one of a group of rabbis (active AD 250-500) who discussed the Mishnaic law in the law schools of Palestine and Mesopotamia where they explained and applied earlier teachings and whose discussions are recorded in the Talmud; they emphasized the study of Torah and the importance of personal action and the fulfillment of the commandments

(Aram.): authority of the 3rd-5th cents. quoted in the *Gemara

Amora (Aramaic: אמורא; plural אמוראים, Amora'im; "those who say" or "those who tell over"), were renowned Jewish scholars who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the Oral law, from about 200 to 500 CE in Babylonia and the Land of Israel. Their legal discussions and debates were eventually codified in the Gemara. The Amoraim followed the Tannaim in the sequence of ancient Jewish scholars.