The Talmud—which exists in two different recensions, viz., the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud—consists of two elements, which have to each other the relation of text and commentary, and are called Mishnah (‏משנה‎ “learnt by heart”), and Gemara (‏גמרא‎ lit. “completion,” “a thing settled”); the former contains the traditional laws mostly without argumentation; in the latter these laws are further discussed, examined, and finally settled. Following the example [[138]]of the Pentateuch, the Talmud includes two elements: laws and narratives, or Halachah (‏הלכה‎) and Agada (‏אגדה‎); the latter, the Agada, contains history, fables, allegory, meditations, prayers, reflections, philosophical and religious discussions, and a large number of moral sayings. The Midrashim likewise include these two elements.

The Mishnah is divided into the following six orders or sections (‏סדרים‎):[13]—

The laws taught in the Talmud are: (i) those which are directly or indirectly derived from the text of the Pentateuch; they are called “laws derived from the Torah” (‏מן התורה‎ or ‏מדאורייתא‎); (2) those which trace their origin to the time of Moses, or, in general, to the remote past; they are called ‏הלכה למשה מסיני‎ “Law given to Moses on Sinai;” (3) those laws which originated between the period of the Pentateuch and the close of the Bible; they are called ‏דברי קבלה‎ (“words of tradition”); (4) those which have been introduced in post-Biblical times; they are laws ‏מדרבנן‎ “laws introduced by our teachers.” These are either preventives against breaking any of the [[139]]Divine precepts, and are then called ‏‎ or ‏סיג‎ “a fence,” or tekanoth (‏תקנות‎ “institutions” or “regulations”) made in order to ensure obedience to the Law and improvement of conduct, to remove abuses and prevent error and misunderstanding; (5) Minhag, “Custom” (‏מנהג‎); religious practices which have not been introduced by any authority or based on a particular Biblical text, but in consequence of long usage have become as sacred as a law established by the proper authority.

These laws, as finally settled, were again codified, in various works, the most important of which are the following two: (1) Mishneh-torah (‏משנה תורה‎ or ‏יד החזקה‎[14] lit. “Copy of the Law,” or “Strong Hand”), by Moses Maimonides (twelfth century) in fourteen books; (2) Shulchan-aruch (‏שלחן ערוך‎, lit. “Table-arranged”), by Rabbi Joseph Caro (sixteenth century).

Ninth Principle.—“I firmly believe that this Law will not be changed, and that there will not be any other Law given by the Creator, blessed be His Name.”

In this article we pronounce our belief in the immutability of the Law. Over and over again the phrase “an everlasting statute” (‏חקת עולם‎) occurs in the Pentateuch. It is true that the Hebrew term ‏עולם‎ is used in the Bible in the sense of “a very long time,” but in the phrase ‏חקת עולם‎ the word cannot have that meaning. Some indication would have been necessary to inform the people when the laws would cease to be in force. On the contrary, the test of a prophet addressing his brethren in the name of God, as a [[140]]Divine messenger, consists in the harmony of his words with the precepts of the Pentateuch. A prophet who, speaking in the name of God, abrogates any of the laws of the Pentateuch is a false prophet. “If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods which thou hast not known, and let us serve them: thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet or unto that dreamer of dreams.… Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death; because he hath spoken rebellion against the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, … to draw thee aside out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in” (Deut. xiii. 2–6). Moses distinctly says, “The things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Ibid. xxix. 28).

There is also an express commandment given: “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you” (Ibid. iv. 2). In two ways this law may appear to have been disregarded: there are certain sections of the Law which are at present not in force; and, on the other hand, there are many apparently new precepts at present in force which have been introduced in the course of time by the religious authorities [[141]]of the nation. But these are only apparent exceptions; in reality they are entirely in harmony with the Pentateuch.

As to the first class, there are many of the Divine commandments the fulfilment of which depends on certain conditions; e.g., the existence of the Tabernacle or of the Temple and its service, the possession of Palestine by the Israelites, the independence of the Jewish State. In the absence of these conditions such laws cannot be fulfilled. The laws of sacrifices belong to this class. We are, in reference to these laws, in the same condition as a person who is physically prevented from doing what he is commanded to do, and what he is actually longing to do. The Law is not altered; our circumstances demand a temporary suspense of such laws and not their abrogation.

The second class contains all those precepts which are known as ‏מצות דרבנן‎ “Rabbinical precepts,” ‏תקנות‎ and ‏מנהגים‎ “Institutions” and “Customs.” But these imply no addition to the Torah; they are merely byelaws and regulations as regards the method of carrying out the laws of the Pentateuch, and are designed to facilitate or ensure their fulfilment, and to prevent ourselves from forgetting or disregarding them. Our teachers, the Rabbis, made it a matter of conscience to describe their own regulations as ‏דרבנן‎ non-Pentateuchical, and throughout the Oral Law and the entire Talmudic literature the distinction between ‏דרבנן‎ and ‏מן התורה‎ is noted and scrupulously upheld.