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The Essential Talmud: An Introduction
- Narrated by: Shlomo Zacks
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
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Publisher's Summary
The Essential Talmud is a masterful introduction by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz to the great repository of Jewish wisdom, the Talmud. A book of profound scholarship and concise pedagogy, The Essential Talmud succinctly describes the Talmud's history, structure, and methodology. It summarizes the Talmud's main principles, demonstrates its contemporary relevance, and captures the spirit of this unique and paradoxical sacred text as a human expression of divine law.
What listeners say about The Essential Talmud: An Introduction
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Elliot
- 11-16-19
Incomparable work by a true Scholar
Adin Steinsaltz is a treasure. This volume is a concise history of the Talmud, it’s authors and methodologies. Only the great Steinsaltz can do this important subject justice, as he is the one who translated the entire monumental Talmud into English. With erudition and scholarly insight, he methodically takes you through the basics of the Talmud, a compelational heritage of the Jewish people that is inaccessible to most.
As always, Shlomo Zacks does a superb job narrating the material that he is clearly familiar with.
This book is for those who want to understand Jewish history and culture from the time of the second temple to current times. It should be mandatory reading for any student of the Talmud. I would have gained greatly had I read this book prior to my many years of Talmud study.
5 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-02-18
very informative. reads more like a textbook.
it reads more like a textbook so its a bit dry. But it is packed with amazing material and insights into the talmud.
3 people found this helpful
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- Jan D. Leslie
- 03-05-19
Very informative
probably better suited to someone with a stronger background in Judaism. Was still very interesting and informative.
2 people found this helpful
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- g
- 06-14-22
Good summary
A good summary with some memorable stories. It covers many topics of the Talmud as well as its history.
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- Nico Vela
- 12-28-20
A good introduction
A good introduction to the Talmud, including its history, how it is formatted, and some examples of what is discussed within the Talmud. A great book!
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- Sandy McMahon
- 09-20-18
Excellent Overview of the Talmud
An excellent overview of the Talmud. Including its purpose, history, structure, and a concise summary of the main topics covered in the Talmud.
It is not a substitute for the full Talmud, but presents a framework for those interested in the study of the larger work.
2 people found this helpful
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- Michael
- 12-02-18
I didn't know what to expect
This book is a scholarly historical explanation of what the Talmud is and how it shaped the Jews through the years.
Shlomo did a great job reading. this was informative but a bit dry at times.
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- Max Zachs
- 06-14-22
Mistakes in recording.
There are several mistakes in the recording, where the narration suddenly stops and picks up in a different place.