Q&A: Different Versions in the Talmud
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Different Versions in the Talmud
Question
Hello Rabbi,
As is well known, we are bound by the Talmud because of the sweeping acceptance of the Jewish people.
Likewise, it is known that there are several manuscripts of the Talmud, and not infrequently there are different versions with implications for Jewish law.
My question is: in such cases, what are we bound by? The common version? Do we need to take all of them into account?
Thank you,
Nathan
Answer
I assume the binding version is the one that seems most accurate to you. In short, several versions are like several interpretations of the medieval authorities (Rishonim). Choose among them according to your understanding.
Professor Ephraim Elimelech Urbach dealt with this question:
Reading the statement in the Mishnah in its entirety… points in the direction of the text that does not read “from Israel,” since what is under discussion is drawing a conclusion about the importance of human life from the fact that the first man was created alone… However, the Mishnah brings these words as an answer to the question, “How do they admonish witnesses in capital cases?” These witnesses in capital cases are Jews, and they came to testify concerning one Jew who murdered another Jew. One must therefore distinguish between the wording of the moral lesson and the use made of it in the procedure of examining the witnesses. This use could easily have slipped the words “from Israel” into the body of the statement, without any conscious intention to change its original meaning. But despite this, the facts show that this formulaic addition is found only in a small portion of the textual witnesses.
— Tarbiz 40, 1971