The Talmud

Author : Barry Scott Wimpfheimer
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691209227
Total Pages : 313 pages
Book Rating : 4.27/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Talmud written by Barry Scott Wimpfheimer and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-09 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Author : Shai Secunda
Publisher : University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN 13 : 0812209044
Total Pages : 273 pages
Book Rating : 4.44/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Iranian Talmud written by Shai Secunda and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2013-10-09 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the Babylonian Talmud, or Bavli, has been a text central and vital to the Jewish canon since the Middle Ages, the context in which it was produced has been poorly understood. Delving deep into Sasanian material culture and literary remains, Shai Secunda pieces together the dynamic world of late antique Iran, providing an unprecedented and accessible overview of the world that shaped the Bavli. Secunda unites the fields of Talmudic scholarship with Old Iranian studies to enable a fresh look at the heterogeneous religious and ethnic communities of pre-Islamic Iran. He analyzes the intercultural dynamics between the Jews and their Persian Zoroastrian neighbors, exploring the complex processes and modes of discourse through which these groups came into contact and considering the ways in which rabbis and Zoroastrian priests perceived one another. Placing the Bavli and examples of Middle Persian literature side by side, the Zoroastrian traces in the former and the discursive and Talmudic qualities of the latter become evident. The Iranian Talmud introduces a substantial and essential shift in the field, setting the stage for further Irano-Talmudic research.

Author : Ronald L. Eisenberg
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 0765709414
Total Pages : 321 pages
Book Rating : 4.17/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Essential Figures in the Talmud written by Ronald L. Eisenberg and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2013 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Talmud chronicles the early development of rabbinic Judaism through the writings and commentaries of the rabbis whose teachings form its foundation. However, this key religious text is expansive, consisting of 63 books containing extensive discussions and interpretations of the Mishnah accumulated over several centuries. Sifting through the huge number of names mentioned in the Talmud to find information about one figure can be tedious and time-consuming, and most reference guides either provide only brief, unhelpful entries on every rabbi, including minor figures, or are so extensive that they can be more intimidating than the original text. 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. Both religious studies and rabbinical students and casual readers of the Talmud will benefit from the comprehensive entries on the most-frequently discussed rabbis and will gain valuable insights from this reader-friendly text. Complete in a single volume, this guide strikes a satisfying balance between the sparse, uninformative books and comprehensive but overly complex references that are currently the only places for inquisitive Talmud readers to turn. For any reader who wishes to gain a better understanding of Talmudic literature, Eisenberg's text is just as "essential" as the figures listed within.

Author : Jason Sion Mokhtarian
Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520286200
Total Pages : 290 pages
Book Rating : 4.07/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Rabbis, Sorcerers, Kings, and Priests written by Jason Sion Mokhtarian and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "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.

Author : Henry Abramson
Publisher : Feldheim Publishers
ISBN 13 : 9781583309063
Total Pages : 482 pages
Book Rating : 4.63/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Reading the Talmud written by Henry Abramson and published by Feldheim Publishers. This book was released on 2006 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Moulie Vidas
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 069117086X
Total Pages : 249 pages
Book Rating : 4.62/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Tradition and the Formation of the Talmud written by Moulie Vidas and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2016-05-31 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tradition and the Formation of the Talmud offers a new perspective on perhaps the most important religious text of the Jewish tradition. It is widely recognized that the creators of the Talmud innovatively interpreted and changed the older traditions on which they drew. Nevertheless, it has been assumed that the ancient rabbis were committed to maintaining continuity with the past. Moulie Vidas argues on the contrary that structural features of the Talmud were designed to produce a discontinuity with tradition, and that this discontinuity was part and parcel of the rabbis' self-conception. Both this self-conception and these structural features were part of a debate within and beyond the Jewish community about the transmission of tradition. Focusing on the Babylonian Talmud, produced in the rabbinic academies of late ancient Mesopotamia, Vidas analyzes key passages to show how the Talmud's creators contrasted their own voice with that of their predecessors. He also examines Zoroastrian, Christian, and mystical Jewish sources to reconstruct the debates and wide-ranging conversations that shaped the Talmud's literary and intellectual character.

Author : Yitzchak Feigenbaum
Publisher : Feldheim Publishers
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 138 pages
Book Rating : 4.68/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Understanding the Talmud written by Yitzchak Feigenbaum and published by Feldheim Publishers. This book was released on 1988 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A systematic guide to Talmudic structure and methodology. Isolates and explains many key words, phrases, and structures in the Gemara. Each entry shows what a word or phrase represents, how it is used textually and logically, and what questions a student should ask when he sees it.

Author : Barry W. Holtz
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300204876
Total Pages : 248 pages
Book Rating : 4.72/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Rabbi Akiva written by Barry W. Holtz and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2017-01-01 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compelling and lucid account of the life and teachings of a founder of rabbinic Judaism and one of the most beloved heroes of Jewish history Born in the Land of Israel around the year 50 C.E., Rabbi Akiva was the greatest rabbi of his time and one of the most important influences on Judaism as we know it today. Traditional sources tell how he was raised in poverty and unschooled in religious tradition but began to learn the Torah as an adult. In the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 C.E., he helped shape a new direction for Judaism through his brilliance and his character. Mystic, legalist, theologian, and interpreter, he disputed with his colleagues in dramatic fashion yet was admired and beloved by his peers. Executed by Roman authorities for his insistence on teaching Torah in public, he became the exemplar of Jewish martyrdom. Drawing on the latest historical and literary scholarship, this book goes beyond older biographies, untangling a complex assortment of ancient sources to present a clear and nuanced portrait of Talmudic hero Rabbi Akiva.

Author : Hyam Maccoby
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136117466
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.66/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Philosophy of the Talmud written by Hyam Maccoby and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-01-11 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a new presentation of the philosophy of the Talmud. The Talmud is not a work of formal philosophy, but much of what it says is relevant to philosophical enquiry, including issues explored in contemporary debates. In particular, the Talmud has original ideas about the relation between universal ethics and the ethics of a particular community. This leads into a discussion on the relation between morality and ritual, and also about the epistemological role of tradition. The book explains the paradoxes of Talmudic Judaism as arising from a philosophy of revolution, stemming from Jewish origins as a band of escaped slaves, determined not to reproduce the slave-society of Egypt. From this arises a daring humanism, and an emphasis on justice in this world rather than on other-worldly spirituality. A strong emphasis on education and the cultivation of rationality also stems from this. Governing the discussion is a theory of logic that differs significantly from Greek logic. Talmudic logic is one of analogy, not classification and is peculiarly suited to discussions of moral and legal human situations. This book will be of interest to those in the fields of philosophy, religion and the history of ideas, whether students, teachers and academics, or the interested general reader.

Author : Mira Beth Wasserman
Publisher : University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN 13 : 0812294084
Total Pages : 327 pages
Book Rating : 4.88/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Jews, Gentiles, and Other Animals written by Mira Beth Wasserman and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2017-04-21 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Jews, Gentiles, and Other Animals, Mira Beth Wasserman undertakes a close reading of Avoda Zara, arguably the Talmud's most scandalous tractate, to uncover the hidden architecture of this classic work of Jewish religious thought. She proposes a new way of reading the Talmud that brings it into conversation with the humanities, including animal studies, the new materialisms, and other areas of critical theory that have been reshaping the understanding of what it is to be a human being. Even as it comments on the the rabbinic laws that govern relations between Jews and non-Jews, Avoda Zara is also an attempt to reflect on what all people share in common, and on how humans fit into a larger universe of animals and things. As is typical of the Talmud in general, it proceeds by incorporating a vast and confusing array of apparently digressive materials, but Wasserman demonstrates that there is a whole greater than the sum of the parts, a sustained effort to explore human identity and difference. In centuries past, Avoda Zara has been a flashpoint in Jewish-Christian relations. It was partly due to its content that the Talmud was subject to burning and censorship by Christian authorities. Wasserman develops a twenty-first-century reading of the tractate that aims to reposition it as part of a broader quest to understand what connects human beings to each other and to the world around them.