The Talmud is the chief text of Judaism, the teachings discuss Jewish laws, ethics, philosophy, and history according to hundreds of different rabbis. The Talmud is comprised of two sections: the Mishnah and the Gemara. The Mishnah describes the Jewish oral law and the Gemara is the rabbinic interpretation of these laws. Altogether the Talmud consists of 63 tractates usually taking up approximately 6,200 pages of text. It is written in Tannaitic Hebrew and Aramaic.

A large portion of the Talmud was compiled in Iraq, known as the Talmud Bavli. The Talmud Bavli was drafted over an approximately 200 year time period between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD. The center of Jewish study during this time period was Mesopotamia (known today as Iraq) where Nehardea, Nisibis, Mahoza, Pumbeditha (known today as Fallujah) where all centers of famous Yeshivot (schools of Jewish religious learning). More than 50 Rabbis from what is now known as Iraq contributed to the Talmud. The most famous of the Babylonian Rabbis were Rav Ashi, Ravina and Abba Arika a disciple of Rav Judah Ha-Nasi.

 

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/talmud_&_mishna.html

Join us as we secure the rights of Jews from North Africa and the Middle East