Gemara
Pronunciations
Definitions
n. A text compiling 300 years of rabbinical legal and ethical commentaries on the Mishnah, forming the second part of the Talmud.
n. A particular tractate in the Gemara.
Example Sentences
"Traditionally, Jewish boys begin studying Gemara at age 10."
"He started to splutter that he didn't remember exactly which Daf it was on. 'There's no such Gemara!' I said. I really don't know if he was aware that he was entirely fabricating a Gemara or not. But I find it amazing that people are so entirely out of touch with what Chazal really said about this sort of thing, and with what Jews traditionally did, until just a few decades ago." (source)
Languages of Origin
- Textual Hebrew
- Aramaic
- Yiddish
Etymology
TH גמרא gemará > Y גמרא g(e)móre
- Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)
- North America
- Australia / New Zealand
- Great Britain
- South Africa
- The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
- The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
- The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
- Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
- View More
Who Uses This
Regions
Dictionaries
Alternative Spellings
Gemorah, Gemarah, Gemoro, Gemmorah, Gemmora, Gemora
Notes
Non-Orthodox Jews are more likely to use the term "Talmud".
Edit Something missing from this entry? Inaccurate? Feel free to suggest an edit.