The Talmud: What it is and what it Says

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Rowman & Littlefield, 2006 - 166 pages
Wherever Jews have settled and whatever languages they spoke, they created a community with a single set of common values. One law, one theology defined the community throughout their many migrations. A single book explains how this came about--the Talmud. By re-framing the Torah through sustained argument and analysis, the Talmud encourages the reader to actively apply reason and practice logic. Renowned scholar Jacob Neusner introduces readers to the Talmud, defining it, explaining its historical context, and illustrating why it remains relevant today. Neusner's The Talmud: What It Is and What It Says invites readers to engage with the text, and emphasizes that the Talmud will continue to be an important cultural guidebook for Jewish life through the next millennium.

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Contents

THE WORLD IN WHICH THE TALMUD CAME INTO BEING
CHAPTER 2 WHAT IS THE MISHNAH?
17
CHAPTER 3 WHAT IS THE GEMARA?
43
CHAPTER 4 THE TWO TALMUDS
69
CHAPTER 5 HOW IS THE TALMUD PART OF THE TORAH?
97
CHAPTER 6 HOW IS THE SAGE PART OF THE TORAH?
117
CHAPTER 7 HOW DOES THE TALMUD PRESENT GOD?
131
GLOSSARY
153
SOURCES OF THE RABBINIC TEXTS
155
INDEX
157
Copyright

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About the author (2006)

Jacob Neusner is Research Professor of Theology and Senior Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College. He is also a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, and Life Member of Clare Hall at Cambridge University, England. He has published numerous books with University Press of America on Jewish studies, particularly Rabbinic Judaism.

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