Bagrut Oral Torah & Talmud flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Stam sugya

The anonymous Aramaic layer of the Gemara that frames questions and answers around a cited Mishnah or baraita; it is the redactional voice, distinct from named amoraic statements.

Tiyuvta

A refutation brought against an amoraic statement from a tannaitic source such as a Mishnah or baraita; when accepted, the statement is rejected or reinterpreted.

Terutz

The resolution offered to a difficulty or refutation in the sugya; a successful terutz preserves the original statement by narrowing or reinterpreting its scope.

Nafka mina

The practical difference between two apparently identical opinions; identifying it is the standard way to show that a dispute is substantive rather than verbal.

Shakla ve-tarya

The give-and-take of question and answer that constitutes the body of a sugya; it is the primary object of analysis in yeshiva-style study.

Lav davka

A redactional qualifier meaning the preceding statement is not precise or exclusive; other cases are included, so the statement cannot be used to exclude them.

Tanya

The Aramaic formula introducing a baraita, a tannaitic teaching outside the Mishnah; its authority is generally treated as equal to the Mishnah.

Taninu

The formula 'we learned' introducing a citation of a Mishnah, usually to support or challenge an amoraic statement in the sugya.

Mai ta'ama

Aramaic for 'what is the reason'; it opens a request for the rationale behind a law or statement, often leading to a scriptural derivation.

Gufa

The formula returning the discussion to the original Mishnah or statement after a digression; it marks the resumption of direct treatment of the primary text.

Ika de-amri

The formula 'some say', introducing an alternative attribution or version of an amoraic statement; it signals a second tradition, not necessarily a contradiction.

Rashi on the Talmud

The standard plain-sense commentary printed on the inner margin; it supplies glosses, identifies speakers, and often provides the missing premise of an argument.

Tosafot

Medieval commentaries printed on the outer margin, descended from the Tosafists of France and Germany; they raise cross-textual difficulties and reconcile conflicting Talmudic passages.

Rif

Rabbi Yitzchak Alfasi, whose halakhic digest of the Talmud omits aggadah and records practical conclusions; it is the base for the Rosh and the Tur.

Ramban's chiddushim

Novellae by Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman that often defend the Rif against Tosafot and distinguish between the plain sugya and the accepted halakha.

Ritva

Rabbi Yom Tov ben Avraham Asevilli; his chiddushim transmit and develop the Rashba's positions and are a major source for Spanish pesak.

Ketzot HaChoshen

An Acharonic analytical commentary on Choshen Mishpat by Rabbi Aryeh Leib Heller; its disputes with the Netivot define the framework of civil-law analysis.

Safek de-oraita le-chumra

The rule that a doubt in a Torah-level prohibition is resolved stringently, while a doubt in a rabbinic prohibition is resolved leniently.

Halakha ke-Rav be-issur

The principle that in ritual-law disputes the law generally follows Rav, while in monetary disputes it generally follows Shmuel, subject to many exceptions.

Chazaka

A legal presumption that a known state of affairs persists until clear evidence rebuts it; a mere doubt does not displace a chazaka.

Minhag

Established communal custom; it can override a ruling in monetary and communal matters but cannot permit a clear biblical prohibition.

Mechaber and Rema

The Shulchan Arukh's author (R. Yosef Karo) and its glossator (R. Moshe Isserles); the Rema records Ashkenazic practice where it differs.

Six orders of Mishnah

Zeraim, Moed, Nashim, Nezikin, Kodashim, Taharot; the tractates are grouped by topic and the order shapes how a Mishnah is read.

Tosefta

A tannaitic collection parallel to the Mishnah, preserving material the Mishnah omitted; it is cited in the Gemara as a baraita or by the name Tosefta.

Midrash halakha

The tannaitic legal midrashim: Mekhilta on Exodus, Sifra on Leviticus, and Sifrei on Numbers and Deuteronomy; they derive laws from scriptural verses.

Tanna kamma

The anonymous first opinion in a Mishnah; the anonymous view is generally treated as the accepted one unless the Gemara rules otherwise.

Baraita

A tannaitic teaching outside the Mishnah; its authority is generally equal to the Mishnah, and the Gemara can use it to refute an amora.

Mamon versus issur

The master distinction between property law and ritual prohibition; it governs evidentiary standards, majority rules, and the degree of stringency applied.

Kinyan

A defined act of acquisition such as meshikha, hagbaha, or chalipin; intent alone does not transfer ownership without the required act.

Yesh breira

The view that a later fact can retroactively determine an earlier uncertain status; its denial, ein breira, is the rival position in Nashim and Kodashim.

Mitzvah ha-ba'ah be-aveirah

A commandment performed through a transgression is invalid; the principle is applied in Kodashim, Shabbat, and lulav cases.

Davar she-be-minyan

A matter the Torah counts explicitly cannot be derived by analogy from another case; the rule limits the scope of binyan av.