View source for Baraita

{{short description|Teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah}}
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[[File:Tana in 1743 kiddush levana.png|thumb|''Tanna'', the introductory word of a baraita, in a 1743 prayerbook.]]
{{Rabbinical Literature}}
'''''Baraita''''' ({{langx|tmr|בָּרַיְתָא|translit=bārayṯā}} "external" or "outside"; pl. ''bārayāṯā'' or in Hebrew ''baraitot''; also '''baraitha''', '''beraita'''; Ashkenazi pronunciation: '''berayse''') designates a tradition in the [[Oral Torah]] of [[Rabbinical Judaism]] that is not incorporated in the [[Mishnah]]. ''Baraita'' thus refers to teachings "outside" of [[Mishnah#Six_orders|the six orders of the Mishnah]]. Originally, "Baraita" probably referred to teachings from schools outside the main Mishnaic-era [[yeshiva]]s – although in later collections, individual barayata are often authored by sages of the Mishna (''[[Tannaim]]'').

According to [[Maimonides]]' ''Introduction to Mishneh Torah'', the barayata were compiled by [[Hoshaiah Rabbah]] and [[Bar Kappara]], although no other compilation was passed down that was similar to the [[Tosefta]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Transmission_of_the_Oral_Law.18?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en|title=verse 18, Introduction to Mishneh Torah|last=Maimonides|website=sefaria.org|access-date=2019-09-22}}</ref>

Because the [[Mishnah]] encapsulates the entire [[Oral Law#Oral law in Judaism|Oral Law]] in a purposely compact form (designed to both facilitate ''and'' necessitate oral transmission), many variant versions, additional explanations, clarifications and rulings were not included in the Mishnah. These were later compiled in works called barayata, often in the form of a list of teachings by one sage. Barayata can thus also designate collections of such traditions. The main collections of barayata are the [[Tosefta]] and the [[Halakhic Midrash]]im ([[Midrash#Tannaitic|Mekhilta, Sifra and Sifre]]).

The authority of the barayata is somewhat less than that of the Mishnah. Nevertheless, these works are the basic "proof-text" cross-referenced by the [[Talmud]]ic sages in their analysis and interpretation of the Mishna; see [[Gemara]]. Here, a teaching from the ''baraita'' is usually introduced by the Aramaic words ''tanya'' "It was orally taught", ''tana'', or ''tanu rabanan'' "Our Rabbis have orally taught", whereas ''tnan'' "We have orally taught" introduces quotations from the Mishnah. Anonymous barayata are often attributed to particular tannaim by the Talmud. In the [[Jerusalem Talmud]], references to the baraita are less common.

The style of the baraita is basically indistinguishable from that of the Mishna, but some come closer to Mishnaic idiom than others. For example, the second chapter of ''Kallah Rabbathi'', a baraita compilation, is often appended to ''[[Pirkei Avot]]'', as both are similar in style and content.

==See also==
* [[Gemara]]
* [[Midrash]]
* [[Talmud]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=247&letter=B Baraita], [[jewishencyclopedia.com]]
* ''[[Maimonides]] Introduction to the [[Mishneh Torah]]'' ([http://www.mechon-mamre.org/e/e0000.htm English translation])
* [https://www.daat.ac.il/daat/mahshevt/hakdama/5-2.htm Tosefta and Baraita (Hebrew)], Maimonides, Introduction to the ''[[Mishnah#Commentaries|Commentary on the Mishna]]''
* [http://www.aish.com/literacy/concepts/The_Oral_Tradition.asp The Oral Tradition] by [[Aryeh Kaplan]]

==External links==
*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/t01/t0106.htm Brief General Introduction to the Babylonian Talmud]

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[[Category:Tannaitic literature]]
[[Category:Talmud]]
[[Category:Aramaic words and phrases]]
[[Category:Aramaic words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings]]
[[Category:Baraitot| ]]