Halachic Dictionary

Av

One of the 39 principle categories of forbidden work on Shabbat.

Gemara

The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Judah HaNasi (c. 200 CE), the work was studied exhaustively by generation after generation of rabbis in Babylonia and the Land of Israel. Their discussions were written down in a series of books that became the Gemara, which when combined with the Mishnah constituted the Talmud.

Mishnah

The Mishnah is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah".

Toldah

A secondary category within one of the 39 principle categories (Av Melacha) of forbidden work on Shabbat. Any action included in a Toldah is also forbidden on a Deoritta level.