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1 Yaacov Haber on 2009 10 13

How exactly does a chshash of forgetting matir an Isur? What is the lumdus?

2 TH on 2009 10 13

presumably that was why he required a consensus of all his contemporaies. The technichal herter is Eis Leasos LaHashem, that you may at times trangress the Torah ‘for Hashem’s sake’. When this would apply is beyond the scope of this article.

3 Justin White on 2009 10 22

Regarding this statement:
“This work, known as the Mishnah (literally review),”

does Mishnah come from SHENI (second look) or SHIN (tooth-sharpen)?  What is the root of the word in Hebrew?

4 David Sedley on 2009 10 23

It is very unlikely that the Mishna was actually written down. It was certainly codified, but the fact that the Talmud never says ‘ksiv’ about a Mishna, and the fact that the Amoraim discuss which is the correct wording (e.g. first mishna in Avoda Zara) strongly imply that the Mishna remained an oral tradition until much later.

5 elisha on 2009 10 27

Mahartz Chiyos proves from a number of places in the Talmud that the Mishna was not written until Abaye and Ravas time.

6 TorahLab on 2009 11 20

Rabbi Sedley,
Elisha’s Maharitz Ciyos notwithstanding, the Halichos Olam (a Rishon) clearly says Rebbe wrote the Mishanh. Rav Yosef Karo in Kelalei HaGemara says the Mishnah predated Rebbi, he just codified it as law. perhaps that would explain the indications that the mishnah was oral for some time.