Talmud-Druck von Daniel Bomberg und Ambrosius Froben

The Talmud (; ) is the central text of

Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism (), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, Rabbanite Judaism, or Talmudic Judaism, is rooted in the many forms of Judaism that coexisted and together formed Second Temple Judaism in the land of Israel, giving birth to classical rabb ...

and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''

halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

'') and

Jewish theology Jewish philosophy () includes all philosophy carried out by Jews or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until the modern ''Haskalah'' (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to recon ...

. Until the advent of

modernity Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular Society, socio-Culture, cultural Norm (social), norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the ...

, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and was foundational to "all Jewish thought and aspirations", serving also as "the guide for the daily life" of Jews. The Talmud includes the teachings and opinions of thousands of

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

s on a variety of subjects, including

Jewish ethics Jewish ethics are the ethics of the Jewish religion or the Jewish people. A type of normative ethics, Jewish ethics may involve issues in Jewish law as well as non-legal issues, and may involve the convergence of Judaism and the Western phil ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

, and

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, and many other topics. The Talmud is a commentary on the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

. This text is made up of 63 tractates, each covering one subject area. The language of the Talmud is

Jewish Babylonian Aramaic Jewish Babylonian Aramaic (Aramaic: ) was the form of Middle Aramaic employed by writers in Lower Mesopotamia between the fourth and eleventh centuries. It is most commonly identified with the language of the Babylonian Talmud (which was comp ...

. Talmudic tradition emerged and was compiled between the destruction of the

Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

in 70 CE and the

Arab conquest The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests (), also known as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the founder of Islam. He established the first Islamic state in Medina, Arabia that expanded rapidly un ...

in the early seventh century. Traditionally, it is thought that the Talmud itself was compiled by

Rav Ashi Rav Ashi () ("Rabbi Ashi") (352–427) was a Babylonian Jewish rabbi, of the sixth generation of amoraim. He reestablished the Academy at Sura and was the first editor of the Babylonian Talmud. The original pronunciation of his name may h ...

and

Ravina II Ravina II or Rabina II (Hebrew: אבינא בריה דרב הונא or רבינא האחרון; died 475 Common Era, CE or 500 CE) was a Babylonian rabbi of the 5th century (seventh and eighth generations of amoraim). Rabina is a traditional portm ...

around 500 CE, although it is more likely that this happened in the middle of the sixth century. The word Talmud commonly refers to the Babylonian Talmud (''Talmud Bavli'') and not the earlier

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...

(). The Babylonian Talmud is the more extensive of the two and is considered the more important.

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. Neusner's application of form criticism� ...

, ''The Talmud: What It Is and What It Says'' (2006). Rowman & Littlefield.

Etymology

Talmud translates as "instruction, learning", from the

Semitic root The roots of verbs and most nouns in the Semitic languages are characterized as a sequence of consonants or " radicals" (hence the term consonantal root). Such abstract consonantal roots are used in the formation of actual words by adding the vowel ...

''lmd'', meaning "teach, study".

The Two Talmuds

In antiquity, the two major centres of Jewish scholarship were located in

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

and

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

. A Talmud was compiled in each of these regional centres. The earlier of the two compilations took place in Galilee, either in the late fourth or early fifth century, and it came to be known as the

(or ''Talmud Yerushalmi''). Later on, and likely some time in the sixth century, the Babylonian Talmud was compiled (''Talmud Bavli''). This later Talmud is usually what is being referred to when the word "Talmud" is used without qualification. Traditions of the Jerusalem Talmud and its sages had a significant influence on the milieu out of which the Babylonian Talmud arose.

Jerusalem Talmud

The Jerusalem Talmud (''Talmud Yerushalmi'') is known by several other names, including the Palestinian Talmud (which is more accurate, as it was not compiled in Jerusalem), or the ("Talmud of the Land of Israel"). The Jerusalem Talmud was a written codification of oral tradition that had been circulating for centuries and represents a compilation of scholastic teachings and analyses on the

(especially those concerning agricultural laws) found across regional centres of the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

now known as the Academies in Galilee (principally those of

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

Sepphoris Sepphoris ( ; ), known in Arabic as Saffuriya ( ) and in Hebrew as Tzipori ( ''Ṣīppōrī'')Palmer (1881), p115/ref> is an archaeological site and former Palestinian village located in the central Galilee region of Israel, north-northwe ...

, and Caesarea). It is written largely in

Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Jewish Palestinian Aramaic also known as Jewish Western Aramaic was a Western Aramaic language spoken by the Jews during the Classic Era in Judea and the Levant, specifically in Hasmonean, Herodian and Roman Judaea and adjacent lands in the ...

, a Western Aramaic language that differs from its Babylonian counterpart. The compilation was likely made between the late fourth to the first half of the fifth century. Despite its incomplete state, the Jerusalem Talmud remains an indispensable source of knowledge of the development of the Jewish Law in the Holy Land. It was also an important primary source for the study of the Babylonian Talmud by the

Kairouan Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( , ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670, in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya (reigned 661� ...

school of Chananel ben Chushiel and Nissim ben Jacob, with the result that opinions ultimately based on the Jerusalem Talmud found their way into both the

Tosafot The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot () are Middle Ages, 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 authors o ...

and the

Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' (), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' (), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (''halakha'') authored by Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon/Rambam). The ''Mishneh Torah'' was compiled between 1170 and 1180 CE ( ...

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

. Ethical maxims contained in the Jerusalem Talmud are scattered and interspersed in the legal discussions throughout the several treatises, many of which differ from those in the Babylonian Talmud.

Babylonian Talmud

The Babylonian Talmud (''Talmud Bavli'') consists of documents compiled over the period of

late antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

(3rd to 6th centuries). During this time, the most important of the Jewish centres in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

, a region called "

" in Jewish sources (see

Talmudic academies in Babylonia The Talmudic academies in Babylonia, also known as the Geonic academies, were the center for Jewish scholarship and the development of Halakha during the Geonic era (from c. 589 to 1038 CE; Hebrew dates: 4349 AM to 4798 AM) in what is called ...

) and later known as

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, were

Nehardea Nehardea or Nehardeah ( "river of knowledge") was a city from the area called by ancient Jewish sources Babylonia, situated at or near the junction of the Euphrates with the Nahr Malka (the Royal Canal), one of the earliest and most prominent ce ...

, Nisibis (modern

Nusaybin Nusaybin () is a municipality and district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,079 km2, and its population is 115,586 (2022). The city is populated by Kurds of different tribal affiliation. Nusaybin is separated from the larger Kurd ...

), Mahoza (

al-Mada'in Al-Mada'in (, ; ''Māḥozā''; ) was an ancient metropolis situated on the Tigris in what is now Iraq. It was located between the ancient royal centers of Ctesiphon and Seleucia, and was founded by the Sasanian Empire. The city's name was used ...

, just to the south of what is now

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Pumbedita Pumbedita ( ''Pūm Bəḏīṯāʾ'', "Mouth of the Bedita"See The river "Bedita" has not been identified.) was an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq. It is known for having hosted the Pumbedita Academy. History The city of Pumbedita was s ...

(near present-day

al Anbar Governorate Al Anbar Governorate (; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The population ...

), and the

Sura Academy Sura Academy () was a Jewish yeshiva located in Sura in what is now southern Iraq, a region known in Jewish texts as "Babylonia". With Pumbedita Academy, it was one of the two major Jewish academies from the year 225 CE at the beginning of the ...

, probably located about south of Baghdad. The Babylonian Talmud comprises the culmination of centuries of analysis and dialectic surrounding the Mishnah in the Talmudic Academies in Babylonia. According to tradition, the foundations of this process of analysis were laid by

Abba Arika Rav Abba bar Aybo (; 175–247 CE), commonly known as Abba Arikha () or simply as Rav (), was a Jewish amora of the 3rd century. He was born and lived in Kafri, Asoristan, in the Sasanian Empire. In Sura, Arikha established the systematic st ...

(175–247), a disciple of

Judah ha-Nasi Judah ha-Nasi (, ''Yəhūḏā hanNāsīʾ‎''; Yehudah HaNasi or Judah the Prince or Judah the President) or Judah I, known simply as Rebbi or Rabbi, was a second-century rabbi (a tanna of the fifth generation) and chief redactor and editor of ...

. Tradition ascribes the compilation of the Babylonian Talmud in its present form to two Babylonian sages,

and

.Nosson Dovid Rabinowich (ed), '' The Iggeres of Rav Sherira Gaon'', Jerusalem 1988, pp. 79, 116 Rav Ashi was president of the Sura Academy from 375 to 427. In this time, he began the creation of the written Talmud, a written project passed onto and completed by Ravina, the final Amoraic expounder. Accordingly, the latest traditional date for the Talmud is often placed at 475, the year Ravina died. However, even on traditional views, a final redaction is still thought to have been made by the ''

Savoraim ''Savora'' (; Aramaic language, Aramaic: סבורא, "a reasoner", plural ''Savora'im'', ''Sabora'im'' , סבוראים) is a term used in Jewish law and history to signify one among the leading rabbis living from the end of period of the ''Amora ...

'' ("reasoners", "considerers") in the sixth century.

Comparison

Unlike the Western Aramaic dialect of the Jerusalem Talmud, the Babylonian Talmud has a Babylonian Aramaic dialect. The Jerusalem is also more fragmentary (and difficult to read) due to a less complete redactional process. Discussions in the Babylonian Talmud are more discursive, rambling, rely more on anecdote and argumentation by syllogism and induction, whereas those in the Jerusalem Talmud are more factual and apply argumentation through logical deduction. The Babylonian Talmud is much longer, with about 2.5 million words in total. Proportionally, more Babylonian material is non-legal (''

aggadah Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporat ...

''), constituting a third of its material, compared to a sixth of the Jerusalem. The Babylonian Talmud has received significantly more interest and coverage from commentators.

Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a multi-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, Jewish holida ...

drew influence from both Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, although he favored the latter over the former when principles between them conflicted. As the Palestinian Jewish community declined in influence and the Babylonian community became the intellectual center of the Diaspora, the Babylonian Talmud became the more widely accepted and popular version. Whereas the Jerusalem Talmud only includes the opinions of Israelite rabbis (the ''Ma'arava''), the Babylonian Talmud also includes Babylonian authorities, in addition to later authorities because of its later date. As such, it is regarded as more comprehensive. Neither covers the entire Mishnah. For example, the Babylonian commentary only covers 37 of 63 Mishnaic tractates. In particular: * The Jerusalem Talmud covers all the tractates of

Zeraim Seder Zeraim (, lit. "Order of Seeds") is the first of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta, and the Talmud, and, apart from the first tractate which concerns the rules for prayers and blessings, primarily deals with the law ...

, while the Babylonian Talmud covers only tractate Berachot. This might be because the agricultural concerns of Zeraim were not as notable in Babylonia. As the Jerusalem Talmud was produced in the Land of Israel, it consequently has a greater interest in Israelite geography. * Unlike the Babylonian Talmud, the Jerusalem Talmud does not cover the Mishnaic

Kodashim 150px, Pidyon haben Kodashim () is the fifth of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta and the Talmud, and deals largely with the services within the Temple in Jerusalem, its maintenance and design, the ''korbanot'', or sa ...

, which deals with sacrificial rites and laws pertaining to the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

. A good explanation for this is not available, although there is some evidence that a now-lost commentary on this text once existed in the Jerusalem Talmud. * In both Talmuds, only one tractate of Tohorot (ritual purity laws) is examined, that of the menstrual laws (

Niddah A niddah (alternative forms: nidda, nida, or nidah; ''nidá''), in traditional Judaism, is a woman who has experienced a uterine discharge of blood (most commonly during menstruation), or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the ...

Structure

The structure of the Talmud follows that of the Mishnah, divided into Six Orders (known as the ''Shisha Sedarim'', or ''Shas'') of general subject matter are divided into 63 tractates (''masekhtot''; singular: ''

masekhet A (, Sephardic: , Ashkenazic: ; plural ) is an organizational element of Talmudic literature that systematically examines a subject, referred to as a tractate in English. A tractate/ consists of chapters (; singular: or ). Etymology The w ...

'') of more focused subject compilations, though not all tractates have Gemara. Each tractate is divided into chapters (''perakim''; singular: ''perek''), 517 in total, that are both numbered according to the

Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet (, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is a unicase, unicameral abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish languages, most notably ...

and given names, usually using the first one or two words in the first Mishnah. A ''perek'' may continue over several (up to tens of) pages. Each ''perek'' will contain several ''mishnayot''.

Mishnah

The

is a compilation of legal opinions and debates. Statements in the Mishnah are typically terse, recording brief opinions of the rabbis debating a subject; or recording only an unattributed ruling, apparently representing a consensus view. The rabbis recorded in the Mishnah are known as the

Tannaim ''Tannaim'' ( Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים "repeaters", "teachers", singular ''tanna'' , borrowed from Aramaic) were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also refe ...

(literally, "repeaters", or "teachers"). These tannaim—rabbis of the second century CE—"who produced the Mishnah and other tannaic works, must be distinguished from the rabbis of the third to fifth centuries, known as amoraim (literally, "speakers"), who produced the two Talmudim and other amoraic works". Since it sequences its laws by subject matter instead of by biblical context, the Mishnah discusses individual subjects more thoroughly than the

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

, and it includes a much broader selection of halakhic subjects than the Midrash. The Mishnah's topical organization thus became the framework of the Talmud as a whole. But not every tractate in the Mishnah has a corresponding Gemara. Also, the order of the tractates in the Talmud differs in some cases from that in the ''Mishnah''.

Gemara

The Gemara constitutes the commentary portion of the Talmud. The Mishnah, and its commentary (the Gemara), together constitute the Talmud. This commentary arises from a longstanding tradition of rabbis analyzing, debating, and discussing the Mishnah ever since it had been published. The rabbis who participated in the process that produced this commentarial tradition are known as the

Amoraim ''Amoraim'' ( , singular ''Amora'' ; "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen") refers to Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 CE, who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the Oral Torah. They were p ...

. Each discussion is presented in a self-contained, edited passage known as a

sugya A sugya is a self-contained passage of the Talmud that typically discusses a mishnah or other rabbinic statement, or offers an aggada, aggadic narrative.; see for overview. While the sugya is a literary unit in the Jerusalem Talmud, the term is m ...

. Much of the Gemara is legal in nature. Each analysis begins with a Mishnaic legal statement. With each sugya, the statement may be analyzed and compared with other statements. This process can be framed as an exchange between two (often anonymous, possibly metaphorical) disputants, termed the ' (questioner) and ' (answerer). Gemara also commonly tries to find the correct biblical basis for a given law in the Mishnah as well as the logical process that connects the biblical to the Mishnaic tradition. This process was known as ''talmud'', long before the "Talmud" itself became a text. In addition, the Gemara contains a wide range of narratives, homiletical or exegetical passages, sayings, and other non-legal content, termed

. A story told in a sugya of the Babylonian Talmud may draw upon the Mishnah, the Jerusalem Talmud, midrash, and other sources.

Baraita

The traditions that the Gemara comments on are not limited to what is found in the Mishnah, but the Baraita as well (a term that broadly designates

Oral Torah According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law () are statutes and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah (), and which are regarded by Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jews as prescriptive ...

traditions that did not end up in the Mishnah). The ''baraitot'' cited in the Gemara are often quotations from the

Tosefta The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''. Background Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...

(a tannaitic compendium of halakha parallel to the Mishnah) and the Midrash halakha (specifically Mekhilta, Sifra and Sifre). Some ''baraitot'', however, are known only through traditions cited in the Gemara, and are not part of any other collection.

Minor tractates

In addition to the Six Orders, the Talmud contains a series of short treatises of a later date, usually printed at the end of Seder Nezikin. These are not divided into Mishnah and Gemara.

Language

The work is largely in

, although quotations in the

Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aram ...

of the Mishnah, the

Baraita ''Baraita'' ( "external" or "outside"; pl. ''bārayāṯā'' or in Hebrew ''baraitot''; also baraitha, beraita; Ashkenazi pronunciation: berayse) designates a tradition in the Oral Torah of Rabbinical Judaism that is not incorporated in the Mi ...

s and

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

Megillat Taanit ''Megillat Taanit'' (), lit. ''"the Scroll of Fasting,"'' is an ancient text, in the form of a chronicle, which enumerates 35 eventful days on which Jews either performed glorious deeds or witnessed joyful events. Despite the scroll's name, thes ...

. The reason why earlier texts occur in Hebrew, and later texts in Aramaic, is because of the adoption of the latter (which was the spoken vernacular) by rabbinic circles during the period of the

(rabbis cited in the Gemara) beginning around the year 200. A second Aramaic dialect is used in Nedarim, Nazir, Temurah, Keritot, and

Me'ilah Me'ilah (; "misuse of property") is a tractate of Seder Kodashim in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewi ...

; the second is closer in style to the

Targum A targum (, ''interpretation'', ''translation'', ''version''; plural: targumim) was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ) that a professional translator ( ''mǝṯurgǝmān'') would give in the common language o ...

Manuscripts

The only complete manuscript of the Talmud, Munich Codex Hebraica 95, dates from 1342
view scan
. Other manuscripts of the Talmud include: * Cairo Genizah fragments ** Date: earliest ones from the late 7th or 8th century ** Context: earliest manuscript fragment of the Talmud of any kind * Ms. Oxford 2673 ** Date: 1123 ** Context: Contains a significant portion of tractate Keritot; earliest Talmudic manuscript whose precise date is known * Ms. Firenze 7 ** Date: 1177 ** Context: earliest Talmudic whose precise date is known and contains complete tractates * MS JTS Rab. 15 ** Date: 1290 ** Location: Spain * Bologna, Archivio di Stato Fr. ebr. 145 ** Date: 13th century * Vatican 130 ** Date: January 14, 1381 * Oxford Opp. 38 (368) ** Date: 14th century * Arras 889 ** Date: 14th century * Vatican 114 ** Date: 14th century * Vatican 140 ** Date: late 14th century * Bazzano, Archivio Storico Comunale Fr. ebr. 21 ** Date: 12th–15th centuries * St. Petersburg, RNL Evr. I 187 ** Date: 13th or 15th century

Dating

Premodern estimates

The Talmud itself (BM 86a) incorporates a statement that " Ravina and

were the end of instruction". Likewise, Sherira ben Hanina writes that "instruction ended" with the death of

in 811 SE (500 CE), and "the Talmud stopped with the end of instruction in the days of Rabbah Jose (fl. 476-514)". '' Seder Olam Zutta'' records that "in 811 SE (500 CE) Ravina the End of Instruction died, and the Talmud was stopped", and the same text is found in Codex Gaster 83. Another medieval chronicle records that "On Wednesday, 13

Kislev Kislev or Chislev (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''Kīslev'' Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Kīslēw''), is the third month of the civil year and the ninth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew c ...

, 811 SE (500 CE), Ravina the End of Instruction son of Rav Huna died, and the Talmud stopped."

Abraham ibn Daud Abraham ibn Daud (; ) was a Spanish-Jewish astronomer, historian and philosopher; born in Córdoba, Spain about 1110; who was said to have been killed for his religious beliefs in Toledo, Spain, about 1180. He is sometimes known by the abbrevia ...

gives 821 SE (510 CE) for the same event, and Joseph ibn Tzaddik writes that " Mareimar and Mar bar Rav Assi et al. completed the Babylonian Talmud . . . in 4265 AM (505 CE)".

Nachmanides Moses ben Nachman ( ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ramban (; ) and by the contemporary nickname Bonastruc ça Porta (; l ...

dated the Talmud's compilation to "400 years after the

Destruction Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a term from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger * Destructive narcissism, a pathological form of narcissism * Self-destructive behaviour, a widely used phrase that ''conceptualises'' certain kin ...

", which is 470 CE if taken as exact. According to Moses da Rieti, "Ravina and Rav Ashi compiled the Talmud but they did not complete it, and Mar bar Rav Ashi and Mareimar et al. sealed it in the days of Rabbah Jose . . . he headed the academy for 38 years after succeeding Ravina, until 4274 AM (514 CE), and in his days the Babylonian Talmud was sealed, which was begun and largely redacted in the days of Rav Ashi and Ravina". The ''Wikkuah'', a description of the 1240 Disputation of Paris, records that Yechiel of Paris claimed that "the Talmud is 1,500 years old", which would put it in the 3rd century BCE. Pietro Capelli suggests that it must have been traditional among medieval Ashkenazic Jews to date the Talmud from its beginning instead of its completion. Later manuscripts of the ''Wikkuah'' adopt the usual system of dating it to the time of Ravina II. Nicholas Donin, by contrast, claimed that the Talmud was only composed "400 years" before, i.e. around 840 CE.

Modern estimates

A wide range of dates have been proposed for the Babylonian Talmud by historians. The text was most likely completed, however, in the 6th century, or prior to the

early Muslim conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests (), also known as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the founder of Islam. He established the first Islamic state in Medina, Arabian Peninsula, Arabia that ...

in the mid-7th century at the latest, on the basis that the Talmud lacks loanwords or syntax deriving from

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. By comparison, Islamic-era rabbinic documents are heavily influenced by Arabic writing, convention, and loanwords, and rabbinic writings came to be exclusively written in Arabic by the 8th century. Recently, it has been extensively argued that Talmud is an expression and product of

Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

culture, as well as other

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

, and Syriac sources up to the same period of time. The contents of the text likely trace to this time regardless of the date of the final redaction/compilation. Additional external evidence for a latest possible date for the composition of the Babylonian Talmud are uses of it by external sources such as '' Letter of Baboi'' () and chronicles like the ''Seder Tannaim veAmoraim'' (9th century) and the ''

Iggeret of Rabbi Sherira Gaon Iggeret of Rabbi Sherira Gaon (), also known as the Letter of Rav Sherira Gaon, and the Epistle of Rav Sherira Gaon, is a responsum penned in the late 10th century (987 CE) in the Pumbedita Academy by Sherira ben Hanina, the Chief Rabbi and schol ...

'' (987). As for a lower boundary on the dating of the Babylonian Talmud, it must post-date the early 5th century given its reliance on the

In Jewish scholarship

From the time of its completion, the Talmud became integral to Jewish scholarship. A maxim in

Pirkei Avot Pirkei Avot (; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth'', also ''Abhoth''), which translates into English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from Rabbinic Jewis ...

advocates its study from the age of 15. Rabbi

Adin Steinsaltz Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (; 11 July 19377 August 2020) was an Israeli Chabad Chasidic rabbi, teacher, philosopher, social critic, author, translator and publisher. His '' Steinsaltz edition of the Talmud'' was originally published in ...

writes that "If the Bible is the cornerstone of Judaism, then the Talmud is the central pillar ... No other work has had a comparable influence on the theory and practice of Jewish life, shaping influence on the theory and practice of Jewish life" and states:Adin Steinsaltz, "Chapter 1: What is the Talmud?" in ''The Essential Talmud'' (2006). Basic Books: pp. 3-9. The following subsections outline some of the major areas of Talmudic study.

Legal interpretation

One area of Talmudic scholarship developed out of the need to ascertain the

Halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

(Jewish rabbinical law). Early commentators such as

Isaac Alfasi Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (1013–1103) (, ), also known as the Alfasi or by his Hebrew acronym, the Rif (Rabbi Isaac al-Fasi), was a Maghrebi Talmudist and posek (decider in matters of halakha, Jewish law). He is best known for his work of '' ...

(North Africa, 1013–1103) attempted to extract and determine the binding legal opinions from the vast corpus of the Talmud. Alfasi's work was highly influential, attracted several commentaries in its own right and later served as a basis for the creation of halakhic codes. Another influential medieval Halakhic work following the order of the Babylonian Talmud, and to some extent modelled on Alfasi, was "the ''Mordechai''", a compilation by Mordechai ben Hillel ( 1250–1298). A third such work was that of Asher ben Yechiel (d. 1327). All these works and their commentaries are printed in the Vilna and many subsequent editions of the Talmud. A 15th-century Spanish rabbi, Jacob ibn Habib (d. 1516), compiled the '' Ein Yaakov'', which extracts nearly all the

Aggadic Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporat ...

material from the Talmud. It was intended to familiarize the public with the ethical parts of the Talmud and to dispute many of the accusations surrounding its contents.

Commentaries

Geonic ''Geonim'' (; ; also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Talmudic Academies in Babylonia, Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura Academy , Sura and Pumbedita Academy , Pumbedita, in t ...

-era (6th-11th centuries) commentaries have largely been lost, but are known to exist from partial quotations in later medieval and early modern texts. Because of this, it is known that now-lost commentaries on the Talmud were written by Paltoi Gaon, Sherira,

Hai Gaon Hai ben Sherira (), better known as Hai Gaon (), was a medieval Jewish theologian, rabbi and scholar who served as Gaon of the Talmudic academy of Pumbedita during the early 11th century. He was born in 939 and died on March 28, 1038. He receiv ...

, and Saadya (though in this case, Saadiya is not likely to be the true author). Of these, the commentary of Paltoi ben Abaye (''c.'' 840) is the earliest. His son, Zemah ben Paltoi paraphrased and explained the passages which he quoted; and he composed, as an aid to the study of the Talmud, a lexicon which

Abraham Zacuto Abraham Zacuto (, ; 12 August 1452 – ) was a Sephardic Jewish astronomer, astrologer, mathematician, rabbi and historian. Born in Castile, he served as Royal Astronomer to King John II of Portugal before fleeing to Tunis. His astrolabe of cop ...

consulted in the fifteenth century.

Saadia Gaon Saʿadia ben Yosef Gaon (892–942) was a prominent rabbi, Geonim, gaon, Jews, Jewish philosopher, and exegesis, exegete who was active in the Abbasid Caliphate. Saadia is the first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Judeo-Arabic ...

is said to have composed commentaries on the Talmud, aside from his Arabic commentaries on the Mishnah. The first surviving commentary on the entire Talmud is that of Chananel ben Chushiel. Many medieval authors also composed commentaries focusing on the content of specific tractates, including Nissim ben Jacob and Gershom ben Judah. The commentary of

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

, covering most of the Talmud, has become a classic. Sections in the commentary covering a few tractates (Pes, BB and Mak) were completed by his students, especially

Judah ben Nathan Judah ben Nathan, also referred to by the Hebrew acronym RiVaN, was a gifted French rabbi and commentator on the Talmud in the eleventh to twelfth century, best known for being the son-in-law and pupil of the great commentator Rashi, and to a great ...

, and a sections dealing with specific tractates (Ned, Naz, Hor and MQ) of the commentary that appear in some print editions of Rashi's commentary today were not composed by him. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, a genre of rabbinic literature emerged surrounding Rashi's commentary, with the purpose of supplementing it and addressing internal contradictions via the technique of ''pilpul''. This genre of commentary is known as the

and focuses on specific passages instead of a running continuous commentary across the entire Talmud. Many Talmudic passages are difficult to understand, sometimes owing to the use of Greek or Persian loanwords whose meaning had become obscure. A major area of Talmudic scholarship developed to explain these passages and words. Some early commentators such as Rabbenu Gershom of Mainz (10th century) and Rabbenu Ḥananel (early 11th century) produced running commentaries to various tractates. These commentaries could be read with the text of the Talmud and would help explain the meaning of the text. Another important work is the ''Sefer ha-Mafteaḥ'' (Book of the Key) by Nissim Gaon, which contains a preface explaining the different forms of Talmudic argumentation and then explains abbreviated passages in the Talmud by cross-referring to parallel passages where the same thought is expressed in full. Commentaries (''ḥiddushim'') by Joseph ibn Migash on two tractates, Bava Batra and Shevuot, based on Ḥananel and Alfasi, also survive, as does a compilation by Zechariah Aghmati called ''Sefer ha-Ner''. The ''

'' are collected commentaries by various medieval Ashkenazic rabbis on the Talmud (known as ''

Tosafists Tosafists were rabbis of France, Germany, Bohemia and Austria, who lived from the 12th to the mid-15th centuries, in the period of Rishonim. The Tosafists composed critical and explanatory glosses (questions, notes, interpretations, rulings and ...

'' or ''Ba'alei Tosafot''). One of the main goals of the ''Tosafot'' is to explain and interpret contradictory statements in the Talmud. Unlike Rashi, the ''Tosafot'' is not a running commentary, but rather comments on selected matters. Often the explanations of ''Tosafot'' differ from those of Rashi. Among the founders of the Tosafist school were

Rabbeinu Tam Jacob ben Meir (1100 – 9 June 1171 (4 Tammuz)), best known as Rabbeinu Tam (), was one of the most renowned Ashkenazi Jewish rabbis and leading French Tosafists, a leading '' halakhic'' authority in his generation, and a grandson of Rashi. K ...

, who was a grandson of Rashi, and, Rabbenu Tam's nephew, Isaac ben Samuel. The Tosafot commentaries were collected in different editions in the various schools. The benchmark collection of Tosafot for Northern France was that of Eliezer of Touques. The standard collection for Spain was Rabbenu Asher's ''Tosefot haRosh.'' The Tosafot that are printed in the standard Vilna edition of the Talmud are an edited version compiled from the various medieval collections, predominantly that of Touques. Over time, the approach of the Tosafists spread to other Jewish communities, particularly those in Spain. This led to the composition of many other commentaries in similar styles. Among these are the commentaries of

(Ramban), Solomon ben Adret (Rashba), Yom Tov of Seville (Ritva) and Nissim of Gerona (Ran); these are often titled “ ''Chiddushei'' ...” (“ Novellae of ...”). A comprehensive anthology consisting of extracts from all these is the '' Shitah Mekubezet'' of

Bezalel Ashkenazi Bezalel ben Abraham Ashkenazi () ( 1520 – 1592) was a rabbi and talmudist who lived in Ottoman Israel during the 16th century. He is best known as the author of the ''Shitah Mekubetzet'', a commentary on the Talmud. Among his disciples were ...

. Other commentaries produced in Spain and Provence were not influenced by the Tosafist style. Two of the most significant of these are the ''

Yad Ramah :''Meir Abulafia is commonly known as "the Ramah" (Hebrew: רמ"ה). He should not be confused with Moses Isserles, known as "the Rema" or "the Rama" (Hebrew: רמ"א).'' Meir ben Todros HaLevi Abulafia ( ; c. 1170 – 1244), also known as the Ram ...

'' by rabbi Meir Abulafia and ''Bet Habechirah'' by rabbi Menahem haMeiri, commonly referred to as "Meiri". While the ''Bet Habechirah'' is extant for all of Talmud, we only have the ''Yad Ramah'' for Tractates Sanhedrin, Baba Batra and Gittin. Like the commentaries of Ramban and the others, these are generally printed as independent works, though some Talmud editions include the ''Shitah Mekubezet'' in an abbreviated form. In later centuries, focus partially shifted from direct Talmudic interpretation to the analysis of previously written Talmudic commentaries. Well known are "Maharshal" ( Solomon Luria), "Maharam" ( Meir Lublin) and " Maharsha" (Samuel Edels), which analyze Rashi and Tosafot together; other such commentaries include ''Ma'adanei Yom Tov'' by Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller, in turn a commentary on the Rosh (see below), and the glosses by Zvi Hirsch Chajes. These later commentaries are generally appended to the tractate. Commentaries discussing the Halachik-legal content - outlined above - include "Rosh", "Rif" and "Mordechai"; these are now standard appendices to each volume. Rambam's ''

'' is invariably studied alongside these three; although a code, and therefore not in the same order as the Talmud, the relevant location is identified via the ''"Ein Mishpat"'', following. (A recent project, ''Halacha Brura'', founded by

Abraham Isaac Kook Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as HaRav Kook, and also known by the Hebrew-language acronym Hara'ayah (), was an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbina ...

, presents the Talmud and a summary of the halachic codes side by side, so as to enable the "collation" of Talmud with resultant Halacha.) Found in almost all editions of the Talmud, is the "study-aid" consisting of the marginal notes ''Torah Or'', ''Ein Mishpat Ner Mitzvah'' and ''Masoret ha-Shas'' by the Italian rabbi Joshua Boaz, which give references respectively: to the cited Biblical passages, to the relevant halachic codes (''

'', '' Tur'', ''

Shulchan Aruch The ''Shulhan Arukh'' ( ),, often called "the Code of Jewish Law", is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Rabbinic Judaism. It was authored in the city of Safed in what is now Israel by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in ...

'', and '' Se'mag'') and to related Talmudic passages. Most editions of the Talmud include also the brief marginal notes by Akiva Eger under the name ''Gilyon ha-Shas'', and textual notes by Joel Sirkes and the

Vilna Gaon Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman''), also known as the Vilna Gaon ( ''Der Vilner Goen''; ; or Elijah of Vilna, or by his Hebrew acronym Gr"a ("Gaon Rabbenu Eliyahu": "Our great teacher Elijah"; Sialiec, April 23, 172 ...

Pilpul

During the 15th and 16th centuries, a new intensive form of Talmud study arose. Complicated logical arguments were used to explain minor points of contradiction within the Talmud. The term '' pilpul'' was applied to this type of study. Usage of ''pilpul'' in this sense (that of "sharp analysis") harks back to the Talmudic era and refers to the intellectual sharpness this method demanded. Pilpul practitioners posited that the Talmud could contain no redundancy or contradiction whatsoever. New categories and distinctions (''hillukim'') were therefore created, resolving seeming contradictions within the Talmud by novel logical means. In the

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

world the founders of ''pilpul'' are generally considered to be Jacob Pollak (1460–1541) and Shalom Shachna. This kind of study reached its height in the 16th and 17th centuries when expertise in pilpulistic analysis was considered an art form and became a goal in and of itself within the yeshivot of Poland and Lithuania. But the popular new method of Talmud study was not without critics; already in the 15th century, the ethical tract ''Orhot Zaddikim'' ("Paths of the Righteous" in Hebrew) criticized pilpul for an overemphasis on intellectual acuity. Many 16th- and 17th-century rabbis were also critical of pilpul. Among them are

Judah Loew ben Bezalel Judah Loew ben Bezalel (; 1512 – 17 September 1609), also known as Rabbi Loew ( Löw, Loewe, Löwe or Levai), the Maharal of Prague (), or simply the Maharal (the Hebrew language, Hebrew Hebrew abbreviations, acronym of "''Moreinu ha-Rav Loew'' ...

(the ''Maharal'' of Prague),

Isaiah Horowitz Isaiah or Yeshayahu ben Avraham Ha-Levi Horowitz () (c. 1555 – March 24, 1630), also known as the ''Shelah HaKaddosh'' ( "the holy ''Shelah''") after the title of his best-known work, was a prominent rabbi and mystic. Biography Isaiah Horo ...

, and Yair Bacharach. By the 18th century, pilpul study waned. Other styles of learning such as that of the school of Elijah b. Solomon, the

, became popular. The term "pilpul" was increasingly applied derogatorily to novellae deemed casuistic and hairsplitting. Authors referred to their own commentaries as "al derekh ha-peshat" (by the simple method) to contrast them with pilpul.

Sephardic approaches

Among

Sephardi Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

and

Italian Jews Italian Jews (; ) or Roman Jews (; ) can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in Italy, or, in a narrower sense, to mean the Italkim, an ancient community living in Italy since the Ancient Roman era, who use the It ...

from the 15th century on, some authorities sought to apply the methods of

Aristotelian logic In logic and formal semantics, term logic, also known as traditional logic, syllogistic logic or Aristotelian logic, is a loose name for an approach to formal logic that began with Aristotle and was developed further in ancient history mostly b ...

, as reformulated by

Averroes Ibn Rushd (14 April 112611 December 1198), archaically Latinization of names, Latinized as Averroes, was an Arab Muslim polymath and Faqīh, jurist from Al-Andalus who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astron ...

. This method was first recorded, though without explicit reference to Aristotle, by Isaac Campanton (d. Spain, 1463) in his ''Darkhei ha-Talmud'' ("The Ways of the Talmud"), and is also found in the works of Moses Chaim Luzzatto. According to the present-day Sephardi scholar José Faur, traditional Sephardic Talmud study could take place on any of three levels. * The most basic level consists of literary analysis of the text without the help of commentaries, designed to bring out the ''tzurata di-shema'ta'', i.e. the logical and narrative structure of the passage. * The intermediate level, ''iyyun'' (concentration), consists of study with the help of commentaries such as

and the

, similar to that practiced among the

Ashkenazim Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...

. Historically Sephardim studied the ''Tosefot ha-Rosh'' and the commentaries of Nahmanides in preference to the printed Tosafot. A method based on the study of Tosafot, and of Ashkenazi authorities such as '' Maharsha'' (Samuel Edels) and ''Maharshal'' ( Solomon Luria), was introduced in late seventeenth century

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

by rabbis Abraham Hakohen (d. 1715) and Tsemaḥ Tsarfati (d. 1717) and perpetuated by rabbi Isaac Lumbroso and is sometimes referred to as'' 'Iyyun Tunisa'i''. * The highest level, ''halachah'' (Jewish law), consists of collating the opinions set out in the Talmud with those of the halachic codes such as the

and the

, so as to study the Talmud as a source of law; the equivalent Ashkenazi approach is sometimes referred to as being " aliba dehilchasa".

Brisker method

In the late 19th century another trend in Talmud study arose. Hayyim Soloveitchik (1853–1918) of Brisk (Brest-Litovsk) developed and refined this style of study. Brisker method involves a reductionistic analysis of rabbinic arguments within the Talmud or among the

Rishonim ''Rishonim'' (; ; sing. , ''Rishon'') were the leading rabbis and ''posek, poskim'' who lived approximately during the 11th to 15th centuries, in the era before the writing of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' (, "Set Table", a common printed code of Jewis ...

, explaining the differing opinions by placing them within a categorical structure. The Brisker method is highly analytical and is often criticized as being a modern-day version of pilpul. Nevertheless, the influence of the Brisker method is great. Most modern-day Yeshivot study the Talmud using the Brisker method in some form. One feature of this method is the use of

' ''

'' as a guide to Talmudic interpretation, as distinct from its use as a source of practical ''halakha''. Rival methods were those of the

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

and Telz yeshivas. See and .

Textual criticism

Medieval era

The text of the Talmud has been subject to some level of critical scrutiny throughout its history. Rabbinic tradition holds that the people cited in both Talmuds did not have a hand in its writings; rather, their teachings were edited into a rough form around 450 CE (Talmud Yerushalmi) and 550 CE (Talmud Bavli.) The text of the Bavli especially was not firmly fixed at that time. Gaonic responsa literature addresses this issue. Teshuvot Geonim Kadmonim, section 78, deals with mistaken biblical readings in the Talmud. This Gaonic responsum states: In the early medieval era, Rashi already concluded that some statements in the extant text of the Talmud were insertions from later editors. On Shevuot 3b Rashi writes "A mistaken student wrote this in the margin of the Talmud, and copyists ubsequentlyput it into the Gemara."

Early modern era

The emendations of

Yoel Sirkis Joel ben Samuel Sirkis (Hebrew: רבי יואל בן שמואל סירקיש; born 1561 - March 14, 1640) also known as the Bach (an abbreviation of his magnum opus BAyit CHadash), was a prominent Ashkenazi posek and halakhist, who lived in Centr ...

and the Vilna Gaon are included in all standard editions of the Talmud, in the form of marginal glosses entitled ''Hagahot ha-Bach'' and ''Hagahot ha-Gra'' respectively; further emendations by Solomon Luria are set out in commentary form at the back of each tractate. The Vilna Gaon's emendations were often based on his quest for internal consistency in the text rather than on manuscript evidence; nevertheless many of the Gaon's emendations were later verified by textual critics, such as

Solomon Schechter Solomon Schechter (‎; 7 December 1847 – 19 November 1915) was a Moldavian-born British-American rabbi, academic scholar and educator, most famous for his roles as founder and President of the United Synagogue of America, President of the ...

, who had Cairo Genizah texts with which to compare our standard editions.

Contemporary scholarship

In the 19th century, Raphael Nathan Nota Rabinovicz published a multi-volume work entitled '' Dikdukei Soferim'', showing textual variants from the Munich and other early manuscripts of the Talmud, and further variants are recorded in the Complete Israeli Talmud and ''Gemara Shelemah'' editions (see Critical editions, above). Today many more manuscripts have become available, in particular from the

Cairo Geniza The Cairo Geniza, alternatively spelled the Cairo Genizah, is a collection of some 400,000 Judaism, Jewish manuscript fragments and Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid administrative documents that were kept in the ''genizah'' or storeroom of the Ben Ezra ...

. The

Academy of the Hebrew Language The Academy of the Hebrew Language (, ''ha-akademyah la-lashon ha-ivrit'') was established by the Israeli government in 1953 as the "supreme institution for scholarship on the Hebrew language in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem of Givat Ram cam ...

has prepared a text on CD-ROM for lexicographical purposes, containing the text of each tractate according to the manuscript it considers most reliable, and images of some of the older manuscripts may be found on the website of the

National Library of Israel The National Library of Israel (NLI; ; ), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; ), is the library dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Judaism, Jewish Cultural heritage, heritage. The library holds more ...

(formerly the Jewish National and University Library). The NLI, the Lieberman Institute (associated with the

Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism as well as a hub for academic scholarship in Jewish studies ...

), the Institute for the Complete Israeli Talmud (part of Yad Harav Herzog) and the Friedberg Jewish Manuscript Society all maintain searchable websites on which the viewer can request variant manuscript readings of a given passage. Some trends within contemporary Talmud scholarship are listed below. * Orthodox Judaism maintains that the

oral Torah According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law () are statutes and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah (), and which are regarded by Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jews as prescriptive ...

was revealed, in some form, together with the written Torah. As such, some adherents, most notably

Samson Raphael Hirsch Samson Raphael Hirsch (; June 20, 1808 – December 31, 1888) was a German Orthodox rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the '' Torah im Derech Eretz'' school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism. Occasionally termed ''neo-Orthodoxy'', hi ...

and his followers, resisted any effort to apply historical methods that imputed specific motives to the authors of the Talmud. Other major figures in Orthodoxy, however, took issue with Hirsch on this matter, most prominently David Tzvi Hoffmann and Joseph Hirsch Dünner. * Some scholars hold that there has been extensive editorial reshaping of the stories and statements within the Talmud. Lacking outside confirming texts, they hold that we cannot confirm the origin or date of most statements and laws, and that we can say little for certain about their authorship. In this view, the questions above are impossible to answer. See, for example, the works of Louis Jacobs and Shaye J.D. Cohen. * Some scholars hold that the Talmud has been extensively shaped by later editorial redaction, but that it contains sources we can identify and describe with some level of reliability. In this view, sources can be identified by tracing the history and analyzing the geographical regions of origin. See, for example, the works of Lee I. Levine and David Kraemer. * Some scholars hold that many or most of the statements and events described in the Talmud usually occurred more or less as described, and that they can be used as serious sources of historical study. In this view, historians do their best to tease out later editorial additions (itself a very difficult task) and skeptically view accounts of miracles, leaving behind a reliable historical text. See, for example, the works of Saul Lieberman, David Weiss Halivni, and Avraham Goldberg. * Modern academic study attempts to separate the different "strata" within the text, to try to interpret each level on its own, and to identify the correlations between parallel versions of the same tradition. In recent years, the works of David Weiss Halivni and Shamma Friedman have suggested a paradigm shift in the understanding of the Talmud (Encyclopaedia Judaica 2nd ed. entry "Talmud, Babylonian"). The traditional understanding was to view the Talmud as a unified homogeneous work. While other scholars had also treated the Talmud as a multi-layered work, Halivni's innovation (primarily in the second volume of his ''Mekorot u-Mesorot'') was to differentiate between the Amoraic statements, which are generally brief Halachic decisions or inquiries, and the writings of the later "Stammaitic" (or Saboraic) authors, which are characterised by a much longer analysis that often consists of lengthy dialectic discussion. The Jerusalem Talmud is very similar to the Babylonian Talmud minus Stammaitic activity (Encyclopaedia Judaica (2nd ed.), entry "Jerusalem Talmud"). Shamma Y. Friedman's ''Talmud Aruch'' on the sixth chapter of Bava Metzia (1996) is the first example of a complete analysis of a Talmudic text using this method. S. Wald has followed with works on Pesachim ch. 3 (2000) and Shabbat ch. 7 (2006). Further commentaries in this sense are being published by Friedman's "Society for the Interpretation of the Talmud". * Some scholars are indeed using outside sources to help give historical and contextual understanding of certain areas of the Babylonian Talmud. See for example the works of Yaakov Elman and of his student Shai Secunda, which seek to place the Talmud in its Iranian context, for example by comparing it with contemporary

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

texts.

Translations

There are six contemporary translations of the Talmud into English:

Steinsaltz

began his translation of the Babylonian Talmud into modern Hebrew (the original is mostly Aramaic with some Mishnaic Hebrew) in 1969 and completed it in 2010. (He also translated some tractates of the Jerusalem Talmud.) The Hebrew edition is printed in two formats: the original one in a new layout and the later one in the format of the traditional Vilna Talmud page; both are available in several sizes. The first attempt to translate the Steinsaltz edition into English was '' The Talmud: The Steinsaltz Edition'' (Random House), which contains the original Hebrew-Aramaic text with punctuation and an English translation based on Steinsaltz' complete

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...

translation of and commentary on the entire Talmud. This edition began to be released in 1989 but was never completed; only four tractates were printed in 21 volumes, with a matching Reference Guide translated from a separate work of Steinsaltz. Portions of the Steinsaltz Talmud have also been translated into French, Russian, and other languages. * The Noé Edition of the ''Koren Talmud Bavli'', published by Koren Publishers Jerusalem was launched in 2012. It has a new, modern English translation and the commentary of

, and was praised for its "beautiful page" with "clean type". From the right side cover (the front side of Hebrew and Aramaic books), the Steinsaltz Talmud edition has the traditional Vilna page with vowels and punctuation in the original Aramaic text. The

commentary appears in Rashi script with vowels and punctuation. From the left side cover the edition features bilingual text with side-by-side English/Aramaic translation. The margins include color maps, illustrations and notes based on

translation and commentary of the Talmud. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb serves as the Editor-in-Chief. The entire set was completed in 42 volumes. *In February 2017, the ''William Davidson Talmud'' was released to

Sefaria Sefaria is an online open source, free content, digital library of Jewish texts. It was founded in 2011 by former Google project manager Brett Lockspeiser and journalist-author Joshua Foer. Promoted as a "living library of Jewish texts", Sefaria ...

. This translation is a version of the Noé Steinsaltz edition above, which was released under

creative commons Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has release ...

license.

Artscroll

* The '' Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud'' ( Artscroll/Mesorah Publications), is 73 volumes, in an English translation edition and a Hebrew translation edition. In the translated editions, each English or Hebrew page faces the Aramaic/Hebrew page it translates. Each Aramaic/Hebrew page of Talmud typically requires three to six English or Hebrew pages of translation and notes. The Aramaic/Hebrew pages are printed in the traditional Vilna format, with a gray bar added that shows the section translated on the facing page. The facing pages provide an expanded paraphrase in English or Hebrew, with translation of the text shown in bold and explanations interspersed in normal type, along with extensive footnotes. Pages are numbered in the traditional way but with a superscript added, e.g. 12b⁴ is the fourth page translating the Vilna page 12b. Larger tractates require multiple volumes. The first volume was published in 1990, and the series was completed in 2004.

Soncino

* ''The Soncino Talmud'' (34 volumes, 1935–1948, with an additional index volume published in 1952 and a two-volume translation of the Minor Tractates later), Isidore Epstein, Soncino Press. An 18 volume edition was published in 1961. Notes on each page provide additional background material. This translation: is published both in English and in a parallel text edition, in which each English page faces the Aramaic/Hebrew page. It is also available on CD-ROM. Complete. *In addition, a 7x5in travel or pocket edition was published in 1959. This edition opens from the left for English and the notes, and from the right for the Aramaic, which, unlike the other editions, does not use standard Vilna Talmud page; instead, another older edition is used, in which each standard Talmud page is divided in two.

Other English translations

* ''The Talmud of Babylonia. An American Translation'',

, Tzvee Zahavy, others. Atlanta: 1984–1995: Scholars Press for Brown Judaic Studies. Complete. * ''Rodkinson'': Portions of the Babylonian Talmud were translated by Michael L. Rodkinson (1903). It has been linked to online, for copyright reasons (initially it was the only freely available translation on the web), but this has been wholly superseded by the Soncino translation. (see below, under Full text resources). * The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary, edited by Jacob Neusner and translated by Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, Alan Avery-Peck, B. Barry Levy, Martin S. Jaffe, and Peter Haas, Hendrickson Pub; 22-Volume Set Ed., 2011. It is a revision of "The Talmud of Babylonia: An Academic Commentary," published by the University of South Florida Academic Commentary Series (1994–1999). Neusner gives commentary on transition in use langes from Biblical Aramaic to Biblical Hebrew. Neusner also gives references to Mishnah, Torah, and other classical works in Orthodox Judaism.

Translations into other languages

*The '' Extractiones de Talmud'', a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

translation of some 1,922 passages from the Talmud, was made in Paris in 1244–1245. It survives in two recensions. There is a

critical edition Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts (mss) or of printed books. Such texts may range i ...

of the sequential recension: * *A circa 1000 CE translation of (some parts of) the Talmud to Arabic is mentioned in

Sefer ha-Qabbalah ''Sefer ha-Qabbalah'' () was written by Abraham ibn Daud around 1160–1161. The book is a response to Karaite attacks against the historical legitimacy of Rabbinic Judaism and contains, among other items, the controversial tale of the kidnappin ...

. This version was commissioned by the

Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...

Caliph

Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah Abu Ali al-Mansur (; 13 August 985 – 13 February 1021), better known by his regnal name al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (), was the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili imam (996–1021). Al-Hakim is an important figure in a number of Shia Ism ...

and was carried out by

Joseph ibn Abitur Joseph ibn Abitur was a Spanish rabbi of around the 10th century. He was a student of Moses ben Hanoch. Abitur was from a very prestigious Spanish family from the city of Mérida. His great great grandfather was a communal and Rabbinic leader. ...

. *The Talmud was translated by

Shimon Moyal Shimon Moyal (1866–1915) was a Zionist activist and physician. He worked for several newspapers and started a short-lived newspaper with his wife, Esther Moyal. He was the translator of the Talmud into the Arabic language. Early life and educ ...

into Arabic in 1909. There is one translation of the Talmud into Arabic, published in 2012 in Jordan by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. The translation was carried out by a group of 90 Muslim and Christian scholars. The introduction was characterized by Raquel Ukeles, Curator of the Israel National Library's Arabic collection, as "racist", but she considers the translation itself as "not bad". *In 2018 Muslim-majority

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

co-hosted an event at the United Nations with Catholic-majority Italy and Jewish-majority Israel celebrating the translation of the Talmud into Italian for the first time. Albanian UN Ambassador Besiana Kadare opined: "Projects like the Babylonian Talmud Translation open a new lane in intercultural and interfaith dialogue, bringing hope and understanding among people, the right tools to counter prejudice, stereotypical thinking and discrimination. By doing so, we think that we strengthen our social traditions, peace, stability — and we also counter violent extremist tendencies." *In 2012, a first volume of the Talmud Bavli was published in Spanish by Tashema. It was translated in Jerusalem under the yeshiva directed by Rav Yaakov Benaim. It includes the translation and explanation of the

and

, and the commentaries by

and

. By 2023, 19 volumes have been published.

Index

"A widely accepted and accessible index" was the goal driving several such projects.: * ''Mafteah haTalmud'' (1910-1930). Breslau: D. Rotenberg. The individual work of . Only four volumes were released before the remainder was lost in manuscript during

The Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. * ''Index Volume to the Soncino Talmud'' (1952). Soncino Press. 749 pages. * ''Thesaurus Talmudis'' (1954-2004). 45 volumes covering the Bavli and 10 covering the Yerushalmi. Prepared by Chaim Josua Kasowski and sons. * ''Subject Concordance to the Babylonian Talmud'' (1959). Ejnar Munksgaard. By Lazarus Goldschmidt, revised by Rafael Edelmann. * ''Otzar Imrei Avot'' (1959-1961), Ruben Mass. 5 volumes. Prepared by Zevi Larinman. * ''Michlul haMa'amarim'' (1960). Mossad Harav Kook. A three-volume index of the Bavli and Yerushalmi, containing more than 100,000 entries. * ''Shevilei haTalmud'' (1996). Prepared by Uri Hain. * ''HaMafteah'' (2011). Feldheim Publishers. Has over 30,000 entries.

Editions

Bomberg Talmud 1523

The first complete edition of the Babylonian Talmud was printed in Venice by Daniel Bomberg 1520–23 with the support of

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...

. In addition to the ''Mishnah'' and ''Gemara'', Bomberg's edition contained the commentaries of

and

. Almost all printings since Bomberg have followed the same pagination. Bomberg's edition was considered relatively free of censorship.

Froben Talmud 1578

Ambrosius Frobenius collaborated with the scholar Israel Ben Daniel Sifroni from Italy. His most extensive work was a Talmud edition published, with great difficulty, in 1578–81.

Benveniste Talmud 1645

Following Ambrosius Frobenius's publication of most of the Talmud in installments in Basel, Immanuel Benveniste published the whole Talmud in installments in Amsterdam 1644–1648, Although according to Raphael Rabbinovicz the Benveniste Talmud may have been based on the Lublin Talmud and included many of the censors' errors. "It is noteworthy due to the inclusion of ''Avodah Zarah'', omitted due to Church censorship from several previous editions, and when printed, often lacking a title page.

Slavita Talmud 1795 and Vilna Talmud 1835

The edition of the Talmud published by the Szapira brothers in Slavita was published in 1817, and it is particularly prized by many

rebbe A Rebbe () or Admor () is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spirituality (Audio)''. UCTV, 20 Oct 2011. web. ...

s of

Hasidic Judaism Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a Spirituality, spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most ...

. In 1835, after a religious community copyright was nearly over, and following an acrimonious dispute with the Szapira family, a new edition of the Talmud was printed by Menachem Romm of

Vilna Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. Known as the '' Vilna Edition Shas'', this edition (and later ones printed by his widow and sons, the

Romm publishing house The Romm publishing house was a publisher of Jewish religious literature from 1788 to 1940. It is known for its 1886 Vilna Shas, which still serves as a definitive edition. Baruch ben Yosef Romm founded the business originally in Grodno and it co ...

) has been used in the production of more recent editions of Talmud Bavli. A page number in the Vilna Talmud refers to a double-sided page, known as a ''daf'', or folio in English; each daf has two ''amudim'' labeled and , sides A and B (

recto and verso ''Recto'' is the "right" or "front" side and ''verso'' is the "left" or "back" side when text is written or printed on a leaf of paper () in a bound item such as a codex, book, broadsheet, or pamphlet. In double-sided printing, each leaf h ...

). The convention of referencing by ''daf'' is relatively recent and dates from the early Talmud printings of the 17th century, though the actual pagination goes back to the Bomberg edition. Earlier

rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire corpus of works authored by rabbis throughout Jewish history. The term typically refers to literature from the Talmudic era (70–640 CE), as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic ...

generally refers to the tractate or chapters within a tractate (e.g. Berachot Chapter 1, ). It sometimes also refers to the specific Mishnah in that chapter, where "Mishnah" is replaced with "Halakha", here meaning route, to "direct" the reader to the entry in the Gemara corresponding to that Mishna (e.g. Berachot Chapter 1 Halakha 1, , would refer to the first Mishnah of the first chapter in Tractate Berachot, and its corresponding entry in the Gemara). However, this form is nowadays more commonly (though not exclusively) used when referring to the Jerusalem Talmud. Nowadays, reference is usually made in format 'Tractate daf a/b''(e.g. Berachot 23b, ). Increasingly, the symbols "." and ":" are used to indicate Recto and Verso, respectively (thus, e.g. Berachot 23:, ). These references always refer to the pagination of the Vilna Talmud.

Critical editions

The text of the Vilna editions is considered by scholars not to be uniformly reliable, and there have been a number of attempts to collate textual variants. # In the late 19th century, Nathan Rabinowitz published a series of volumes called ''Dikduke Soferim'' showing textual variants from early manuscripts and printings. # In 1960, work started on a new edition under the name of ''Gemara Shelemah'' (complete Gemara) under the editorship of Menachem Mendel Kasher: only the volume on the first part of tractate Pesachim appeared before the project was interrupted by his death. This edition contained a comprehensive set of textual variants and a few selected commentaries. # Some thirteen volumes have been published by the Institute for the Complete Israeli Talmud (a division of Yad Harav Herzog), on lines similar to Rabinowitz, containing the text and a comprehensive set of textual variants (from manuscripts, early prints and citations in secondary literature) but no commentaries. There have been critical editions of particular tractates (e.g. Henry Malter's edition of ''

Ta'anit A ta'anit or taynis (Biblical Hebrew ''taʿaniṯ'' or צוֹם ''ṣom'') is a fast in Judaism in which one abstains from all food and drink, including water. Purposes A Jewish fast may have one or more purposes, including: * Atonement for si ...

''), but there is no modern critical edition of the whole Talmud. Modern editions such as those of the Oz ve-Hadar Institute correct misprints and restore passages that in earlier editions were modified or excised by censorship but do not attempt a comprehensive account of textual variants. One edition, by Yosef Amar, represents the Yemenite tradition, and takes the form of a photostatic reproduction of a Vilna-based print to which Yemenite vocalization and textual variants have been added by hand, together with printed introductory material. Collations of the Yemenite manuscripts of some tractates have been published by Columbia University.

Editions for a wider audience

A number of editions have been aimed at bringing the Talmud to a wider audience. Aside from the Steinsaltz and Artscroll/Schottenstein sets there are: * The Metivta edition, published by the Oz ve-Hadar Institute. This contains the full text in the same format as the Vilna-based editions, with a full explanation in modern Hebrew on facing pages as well as an improved version of the traditional commentaries. * A previous project of the same kind, called Talmud El Am, "Talmud to the people", was published in Israel in the 1960s–80s. It contains Hebrew text, English translation and commentary by Arnost Zvi Ehrman, with short 'realia', marginal notes, often illustrated, written by experts in the field for the whole of Tractate Berakhot, 2 chapters of Bava Mezia and the halachic section of Qiddushin, chapter 1. * Tuvia's ''Gemara Menukad'': includes vowels and punctuation (''Nekudot''), including for Rashi and Tosafot. It also includes "all the abbreviations of that ''amud'' on the side of each page."

Incomplete sets from prior centuries

* Amsterdam (1714, ''Proops'' Talmud and ''Marches/de Palasios'' Talmud): Two sets were begun in Amsterdam in 1714, a year in which "acrimonious disputes between publishers within and between cities" regarding reprint rights also began. The latter ran 1714–1717. Neither set was completed, although a third set was printed 1752–1765.

Other notable editions

Lazarus Goldschmidt published an edition from the "uncensored text" of the Babylonian Talmud with a German translation in 9 volumes (commenced Leipzig, 1897–1909, edition completed, following emigration to England in 1933, by 1936). Twelve volumes of the Babylonian Talmud were published by Mir Yeshiva refugees during the years 1942 thru 1946 while they were in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. The major tractates, one per volume, were: "Shabbat, Eruvin, Pesachim, Gittin, Kiddushin, Nazir, Sotah, Bava Kama, Sanhedrin, Makot, Shevuot, Avodah Zara" (with some volumes having, in addition, "Minor Tractates"). A

Survivors' Talmud The Survivors' Talmud (also known as the U.S. Army Talmud or the Munich Talmud) was an edition of the Talmud published in the U.S. Zone of Allied-occupied Germany on behalf of Holocaust survivors housed in displaced persons (DP) camps. It was the o ...

was published, encouraged by President Truman's "responsibility toward these victims of persecution" statement. The U.S. Army (despite "the acute shortage of paper in Germany") agreed to print "fifty copies of the Talmud, packaged into 16-volume sets" during 1947–1950. The plan was extended: 3,000 copies, in 19-volume sets.

In visual arts

In Carl Schleicher's paintings

Rabbis and Talmudists studying and debating Talmud abound in the art of Austrian painter Carl Schleicher (1825–1903); active in Vienna, especially –1871. File:Carl Schleicher Jüdische Szene 1.jpg, ''Jewish Scene I'' File:Carl Schleicher Jüdische Szene 2.jpg, ''Jewish Scene II'' File:Carl Schleicher Eine Streitfrage aus dem Talmud.jpg, ''A Controversy Whatsoever on Talmud'' File:Carl Schleicher Beim Rabbi.jpg, ''At the Rabbi's''

Jewish art and photography

File:Juden beim Talmudstudium Paris 19-20Jh.jpg, ''Jews studying Talmud'', París, File:Samuel Hirszenberg 'Szkoła talmudystów'.jpg, Samuel Hirszenberg, ''Talmudic School'', File:The Talmud students.jpg, Ephraim Moses Lilien, ''The Talmud Students'', engraving, 1915 File:La dispute.jpg, Maurycy Trębacz, ''The Dispute'', File:Knesset Menora Salomo.jpg, ''Solomon's Haggadoth'', bronze relief from the Knesset Menorah, Jerusalem, by Benno Elkan, 1956 File:Knesset Menorah P5200009 Hilel.JPG, ''Hilel's Teachings'', bronze relief from the Knesset Menorah File:Knesset Menorah Jochanan ben Sakkai.jpg, ''Jewish Mysticism: Jochanan ben Sakkai'', bronze relief from the Knesset Menorah File:Yemenite Jews studying Torah in Sana'a.jpg, Yemenite Jews studying Torah in Sana'a

Reception outside of Judaism

Christianity

The study of Talmud is not restricted to those of the Jewish religion and has attracted interest in other cultures. Christian scholars have long expressed an interest in the study of Talmud, which has helped illuminate their own scriptures. Talmud contains biblical exegesis and commentary on

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

possible references to Jesus and his disciples, while the Christian canon makes mention of Talmudic figures and contains teachings that can be paralleled within the Talmud and

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

. The Talmud provides cultural and historical context to the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

and the writings of the Apostles.

South Korea

South Koreans reportedly hope to emulate Jews' high academic standards by studying Jewish literature. Almost every household has a translated copy of a book they call "Talmud", which parents read to their children, and the book is part of the primary-school curriculum. The "Talmud" in this case is usually one of several possible volumes, the earliest translated into Korean from the Japanese. The original Japanese books were created through the collaboration of Japanese writer Hideaki Kase and Marvin Tokayer, an Orthodox American rabbi serving in Japan in the 1960s and 70s. The first collaborative book was ''5,000 Years of Jewish Wisdom: Secrets of the Talmud Scriptures'', created over a three-day period in 1968 and published in 1971. The book contains actual stories from the Talmud, proverbs, ethics, Jewish legal material, biographies of Talmudic rabbis, and personal stories about Tokayer and his family. Tokayer and Kase published a number of other books on Jewish themes together in Japanese. The first South Korean publication of ''5,000 Years of Jewish Wisdom'' was in 1974, by Tae Zang publishing house. Many different editions followed in both Korea and China, often by black-market publishers. Between 2007 and 2009, Yong-soo Hyun of the Shema Yisrael Educational Institute published a 6-volume edition of the Korean Talmud, bringing together material from a variety of Tokayer's earlier books. He worked with Tokayer to correct errors and Tokayer is listed as the author. Tutoring centers based on this and other works called "Talmud" for both adults and children are popular in Korea and "Talmud" books (all based on Tokayer's works and not the original Talmud) are widely read and known.

Iran

In 2012, then-Vice President of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Mohammad Reza Rahimi Mohammad Reza Rahimi (, born on 11 January 1949) is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth Vice President of Iran, first vice president from 13 September 2009 until 3 August 2013. His previous posts included governor of the Kurdistan pro ...

, claimed that the Talmud was the cause of the spread of

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

s in the country.

Criticism

Historian Michael Levi Rodkinson, in his book ''The History of the Talmud'', wrote that detractors of the Talmud, both during and subsequent to its formation, "have varied in their character, objects and actions" and the book documents a number of critics and persecutors, including Nicholas Donin, Johannes Pfefferkorn,

Johann Andreas Eisenmenger Johann Andreas Eisenmenger (1654, Mannheim – 20 December 1704, Heidelberg) was a German oriental studies, orientalist scholar from the Electorate of the Palatinate, now best known as the author of ''Entdecktes Judenthum'' (''Judaism Unmasked''), ...

, the Frankists, and August Rohling.Rodkinson Many attacks come from antisemitic sources such as

Justinas Pranaitis Justinas Bonaventūra Pranaitis (; 27 July 1861 – 28 January 1917) was a Lithuanian Catholic priest. He was a professor of Hebrew at the Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy and missionary in Uzbekistan. He is best known as the a ...

, Elizabeth Dilling, or David Duke. Criticisms also arise from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish sources, as well as from atheists and skeptics. Accusations against the Talmud include alleged: # Anti-Christian or anti-gentile content # Absurd or sexually immoral content # Falsification of scripture Defenders of the Talmud point out that many of these criticisms, particularly those in antisemitic sources, are based on quotations that are taken out of context, and thus misrepresent the meaning of the Talmud's text and its basic character as a detailed record of discussions that preserved statements by a variety of sages, and from which statements and opinions that were rejected were never edited out.

Middle Ages

At the very time that the

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

ian ''

savoraim ''Savora'' (; Aramaic language, Aramaic: סבורא, "a reasoner", plural ''Savora'im'', ''Sabora'im'' , סבוראים) is a term used in Jewish law and history to signify one among the leading rabbis living from the end of period of the ''Amora ...

'' put the finishing touches to the redaction of the Talmud, the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Justinian Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

issued his edict against ''deuterosis'' (doubling, repetition) of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Targum A targum (, ''interpretation'', ''translation'', ''version''; plural: targumim) was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ) that a professional translator ( ''mǝṯurgǝmān'') would give in the common language o ...

": in

patristic Patristics, also known as Patrology, is a branch of theological studies focused on the writings and teachings of the Church Fathers, between the 1st to 8th centuries CE. Scholars analyze texts from both orthodox and heretical authors. Patristics em ...

literature, the word is used in both senses. Full-scale attacks on the Talmud took place in the 13th century in France, where Talmudic study was then flourishing. In the 1230s Nicholas Donin, a Jewish convert to Christianity, pressed 35 charges against the Talmud to

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the Pa ...

by translating a series of allegedly blasphemous passages about

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

, Mary or Christianity. There is a quoted Talmudic passage, for example, where a person named Yeshu who some people have claimed is

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religi ...

is sent to Gehenna to be boiled in excrement for eternity. Donin also selected an injunction of the Talmud that permits Jews to kill non-Jews. This led to the Disputation of Paris, which took place in 1240 at the court of

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...

, where four rabbis, including Yechiel of Paris and Moses ben Jacob of Coucy, defended the Talmud against the accusations of Nicholas Donin. The translation of the Talmud from Aramaic to non-Jewish languages stripped Jewish discourse from its covering, something that was resented by Jews as a profound violation. The Disputation of Paris led to the condemnation and the first burning of copies of the Talmud in Paris in 1242. The burning of copies of the Talmud continued. The Talmud was likewise the subject of the Disputation of Barcelona in 1263 between

Nahmanides Moses ben Nachman ( ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ramban (; ) and by the contemporary nickname Bonastruc ça Porta (; l ...

and Christian converts in which they argued if Jesus was the messiah prophesized in Judaism, Pablo Christiani. This same Pablo Christiani made an attack on the Talmud that resulted in a

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

against the Talmud and in the first censorship, which was undertaken at Barcelona by a commission of

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

, who ordered the cancellation of passages deemed objectionable from a Christian perspective (1264).Maccoby At the Disputation of Tortosa in 1413, Geronimo de Santa Fé brought forward a number of accusations, including the fateful assertion that the condemnations of "pagans", "heathens", and "apostates" found in the Talmud were, in reality, veiled references to Christians. These assertions were denied by the Jewish community and its scholars, who contended that Judaic thought made a sharp distinction between those classified as heathen or pagan, being polytheistic, and those who acknowledge one true God (such as the Christians) even while worshipping the true monotheistic God incorrectly. Thus, Jews viewed Christians as misguided and in error, but not among the "heathens" or "pagans" discussed in the Talmud. Both Pablo Christiani and Geronimo de Santa Fé, in addition to criticizing the Talmud, also regarded it as a source of authentic traditions, some of which could be used as arguments in favor of Christianity. Examples of such traditions were statements that the Messiah was born around the time of the destruction of the Temple and that the Messiah sat at the right hand of God. In 1415,

Antipope Benedict XIII Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor (25 November 1328 – 23 May 1423), known as () or Pope Luna, was an Aragonese nobleman who was antipope with the regnal name Benedict XIII during the Western Schism. Early life Pedro Martínez de Lu ...

, who had convened the Tortosa disputation, issued a

(which was destined, however, to remain inoperative) forbidding the Jews to read the Talmud, and ordering the destruction of all copies of it. Far more important were the charges made in the early part of the 16th century by the convert Johannes Pfefferkorn, the agent of the Dominicans. The result of these accusations was a struggle in which the emperor and the pope acted as judges, the advocate of the Jews being

Johann Reuchlin Johann Reuchlin (; 29 January 1455 – 30 June 1522), sometimes called Johannes, was a German Catholic humanist and a scholar of Greek and Hebrew, whose work also took him to modern-day Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and France. Most of Reuchlin's c ...

, who was opposed by the obscurantists; and this controversy, which was carried on for the most part by means of pamphlets, became in the eyes of some a precursor of the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. An unexpected result of this affair was the complete printed edition of the Babylonian Talmud issued in 1520 by Daniel Bomberg at

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, under the protection of a papal privilege. Three years later, in 1523, Bomberg published the first edition of the Jerusalem Talmud. After thirty years the Vatican, which had first permitted the Talmud to appear in print, undertook a campaign of destruction against it. On the New Year, Rosh Hashanah (September 9, 1553) the copies of the Talmud confiscated in compliance with a decree of the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

were burned at

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, in Campo dei Fiori (auto de fé). Other burnings took place in other Italian cities, such as the one instigated by Joshua dei Cantori at

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

in 1559. Censorship of the Talmud and other Hebrew works was introduced by a papal bull issued in 1554; five years later the Talmud was included in the first Index Expurgatorius; and

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV (; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death, in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered itself a b ...

commanded, in 1565, that the Talmud be deprived of its very name. The convention of referring to the work as "Shas" (''shishah sidre Mishnah'') instead of "Talmud" dates from this time. The first edition of the expurgated Talmud, on which most subsequent editions were based, appeared at

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

(1578–1581) with the omission of the entire treatise of 'Abodah Zarah and of passages considered inimical to Christianity, together with modifications of certain phrases. A fresh attack on the Talmud was decreed by

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

(1575–85), and in 1593 Clement VIII renewed the old interdiction against reading or owning it. The increasing study of the Talmud in Poland led to the issue of a complete edition (

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, 1602–05), with a restoration of the original text; an edition containing, so far as known, only two treatises had previously been published at

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

(1559–76). After an attack on the Talmud took place in Poland (in what is now Ukrainian territory) in 1757, when Bishop Dembowski, at the instigation of the Frankists, convened a public disputation at

Kamieniec Podolski Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...

, and ordered all copies of the work found in his bishopric to be confiscated and burned. A "1735 edition of Moed Katan, printed in Frankfurt am Oder" is among those that survived from that era. "Situated on the Oder River, Three separate editions of the Talmud were printed there between 1697 and 1739." The external history of the Talmud includes also the literary attacks made upon it by some Christian theologians after the Reformation since these onslaughts on Judaism were directed primarily against that work, the leading example being Eisenmenger's ''Entdecktes Judenthum'' (Judaism Unmasked) (1700). In contrast, the Talmud was a subject of rather more sympathetic study by many Christian theologians, jurists and Orientalists from the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

on, including

John Selden John Selden (16 December 1584 – 30 November 1654) was an English jurist, a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law. He was known as a polymath; John Milton hailed Selden in 1644 as "the chief of learned m ...

, Petrus Cunaeus, John Lightfoot and

Johannes Buxtorf Johannes Buxtorf () (December 25, 1564September 13, 1629) was a celebrated Hebraist, member of a family of Orientalists; professor of Hebrew for thirty-nine years at Basel and was known by the title, "Master of the Rabbis". His massive tome, '' ...

father and son.

19th century and after

The Vilna edition of the Talmud was subject to Russian government censorship, or self-censorship to meet government expectations, though this was less severe than some previous attempts: the title "Talmud" was retained and the tractate Avodah Zarah was included. Most modern editions are either copies of or closely based on the Vilna edition, and therefore still omit most of the disputed passages. Although they were not available for many generations, the removed sections of the Talmud, Rashi, Tosafot and Maharsha were preserved through rare printings of lists of ''errata'', known as ''Chesronos Hashas'' ("Omissions of the Talmud"). Many of these censored portions were recovered from uncensored manuscripts in the

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library (, ), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City, and is the city-state's national library. It was formally established in 1475, alth ...

. Some modern editions of the Talmud contain some or all of this material, either at the back of the book, in the margin, or in its original location in the text. In 1830, during a debate in the French Chamber of Peers regarding state recognition of the Jewish faith, Admiral Verhuell declared himself unable to forgive the Jews whom he had met during his travels throughout the world either for their refusal to recognize

as the

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

or for their possession of the Talmud. In the same year the Abbé Chiarini published a voluminous work entitled ''Théorie du Judaïsme'', in which he announced a translation of the Talmud, advocating for the first time a version that would make the work generally accessible, and thus serve for attacks on Judaism: only two out of the projected six volumes of this translation appeared. In a like spirit 19th-century antisemitic agitators often urged that a translation be made; and this demand was even brought before legislative bodies, as in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. The Talmud and the "Talmud Jew" thus became objects of antisemitic attacks, for example in August Rohling's ''Der Talmudjude'' (1871), although, on the other hand, they were defended by many Christian students of the Talmud, notably Hermann Strack. Further attacks from antisemitic sources include

' '' The Talmud Unmasked: The Secret Rabbinical Teachings Concerning Christians'' (1892) and Elizabeth Dilling's ''The Plot Against Christianity'' (1964). The criticisms of the Talmud in many modern pamphlets and websites are often recognizable as verbatim quotations from one or other of these. Historians

Will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

and Ariel Durant noted a lack of consistency between the many authors of the Talmud, with some tractates in the wrong order, or subjects dropped and resumed without reason. According to the Durants, the Talmud "is not the product of deliberation, it is the deliberation itself."

Contemporary accusations

The Internet is another source of criticism of the Talmud. The Anti-Defamation League's report on this topic states that antisemitic critics of the Talmud frequently use erroneous translations or selective quotations in order to distort the meaning of the Talmud's text, and sometimes fabricate passages. In addition, the critics rarely provide the full context of the quotations and fail to provide contextual information about the culture that the Talmud was composed in, nearly 2,000 years ago. One such example concerns the line: "If a Jew be called upon to explain any part of the rabbinic books, he ought to give only a false explanation. One who transgresses this commandment will be put to death." This is alleged to be a quote from a book titled ''Libbre David'' (alternatively ''Livore David''). No such book exists in the Talmud or elsewhere. The title is assumed to be a corruption of ''Dibre David'', a work published in 1671. Reference to the quote is found in an early

Holocaust denial Historical negationism, Denial of the Holocaust is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that asserts that the genocide of Jews by the Nazi Party, Nazis is a fabrication or exaggeration. It includes making one or more of the following false claims: ...

book, ''The Six Million Reconsidered'' by William Grimstad.The Six Million Reconsidered: A Special Report by the Committee for Truth in History, p. 16

Historical Review Press Anthony Hancock (5 May 1947 – 11 June 2012) was a Publishing, publisher who created literature for British far right groups and a member of such organisations in the United Kingdom. Biography Based in Brighton, where Hancock owned a hotel ...

, 1979

References

Notes

Citations

Works cited

* * Nathan T. Lopes Cardozo ''The Infinite Chain: Torah, Masorah, and Man'' (Philipp Feldheim, 1989). * (includes Samuel ha-Nagid's ''Mevo ha-Talmud'', see next section) * Zvi Hirsch Chajes
Mevo Hatalmud
', transl. Jacob Shachter: ''The Students' Guide Through The Talmud'' (Yashar Books, 2005). * * * Fraade, Steven D, "Navigating the Anomalous: Non-Jews at the Intersection of Early Rabbinic Law and Narrative", in * * * * D. Landesman ''A Practical Guide to Torah Learning'' (

Jason Aronson Jason Aronson was an American publisher of books in the field of psychotherapy. Topics dealt with in these books include child therapy, family therapy, couple therapy, object relations therapy, play therapy, depression, eating disorders, per ...

, 1995). * * Levy, Richard S., ''Antisemitism: a historical encyclopedia of prejudice and persecution, Volume 2'', ABC-CLIO, 2005. See articles: "Talmud Trials", "Entdecktes Judenthum", "The Talmud Jew", "David Duke", "August Rohling", and "Johannes Pfefferkorn". * A compendium of primary source materials, with commentary. * Maimonides ''Introduction to the

''
English translation
) * Maimonides ''Introduction to the Commentary on the Mishnah''
Hebrew Fulltext
), transl. Zvi Lampel (Judaica Press, 1998). * Aaron Parry ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to The Talmud'' (Alpha Books, 2004). * Rodkinson, Michael Levi, ''The history of the Talmud from the time of its formation, about 200 B.C., up to the present time'', The Talmud Society, 1918 * * * * Read mor
here
See als
here
*

Logic and methodology

* Samuel ha-Nagid, ''Mevo ha-Talmud'' * Joseph ben Judah ibn Aknin,
Mevo ha-Talmud
' * Zerachiah Halevi,
Sefer ha-Tzava
' * Samson of Chinon,
Sefer ha-Keritut
' * Jacob Hagiz, ''Teḥillat Ḥochmah'' (included in most editions of ''Keritut'') * collective, ed. Abraham ibn Akra,
Meharere Nemarim
' * Joseph ibn Verga,
She'erit Yosef
' * Isaac Campanton,
Darche ha-Talmud
' * David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, ''Kelale ha-Gemara'' *

,
Kelale ha-Gemara
' * Yeshu’ah b. Yosef ha-Levi,
Halichot Olam
' **

Joseph Caro Joseph ben Ephraim Karo, also spelled Yosef Caro, or Qaro (; 1488 – March 24, 1575, 13 Nisan 5335 A.M.), was a prominent Sephardic Jewish rabbi renowned as the author of the last great codification of Jewish law, the ''Beit Yosef'', and its ...

,
Kelale ha-Gemara
' (commentary on ''Halichot Olam'') ** Solomon Algazi,
Yavin Shemu’ah
' (commentary on ''Halichot Olam'') * Yisrael Ya'akov Algazi,
Ar'a de-Rabbanan
' * Serillo, Samuel,
Kelale Shemuel
' * Horowitz, Isaiah, ''Shene Luchot ha-Berit'' (section on ''Torah she-be-al-Pe'') * Moses Chaim Luzzatto,
Derech Tevunot
', translated into English as ''The Ways of Reason'', Feldheim 1988, ** same, ''Sefer ha-Higgayon'', translated into English as ''The Book of Logic'', Feldheim 1995, * de Oliveira, Solomon,
Darche Noam
' * Malachi ha-Cohen,
Yad Malachi
' * Aryeh Leib HaCohen Heller, '' Shev Shema'tata'' * Goitein, B.,
Kesef Nivhar
' * Ezechia Bolaffi
''Ben Zekunim'' vol. 1
* Moshe Amiel, ''Ha-Middot le-Ḥeqer ha-Halachah''
vol. 1vol. 2vol. 3

Modern scholarly works

* Hanoch Albeck, ''Mavo la-talmudim'' * Daniel Boyarin, ''Sephardi Speculation: A Study in Methods of Talmudic Interpretation'' (Hebrew), Machon Ben Zvi: Jerusalem, 1989 * Yaakov Elman, "Order, Sequence, and Selection: The Mishnah’s Anthological Choices,” in

David Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of t ...

, ed. ''The Anthology in Jewish Literature'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) 53–80 * Y.N. Epstein, ''Mevo-ot le-Sifrut haTalmudim'' * Uziel Fuchs, ''Talmudam shel Geonim: yaḥasam shel geone Bavel lenosaḥ ha-Talmud ha-Bavli'' (The Geonic Talmud: the Attitude of Babylonian Geonim to the Text of the Babylonian Talmud): Jerusalem 2017 * David Weiss Halivni, ''Mekorot u-Mesorot'' (Jerusalem: Jewish Theological Seminary, 1982 on) * Louis Jacobs, "How Much of the Babylonian Talmud is Pseudepigraphic?" Journal of Jewish Studies 28, No. 1 (1977), pp. 46–59 * Saul Lieberman, ''Hellenism in Jewish Palestine'' (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary, 1950) * Moses Mielziner, ''Introduction to the Talmud'': repr. 1997, hardback , paperback *

, ''Sources and Traditions: Types of Compositions in the Talmud of Babylonia'' (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992). * Aviram Ravitzky, ''Aristotelian Logic and Talmudic Methodology'' (Hebrew): Jerusalem 2009, * Andrew Schumann, ''Talmudic Logic'': (London: College Publications 2012), * Strack, Herman L. and Stemberger, Günter, ''Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash'', tr. Markus Bockmuehl: repr. 1992, hardback , paperback On individual tractates * Moshe Benovitz, Berakhot chapter 1: ''Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud'' (Hebrew, with English summary) * Stephen Wald, Shabbat chapter 7: ''Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud'' (Hebrew, with English summary) * Aviad Stollman, Eruvin chapter 10: ''Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud'' (Hebrew, with English summary) * Aaron Amit, Pesachim chapter 4: ''Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud'' (Hebrew, with English summary) * Netanel Baadani, Sanhedrin chapter 5: ''Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud'' (Hebrew, with English summary) * Moshe Benovitz, Sukkah chapters 4–5: ''Iggud le-Farshanut ha-Talmud'' (Hebrew, with English summary) Historical study * Shalom Carmy (ed.) ''Modern Scholarship in the Study of Torah: Contributions and Limitations'' Jason Aronson, Inc. * Richard Kalmin ''Sages, Stories, Authors and Editors in Rabbinic Babylonia'' Brown Judaic Studies * David C. Kraemer, ''On the Reliability of Attributions in the Babylonian Talmud,'' Hebrew Union College Annual 60 (1989), pp. 175–90 * Lee Levine, ''Ma'amad ha-Hakhamim be-Eretz Yisrael'' (Jerusalem: Yad Yizhak Ben-Zvi, 1985), (=The Rabbinic Class of Roman Palestine in Late Antiquity) * Saul Lieberman, ''Hellenism in Jewish Palestine'' (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary, 1950) * John W. McGinley, The Written' as the Vocation of Conceiving Jewishly''. * David Bigman
Finding A Home for Critical Talmud Study

Full text resources

Talmud and English translation, from the Steinsaltz edition

Talmud Bavli (Soncino translation)
(English). The Soncino Press translation of the Talmud Bavli in

Portable Document Format Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating syste ...

. No index volume and n
minor-tractates

(Hebrew)

(Hebrew)

(Hebrew)

(Hebrew)
Full searchable Talmud on Snunit
(Hebrew)

See above, under #Talmud Bavli.
E-Daf
Images of each page of the Babylonian Talmud
Tractate Megillah
.pdf download showing Yemenite vocalization
Shas.org Daf Viewer
(Hebrew)

External links

Sefaria.org

Jewish Encyclopedia: Talmud

Jewish History: Talmud
, aish.com

jewishvirtuallibrary.org
Jewish Law Research Guide

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

Law Library
A survey of rabbinic literature
by Ohr Somayach
Introduction to the Talmud
by M. Taub
Talmud translation, 13th–14th century
at E-codices {{Authority control Ancient Hebrew texts Mishnah Oral Torah Rabbinic literature Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law Sifrei Kodesh Jewish texts in Aramaic Censored books Judaism-related controversies

Etymology

The Two Talmuds

Jerusalem Talmud

Babylonian Talmud

Comparison

Structure

Mishnah

Gemara

Baraita

Minor tractates

Language

Manuscripts

Dating

Premodern estimates

Modern estimates

In Jewish scholarship

Legal interpretation

Commentaries

Pilpul

Sephardic approaches

Brisker method

Textual criticism

Medieval era

Early modern era

Contemporary scholarship

Translations

Steinsaltz

Artscroll

Soncino

Other English translations

Translations into other languages

Index

Editions

Bomberg Talmud 1523

Froben Talmud 1578

Benveniste Talmud 1645

Slavita Talmud 1795 and Vilna Talmud 1835

Critical editions

Editions for a wider audience

Incomplete sets from prior centuries

Other notable editions

In visual arts

In Carl Schleicher's paintings

Jewish art and photography

Reception outside of Judaism

Christianity

South Korea

Iran

Criticism

Middle Ages

19th century and after

Contemporary accusations

See also

References

Notes

Citations

Works cited

Logic and methodology

Modern scholarly works

Full text resources

External links