Hebrew language Gemara, generally comments on the Mishnah and Baraitot in two forms of Aramaic. Nevertheless, Hebrew survived as a liturgical and literary language in the form of later Amoraic Hebrew, which sometimes occurs in the text of the Gemara. Because as early as the Torah's transcription the Scribe has been the highest position in Judaism, Hebrew was always regarded as the language of Israel's religion, history and national pride, and after it faded as a spoken language, it continued to be used as a "lingua franca" among scholars and Jews traveling in foreign countries. After the 2nd century CE when the
Sefer (Hebrew) latter with Modern Hebrew pronunciation (SEF-fer). The word sefer contains in it the same root as the one used for Mispar, which means a number. Sefer (Hebrew) Sefer in biblical Hebrew means any kind of "book" or written document (plural s'farim). It is derived from the same Hebrew root as "sofer" ("scribe"), "sifriyah" ("library") and "safrut" ("literature"). Among Orthodox Jews the word is used for books both of the Tanakh, the oral law (Mishnah and Talmud) or any work of Rabbinic literature. Works unrelated to Torah study are rarely called "sefer" by English-speaking Orthodox Jews. Among Hebrew-speaking Ashkenazi Jews, the