[Avodah] Dating the Zohar

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, Mar 23, 2011 at 03:16:02PM -0400, Zev Sero wrote:
> An amora means someone who remembers mishnayos and braisos and recites
> them on demand.  They had amora'im in Rashbi's day.  So this is no proof.

"Tanna", from the same word as masnisa, originally referred to the
rav doing the repeating, and only later evolved to mean the rav being
quoted. In the days of the amoraim, both senses were used. The memorizers,
the "Sinai"s, who *repeated* (thus the shoresh).

More literally, an "amora" is a speaker (as in "amar"), interpreter,
or expounder. Same etymology as meturgeman. It wasn't the person who
repeats exactly, it's the person who embelishes and explains as he goes.

But in any case, in the days of the amora'im, the word "amora" was
not used for the repeater. The repeater, like the one being quoted,
was a "tanna". As in "tani tanna kameih deRav Nachman" (Megillah 27b),
".. deRava" (Pesachim 113b, Kesuvos 65b), "... deRav" (Chullin 15a),
etc, etc...

(Also, BTW, indication for Tosafos's shitah that Rebbe's and R' Chiya's
compositions were not yet committed to writing. The Mishnah and Tosefta
were compiled and organized, but not transcribed.)

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             For a mitzvah is a lamp,
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