What is the Talmud?

Answer 1

It is the set of books that covers the laws of Judaism- civil law, criminal law, family law, business/commercial law, all areas of law.

Answer 2

The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. It is the fundamental source of Jewish Law. The Talmud has two components: the Mishnah, which is the first written compendium of Judaism's Oral Law; and the Gemara, a discussion of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings, that often ventures onto other subjects and expounds broadly on the Tanakh. The terms Talmud and Gemara are often used interchangeably. The Gemara is the basis for all codes of rabbinic law and is much quoted in other rabbinic literature. The whole Talmud, is traditionally also referred to as Shas (a Hebrew abbreviation of shishah sedarim, the "six orders" of the Mishnah).

Mishna
The Talmud is composed of two parts: Mishna and Gemara. The Mishna was compiled about the year 200 C.E., it is a compilation of legal opinions and debates. The Gemara was compiled about the year 500 C.E. and contains a wide range of rabbinic discourse.

The Mishna is mainly a legal work which records major debates of Jewish law. Statements in the Mishnah are usually short and record only the main teachings of the various rabbis debating a subject or the consensus view. The rabbis of the Mishnah are known as Tannaim (sing. Tanna תנא); many teachings in the Mishnah are reported in the name of a particular Tanna. Sometimes statements are made without attribution to a particular Rabbi, this often indicates that such a statement was the commonly accepted view.

According to tradition, the Mishna was compiled by Rabbi Judah haNasi about the year 200 C.E.. He collected a large body of rabbinic teachings, edited and organized them according to a topical structure.

Structure and Content
The Mishna consists of six orders (sedarim, singular seder סדר). Each of the six orders contains between 7 and 12 tractates, called masechtot (singular masechet מסכת). Each masechet is divided into smaller units called mishnayot (singular mishnah). Not every tractate in the Mishnah has a corresponding Gemara. Furthermore, the order of the tractates in the Talmud differs in some cases from that in the Mishnah; see the discussion on each Seder.

First Order: Zeraim ("Seeds"). 11 tractates. It deals with prayer and blessings, tithes, and agricultural laws.
Second Order: Moed ("Festival Days"). 12 tractates. This pertains to the laws of the Sabbath and the Festivals.
Third Order: Nashim ("Women"). 7 tractates. Concerns marriage and divorce, some forms of oaths and the laws of the nazirite.
Fourth Order: Nezikin ("Damages"). 10 tractates. Deals with civil and criminal law, the functioning of the courts and oaths.
Fifth Order: Kodshim ("Holy things"). 11 tractates. This involves sacrificial rites, the Temple, and the dietary laws.
Sixth Order: Tohorot ("Purity"). 12 tractates. This pertains to the laws of ritual purity.

In addition to the Mishnah, other tannaitic works were created at about the same time or shortly thereafter. The Midrashim such as the Sifra, Sifri and Mekhilta, are exegetical or allegorical rabbinic statements organized according to their relevance to particular biblical passages. The Tosefta is a collection of tannaitic material independent of the Mishna. The Gemara frequently refers to these Tannaitic statements in order to compare them to those contained in the Mishna. These non-Mishnaic statements are usually referred to as Baraitot.

Gemara
Over the next three centuries rabbis throughout Palestine and Babylonia analyzed, debated and discussed the Mishnah. These discussions form the Gemara (גמרא). The Gemara mainly focuses on elucidating and elaborating the views of the Tannaim. The rabbis of the Gemara are known as Amoraim (sing. Amora אמורא). Gemara means “completion,” from gamar גמר : Hebrew to complete; Aramaic to study.

Two major works of Talmud were created. The older compilation is called the Palestinian Talmud or the Talmud Yerushalmi. It was compliled sometime during the fourth century in Palestine. The Babylonian Talmud was complied about the year 500 C.E., although it continued to be edited later. The word "Talmud", when used without qualification, usually refers to the Babylonian Talmud.

Answer 3

At Sinai G-d gave both the Oral and written law. The written is the Torah and the Oral is the Talmud.

Answer 4

a book explaining and expounding on the Jewish book of law- The Torah...4 details ask a jewish boy

Answer 5

It's a book of Jewish secular law.