A Beginner's Guide to the Steinsaltz Talmud

by Judith Z. Abrams

In A Beginner's Guide to The Steinsaltz Talmud , Rabbi Judith Z. Abrams selects a fascinating and provocative section from the Talmud and helps students to reap the vast rewards that can be achieved when one encounters Rabbi Steinsaltz's historic, ground-breaking work.
With the publication of The The Steinsaltz Edition , it is now possible for the modern reader to study Judaism's great compendium of Jewish law and legend for the first time. The The Steinsaltz Edition is more than just a translation. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz becomes our personal instructor, guiding us through the intricate paths of talmudic logic and thought.

Genres: Judaica

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something of a sequel to Steinsaltz's "The Essential Talmud", further providing the reader with the tools and knowledge necessary to successfully read/study the Talmud on their own. I complained that that book didn't include enough examples, this book is the opposite. It goes through the process of reading and interpreting several pages of Talmud to provide the reader with a tangible experience.

It focuses on one of the puzzling and most famous stories in the Talmud, in which one of the sages disagrees with his colleagues on the circumstances in which clay vessels and ovens should be considered impure. Although seemingly minor and esoteric, the rift escalated, and the dissenter ends up appealing to heaven to intercede on his behalf. Amazingly, God does respond and confirms that he is correct. But since he was overruled by his peers, this divine intervention is considered irrelevant, and the rabbi gets excommunicated for his efforts.

In order to unpack all of that, we start with the purity laws that was under discussion, delve into the underlying and associated biblical references, then move on to the Talmudic accounts and later commentary, with modern notes to help explain what's going on at each stage.

[Seth Rogovoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific guide to beginning study of the Talmud using the Steinsaltz edition. The next-best thing to having a teacher, and Abrams is a wonderful teacher.