Chazal
Encyclopedia
- For the 20th Century writer, see Malcolm de ChazalMalcolm de ChazalMalcolm de Chazal was a Mauritian writer, painter, and visionary, known especially for his Sens-Plastique, a work consisting of several thousand aphorisms and pensées. He was born in Vacoas of a French family long established in Mauritius and wrote all his works in French...
.
Chazal or Ḥazal is an acronym for the Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
"Ḥakhameinu Zikhronam Liv'rakha", (חכמינו זכרונם לברכה, literally "Our Sages, may their memory be blessed"). In rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
nic writings this is a general term that refers to all sages of the Mishna, Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, and other rabbinic literature
Rabbinic literature
Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew term...
commentators, and their authoritative opinion, from the times of the Second Temple of Jerusalem until the 6th century CE.
Rabbinical eras, Eras of the Halakha
Chazal are generally divided according to their era and the main writing done in that era:- Soferim ("scribes"): The most common rooted term used for all sages from before the era of Ezra the scribeEzraEzra , also called Ezra the Scribe and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible he returned from the Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem...
until the Zugot era, including the men of the Great AssemblyGreat AssemblyThe Great Assembly or Anshei Knesset HaGedolah , also known as the Great Synagogue, was, according to Jewish tradition, an assembly of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, in the period from the end of the Biblical prophets to the time of the development of Rabbinic Judaism, marking a transition from...
. This era stretches from the Matan Torah ("giving of the Law"; Moses receiving the Torah on Biblical Mount SinaiBiblical Mount SinaiThe Biblical Mount Sinai is the mountain at which the Book of Exodus states that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God...
), to the HalakhaHalakhaHalakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
("traditions") era, including the times of Simeon the JustSimeon the JustSimeon the Just was a Jewish High Priest during the time of the Second Temple...
; either Simon I (c.300 BCE) or Simon II (c.210 BCE). - Zugot ("pairs"): Five pairs (zugot) of TannaimTannaimThe Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
from consecutive generations, who had lived during a period of around 100 years towards the end of the Second Temple era. (142 BCE – ca. 40 BCE) - TannaimTannaimThe Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
("teachers"): Refers to the sages of the MishnahMishnahThe Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
, who lived in the Land of IsraelLand of IsraelThe Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
until 220 CE. In addition to the Mishnah, their writings were also preserved in the MidrashMidrashThe Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
. Key figures among the Tannaim include Hillel the ElderHillel the ElderHillel was a famous Jewish religious leader, one of the most important figures in Jewish history. He is associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud...
, Akiva ben Joseph, and Judah haNasiJudah haNasiJudah the Prince, or Judah I, also known as Rebbi or Rabbeinu HaKadosh , was a 2nd-century CE rabbi and chief redactor and editor of the Mishnah. He was a key leader of the Jewish community during the Roman occupation of Judea . He was of the Davidic line, the royal line of King David, hence the...
. - Amoraim ("expounders"): Refers to the sages of the TalmudTalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
who were active during the end of the era of the sealing of the Mishnah, and until the times of the sealing of the Talmud (220CE – 500CE). The Amoraim sages were active in two areas, the Land of Israel, and BabylonBabylonBabylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
. In addition to the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem TalmudJerusalem TalmudThe Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
, their writings were also preserved in midrashs such as Midrash RabbaMidrash RabbaMidrash Rabba or Midrash Rabbah can refer to part of or the collective whole of aggadic midrashim on the books of the Tanach, generally having the term "Rabbah" , meaning "great," as part of their name...
. - Savoraim ("reasoners"): Refers to the sages of Beth midrashBeth midrashBeth Midrash refers to a study hall, whether in a synagogue, yeshiva, kollel, or other building. It is distinct from a synagogue, although many synagogues are also used as batei midrash and vice versa....
(Torah study places) in Babylon from the end of the era of the Amoraim (5th century) and until the beginning of the era of the GeonimGeonimGeonim were the presidents of the two great Babylonian, Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the Jewish community world wide in the early medieval era, in contrast to the Resh Galuta who wielded secular authority...
(From the end of the 6th century or the midst of the 7th century).
Chazal's authority
Until the end of the Savoraim era, the Chazal had the authority to commentate the Torah according to the Talmudical hermeneuticsTalmudical Hermeneutics
Talmudical Hermeneutics is the science which defines the rules and methods for the investigation and exact determination of the meaning of the Scriptures, both legal and historical...
standards required by the law given to Moses at Sinai
Halakhah le-Moshe mi-Sinai
The Law given to Moses at Sinai refers to a halakhic judgment that was not stated in the Law of Moses recorded in the Hebrew Bible, nor derived from the Talmudical hermeneutics , however, known from the Jewish Tradition...
(The non written laws handed to Moses at Sinai). Nowadays, this authority is not delegated to the current generation's sages, and thus the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
can not be commentated on, in matters concerning the halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
("tradition"), if it contradicts the Chazal's commentary.
Until the midst of the Tannaim era, when there was a Sanhedrin
Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel.The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members...
(a Jewish religious law court), Chazal had also the authority to decree predestinations and to enact new religious regulations, in any matter they saw fit, concerning issues that were not included in the written Torah, or were not handed in Biblical Mount Sinai. These rabbinical mitzvot ("commandments") include the holidays of Purim
Purim
Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther .Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th...
and Hanukkah
Hanukkah
Hanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE...
, the laws of muktzah
Muktzah
Muktza is a Hebrew word that means "separated", or "set aside." The generally accepted view regarding these items is that they may be touched though not moved during Shabbat or Yom Tov , some extend this prohibition to the actual handling of these items...
("separation") on Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
, the ritual washing of one's hands (netilat yadayim) before eating bread, the construction of eruv
Eruv
An Eruv is a ritual enclosure around most Orthodox Jewish and Conservative Jewish homes or communities. In such communities, an Eruv is seen to enable the carrying of objects out of doors on the Jewish Sabbath that would otherwise be forbidden by Torah law...
im (liminal gateways), and the institution of the current schedule of daily prayer services - shacharit
Shacharit
Shacharit is the the daily morning Tefillah of the Jewish people, one of the three times there is prayer each day.Shacharit is said to have been established by the patriarch Abraham when he prayed in the morning...
(morning prayer), mincha
Mincha
Mincha, מנחה is the afternoon prayer service in Judaism.-Etymology:The name "Mincha" is derived from the meal offering that accompanied each sacrifice.-Origin:...
(afternoon prayer), and ma'ariv (evening prayer, Kol Nidrei).