Page:משנה תורה דפוס ווארשא-ווילנא כרך ראשון 1.pdf/3

 prophet who was in that generation writes for himself from memory that what he heard from his teachers, and he teaches by heart to the public. And likewise does each and every one write for himself according to his strength of the explanation of the Torah and of its laws as what he heard, and from new things that were developed in each and every generation in laws that they did not learn by hearing but through one the thirteen rules, and on which the Great Court agreed. And so it was constantly until Rabbenu HaQadosh. And he compiled all of what was heard and all of the laws and all of the explanations and the commentaries that they heard since our teacher Moses, and which the Court of each and every generation learnt in the whole Torah, and he compiled from all of it the book of the Mishnah, and he taught it to the sages in public, and it was revealed to all of Israel, and they all wrote it down, and he disseminated it all over, so that the Oral Torah should not be forgotten from Israel. And why did Rabbenu HaQadosh do so, and did not leave the matter like it was? Because he saw that the students keep on decreasing, and new tragedies keep on coming, and the Kingdom of Rome is spreading out in the world and getting strong, and Israel keeps on rolling to the ends, he compiled one compilation to be in the hand of all of them, in order that they should learn it quickly and it should not be forgotten. And he sat all of his days, he and his Court, and taught the Mishnah in public. And these are the greatest of the sages that were in the Court of Rabbenu HaQadosh, and received it from him: Simeon and Gamaliel his sons and Rabbi Epes and Rabbi Hanina ben Hama and Rabbi Hiyya and Rav and Rabbi Yannai and bar Kappara *and Samuel and Rabbi Johanan and Rabbi Hoshaiah. And these are the greatest of the sages who received from him; and with them, thousands and tens on thousands of the other sages. Although these eleven received from Rabbenu HaQadosh and stood in his study, Rabbi Johanan was young, and afterwards was a student of Rabbi Yannai, and received Torah from him. *And also Rav received from Rabbi Yannai. *And Samuel received from Rabbi Hanina bar Hama. Rav compiled Sifra and Sifre to explain and to inform the principles of the Mishnah. And Rabbi Hiyya compiled the Tosefta to explain the subjects of the Mishnah. And Rabbi Hoshaiah and bar Kappara also compiled Baraitot to explain the words of the Mishnah. And Rabbi Johanan compiled the Jerusalemite Gemara in the Land of Israel after the destruction of the Temple approximately three hundred years. And from the greatest of the sages who received from Rav and Samuel: Rav Huna and Rav Judah and Rav Nachman and Rav Kahana. And from the greatest of the sages who received from Rabbi Johanan: *Rabbah bar bar Hana and Rabbi Ammi and Rabbi Assi and Rav Dimi and Rabbi Abin. And from the sages who received from Rav Huna and from Rav Judah are included: *Rabbah and Rav Yosef. And from the sages who received from Rabbah and Rav Yosef are included: Abaye and Rava. And both of them also received from Rav Nachman. And from the sages who received from Rava are included: Rav Ashi and Ravina. And Mar bar Rav Ashi received from his father Rav Ashi and from Ravina.

In conclusion, from Rav Ashi until our teacher Moses, Peace unto him, are forty generations. And they are these: 1) Rav Ashi from Rava. 2) And Rava from Rabbah. 3) And Rabbah from Rav Huna. 4) And Rav Huna from Rabbi Johanan and Rav and Samuel. 5) And Rabbi Johanan and Rav and Samuel from Rabbenu HaQadosh. 6) And Rabbenu HaQadosh from Rabbi Simeon his father. 7) And Rabbi Simeon [from Rabbi Gamaliel his father. 8) And Rabbi Gamaliel from Rabbi Simeon his father. 9) And Rabbi Simeon] from Rabbi Gamaliel the Elder his father. 10) And Rabbi Gamaliel the Elder from Rabbi Simeon his father. 11) And Rabbi Simeon from Hillel his father and Shammai. 12) And Hillel and Shammai from Shmaya and Abtalion. 13) And Shmaya and Abtalion from Judah and Simeon. 14) And Judah and Simeon from Joshua ben Perachiah and Nittai of Arbela. 15) And Joshua and Nittai from Jose ben Joezer and Joseph ben Jochanan. 16) And Jose ben Joezer and Joseph ben Jochanan from Antigonus. 17) And Antigonus from Simeon the Just. 18) And Simeon the Just from Ezra. 19) And Ezra from Baruch. 20) And Baruch from Jeremiah. 21) And Jeremiah from Zephaniah. 22) And Zephaniah from Habakkuk. 23) And Habakkuk from Nahum. 24) And Nahum from Joel. 25) And Joel from Micah. 26) And Micah from Isaiah. 27) And Isaiah from Amos. 28) And Amos from Hosea. 29) And Hosea from Zechariah. 30) And Zechariah from Jehoiada. 31) And Jehoiada from Elisha. 32) And Elisha from Elijah. 33) And Elijah from Ahijah. 34) And Ahijah from David. 35) And David from Samuel. 36) And Samuel from Eli. 37) And Eli from Pinchas. 38) And Pinchas from Joshua. 39) And Joshua from our teacher Moses. 40) And our teacher Moses from the mouth of the Almighty. In conclusion, they are all from the LORD, the God of Israel.

All of these aforementioned sages are the great ones of the generations. From them were heads of yeshivoth and from them were heads of exiles and from them were those of the Great Sanhedrin. And with them, in each and every generation, thousands and tens of thousands who heard from them and with them. Ravina and Rav Ashi are the conclusion of the Sages of the Talmud. And Rav Ashi is he who compiled the Babylonian Gemara in the Land of Shinar after Rabbi Johanan compiled the Jerusalemite Gemara with approximately one hundred years. And the subject of both Gemaras is the interpretation of the words of the Mishnah and the explanation of its obscurenesses and new things that were developed in each and every Court since the days of Rabbenu HaQadosh, and until the compilation of the Gemara. And from both Gemaras and from the Toseftas and from Sifra and Sifre (and from the supplements) – from all of them will be clarified the forbidden and the permitted, the defiled and the clean, the obligated and the exempt, the unfit and the fit, as they transmitted, man from the mouth of man, from the mouth of our teacher Moses, from Sinai.

Also it will be clarified from them – things which Sages and prophets from each and every generation decreed to make a parapet to the Torah, as they heard from Moses explicitly, as it says: "And you shall keep my keeping: Make a keeping for my keeping". And it will also be clarified from them – the customs and the enactments which they enacted or how they behaved in each and every generation, as the Court of that generation saw fit, because it is forbidden to deviate from them, as it says: "You shall not deviate from the thing that they will tell you, right and left". And also obscure judgments and laws which they did not receive from Moses, and the Court of that generation judged on them with the rules with which the Torah is interpreted, and the Elders decided them and ruled that the law is such, all did Rav Ashi compile in the Gemara, since the days of Moses, and until his days. And the Sages of the Mishnah compiled other compilations to explain the words of the Torah: Rabbi Hoshaiah, the student of Rabbenu HaQadosh, compiled the explanation of the Book of Genesis, and Rabbi Ishmael explained from "These are the names" until the end of the Torah, and that is what's called "Mekhilta", and Rabbi Akiva also compiled Mekhilta, and other sages after them compiled Midrashot, and all was compiled prior to the Babylonian Gemara.



And these are the greatest of the sages that were in the Court of Rabbenu HaQadosh etc. Wrote Rabbi Abraham ben David: "Said Abraham: Samuel and Rabbi Johanan were not" etc. "And this compiler compiled from his mind and did not know about what." Until here is his language. And it can be said that the reason of our teacher is that Samuel was great in the days of Rabbi, as we say (in the first chapter of Bava Metzia, 85b) that Rabbi wanted to ordinate him, only that it did not come to fruition. And since he was worthy of being ordained, why shouldn't he be considered from the Court of Rabbi? And Rabbi Johanan – it is true that he was young as it says in Chapter The First of the Shearing (page 137b) that Rabbi Johanan said that firebrands were going out of the mouth of Rav to the mouth of Rabbi and he did not know what they were saying. And if so, he was not from the Court of Rabbi. Nevertheless, he learnt Torah from him. And our teacher already wrote that even though these received from Rabbenu HaQadosh and stood in his study, Rabbi Johanan was young. And Rav Hoshaiah – why shouldn't he be from the Court of Rabbi? Why he was the friend of Rabbi Hiyya, and as we say elsewhere (Hullin 141a): Each Baraita that was not learnt at the House of Rabbi Hiyya and at the House of Rabbi Hoshaiah – you shall not ask from it at the Beth Midrash. And Rabbi Yannai and bar Kappara were great in the days of Rabbi and why shouldn't they be from his Court? And what he wrote: "But Levi and Rabbi Bisa" etc. – it can be said that our teacher did not come to count all the sages that were in the Court of Rabbi, until it should be hard on him why he did not count these.

And also Rav received from Rabbi Yannai. Wrote Rabbi Abraham ben David: "This did not happen and was not born." Until here is his language. And I say that the words of our teacher happened and were born; from what we say in Chapter "The Woman", the great one (folio 93): Rav Huna is like Rav and Rav is like Rabbi Yannai; and Rabbi Shlomo explained: Rav Huna is like Rav – that is to say: He received it from Rav, who was his teacher; and Rav from Rabbi Yannai; and so all of them: this one was higher than the generation of this one. Until here is his language. And nevertheless, one can wonder: Why didn't our teacher write that Rav learnt from Rabbi Hiyya? And also Rabbi Abraham ben David – why didn't he write that? And like he wrote regarding Samuel?

And Samuel received from Rabbi Hanina ben Hama. Wrote Rabbi Abraham ben David: "And also this did not happen; rather, from Levi." And I say that I do not know from where do we know that he did not learn from Rabbi Hanina who remained Rosh Yeshiva in the place of Rabbi (Ketubot 106b). And what he wrote: "rather, from Levi", I do not know from where he knows this. And from the greatest of the sages who received from Rabbi Johanan etc. Wrote Rabbi Abraham ben David: "And Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba." Until here is his language. And I say that this is no objection; for our teacher did not come to count all of the great ones who received from Rabbi Johanan, only some of them, and as it is proven from the language "and from the greatest of the sages".

And from the sages who received from Rav Huna and from Rav Judah are included Rabbah and Rav Yosef. Wrote Rabbi Abraham ben David: "Rav Chisda and Rabbah bar Rav Huna." Until here is his language. And this, too, is no objection; from the reason that I wrote nearby.