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| | Rabbinic literature |
 | | Rabbinic literature, in the broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writing throughout history. |
 | | The latter, more specific, sense is how the term is normally used in medieval and modern rabbinic writing (where Hazal normally refers only to the sages of the talmudic era), and in contemporary academic writing (where "rabbinic literature" refers to talmud, midrash, and related writings, but hardly ever to later texts). |
 | | The Mishnah and the Tosefta (compiled from materials pre-dating 200 CE) are the earliest extant works of rabbinic literature, explaining Judaism's oral law. |
| www.knowledgefun.com /book/r/ra/rabbinic_literature.html (527 words) |
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