NML420Y1

Western Aramaic – Jerusalem Talmud

The Talmud of the Land of Israel, also called Talmud Yerushalmi or Palestinian Talmud, is written in a mixture of Jewish Western Aramaic and Middle Hebrew. It is the principal document of the Land of Israel in Late Antiquity. The course examines the legal argumentation, terminology and language which differ from those of the Babylonian Talmud. Recognition of the dialogical structure of the legal discussions concerning the Mishnah and its elucidation will be emphasized. Terminology, grammar, and syntax of Western Aramaic will be addressed. We shall also investigate when the text uses Hebrew versus Aramaic. Students will be taught the use of the Bar Ilan Responsa Project and the Lieberman bibliographic database. Close attention will be paid to its relationship to Tosefta.