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The Essential Talmud Paperback – Deluxe Edition, 12 September 2006
by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (221)
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."
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Preface to The Essential Talmud
part one HISTORY
I What Is the Talmud?
2 Life in the Talmudic Period
3 The Oral Law-The First Generations
4 The Oral Law-The Era of the Zugot (Pairs)
5 The Tannaim
6 The Compilation of the Mishnah
7 The Amoraim in Babylonia
8 The Amoraim in Palestine
9 The Redaction of the Babylonian Talmud
Talmudic Exegesis 10
II The Printing of the Talmud
12 The Persecution and Banning of the Talmud
part two STRUCTURE AND CONTENT
13 The Structure of the Talmud
14 The Layout of a Talmud page
15 The Subject Matter of the Talmud.
16 Prayers and Benedictions
17 The Sabbath
18 The Festivals
19 Marriage and Divorce
20 The Status of Women
21 Civil Law
22 Criminal Law
23 Sacrifices
24 Dietary Laws
25 Ritual Purity and Impurity
26 Ethics and Halakhah
27 Derekh Eretz (Deportment)
28 The World of Mysticism
part three METHOD
29 Midrash (Halakhic Exegesis)
30 The Talmudic Way of Thinking
31 Strange and Bizarre Problems
32 Methods of Study
33 The Talmud and the Halakhah
34 Aggadah in the Talmud
35 What Is a Scholar?
36 The Talmud's Importance for the People
37 The Talmud Has Never Been Completed
Appendix: Orders and Tractates of the Mishnah and Talmud Index
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Print length
336 pages
Language
Engli
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Product description
Review
"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
From the Publisher
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is internationally regarded as one of the leading scholars and rabbis of this century. His education includes a degree in mathematics from Hebrew University, in addition to his rabbinic studies. Rabbi Steinsaltz founded the Israel Institute for Talmudic Publications under its aegis, he has published fifty-eight books on the Talmud, Jewish mysticism, religious thought, sociology, historical biography, and philosophy. His biography of the famed Rabbi Menachem Schneerson will be published in 2007. These books have been translated into Russian, English, French, Portuguese, Swedish, Japanese, and Dutch. He lives in Jerusalem.
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.
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.
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Product details
Publisher : Basic Books
Publication date : 12 September 2006
Edition : -30th Anniversary ed.
Language : English
Print length : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 0465082734
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From other countries
Peter Shir
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction
Reviewed in the United States on 30 June 2010
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
I love the way Rabbi Steinsaltz walks his reader through the pages of such rich history, such beautiful lore and meaningful tradition and makes it all living. I highly recommend the book for beginners who approach the topic of Rabbinic literature and related studies. Those who know Rabbinic literature and history already might be bored a bit. The book gets to be a bit philosophical but not too scholarly. It is fairly easy to understand and really should be read in one gulp. This way the information scattered in all the chapters would make sense. My only disappointment with the book, though the material is excellent, there are not sources listed, there are no detailed bibliographies. It is as if Rabbi Steinsaltz just wrote it all from memory one afternoon. May be it is just me but I crave sources and bibliographies on the information that interests me so much.
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Anthony Levine
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 October 2020
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Great learning book about the Talmud.
Excellent read for all religions who want to understand the history and contents
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N.R.
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in Canada on 9 March 2018
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
excellent book.
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Occasionalist
5.0 out of 5 stars An authority
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 November 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This one is by one of the authorities on the Talmud, who makes a complex and complicated subject accessible to the general audience. Highly recommended.
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JDC
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Overview of the Talmud
Reviewed in the United States on 4 July 2021
Verified Purchase
Steinsaltz clearly explains what the Talmud is and how it works. Those expecting a summary of Talmudic teachings will be disappointed however since that is not here. Rather the book is an overview of how the Talmud was created, the reasoning embodied in it, its place in understanding Judaism, and methods of interpreting it. It is an excellent introduction to those interested in having some knowledge about the Talmud and for those wishing to go further. The author writes well and wears his erudition lightly.
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Smapti
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating for anyone who's ever wanted to learn about the Talmud
Reviewed in the United States on 8 June 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
A comprehensive, thorough, easy to understand read for anyone who's ever wanted to learn about the foundational text of modern Judaism. Steinsaltz has clearly done his homework and discusses not only the content of the Talmud, breaking down the topics of the various tractates and their conclusions, but goes into great detail about the history of its composition and the major commentaries, the history of the society that produced it, the lives of the sages, the philosophical methods underlying it, and the history of its publication and study.
The book assumes the reader is already well-amiliar with Judaism, but it's written in a way that observant Jews, non-religious Jews, and Gentiles alike can understand. There are a few minor translation errors and typos and some small bits of untranslated Hebrew, which is the only reason I'm giving this four stars instead of five. All in all it's an excellent summary for anyone dipping their toe into the wider world of Jewish philosophy.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 November 2018
Verified Purchase
Fascinating and insightful reading to expand your knowledge and understanding of Talmud
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Stefan
4.0 out of 5 stars High information density
Reviewed in Germany on 29 October 2020
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
A bit too demanding for a goy. High information density. Got a lot of inside but needed additional googling and had to draw my own glossary, tables and lists to get a clear and systematic overview. To fully appreciate this book you need to be a scholar or need to invest plenty of time. (Maybe I mistook ‚essential‘ with ‚for dummies‘)
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Comment Update:
Five years ago I wrote the text above. In the meantime I have been reading more books about Judaism. Currently I am re-reading this book again and now, equipped with more knowledge, I can appreciate it and begin to understand why Adin Steinsaltz is praised so highly by so many.
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Lou
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2015
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I've read this book 3 times, something I never do, learn so much new each time, so will continue to read again and again.
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Tom Holeman
5.0 out of 5 stars Textbook for Undergrad Theology at Oral Roberts University
Reviewed in the United States on 15 March 2007
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This book will be used at Oral Roberts University for the summer school class titled "Intro to Jewish Literature" which will be a springboard class for the new graduate degree in Biblical Literature with emphasis on Judeo-Christian Studies. Excellent beginners book on how to read the Talmud, its History, and how it should be read. For those not enrolling in classes, this would be an excellent resource for your private library, or purchase a copy for your public library and share the knowledge.
Prof. Cheryle Holeman
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