The Talmud claims that the practice of reading appointed Scriptures on given days or occasions dates back to the time of Moses and began with the annual religious festivals of Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Talmud, "Megilah 32a"). The Mishnah portion of the Talmud, probably finished in the early 3rd century AD/CE ("Anno" "Domini" or Common Era) contains a list of Torah readings for various occasions (Talmud, "Megilah 32a") and assumes that these special readings interrupt a regular schedule of Torah readings (Talmud, "Megilah 29a, 30b"). In addition to these Torah readings, the later Gemara portion of the Talmud also contains assigned annual readings from the prophets (Talmud, "Megilah 31a").