Editing Gemara (section)

==Gemara and Mishnah==
[[File:MEMBERS OF "KVUTZAT RODGES" STUDYING THE "GEMARA". מתיישבים לומדים גמרא בקבוצת רודגס.D29-022.jpg|thumb|Members of [[Kvutzat Yavne|Kvutzat Rodges]] studying the Gemara (June 1, 1935)]]
The Gemara and the Mishnah together make up the [[Talmud]]. The Talmud thus comprises two components: the Mishnah – the core text; and the Gemara – analysis and commentary which "completes" the Talmud (see [[Talmud#Structure|Structure of the Talmud]]).
[[Maimonides]] describes the Gemara component as:
{{cquote|understanding and conceptualizing the ultimate derivation of a concept from its roots, inferring one concept from another and comparing concepts, understanding [the Law] based on the principles of [[Halakha#Rules by which early Jewish law was derived|Torah exegesis]], until one appreciates the essence of those principles and how the prohibitions and the other decisions which one received according to the oral tradition (i.e. Mishnah) can be derived using them....<ref>''[[Mishne Torah]]'', ''Sefer Madda'', [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/i/1301.htm Laws of Torah Study], [http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/910973/jewish/Chapter-One.htm 1:11]</ref>}}

The rabbis of the Mishnah are known as ''[[Tannaim]]'' (sing. ''Tanna'' {{Script/Hebrew|תנא}}). The rabbis of the Gemara are referred to as ''[[Amoraim]]'' (sing. ''Amora'' אמורא). The analysis of the Amoraim, recorded as ''gemara'', is thus focused on clarifying the positions, views, and word choice of the Tannaim.

Because there are two Gemaras, as mentioned above, there are in fact two Talmuds: the [[Jerusalem Talmud]] (Hebrew: {{Script/Hebrew|תלמוד ירושלמי}}, "Talmud Yerushalmi"), and the [[Talmud|Babylonian Talmud]] (Hebrew: {{Script/Hebrew|תלמוד בבלי}}, "Talmud Bavli"), corresponding to the Jerusalem Gemara and the Babylonian Gemara; both share the same Mishnah. The Gemara is mostly written in [[Aramaic]], the Jerusalem Gemara in [[Western Aramaic languages|Western Aramaic]] and the Babylonian in [[Eastern Aramaic languages|Eastern Aramaic]], but both contain portions in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]. Sometimes the language changes in the middle of a story.