Dear Rabbi,

Please differentiate Talmud, Mishna, and Gemara.

Dear Sheldon J. Elfenbein,

The Mishna is the famous composition by Rabbi Yehudah the Nasi in which he compiled the Oral Law (revealed at Mt. Sinai) and the major teachings of the Tanaim, the early scholars from the time of the Second Temple until about 100 years after its destruction. The Talmud is the composition containing the explanations of the Mishnah by the Amoraim, the later scholars who lived after the death of Rabbi Yehudah the Nasi, circa 220 CE-500 CE. It was compiled mainly by the Sages Ravina and Rav Ashi in the last generation of Amoraim.

The word Gemara is simply the Aramaic word meaning Talmud; hence these terms are used interchangeably.