Gemara

American  

[guh-mahr-uh, guh-mah-rah, guh-maw-ruh] / gəˈmɑr ə, gə mɑˈrɑ, gəˈmɔ rə /

noun

1. the section of the Talmud consisting essentially of commentary on the Mishnah.

2. the Talmud.

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Gemara British  

/ ɡɛˈmɔrə, ɡɛmaˈra /

noun

1. Judaism the main body of the Talmud, consisting of a record of ancient rabbinical debates about the interpretation of the Mishna and constituting the primary source of Jewish religious law See also Talmud

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Gemaric
  adjective
• Gemarist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Gemara

C17: from Aramaic gemārā completion, from gemār to complete

Example Sentences

Rashi Students generally look at this section after reading a few lines of the Mishnah and Gemara.

From BBC • Oct. 29, 2013

The Mishnah and Gemara combined constitute the Talmud as it is strictly understood.

From BBC • Oct. 29, 2013

The Gemara is written in Aramaic, and like the Mishnah lacks punctuation.

From BBC • Oct. 29, 2013

The Gemara The Gemara, which in Aramaic means "to study and to know" is a collection of scholarly discussions on Jewish law dating from around 200 to 500AD.

From BBC • Oct. 29, 2013

Mishna, the oral law of the Jews, which is divided into six parts, and constitutes the text of the Talmud, of which the Gemara is the commentary.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin