Tannaim (Mishnaic Hebrew: תנאים "repeaters", "teachers", singular tanna תנא , borrowed from Aramaic)
The root tanna (תנא) is the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew language root shanah (שנה), which also is the triliteral of Mishnah. The verb shanah means "to repeat what" and is used to mean "to learn".
The Mishnaic period is commonly divided into five periods according to generations. There are approximately 120 known Tannaim.
The Tannaim lived in several areas of the Land of Israel. The spiritual center of Judaism at that time was Jerusalem, but after the destruction of the city and the Second Temple, Yohanan ben Zakkai and his students founded a new Council of Jamnia.
Some Tannaim worked as laborers (e.g., charcoal burners, cobblers) in addition to their positions as teachers and legislators. They were also leaders of the people and negotiators with the Roman Empire.
History
The
Tannaim operated under the occupation of the
Roman Empire. During this time, the
Kohen (priests) of the
Second Temple became increasingly corrupt and were seen by the Jews as collaborators with the Romans, whose mismanagement of
Iudaea province (composed of
Samaria,
Idumea and
Judea proper
) led to riots, revolts and general resentment.
Until the days of Hillel and Shammai, the last generation of the Zugot, there were few disagreements among Rabbinic scholars. After this period, though, the Houses of Hillel and Shammai came to represent two distinct perspectives on Halakha, and disagreements between the two schools of thought are found throughout the Mishnah.
The Tannaim, as teachers of the Oral Law, are said to be direct transmitters of an oral tradition passed from teacher to student that was written and codified as the basis for the Mishnah, Tosefta, and tannaitic teachings of the Talmud. According to rabbinic tradition, the Tannaim were the last generation in a long sequence of oral teachers that began with Moses.
Language of the Mishnah
The language in which the Tannaim of
Israel and Babylonia wrote is referred to as Mishnaic Hebrew (MH), or in Hebrew
Lešon hakhamim, meaning
the language of the Sages. Texts were written in MH between roughly 70 CE and 500 CE. Tannaitic literature, which includes the Mishnah, the Tosefta, the halachic midrashim, and Seder 'olam Rabba was redacted between roughly 70 CE to 250 CE. Research has demonstrated that Hebrew was spoken in Israel until about 200 CE, and it is generally agreed that tannaitic literature reflects the language and speech used in various regions of Israel during that time period.
[ The Cambridge History of Judaism, vol 4, CHAPTER 15, "MISHNAIC HEBREW: AN INTRODUCTORY SURVEY," MOSHE BAR-ASHER, p. 369]
Prominent Tannaim
Titles
The
Nasi (plural
Nesi'im) was the highest-ranking member and presided over the
Sanhedrin.
Rabban was a higher title than
Rabbi, and it was given to the
Nasi starting with Rabban
Gamaliel (Gamaliel the Elder). The title
Rabban was limited to the descendants of Hillel, the sole exception being Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai, the leader in Jerusalem during the siege, who safeguarded the future of the Jewish people after the Great Revolt by pleading with
Vespasian. Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah, who was also
Nasi, was not given the title
Rabban, perhaps because he only held the position of
Nasi for a short while and it eventually reverted to the descendants of Hillel. Prior to Rabban Gamliel Hazaken, no titles were used before someone's name, which gave rise to the
adage "
Gadol miRabban shmo" ("Greater than the title
Rabban is a person's own name").
This is seen as the reason that Hillel has no title before his name: his name in itself is his title, just as
Moses and
Abraham have no titles before their names. (An addition is sometimes given
after a name to denote significance or to differentiate between two people with the same name. Examples include
Avraham Avinu (Abraham our father) and
Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher). Similarly, Hillel is often referred to as
Hillel Hazaken (Hillel the elder). Starting with Rabbi
Judah haNasi (Judah the
Nasi), often referred to simply as "Rabbi", not even the
Nasi is given the title
Rabban, but instead, Judah haNasi is given the lofty title
Rabbeinu HaKadosh ("Our holy rabbi teacher").
Generations
The Mishnaic period is commonly divided into five generations,
listed below:
-
First Generation before and shortly after the Destruction of the Temple (c. 40 BCE – 80 CE):
Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, Shimon ben Gamliel and Judah ben Baba
-
Second Generation between the destruction of the Temple and Bar Kokhba's revolt:
Rabban Gamaliel II of Yavneh, Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah and Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurcanus, the teachers of Rabbi Akiva, as well as Gamaliel II of Yavne and Eleazar ben Arach
-
Third Generation around Bar Kochba's revolt:
Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Tarfon, Ishmael ben Elisha, Eleazar ben Azariah, Jose the Galilean, Nathan the Babylonian and Elisha ben Abuyah (the "Other" or apostate)
-
Fourth Generation after the revolt:
Shimon ben Gamliel of Yavne, Rabbi Meir, Shimon bar Yochai (who, according to traditional lore, wrote the Zohar), Jose ben Halafta, Yehuda ben Ilai and Rabbi Nehemiah
-
Fifth Generation: the generation of Rabbi Judah haNasi, who compiled the Mishnah.
-
Sixth Generation, an interim generation between the Mishnah and the Gemara:
Rabbi Hiyya, Shimon ben Judah HaNasi, Abba Arikha (Rav) and Yehoshua ben Levi.
See also
External links
