The ''Steinsaltz Edition'' Talmud originally began as a
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
edition of the Babylonian
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
by Rabbi
Adin Steinsaltz
Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (11 July 19377 August 2020) ( he, עדין אבן-ישראל שטיינזלץ) was an Israeli Chabad Chasidic rabbi, teacher, philosopher, social critic, author, translator and publisher.
His '' Steinsaltz edi ...
, with his literal Hebrew translation of the Talmud along with his elucidation and commentary. The Hebrew translation started in 1965 and was completed in late 2010. The Hebrew edition contains the standard text of the Talmud with
vowels
A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (leng ...
and punctuation in the middle of the page. The margins contain the standard
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
and
tosafot
The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes.
The auth ...
commentaries, as well as Steinsaltz's own translation of the Talmud text into modern Hebrew with his elucidation.
Steinsaltz has also recently published an electronic version of the Hebrew edition on DVD.
Between 1989 and 1999
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
published a small number of volumes in English, and a new printing by
Koren Publishers Jerusalem
Koren Publishers Jerusalem is an Israeli publisher of Jewish religious texts. It was established in 1961 by Eliyahu Koren, with the aim of publishing the first Hebrew Bible designed, edited, printed, and bound by Jews in nearly 500 years. It produ ...
began to re-release volumes in 2012, including an edition with full-color illustrations.
Koren Talmud Bavli
![Koren Talmud Bavli](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Koren_Talmud_Bavli.jpg)
In May 2012, Koren launched the Koren Talmud Bavli, a bilingual edition of the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
with translation and commentary by Rabbi
Adin Steinsaltz
Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (11 July 19377 August 2020) ( he, עדין אבן-ישראל שטיינזלץ) was an Israeli Chabad Chasidic rabbi, teacher, philosopher, social critic, author, translator and publisher.
His '' Steinsaltz edi ...
. This new English edition is titled: Koren Talmud Bavli,
ame_of_Tractate.html" ;"title="Tractate.html" ;"title="ame of Tractate">ame of Tractate">Tractate.html" ;"title="ame of Tractate">ame of Tractate Commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz. The layout features side-by-side English/Aramaic translation, maps, diagrams and explanatory notes based on Rabbi Steinsaltz's original Hebrew commentary on the Talmud. Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Koren Talmud Bavli.
Rabbi Shalom Z. Berger serves as Senior Content Editor.
Praise
The English-edition project was hailed by ''
Commentary Magazine
''Commentary'' is a monthly American magazine on religion, Judaism, and politics, as well as social and cultural issues. Founded by the American Jewish Committee in 1945 under Elliot E. Cohen, editor from 1945 to 1959, ''Commentary'' magazine dev ...
'' as "a landmark in making the text accessible to the millions of Jews whose native (and often only) tongue is English." Subsequently, the
Jewish Book Council
The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature.[National Jewish Book Award
The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature.][Gil Student
Gil Ofer Student (born August 8, 1972) is the Book Editor of the Orthodox Union's Jewish Action magazine; former Managing Editor of OU Press, and an Orthodox Jewish blogger who writes about the interface between different facets of Judaism, speci ...]
praised the Koren edition precisely on account of it providing less extensive elaboration than the
Schottenstein Talmud, asserting that a text which "keeps elaboration to the minimum required to understand the text" along with a comparatively restrained commentary are both characteristics which stem from an approach "intended to avoid distracting from the text."
Criticism
Talmudic researcher and lecturer
Aharon Feldman
Rabbi Aharon Feldman (born 1932) is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean) of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel (Ner Israel Rabbinical College) in Baltimore, Maryland. He has held this position since 2001. He is also a member of the Moetzes Gedolei H ...
penned a lengthy critical review of the Steinsaltz Talmud. Among many criticisms, he writes that it gives the impression that the Talmud is intellectually flabby, inconsistent, and often trivial. The English Koren Talmud has been criticized as having inaccurate scientific information, such as identifying
Ursa Major
Ursa Major (; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear," referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa ...
as a star and describing
polycythemia vera
Polycythemia vera is an uncommon myeloproliferative neoplasm (a type of chronic leukemia) in which the bone marrow makes too many red blood cells. It may also result in the overproduction of white blood cells and platelets.
Most of the health ...
as a disease causing excessive bleeding from the gums and from ordinary cuts. Rabbi Dr.
Marc Shapiro
Marc B. Shapiro (Hebrew: מלך שפירא, born 1966) is a professor and the author of various books and articles on Jewish history, philosophy, theology, and rabbinic literature.
Education and career
Shapiro received his BA at Brandeis Unive ...
, a known critic of
ArtScroll
ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Rahway, New Jersey. Rabbi Nosson Scherman is the general editor.
ArtScroll' ...
, has criticized the Koren Talmud as always coming out below ArtScroll's
edition
Edition may refer to:
* Edition (book), a bibliographical term for a substantially similar set of copies
* Edition (printmaking), a publishing term for a set print run
* Edition (textual criticism), a particular version of a text
* Edition Recor ...
in his experience and expressed "I don’t know why anyone would prefer it over ArtScroll." Rabbi Leib Zalesch, Judaic Studies Teacher at
Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School
Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School is a private community Jewish day school in Baltimore County, Maryland. It encompasses preschool through twelfth grade. The school has one campus in Pikesville. The campus includes the PreSchool, Lower School ...
, characterized the Koren Talmud as coming across "like a cheap ArtScroll knockoff" due to lacking a well-organized structure that clearly conveys the flow and narrative of the Talmud, and being "void of any notion of its user being guided gently through the Talmudic jungle by an experienced guide or teacher."
[Zalesch, Leib (2012) i]
Still Lazy After All These Years: A Critical Review of The New Koren (Steinsaltz) Talmud
Zalesch further argued that the Koren edition contains "non-research masquerading as valuable information" and that "Steinsaltz is your perpetually annoying seventh grade classmate, always quick with a brainy but irrelevant factoid."
[
]Jacob Neusner
Jacob Neusner (July 28, 1932 – October 8, 2016) was an American academic scholar of Judaism. He was named as one of the most published authors in history, having written or edited more than 900 books.
Life and career
Neusner was born in Hartfor ...
's ''How Adin Steinsaltz Misrepresents the Talmud. Four False Propositions from his "Reference Guide"'' (1998) displays strong disagreement.
The Hebrew edition of the Steinsaltz Talmud was the target of fierce opposition in much of the Orthodox world, with many leading Rabbis such as Elazar Shach
Elazar Menachem Man Shach ( he, אלעזר מנחם מן שך, Elazar Shach; January 1, 1899 O.S. – November 2, 2001) was a prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbi, heading the non-Hasidic ''Litvak'' Orthodox from the early 1970s until his death. He ...
, Yosef Shalom Eliashiv
Yosef Shalom Elyashiv ( he, יוסף שלום אלישיב; 10 April 1910 – 18 July 2012) was a Haredi Rabbi and ''posek'' (arbiter of Jewish law) who lived in Jerusalem. Until his death at the age of 102, Rav Elyashiv was the paramount lead ...
, and Eliezer Waldenberg
Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg ( he, הרב אליעזר יהודה וולדנברג; December 10, 1915 – November 21, 2006) was a rabbi, posek, and dayan in Jerusalem. He is known as a leading authority on medicine and Jewish law and referred to as ...
harshly condemning it. Much of the criticism was not focused on the Hebrew Talmud translation but stemmed from other works of Steinsaltz and, by extension, Steinsaltz's general worldview. Waldenberg wrote that when ''The Essential Talmud'' and ''Biblical Images'' (Hebrew: "דמויות מן המקרא" ו"תלמוד לכל") were brought before him, he was shocked to see the way in which Steinsaltz described the Patriarchs and Talmudic sages, as well as his approach to the Oral Torah
According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law ( he, , Tōrā šebbəʿal-pe}) are those purported laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah ( he, , Tōrā šebbīḵ ...
. Waldenberg further wrote that these works had the power to "poison the souls" of those who read them.[http://www.yoel-ab.com/data/upload_images/docs/%D7%93%D7%AA%20%D7%94%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%97%D7%9C%D7%A7%20%D7%91.pdf page 292]
References
External links
The William Davidson Talmud - English
The digital edition of the Koren Talmud Bavli (not including the print edition's marginalia or pictures)
*Reviews of the Koren Talmud Bavli:
Koren Steinsaltz Talmud
(by Rabbi Gil Student)
A Review of the Koren Ta’anit-Megilla by an ArtScroll User
Still Lazy After All These Years: A Critical Review of The New Koren (Steinsaltz) Talmud
(by Rabbi Leib Zalesch) (Archived copy)
See also
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Talmud: The Steinsaltz Edition
Talmud versions and translations
2010 non-fiction books