Concept

Rabbinic Judaism

Overview

Rabbinic Judaism (Hebrew: יהדות רבנית, romanized: Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Rabbanite Judaism, is rooted in the many forms of Judaism that coexisted and together formed Second Temple Judaism in the land of Israel, giving birth to classical rabbinic Judaism, which flourished from the 1st century CE to the final redaction of the Talmud in c. 600. Mainly developing after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE, it eventually became the normative form of Judaism.

Rabbinic Judaism has been an orthodox form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian Talmud. It has its roots in the Pharisaic school of Second Temple Judaism and is based on the claim that Moses at Mount Sinai received both the Written Torah (Torah she-be-Khetav) and the Oral Torah (Torah she-be-al Peh) from God. The Oral Torah explains the Written Torah, and the rabbis claimed that it was they who possessed this memorized and orally transmitted part of the divine revelation. At first, it was forbidden to write down the Oral Torah, but after the destruction of the Second Temple, it was decided to write it down in the form of the Talmud and other rabbinic texts for the sake of preservation.

Rabbinic Judaism contrasts with the non-Rabbinic forms which emphasize the Tanakh over the Talmud, including the defunct Sadducee Judaism as well as with Karaite Judaism, Ethiopian Judaism, and Samaritanism, which do not recognize the Oral Torah as a divine authority nor the rabbinic procedures used to interpret Jewish scripture (e.g., the Hebrew Bible). Although there are now profound differences among Jewish denominations of Rabbinic Judaism with respect to the binding force of Halakha (Jewish religious law) and the willingness to challenge preceding interpretations, all identify themselves as coming from the tradition of the Oral Law and the rabbinic method of analysis.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

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We may here therefore sacredly inquire first, why it is that Moses is here led to speak thus. And secondly, why it is recorded in this place concerning man only, that God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul," when all animals throughout the whole Scripture are called "living creatures." The divine expressions recorded by Moses above are, "Let the earth bring forth every…
Martin Luther, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1
States what Rabbinic Judaism is.
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The Second Law After the Israelites were come into the Plains of Moab over against Jericho, and ready to enter into the land of Promise, Moses to the former Laws added divers others; which therefore are called Deuteronomy: that is, Second Laws. And are (as it is written, Deut.
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
States what Rabbinic Judaism is.
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Our Sages mention this expressly concerning the Book of Esther. In reference to such holy spirit, David says: “The spirit of the Lord spoke in me, and his word is on my tongue” (2 Sam. xxiii. 2); i.e., the spirit of the Lord caused him to utter these words. This class includes the seventy elders of whom it is said, “And it came to pass when the spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, and did not cease” (Num…
Moses Maimonides, The guide for the perplexed
States what Rabbinic Judaism is.
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Rabbinic Judaism

Overview

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