Texts Without Boundaries: Protocols of Non-Documentary Writing in the Rabbinic Canon

The Rabbinic compilations in the canon of Rabbinic Judaism, from the Mishnah through the Bavli, ca. 200-600 C.E., are comprised by two classifications of writing, [1] documentary and [2] non-documentary. Documentary writing conforms to a protocol paramount in, and particular to, a given text. Non-documentary writing ignores the distinctive preferences of the compilation in which it appears.