The second stage of the Revadim Method is comparing Mishnah to other tannaitic literature. This is called learning “parallel” sources, since all tannaitic literature was composed during the same period, by the same scholars, for the same general purposes. Mishnah consists of about five hundred chapters and four thousand paragraphs (mishnayot), but this is less than ten percent of the tannaitic literature which survived! Understanding the Tannaim from study of Mishnah alone is like using only one hundred pieces of a one thousand piece puzzle.

There are three reservoirs of tannaitic sources outside Mishnah. The first includes the seven Midreshei Halachah which have survived to our day. Midreshei Halachah are ordered according to the verses of the Torah, and they derive new halachah from Biblical verses or connect existing halachah to verses by allusion. Though edited at the beginning of the amoraic period, they present teachings of Rabbi Akiba (b. Yosef) and Rabbi Yishmael (b. Elisha) from the Yavneh period one hundred years before. Our Mishnah generally follows the Midreshei Halachah of Rabbi Akiba. Comparing Mishnah to Midreshei Halachah often clarifies the rationale of the law in Mishnah, and sometimes provides additional opinions not brought by Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi at all.

Tosefta, the second parallel tannaitic source, is almost twice the size of Mishnah. Traditionally, Tosefta is attributed to Rabbi Chiyyah and Rabbi Hoshaya, student colleagues of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, although some scholars doubts this assertion, and claim that the Tosefta in our use today is not (only) the Tosefta of Rabbi Chuyyah and Rabbi Hoshaya. Since Mishnah and Tosefta share the same topical organizational structure of six orders and sixty three tractates, location of parallel sources is relatively simple.

The third and largest store of tannaitic sources parallel to Mishnah are the “beraitot” in the two Talmudim. “Beraitot” are terse quotations from tannaitic compilations which did not survive in their entirety, and they therefore need to be studied with care, but their sheer quantity – some eighteen thousand in number as quoted in the two Talmudim, make them irreplaceable in understanding the Tannaim. There are many kinds of beraitot, and the various types have various degrees of standing and authority in the eyes of the amoraim. Locating beraitot in the Talmud is not difficult, since every beraita appears after one of several code words reserved by the Talmud for their presentation.

In order to simplify the search, selection and proper presentation of parallel tannaitic sources, the Revadim project includes a compilation of major parallel sources for most of Mishnah, called Torat HaTannaim. Each mishnah is presented, topics of the mishnah which are reflected in parallel sources are listed, and all major parallel sources are then brought in full. These materials are invaluable in expanding horizons after learning Mishnah.

Learning parallel tannaitic literature has another great plus. The Amoraim, and the authors of the talmudic literature, often compared tannaitic sources for clarifying halachah. Learning all the parallel sources before learning Talmud is great preparation for learning amoraic and talmudic literature.

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