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Tannaim (Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים[tannɔʔim] "repeaters", "teachers", singulartannaתנא[tanˈnɔː], borrowed fromAramaic)[1] were therabbinicsages whose views are recorded in theMishnah,[2] from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 210 years. It came after the period of theZugot "Pairs" and was immediately followed by the period of theAmoraim "Interpreters".[3]
The roottanna (תנא) is the Aramaic equivalent of theHebrew rootshanah (שנה), which also is theroot word ofMishnah. The verbshanah means "to repeat [what one was taught]" 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 theLand of Israel. The spiritual center ofJudaism at that time wasJerusalem, but after the destruction of the city and theSecond Temple,Yohanan ben Zakkai and his students founded a newCouncil of Jamnia.[citation needed] Other places of learning were founded by his students inLod and inBnei Brak.
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 theRoman Empire.[citation needed]
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TheTannaim operated under the occupation of theRoman Empire. During this time, theKohanim (priests) of theTemple became increasingly corrupt and were seen by the Jews as collaborators with the Romans, whose mismanagement ofIudaea province (composed ofSamaria,Idumea andJudea proper[4]) led to riots, revolts and general resentment.
Until the days ofHillel andShammai, the last generation of the Zugot, there were few disagreements among Rabbinic scholars. After this period, though, theHouses of Hillel and Shammai came to represent two distinct perspectives onJewish law, and disagreements between the two schools of thought are found throughout theMishnah.[citation needed]
TheTannaim, as teachers of theOral 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 theTalmud. According to rabbinic tradition, theTannaim were the last generation in a long sequence of oral teachers that began withMoses.
Early rabbinic Bible exegesis was preserved in tannaitic texts compiled in the second century CE or later, but is likely to contain much earlier material. It certainly contains some interpretations that can be traced back explicitly to the first century CE because of parallels with motifs found in the writings ofJosephus orPhilo, such as the legend of the extraordinary beauty of Moses as a child.[5]
— Martin David Goodman,A History of Judaism (2018)
The language in which the Tannaim ofIsrael and Babylonia wrote is referred to as Mishnaic Hebrew (MH), or in HebrewLešon hakhamim, meaningthe 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, andSeder '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.[6]
TheNasi (pluralNesi'im) was the highest-ranking member and presided over theSanhedrin.Rabban was a higher title thanRabbi, and it was given to theNasi starting with RabbanGamaliel Hazaken (Gamaliel the Elder). The titleRabban was limited to the descendants of Hillel, the sole exception being RabbanYochanan ben Zakai, the leader in Jerusalem during thesiege, who safeguarded the future of the Jewish people after theGreat Revolt by pleading withVespasian. RabbiEleazar ben Azariah, who was alsoNasi, was not given the titleRabban, perhaps because he only held the position ofNasi 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 theTalmudic adage "Gadol miRabban shmo" ("Greater than the titleRabban is a person's own name").[citation needed] This is seen as the reason that Hillel has no title before his name: his name in itself is his title, just asMoses andAbraham have no titles before their names. (An addition is sometimes givenafter a name to denote significance or to differentiate between two people with the same name. Examples includeAvraham Avinu (Abraham our father) andMoshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher). Similarly, Hillel is often referred to asHillel Hazaken (Hillel the elder). Starting with RabbiJudah haNasi (Judah theNasi), often referred to simply as "Rabbi", not even theNasi is given the titleRabban, but instead, Judah haNasi is given the lofty titleRabbeinu HaKadosh ("Our holy rabbi [teacher]").
The Mishnaic period is commonly divided into five generations,[citation needed] listed below:
The rabbis educated at Yavneh would be links in the great unbroken chain of teachers of the Torah. Yohanan and those who followed him were called tannaim, meaning "repeaters" or "teachers.
Tanna (pl.Tannaim)—authorities cited in the Mishna and coëval writings.
... both in Palestine and in Babylonia, were called amoraim, meaning "speakers" or "interpreters"
WhenArchelaus was deposed from the ethnarchy in 6 CE, Judea proper, Samaria and Idumea were converted into a Roman province under the name Iudaea.