The Essential Talmud - by Adin Steinsaltz (Paperback)

About the Book

This expanded version of the classic text on Jewish theology--by the scholar "Newsweek" called "a genius of the highest order"--demonstrates the contemporary relevance of this proud legacy of the Jewish people

Book Synopsis

A masterful introduction to the to the great repository of Jewish wisdom, the Talmud

In The Essential Talmud, the renowned Israeli scholar and teacher Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz succinctly describes the history, structure, and methodology of the sacred text by which the Jewish people have lived and survived through the ages. Rabbi Steinsaltz summarizes the Talmud's main principles, demonstrates its contemporary relevance, and captures the spirit of this unique and paradoxical text as a human expression of divine law. This expanded edition features a historical overview of life in the times of the Talmud and an in-depth look at the content and appearance of the original Talmudic page. As Rabbi Solomon S. Bernards of the B'Nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League puts it, "this book is indispensable to those, Jews and Christians alike, who would like to gain an insight into what it is that moves the contemporary Jew."

From the Back Cover

The Talmud is a repository of thousands of years of Jewish wisdom. Its two-and-a-half million words consist of a conglomeration of law, legend, and philosophy, a blend of unique logic, shrewd pragmatism, history, science, anecdotes, and humor. In The Essential Talmud, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, regarded as one of the leading rabbis of the century, offers an introduction to this sacred Jewish text, clearly and brilliantly describing the beliefs, attitudes, and methods that have occupied students of the Talmud for centuries. If the Bible is the cornerstone of Judaism", writes Rabbi Steinsaltz, "then the Talmud is the central pillar, soaring up from the foundations and supporting the entire spiritual and intellectual edifice". The Talmud, though in many ways the most important book in Jewish culture, is a work with which most Jews are almost entirely unfamiliar. Rabbi Steinsaltz, whose life's work includes his efforts to revive the study of the Talmud among the Jewish people, observes that "a Jewish society that ceases to study the Talmud has no real hope of survival". Describing the Talmud as "the backbone of creativity and national life" for Jews, Rabbi Steinsaltz explains that "understanding the Talmud gives one a key, not only for itself, but for all Jewish culture". He goes on to state that "from a cultural perspective the Talmud is the tool for self-understanding" for the Jewish people. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz has a remarkable encyclopedic knowledge of Torah, Halakhah (Jewish law), and. Kabbalah (Jewish mystical thought), as well as a mastery of the sciences. He has earned worldwide recognition as a scholar, teacher, and mentor. The Essential Talmud, like several other works by RabbiSteinsaltz, has become a modern Jewish classic. His own Talmud translation and commentary, a project that Rabbi Steinsaltz began in 1967, has received extraordinary praise, and tens of thousands of volumes of his Talmud edition are circulating. The Essential Talmud is a superb window through which we can gain a glimpse, and more, of perhaps the most unique sacred work in the history of religion. In a single brief volume, Rabbi Steinsaltz succeeds in capturing the flavor and spirit of the Talmud as a human document and at the same time summarizes its main principles as an expression of divine law. A work of profound scholarship and yet also of concise, simple, and brilliant pedagogy, The Essential Talmud will make equally enlightening reading for those who are already versed in the subject and those who come to it for the first time.

Review Quotes

"Offers a fascinating introduction to the codified oral tradition."--Christianity Today

"Rabbi Steinsaltz not only organizes and clarifies a vast amount of highly complex material, but manages to suggest the magnetism of the Talmudic commitment through the centuries...[a] worthwhile introduction to the character and genius of the Talmud for non-Jews and a refresher course for Jews who wish an uncluttered layman's view."--Kirkus Reviews

"Steinsaltz is a consummate master of the subject...extremely helpful."--Commentary

About the Author

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, hailed by Time as a "once-in-a-millennium scholar," is internationally regarded as a leading scholar and rabbi. He founded the Israel Institute for Talmudic Publications, and has written many books on subjects including the Talmud, Jewish mysticism, religious thought, sociology, historical biography, and philosophy. His published works have been translated into Russian, English, French, Portuguese, Swedish, Japanese, and Dutch. He lives in Jerusalem.