Talmud Quiz
The Talmud--which consists of the Mishnah and Gemara--explicates and builds upon the Torah's laws and stories. How much do you know about this influential and complex body of Jewish teachings?Question 1. Who was Hillel's intellectual adversary?
Maimonides
Nahmanides
Gersonides
Shammai
Question 2. Who was Beruriah?
Rashi's wife
A prophet often cited by the rabbis in the Talmud
The daughter of a talmudic sage and an accomplished scholar in her own right
The author of the Talmud
Question 3. Which text lays out the founding principles of the Mishnah?
Kehati
Tosefta
Pirkei Avot
Book of Chronicles
Question 4. Which of these teachings does NOT appear in Pirkei Avot?
Love your neighbor as yourself
The world stands on three things: Torah, service, and acts of loving kindness
The day is short and the work is great
You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it
Question 5. According to the Talmud, which of these sages entered the Divine Pardes, or the Orchard, and came out sane and alive?
Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Akiba
Rabbi Yohanan
Shmuel
Ben Bag Bag
Question 6. Who was Rabbenu Tam?
A Tanna
A tosafist
A common adversary of Yose ben Yoezer
A sage quoted often in the Mishnah
Question 7. Which of the two Talmuds is considered more authoritative?
Yerushalmi
Bavli
They are given equal consideration
The Yerushalmi is considered more important for priests, the Bavli for common folk
Question 8. Why was the Mishnah so important?
No Jewish book had ever listed laws before
It was the final word on every aspect of Jewish law
It turned Judaism from a Temple-centered religion to a lifecycle-centered one
All of the above
None of the above
Question 9. Which is the standard edition of the Talmud?
The Jerusalem Edition
The Vilna Edition
The Perushim of Rashi
The Revised Standard Version
Question 10. According to Jewish tradition, who compiled the Mishnah?
The Amoraim
Resh Lakish
The students of Hillel
Judah the Prince