Rabbinic literature

Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire corpus of works authored by rabbis throughout Jewish history. The term typically refers to literature from the Talmudic era (70–640 CE), as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writings. It aligns with the Hebrew term Sifrut Chazal (Hebrew: ספרות חז״ל), which translates to “literature [of our] sages” and generally pertains only to the sages (Chazal) from the Talmudic period. This more specific sense of "Rabbinic literature"—referring to the Talmud, Midrashim (Hebrew: מדרשים), and related writings, but hardly ever to later texts—is how the term is generally intended when used in contemporary academic writing. The terms mefareshim and parshanim (commentaries and commentators) almost always refer to later, post-Talmudic writers of rabbinic glosses on Biblical and Talmudic texts.

The Midr'she halakha, Mishnah, and Tosefta (compiled from materials pre-dating the year 200 CE) are the earliest extant works of rabbinic literature, expounding and developing Judaism's Oral Law, as well as ethical teachings. Following these came the two Talmuds:

The earliest extant material witness to rabbinic literature of any kind is the Tel Rehov inscription dating to the 6th–7th centuries, also the longest Jewish inscription from late antiquity. Meanwhile, the earliest extant Talmudic manuscripts are from the 8th century.

Midrash (מדרש; pl. Midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of reading details into or out of a biblical text. The term midrash also can refer to a compilation of Midrashic teachings in the form of legal, exegetical, homiletical, or narrative writing, often configured as a commentary on the Bible or Mishnah. There are a large number of "classical" Midrashic works spanning a period from Mishnaic to Geonic times, often showing evidence of having been worked and reworked from earlier materials and frequently coming to us in multiple variants. A compact list of these works, drawing upon Barry Holtz's Back to the Sources, is given below. The timeline below is approximate because many of the works were composed over a long period, borrowing and collating material from earlier versions; their histories are, therefore, somewhat uncertain and the subject of scholarly debate. In the table, "n.e." designates that the work in question is not extant except in secondary references.

The Geonim are the rabbis of Sura and Pumbeditha in Babylon (650–1250 CE) :

The Rishonim are the rabbis of the early medieval period (1000–1550 CE)

The Acharonim are the rabbis from 1550 to the present day.

Mefareshim is a Hebrew word meaning "commentators" (or roughly meaning "exegetes"), Perushim means "commentaries". In Judaism, these words refer to commentaries on the Torah (five books of Moses), Tanakh, Mishnah, Talmud, the responsa literature, or even the siddur (Jewish prayerbook), and more.