Tosefta
Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were characteristically transmitted orally, and consisted of short sayings presented with or without attribution, which were memorized through repetition (Shanah in Hebrew)[1] and recited in halls of study.
[1] The Halacha, Aggada, and Tosefta collectively served as the foundation of the Oral Torah and the primary focus of study for the sages during the first two centuries CE.
[8] However, this is most likely inaccurate, as a close literary analysis will show that both texts follow the same order, and the digressions of the Tosefta are premeditated and pedagogical by nature.
[10] Suggestions for dating individual traditions in the Tosefta may be presented through a comparative study of all parallel Tannaitic sources.
[10] Baraitot are commonly mentioned within Talmudic discussions of Mishnaic passages, and collections of them are attributed to various Amoraic sages, thus their study would impact conclusions regarding the Tosefta as well.
More recent scholarship, such as that of Yaakov Elman, concludes that since the Tosefta, as we know it, must be dated linguistically as an example of Middle Hebrew 1, it was most likely compiled in early Amoraic times from oral transmission of baraitot.
[17] Sherira ben Hanina (987 CE), in his epistle written to the heads of the Jewish community in Kairouan (now in Tunisia), discusses the authority of the Tosefta in relation to the Mishnah.
Had R. Ḥiya then come along, in the Tosefta, and stated that the halacha had been originally a matter of dispute – even though it has now been reported anonymously – we follow the Mishnah rather than take up the episode which places the rabbis at variance.
[20]Sherira then brings down the reverse of this example: "Or, let us suppose that Rebbe [Yehuda Ha-Nassi] in the Mishnah records a dispute between R. Meir and R. Yosi.
At times the commentary character of the Tosefta is explicit, as it will address the reasons for various statements of the Mishna in the form of questions and answers.
[21] In other instances the Tosefta will provide a commentary which is interwoven with the words of the Mishna, or attached to the end of a Mishnaic passage as an appendix.
[22] The Tosefta may also provide opinions differing from those mentioned in the Mishna, as well as reasoning, background and scriptural proofs for Mishnaic decrees.
[24] Accordingly, certain topics discussed generally in the Mishna will be expanded and will receive a detailed elaboration, and previously undiscussed cases will be covered.
All four of these sources, together with many Cairo Geniza fragments, have been published online by Bar Ilan University in the form of a searchable database.
Between 1955 and 1973, ten volumes of the new edition were published, representing the text and the commentaries on the entire orders of Zera'im, Mo'ed and Nashim.
