English Language Introductions to the Talmud

*  This expanded edition features a new preface by the rabbi, a historical overview of life in the times of the Talmud, and an in-depth look at the content and appearance of the original Talmudic page.  This seminal volume makes abundantly clear the importance of the Talmud in the lives of modern Jews.

The Essential Talmud is a superb window through which we can gain a glimpse, and more, of perhaps the most unique sacred work in the history of religion.  In a single brief volume, Rabbi Steinsaltz succeeds in capturing the flavor and spirit of the Talmud as a human document and at the same time summarizes its main principles as an expression of divine law.  A work of profound scholarship and of concise, simple, and brilliant pedagogy.  The Essential Talmud will make equally enlightening reading for those who are already versed in the subject and those who come to it for the first time.

Author:   Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is the editor and translator of Random House's twenty-two-volume edition of the Talmud.  He is also the author of many volumes on Jewish thought and practice and has been a resident scholar at both Yale University and the Institute for Advanced Study.  In 1988 he was invited to open a Judaic studies center in Moscow, the first such institution in the former Soviet Union in sixty years.  Rabbi Steinsaltz lives in Jerusalem, Israel.
-- (bibliocommons.com)

The Essential Talmud is a masterful introduction by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz to the great repository of Jewish wisdom, the Talmud.  A book of profound scholarship and concise pedagogy, The Essential Talmud succinctly describes the Talmud's history, structure and methodology.  It summarizes the Talmud's main principles, demonstrates its contemporary relevance, and captures the spirit of this unique and paradoxical sacred text as a human expression of divine law.

"This book is indispensable to those, Jews and Christians alike, who would like to gain an insight into what it is that moves the contemporary Jew" (Rabbi Solomon S. Bernards, B'nai Defamation League).
-- the back cover of the book

The Essential Talmud is a masterful introduction to the beliefs, attitudes, and methods of the sacred text by which the Jewish people have lived and survived through the ages -- by the renowned Israeli rabbi, scholar, and teacher.  Rabbi Steinsaltz is the first to capture the flavor and spirit of the Talmud as a human document and to summarize its main principles as an expression of divine law.
-- the back cover of the book

Author:  Adin Steinsaltz is regarded as one of the world's leading scholars and rabbis.  Rabbi Steinsaltz founded the Israel Institute for Talmudic Publications;  under its aegis he has published fifty-eight books on the Talmud, Jewish mysticism, religious thought, sociology, historical biography, and philosophy.  These books have been translated into Russian, English, French, Portuguese, Swedish, Japanese, and Dutch.  He lives in Jerusalem.
-- the back cover of the book

Review:  "Offers a fascinating introduction to the codified oral tradition." (Christianity Today)

Subject:  BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO JUDAISM, posted September 18, 2007, by judaicaman
A general introduction to the beliefs, attitudes, and methods of the sacred text by which the Jewish people have lived and survived through the ages by a renowned Israeli rabbi, scholar, and teacher.  An Amazon reader says:  "Having read around the subject of the Talmud, I realized I didn't know my Mishnah from my Midrash, and I sought a book which would tell me exactly what the Talmud was, its history, and an overview of its contents.  The Essential Talmud does that very well, putting the Talmud into context and charting its development and its importance to the Jewish people and their identity."

Overview:  Torah, Mishnah, Talmud, Septuagint, Pentateuch, Gemara – these are familiar terms, but how many people really know what they mean, what works they comprise, what subjects they discuss?  This compact introduction to the wealth of Jewish literature ranging from the Bible to the commentaries of the Middle Ages provides an answer.  The author describes all the basic texts of Judaism, from the Torah, the cornerstone of the faith, to the Kabbalah, the mystical trend which began to be codified in the twelfth century.  The book tells what is known and what is open to speculation about the origins of these works, the probable date each was written down, its authors and interpretators, its language, its place in Jewish tradition, and changes over the centuries.  Numerous passages from the texts make the similarities and differences among these many works clear to laymen.  The book will be of value not only to Jews but also to those interested in understanding the background of Christianity.
-- the back cover of the book

Author:  Dr. Rosetta C. Musaph-Andriesse, who was for many years a lecturer at the Vossius Gymnasium in Amsterdam, is now [1982] a Hebrew translator for the Court of Amsterdam.
-- the back cover of the book
Also former director of the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam.

• Wisdom of the ages about law, religion, science, mathematics, philosophy, and more
• Spiritual issues explored through visions, metaphors, and even humor
• Jewish traditions passed down by word of mouth through the generations

Open your mind to the Talmud's teachings.

• Learn how to live a Talmudic life.
• Discover the spiritual importance of humor and wit.
• Understand what the Talmud has to say about women.
• Know the Law of the Land.
• Explore the connection between man and G-d.
• Understand death and the afterlife.
• Meet Talmudic leaders of the past and present.
• Find out how Talmudic wisdom relates to your daily life – even if you're not Jewish.

Author:  Rabbi Aaron Parry has been involved with Jewish educational and rabbinic institutions for more than 15 years [as of 2004] and is presently the education director of the west coast branch of the international organization, Jews for Judaism.  He served as a pulpit rabbi of the Young Israel of Beverly Hills for six years.  He holds a Master's degree from New York University (Touro College) in Jewish studies.  He has written Jewish-related articles for a number of Jewish publications, as well as the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Jerusalem Post.  Rabbi Parry lived in Israel for seven years, where he met his wife.  They now live in Los Angeles with their nine children.

An insightful look at one of the most unusual written works ever created.  Compiled centuries ago by a group of wise men as a way to preserve the oral traditions of the Jewish faith, the Talmud has challenged and thrilled some of the world's greatest minds with its complex approach to exploring ideas and subjects from virtually every possible angle.  This essential guide makes the ancient text of the "oral Torah" accessible for all readers, whether they're Jewish or not.
-- (bibliocommons.com)

Library Journal
How the Bible relates to contemporary life and addresses Americans' spiritual yearnings is currently a popular theme in religious literature.  Part of "The Complete Idiot's Guide" series in Judaism and Jewish culture, this new book by Rabbi Parry (education director, Jews for Judaism, West Coast branch) makes an important contribution by explaining the Talmud to both Jews and Gentiles.  As outlined in its five parts, the book aims to introduce the Talmud, describe its contents, explain the various methods used by Talmudic sages throughout history, explore the Talmudic worldview, and show how its principles apply to our contemporary world.  To help explain or illustrate more technical topics, each chapter contains several different types of easily identifiable information boxes (e.g., "Talmud Tutor," "Talmud Trivia").  Written for a popular audience in a clear, accessible style, this book is highly recommended for public libraries with large religion collections.
-- Charles Murray, C.S.S., White Plains, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Author:  Judith Z. Abrams is a woman with a mission:  she wants to bring the beauty of Talmud to as many people, and with as much depth, as possible.  To that end, she has published four books on the Talmud (The Talmud for Beginners, volumes I and II, The Women of the Talmud, and with her husband, Dr. Steven A. Abrams, Jewish Parenting: Rabbinic Insights), earned her Ph.D in rabbinic literature from the Baltimore Hebrew University, and teaches across the country.  She is the founder and director of Maqom:  A Place for the Spiritually Searching, a school for adult Talmud study where anyone can learn, regardless of their background.  She lives in Houston with her husband, Steven, and their three children, Michael, Ruth, and Hannah.
-- the back cover of the book

Wherever Jews have settled and whatever languages they spoke, they created a community with a single set of common values.  One law, one theology defined the community throughout their many migrations.  A single book explains how this came about – the Talmud.  Renowned scholar, Jacob Neusner, introduces readers to the Talmud, defining it, explaining its historical context, and illustrating why it remains relevant today.

Author:  Jacob Neusner is Research Professor of Theology and Senior Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College.  He is also a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, and Life Member of Clare Hall at Cambridge University, England.  He has published numerous books with University Press of America on Jewish studies, particularly Rabbinic Judaism.
-- (bibliocommons.com)

Reviewed by Nathaniel Segal:

Neusner is too weak in his knowledge of history. He writes,

. . . in the international multicultural empires of Rome and Iran, ethnic-religious communities such as the Jews administered their own affairs.  The setting of the Talmud in the two ordinarily tolerant empires, Rome and Iran, afforded the opportunity to produce a document [Talmud] of intracommunal contention over law and theology defining an ethnic-religious community such as the one that called itself "Israel.” (p. 7)

Rome was only an "ordinarily tolerant empire" when a statue of the Emperor could be placed in a religious or cultic center, for example.  However, Jews refused to allow a statue – any statue – to be erected in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.  This fact alone aggravated Roman distrust of the loyalty of Jews to the empire.  Jews (many Jews) refused to accede to some conventions of Roman rule such as this type of worship of the Emperor.  In general, practices and tenets of Judaism, such as circumcision, were outlawed from time to time.  (During Hadrian's reign, for example.)

Compare what Neusner writes with what a historian writes.  "It was inconceivable that they [Jews] would ever become integrated citizens of Rome" (Speller, p. 185).  It was inconceivable for both sides – Romans and Jews.  And not just Jews.  Roman discovery that Judaism and Christianity "were wholly different from all others that caused such consternation:  in the easy-going eclecticism of Roman religion, it was the exclusiveness of Judaism and Christianity which shocked, not their doctrine" (Perowne, p. 65).

Furthermore, from Neusner's studies of the Talmuds, he should be well aware of how often the Sanhedrin Supreme Academy moved from place to place after temporarily disbanding for the sake of their lives.  Also, viewed as a secular authority requiring imperial recognition, there were years when the Jewish community had no president – nasi.

The Sanhedrin had two leaders.  The Sage who was the internal political administrator as well as the spiritual and educational leader was called the nasi.  The Roman authorities called him the "leader of the people" using a Greek word – ethnarch. In English we would call him the president of the Sanhedrin and of the people.

The other leader of the Sanhedrin was the av beit din – the chief justice. He was also the deputy of the nasi.

After the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem (69 ce), the Sages met as the Great Council when they couldn't muster the full membership of seventy-one Sages because of Roman opposition.

Instead, Neusner writes:

. . . the Roman government recognized the Jews of the Land of Israel as a self-governing ethnic community.  Their head, bearing the title of nasi, enjoyed Roman support . . . (p. 8)

The nasi rarely "enjoyed Roman support."  During the reign of Herod, Herod alone was supported by the Romans, and he was often at odds with the entire Sanhedrin.

A less critical symptom of Neusner's weakness in the discipline of history is how he overuses the word 'Israel' when the name of Herod's Jewish polity, for example, was Judea.  Also, Jews had been calling themselves exactly that – Jews – since Esther and Mordecai's time of Persian Exile.  (See the Book of Esther.)

I'm not especially surprised by Neusner's serious lapses.  He, like so many academics, has become a specialist, an especially and unusually prolific specialist.  It is typical, or at least not unusual, for academics to be ignorant of most disciplines except for their own.

"To some readers of this book, the Talmud represents little more than a famous Jewish book.  But people want to know about a book that, they are told, defines Judaism.  Everyman's Talmud is the right place to begin not only to learn about Judaism in general but to meet the substance of the Talmud in particular. . . .  In time to come, Cohen's book will find its companion -- though I do not anticipate it will ever require a successor for what it accomplishes with elegance and intelligence:  a systematic theology of the Talmud's Judaism."
-- from the Foreword by Jacob Neusner

Long regarded as the classic introduction to the teachings of the Talmud, this comprehensive and masterly distillation summarizes the wisdom of the rabbinic sages on the dominant themes of Judaism:  the doctrine of G-d;  G-d and the universe;  the soul and its destiny;  prophecy and revelation;  physical life;  moral life and social living;  law, ethics, and jurisprudence;  legends and folk traditions;  the Messiah and the world to come.
-- the back cover of the book

Author:  Abraham Cohen (1887-1957) was the editor of the Soncino Books of the Bible and participated in the Soncino translation of the Talmud and Midrash.

Reviewed by Nathaniel Segal:  When Neusner writes that he "do[es] not anticipate [Cohen's book] will ever require a successor for what it accomplishes . . ." and to the extent that Cohen's book accomplishes "a systematic theology of the Talmud's Judaism," Neusner is on target.

However, Cohen's book fits the needs of an advanced university course.  A successor – no need, as Neusner writes.  Several books on my list, though, are introductions to the world of Talmudic Judaism for patrons of a public library, for example.  An untold number of English speaking people have little or no knowledge of the Jewish tradition as it comes to us through the Talmud.  In fact, the people of whom I am speaking probably have no real knowledge of Jewishness, but they do have misconceptions.  The books on this list tend to dispel misinformation for those who read or skim through those of their choice.

Next to the Bible itself, the Talmud is hailed as the greatest literary achievement of the Jewish people.  Composed in the Holy Land and in Babylonia over fifteen centuries ago, the two encyclopedic works that comprise the Talmud contain not only intense legal debates but also discussions on subjects as diverse as astronomy, health, sex, domestic affairs, education, prayer, food, and superstition.  In fact, so wide-ranging are its contents that those deeply involved in Talmudic study are said to be "swimming in the sea of the Talmud."
-- inside jacket cover

Masters of the Talmud provides scholars and laymen alike with an indispensable key to the magnificent treasures of the Talmud.
-- Emanuel S. Goldsmith, Professor of Jewish Studies, Queens College of the City University of New York (back cover)

Author:  Alfred J. Kolatch, a graduate of the Teacher's Institute of Yeshiva University and its College of Liberal Arts, was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, which subsequently awarded him the Doctor of Divinity Degree, honoris causa.  From 1941 to 1948 he served as rabbi of congregations in Columbia, South Carolina, and Kew Gardens, New York, and as chaplain in the United States Army.  In 1948 he founded Jonathan David Publishers, of which he has since been president and editor-in-chief.
-- (bibliocommons.com)

The Talmud is one of the most significant religious texts in the world, second only to the Bible in its importance to Judaism.  As the Bible is the word of G-d, the Talmud applies that to the lives of its followers.  In a range of styles including commentary, parables, proverbs, and anecdotes, it provides guidance on all aspects of everyday life, from ownership to commerce to relationships.

This selection of its most illuminating passages makes accessible the centuries of Jewish thought within the Talmud.

Norman Solomon's clear translation of selections from the Bavli (Babylonian Talmud) is accompanied by an introduction on its arrangement, social and historical background, reception, and authors.  This edition also includes suggested further reading. . . .

-- the back cover of the book

Author:  Norman Solomon is a Fellow in Modern Jewish Thought at Oxford Center for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, and Lecturer at Oxford University.
-- (bibliocommons.com)