Jeremy Rosen
What is the Talmud?
Summary
Jeremy Rosen discusses the Talmud, a fundamental text in Jewish culture encompassing Jewish law, Midrash (interpretation of biblical texts), and Aggadah (folklore and various teachings). He discusses how it represents a complex blend of history, politics, religious commandments, and how it has influenced Jewish thought and scholarship for centuries.
Jeremy Rosen
Manchester-born Jeremy Rosen was educated at Cambridge University England and Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He has practiced as an orthodox rabbi, as principal of Carmel College in the UK, and as professor at the Faculty for Comparative Religion in Antwerp, Belgium. He has written and lectured extensively in the UK and the US, where he now resides and was the rabbi of the Persian-Jewish community in Manhattan.
There is some debate about scholarship about the Talmud, whether it’s between 500 and 600 of the Common Era. But, it was already clearly universally accepted by all communities by about 800, because we already know from the Babylonian communities that there are references to the Talmud at that stage.
The ongoing commentaries. The second half of this book is filled with the first generation of commentaries known as the Rishonim, the first masters after the Talmud. Then there are other books by what called the Acharonim, the later masters, those from the 15th century, 16th century and onwards. And then there are those produced now.