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150 · Shiur 4 · The Laws of Talmud Torah (Torah Study) I Tzurba M’Rabanan

And Rabbeinu Tam explains that we rely on that which ןנירמאד אהא ןיכמוס ונאש ,שריפ םת וניברו
we say in Sanhedrin (24a): The word Babylonia means הנשמב ,ארקמב הלולב – לבב“ :).דכ( ןירדהנסב
mixed with Tanach, mixed with Mishna, and mixed with .םלוכמ לולב לבב תרמגד ,״ארמגבו
Talmud, that the Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud)
encompasses all of them.

The Rambam suggests a different interpretation of the Gemara.

r Rambam, Hilchot Talmud Torah 1:11 אי:א הרות דומלת ׳לה | ם״במר 8 .

A person is obligated to divide his study time in three: One ורותב שי ש :ותמימ ןמז תא ש ש בייחו
third should be devoted to the Written Law; one third to שי שו ,ופ עבש ורותב שי שו ,בת בש
the Oral Law; and one third to understanding and concep- איצויו ,ותישארמ רבמ תירחא י שיו ןיבי
tualizing the ultimate derivation of a concept from its roots, תודימב ןיביו ,רבדל רבד המדיו ,רבדמ רבד
inferring one concept from another and comparing one אוו ךאיו עמיש מע ,ןהב תשרדנ הרותהש
concept to another, understanding [the Torah] based on רתומוו רוסאו איצוי ךאיוו ,תומימו רקיע
the principles of Biblical exegesis, until one appreciates
the essence of those principles and how the prohibitions and ,ועומשו יפמ ממ ש םירבממ ,ןוב אצוי ו
the other decisions which one received according to the oral .״ארמג“ ארקנ הז ןיינעו
tradition can be derived using them. And this [latter] topic
is called Gemara.

According to the Rambam, the term “Gemara” does not refer to the Talmud, as the Rambam interprets
the term “Mishna” to include the interpretation of the Mishna, i.e., Gemara, as well. Rather, the Rambam
understands the term “Gemara” to refer to an analysis of the sources, which today we often call iyun, in
depth learning. In essence, the method of study that the Rambam refers to as “Gemara” is actually what
the Talmud itself does in analyzing the Mishna. Thus, the Rambam understood that we should use the
same analytical method in studying the Talmud as the Talmud itself uses in analyzing the Mishna.
According to this approach of the Rambam (which differs from that of Rashi and Tosafot), one should
divide one’s time for learning between Tanach, Mishna/Gemara, and analysis/iyun of Gemara. The Rambam
notes in the next halacha (quoted below) though that this division is intended to apply for only part of
a person’s life. However, after a person has already studied a large portion of the Torah, he should spend
most of his time studying “Gemara,” i.e., studying Talmud analytically with the “iyun” method.

r Rambam, Hilchot Talmud Torah 1:12 בי:א הרות דומלת ׳לה | ם״במר 8 .

How is the above expressed? If one is a craftsman, and is ות א מב קסוע ויוו ,תונמוא עב ויו ?מצי
engaged in his trade for three hours a day and in Torah study ןתוא – עשת הרותבו ,םויב תועש שו ש
for nine [hours], during those nine hours he reads the ,בתכבש הרותב ןהמ שולשב ארוק עשתה
Written Torah for three, the Oral Torah for three, and he תורחא שולשבו ,הפ לעבש הרותב שולשבו
should use his intellect to derive one matter from another ו בק ירבמו .רבדמ רבד ןיבהל ותעדב ןנובתי
during the other three. And divrei kabbala [i.e., Tanach]
is included in the Written Torah, and their interpretations
are included in the Oral Torah. And the concepts known as

and the third is a listing of the thirteen hermeneutical principles of Rabbi Yishmael. According to this approach, the institution
of these three passages, one from the Torah, one from Mishna, and one from Midrash (which is similar to the Gemara), was
designed to fulfill this obligation of dividing one’s daily time for Torah study into the three categories mentioned. [Addition
of the English editors]

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