of today, who trace their history through the > >P'rushim, it is a very odd omission. It is even odder considering > >Josephus described himself as a Pharisee. > >cheers, Fred
