The

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

uses many types of

logical argument An argument is a statement or group of statements called premises intended to determine the degree of truth or acceptability of another statement called conclusion. Arguments can be studied from three main perspectives: the logical, the dialectic ...

s. Some of the most common arguments and terms are discussed here.

Chazakah (presumption)

The term ''chazakah'' ( he, חזקה) usually refers to the default assumption; i.e. what is assumed until there is evidence to the contrary. For example, if one is known to have owned

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

, it is assumed that he still owns it until proven otherwise. However, with movable items, the ''chazakah'' lies with whoever currently has the item in his possession, not with the one who had previously owned it. This principle also applies in ritual law. For example: Food known to be kosher maintains its status until there is evidence to the contrary. Also, one who engages in acts done only by

Kohanim Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally be ...

is assumed to be a kohen himself, until proven otherwise (see

Presumption of priestly descent The presumption of priestly descent (or presumed kohen or status-quo kohen) in Judaism is the attribution to a kohen of equivalent position as if there was proven descent from the priestly family of Aaron. This is evidenced not by genealogical rec ...

De'oraita and derabanan

A law is ''de'oraita'' (Aramaic: דאורייתא, "of the Torah," i.e. scriptural) if it was given with the written

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

. A law is ''derabbanan'' (Aramaic: דרבנן, "of our rabbis," Rabbinic) if it is ordained by the rabbinical sages. The concepts of ''de'oraita'' and ''derabbanan'' are used extensively in

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

law. Sometimes it is unclear whether an act is ''de'oraita'' or ''derabbanan''. For example: the Talmud says the prohibition of reciting an unnecessary

berakhah In Judaism, a ''berakhah'', ''bracha'', ', ' ( he, בְּרָכָה; pl. , ''berakhot'', '; "benediction," "blessing") is a formula of blessing or thanksgiving, recited in public or private, usually before the performance of a commandment, or th ...

(blessing formulated with God's name) violates the verse ''

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" () (KJV; also "You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God" (NRSV) and variants) is the second or third (depending on numbering) of God's Ten Commandments to man in t ...

''.

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

sees the Talmud as proving a ''de'oraita'' prohibition, while

Tosafot The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The auth ...

considers the law to be only ''derabbanan'', and sees the Talmud's scriptural reference as only an

asmachta In Jewish law, an ''asmachta'', or ''asmakhta'', is a conditional commitment or promise that a person makes, but actually has no intention of keeping. The agreement is not considered binding, and the commitment is considered null and void. Contro ...

(support). An article by R'

Osher Weiss Osher (Usher, Asher) Zelig Weiss (Hebrew: אשר וייס; born March 25, 1953) is a posek, the current rosh kollel of Machon Minchas Osher L’Torah V’Horaah and author of the Minchas Osher. He grew up in a Klausenberger family in Borough Par ...

makes further distinctions between various types of ''de'oraita'' or ''derabbanan'' commandments, describing a hierarchy of no less than 18 levels of significance for

mitzvot In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...

Examples

Examples of the application of these two terms abound. Examples include: *

Birkat Hamazon Birkat Hamazon ( he, בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוׂן, The Blessing of the Food), known in English as the Grace After Meals ( yi, ; translit. ''bentschen'' or "to bless", Yinglish: Bentsching), is a set of Hebrew blessings that Jewish l ...

contains four blessings. While the first three are considered ''de'oraita'', the fourth blessing was added much later on in Jewish history and is ''derabbanan''. * Regarding the verse "Thou shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk": From this, many laws of kashrut are derived by the rabbis. One might think this would make it ''derabbanan'' because it was derived by the rabbis, but the laws are actually ''de-'oraita'' because they are derived by interpreting the Torah. However, the extension of this prohibition to eating chicken with milk is ''derabbanan'', as it is the product of a specific rabbinic enactment.

Modern observance

The application of differences between rabbinic and biblical mitzvot can sometimes make practical differences. ;Rules of precedence :If a de'oraita rule comes into conflict with a d'rabbanan rule, the d'oraita rule (Torah rule) always takes precedence. ;''Sofek'' (doubt) :In a case where it is uncertain whether a commandment applies: If the commandment is ''de'oraita'' one must follow the stricter of the two possibilities; if the commandment is ''derabbanan'' one may take the lenient position. ;''Bediavad'' (extenuating circumstances) :In cases of extenuating circumstances regarding a ''derabbanan'', decisors of Jewish law sometimes apply the law leniently.

Kal Vachomer (A fortiori)

A ''kal vachomer'' ( he, קל וחומר, literally "lenient and strict") derives one law from another through the following logic: If a case that is generally strict has a particular leniency, a case that is generally lenient will certainly have that leniency. The argument can also work in reverse, and also in areas where ''lenient'' or ''strict'' might not be precisely applicable.

Migo

A ''migo'' (Aramaic: מיגו, literally "out of" or "since") is an argument for a defendant that he ought to be believed regarding a certain claim, because he could have made a different claim which would definitely have been believed. For example, if someone admits to having borrowed money and claims to have paid it back, he is believed because he could have claimed that he never borrowed the money in the first place (absent other evidence for the loan).Migo
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talmudic principles Aramaic words and phrases Jewish law principles Judaism-related lists Talmud concepts and terminology