Books left out of the Bible part II

What about extra Biblical Rabbinical literature like the Talmud or the Zohar or the Alpha-Bet of Ben Sirach.

So that is very nuanced and so lets start with the Talmud.So what is the Talmud?Is the Talmud a commentary on the Torah?

That is the Midrash that is a commentary on the Torah,the Talmud came from ancient oral tradition.

The word Talmud means to learn or study as is a talmid a student,the origins of the Talmud were in an ancient oral tradition sometimes called the oral Torah.Many in the Heredi world believe the oral Torah was given to Moses on Sinai or some say the oral Torah was first preached by Abraham in ancient Mesopotamia but one knows exactly when the oral Torah really started,skeptics and non believers usually say it came out of the Babylonian exile.I more in the origins in Abraham school on this but that’s just my opinion.

The oral tradition was passed down from generation to generation without putting it in writing.Around the year 200 CE or AD with the exile from Judea over a half century old and the Rabbi’s feared the oral tradition would be lost.So a group of Rabbi’s called the Tanna’im codified the oral Torah in a book called the Mishnah(meaning to review or study)

The Mishnah was greatly studied and an oral commentary on that developed which was initially forbidden to write down also but which was also later codified in a book(series of books) called the Gemara (meaning to complete).

There was a Gemara written in Jerusalem called the Talmud Yerushalmi or Jerusalem Talmud in about 350 CE and this Talmud is not studied very much.I don’t know exact statistics on it but I’d say it’s more of a collectors thing.Then in about 500 CE or AD came the Talmud Bavli or Babylonian Talmud and this version is larger and studied very widely ,if someone says Talmud they really mean the Babylonian Gemara essentially.

The Talmud is considered divine inspiration in orthodox Judaism but other non orthodox or Heredi traditions consider it literature of the Rabbi’s.I have not read much of it but it’s not mystical or spiritual it’s didactic and law oriented but being about a divine law a spiritual aspect can’t be denied.One of the most famous Talmudic laws is not to mix meat and dairy from the Torah’s “don’t boil a kid in it’s mothers milk”.It deals with issues like divorce ,marriage,women,Shabat or Sabbath laws,prayer times and specifications of Kosher laws,like what wines are Kosher or how to slaughter meat kosher (shechitah) things like that.I don’t know a lot more.

As far reading it is only really useful for living a strict Orthodox living ,certainly Christian scholars do read it and it can be useful but even in Judaism it’s read mostly by Rabbi’s and then taught to orthodox communities,not that many lay people read except in very Heredi or ultra orthodox communities and there women rarely read.Originally Christianity condemned it for fear it would instill salvation by works teachings.If you read it open mindedly and don’t take hook line and sinker there is nothing wrong with it if you have the time for such complex reading.

Zohar

I read the Zohar ,Zohar means radiance or splendor.When it was written is contested ,it was first discovered in late 12th or early 14th century Spain by Moese De Leon who claimed it was a complilation of commentaries by Shimon Bar Yochai.He was a second century Tannaitic Rabbi.

The book is a mystical meditation on the Torah written in Aramaic and it formed the basis for modern Kabbalah.I do not know a lot about Kabbalah I personally don’t teach or promote it.Kabbalah is a fine line in the sand between Biblical meditation and concepts that are abused.

And it is true that modern witchcraft barrows from Kabbalah as well.I would say Kabbalistic writings are not good to study,the Zohar itself is a meditation on the Torah but the danger is what different Kabbalah teacher do with it.I’m planning a whole blog on the Zohar ,so we will deal with more of that then.

And other examples like the Alpha-bet of Ben Sirach was a series of proverbs ,one for each letter of the Hebrew Alef-Beit and one for each letter of the Aramaic Alef-Beit,so 44 in total.It spawned the most famous of the Lilith stories ,the one of Lilith being Adams first wife and it’s become now folklore in in pagan,occult and Wiccan circles.

I’d say in the case of extra Biblical Rabbinical writings it’s not all or nothing it’s who’s hands it is in and whether it’s abused.

As I said before the real question is not whether to read extra-canonical texts but which ones and how to view them.But to be honest unless you are a high level Biblical scholar at a major teaching position like a seminary or Bible college or a Dead Sea scroll scholar reading the book of Giants or something.The canon is all you need really ,it has everything that is important to the average person.

Thank you and God Bless and put question in the comments.