The Talmud A Personal Take

This collection of Daniel Boyarin's previously uncollected essays on the Talmud represents the different methods and lines of inquiry that have animated his work on that text over the last four decades. Ranging and changing from linguistic work to work on sex and gender to the relations between formative Judaism and Christianity to the literary genres of the Talmud in the Hellenistic context, he gives an account of multiple questions and provocations to which that prodigious book gives stimulation, showing how the Talmud can contribute to all of these fields. The book opens up possibilities for study of the Talmud using historical, classical, philological, anthropological, cultural studies, gender, and literary theory and criticism. As a kind of intellectual autobiography, it is a record of the alarums and excursions of a life in the Talmud.

Judith Abrams, author of the highly acclaimed The Talmud for Beginners, Volumes I & II, creates yet another way of making Talmud study easy and accessible for the novice. Rabbi Abrams has chosen to work with the Steinsaltz Edition of the Talmud, edited and with commentary by Adin Steinsaltz, one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of the twentieth century. This volume is a must for both student and teacher.

After hours of careful thought, the Yeshiva administration posted a hand-lettered sign outside the cafeteria door.THE YESHIVA PROVIDES FOOD FOR ONE PORTION ONLYNO STUDENT IS PERMITTED TO STAND IN LINE FOR SECOND PORTIONBy the time I finished lunch, I noticed that some student had altered the sign in a subtle, Talmudic manner: THE YESHIVA PROVIDES FOOD FOR ONE PORTION ONLY?NO! STUDENT IS PERMITTED TO STAND IN LINE FOR SECOND PORTION.The Sea of Talmud is a brief introduction to the Talmud, viewed from the perspective of a newcomer to the world of the Yeshiva. Intended for readers with little background to the historical development of the Talmud and its relevance for Jewish observance, The Sea of Talmud hopes to inspire readers with the beauty and glory of traditional Yeshiva study.

The Babylonian Talmud, a postbiblical Jewish text that is part scripture and part commentary, is an unlikely bestseller. Written in a hybrid of Hebrew and Aramaic, it is often ambiguous to the point of incomprehension, and its subject matter reflects a narrow scholasticism that should hardly have broad appeal. Yet the Talmud has remained in print for centuries and is more popular today than ever. Barry Scott Wimpfheimer tells the remarkable story of this ancient Jewish book and explains why it has endured for almost two millennia.0Providing a concise biography of this quintessential work of rabbinic Judaism, Wimpfheimer takes readers from the Talmud's prehistory in biblical and second-temple Judaism to its present-day use as a source of religious ideology, a model of different modes of rationality, and a totem of cultural identity. He describes the book's origins and structure, its centrality to Jewish law, its mixed reception history, and its golden renaissance in modernity. He explains why reading the Talmud can feel like being swept up in a river or lost in a maze, and why the Talmud has come to be venerated--but also excoriated and maligned-in the centuries since it first appeared.0An incomparable introduction to a work of literature that has lived a full and varied life, this accessible book shows why the Talmud is at once a received source of traditional teachings, a touchstone of cultural authority, and a powerful symbol of Jewishness for both supporters and critics.

Since religion in general and Judaism in particular are relevant in the twenty-first century, this book serves as an assessment of the Talmud's role in our religious and educational experience. This collection of essays demonstrates that the two-thousand-year-old Talmud remains the indispensable and foundational text for Jewish study. Eminent scholars from Israel and North America relate their encounters with this ancient, complex source in an accessible and personal manner.

Psychology in the Talmud uncovers important insights from the Jewish tradition and offers tools for success, joy, growth, and inspiration. Timeless ideas are elaborated on from the writings of classical Torah commentaries as well as current leaders in the fields of psychology and personal growth. Short summaries enable readers to more easily implement these crucial concepts into their lives.

In Essential Figures in the Talmud, Dr. Ronald L. Eisenberg explains the importance of the more than 250 figures who are most vital to an understanding and appreciation of Talmudic texts. This valuable reference guide consists of short biographies illustrating the significance of these figures while explaining their points of view with numerous quotations from rabbinic literature. Taking material from the vast expanse of the Talmud and Midrash, this book demonstrates the broad interests of the rabbis whose writings are the foundation of rabbinic Judaism.

"Rabbis, Sorcerers, Kings, and Priests brings into mutual fruition the fields of Talmudic Studies and Ancient Iranology, two historically distinct disciplines. Mokhtarian offers a revisionist history of the rabbis of late antique Persia who produced the Babylonian Talmud, perhaps the most important corpus in the Jewish sacred canon. While most research on the Talmud assumes that the rabbis were an insular group isolated from the cultural horizon outside of the rabbinic academies, this book contextualizes the rabbis and Talmud within a broader socio-cultural orbit by drawing from a wide range of sources from Sasanian Iran, including Middle Persian Zoroastrian literature, archaeological evidence, and the Jewish Aramaic magical bowls"--Provided by publisher.