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Koren Talmud Bavli Noé Edition #1
Koren Talmud Bavli - Berakhot
The Koren Talmud Bavli is a groundbreaking edition of the Talmud that fuses the innovative design of Koren Publishers Jerusalem with the incomparable scholarship of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. The Koren Talmud Bavli Standard Edition is a full-size, full-color edition that presents an enhanced Vilna page, a side-by-side English translation, photographs and illustrations, a brilliant commentary, and a multitude of learning aids to help the beginning and advanced student alike actively participate in the dynamic process of Talmud study.
568 pages, Hardcover
First published May 15, 2012
22 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz
337 books62 followersRabbi Adin Steinsaltz (Hebrew: עדין שטיינזלץ) or Adin Even Yisrael (Hebrew: עדין אבן ישראל) is internationally regarded as one of the leading rabbis of this century. The author of many books, he is best known for his monumental translation of and commentary on the Talmud. Rabbi Steinsaltz founded the Israel Institute for Talmudic Publications. Under its aegis, he has published to date 58 books on the Talmud, Jewish mysticism, religious thought, sociology, historical biography, and philosophy. He teaches at Mayanot in Jerusalem. In 1988, he was awarded the Israel Prize, Israel's highest honor. He has received honorary Ph.D. degrees from Yeshiva University, Bar Ilan University, and Ben Gurion University.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 3, 2012
Note: my Hebrew/Aramaic is nowhere near good enough to review the quality of the translation. This review is only about the experience of going over the translation.
A very easy to use, easy to follow translation. Steinsaltz excels at making the text flow, filling his commentary in as if part of the text so that it elucidates in a flowing way as you read (although there are plentiful useful footnotes as well). However, it's still easy to separate out the direct translation from his commentary since the text is bold and the commentary is not. Steinsaltz is quite good at emphasizing points and repeating the text when it helps with comprehension; it is very rare that I feel the need to go back a paragraph or two to reorient myself in the context and remind myself of minor details.
A few minor complaints. I came across several (3 or 4) minor typos, mainly missing articles and the like. Also, it would have been nice if the Vilna Shas pages had been aligned on the opposite page from the English text, rather than in a separate section in the back, a la Artscroll. Finally, he does a good job breaking the text into smaller, manageable paragraphs that he aligns the original Mishnah and Gemara next to in the margin, but it would have been helpful if it was slightly finer grained, as it is occasionally difficult to align the literal translation with the precise matching words in the original Hebrew/Aramaic.
I have to say, though, that these are real nitpicks and have had virtually no effect on my experience.
To top it off, it's a beautifully rendered and printed translation. The text is sharp, the colors pop, and it just looks and feels fantastic.
If you're looking for a good Talmud experience in English, I highly recommend this. I've had relatively little experience with the Artscroll edition, in my brief time with it, I have a strong preference for the Koren edition because of the flow of the text. It's definitely worth checking out both in person, though!
A very easy to use, easy to follow translation. Steinsaltz excels at making the text flow, filling his commentary in as if part of the text so that it elucidates in a flowing way as you read (although there are plentiful useful footnotes as well). However, it's still easy to separate out the direct translation from his commentary since the text is bold and the commentary is not. Steinsaltz is quite good at emphasizing points and repeating the text when it helps with comprehension; it is very rare that I feel the need to go back a paragraph or two to reorient myself in the context and remind myself of minor details.
A few minor complaints. I came across several (3 or 4) minor typos, mainly missing articles and the like. Also, it would have been nice if the Vilna Shas pages had been aligned on the opposite page from the English text, rather than in a separate section in the back, a la Artscroll. Finally, he does a good job breaking the text into smaller, manageable paragraphs that he aligns the original Mishnah and Gemara next to in the margin, but it would have been helpful if it was slightly finer grained, as it is occasionally difficult to align the literal translation with the precise matching words in the original Hebrew/Aramaic.
I have to say, though, that these are real nitpicks and have had virtually no effect on my experience.
To top it off, it's a beautifully rendered and printed translation. The text is sharp, the colors pop, and it just looks and feels fantastic.
If you're looking for a good Talmud experience in English, I highly recommend this. I've had relatively little experience with the Artscroll edition, in my brief time with it, I have a strong preference for the Koren edition because of the flow of the text. It's definitely worth checking out both in person, though!
March 15, 2020
Great start to this cycle of Daf Yomi. The writing is clear, notes are terrific. I bought the pdf for $20 and learned on my iPad doting the week (Artscroll print version on Shabbat). A good introduction to Talmud.
July 25, 2021
Selections read:
1) Avodah Zarah 16b:15-17a:5. . . A student of Jesus makes a comment on prostitutes and bathrooms.
2) ibid 27b:2-11. . . It's better to die of a snake bite than to be healed by a heretic (disciple of Jesus).
3) Gittin 57b:18-57a:4. . . Jesus is alternately boiled in semen and excrement.
4) Sanhedrin 43a:11-21. . . Jesus is stoned then hanged; and 43a:22-26. . . Jesus' five disciples are also executed.
5) ibid 103a:12-14. . . Jesus "overcooks his food in public"* and is an exemplar of evil.
6) ibid 107b:5-11. . . Jesus is "pushed away. . .with his two hands" by his teacher; and 107b:12-26. . . Jesus goes with his teacher to "Alexandria of Egypt" and upon their return trip, at an inn, Jesus is ostracized for a joke? about the innkeeper’s wife. Then Jesus mistakenly believes that he is unforgiven and starts his schism.
7) Sotah 43a:5-6. . . A repetition of the ostracism above.
8) ibid 47a:12-16. . . id. supra
*Jesus overcooks his food in public i.e. cooked his food to the point of fitness for consumption. If one were to sacrifice one's food to God (the priests) one would leave it undercooked†. That way the priests could simultaneously reheat (sterilize) and finish cooking it. So any food made visible should be undercooked so it was acceptable as a sacrifice. While those who displayed there food fully cooked intended to eat it themselves and were insulting the priests and therefore were heretics‡. . . In other words Jesus realized that the priests were hypocritical parasites and was impolitic enough to not keep it under his hat (tubinate sudarium).
†Parboiling, par-roasting and par-baking food was a way of preserving it. Nomadic people would and still do par-cook their food when setting off and finish cooking it upon arrival. This explains why people who ate raw food were considered savages and pork was anathematized. For if pork's cooking isn't properly completed, trichinosis is almost inevitable.
‡Can one insult a priest without being a heretic? Or can one be a heretic without insulting a priest? Conversely, does any atrocity automatically qualify as a heresy? Ergo, heresy is simply that which undermines priestly authority.
1) Avodah Zarah 16b:15-17a:5. . . A student of Jesus makes a comment on prostitutes and bathrooms.
2) ibid 27b:2-11. . . It's better to die of a snake bite than to be healed by a heretic (disciple of Jesus).
3) Gittin 57b:18-57a:4. . . Jesus is alternately boiled in semen and excrement.
4) Sanhedrin 43a:11-21. . . Jesus is stoned then hanged; and 43a:22-26. . . Jesus' five disciples are also executed.
5) ibid 103a:12-14. . . Jesus "overcooks his food in public"* and is an exemplar of evil.
6) ibid 107b:5-11. . . Jesus is "pushed away. . .with his two hands" by his teacher; and 107b:12-26. . . Jesus goes with his teacher to "Alexandria of Egypt" and upon their return trip, at an inn, Jesus is ostracized for a joke? about the innkeeper’s wife. Then Jesus mistakenly believes that he is unforgiven and starts his schism.
7) Sotah 43a:5-6. . . A repetition of the ostracism above.
8) ibid 47a:12-16. . . id. supra
*Jesus overcooks his food in public i.e. cooked his food to the point of fitness for consumption. If one were to sacrifice one's food to God (the priests) one would leave it undercooked†. That way the priests could simultaneously reheat (sterilize) and finish cooking it. So any food made visible should be undercooked so it was acceptable as a sacrifice. While those who displayed there food fully cooked intended to eat it themselves and were insulting the priests and therefore were heretics‡. . . In other words Jesus realized that the priests were hypocritical parasites and was impolitic enough to not keep it under his hat (tubinate sudarium).
†Parboiling, par-roasting and par-baking food was a way of preserving it. Nomadic people would and still do par-cook their food when setting off and finish cooking it upon arrival. This explains why people who ate raw food were considered savages and pork was anathematized. For if pork's cooking isn't properly completed, trichinosis is almost inevitable.
‡Can one insult a priest without being a heretic? Or can one be a heretic without insulting a priest? Conversely, does any atrocity automatically qualify as a heresy? Ergo, heresy is simply that which undermines priestly authority.
April 18, 2021
I am pretty darned impressed with myself and my Talmud study group: We have finished the first tractate of the Talmud! We read "daf shevui" -- one page a week -- and it's taken us 15 months to read Berakhot, but we did it! It's been a marvelous experience.
Jewish tradition is that, when you finish a tractate, you say a special prayer, Hadran. It begins: "We shall return to you, tractate Berakhot, and your glory is upon us. Our thoughts are upon you, tractate Berakhot, and your thoughts are upon us. We will not be forgotten from you, tractate Berakhot, and you will not be forgotten from us; neither in this world, nor in the World-to-Come." Isn't that lovely? I love the personification and the statement that we now have a relationship of mutual respect and affection with this tractate. I also love the implication that we are part of a long tradition of readers who are, in effect, changing the tractate. Berakhot, despite being well over a thousand years old, is different than it was in December 2019 because my group hadn't started reading it yet; now that we've read it, the tractate has new memories and is therefore somehow changed because we read it, just as we are changed by our reading.
In terms of this Koren Noé edition, I will say that it was very accommodating for a bunch of Talmudic beginners. Our rabbi joined us for the first few weeks, to get us started, but otherwise we relied on the extensive and very helpful notes.
Jewish tradition is that, when you finish a tractate, you say a special prayer, Hadran. It begins: "We shall return to you, tractate Berakhot, and your glory is upon us. Our thoughts are upon you, tractate Berakhot, and your thoughts are upon us. We will not be forgotten from you, tractate Berakhot, and you will not be forgotten from us; neither in this world, nor in the World-to-Come." Isn't that lovely? I love the personification and the statement that we now have a relationship of mutual respect and affection with this tractate. I also love the implication that we are part of a long tradition of readers who are, in effect, changing the tractate. Berakhot, despite being well over a thousand years old, is different than it was in December 2019 because my group hadn't started reading it yet; now that we've read it, the tractate has new memories and is therefore somehow changed because we read it, just as we are changed by our reading.
In terms of this Koren Noé edition, I will say that it was very accommodating for a bunch of Talmudic beginners. Our rabbi joined us for the first few weeks, to get us started, but otherwise we relied on the extensive and very helpful notes.
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August 7, 2020I'm not going to give stars to the talmud, because that would be weird. What I will say is that I switched to the Koren Noe edition for Daf Yomi about a dozen dapim in and I'm glad I did -- the commentary provides a lot of necessary context. R'Steinsaltz' (z''l) translations are thoughtful and extremely helpful. I did read this primarily in the aramaic, and although my language skills mostly held up the original text is elliptic and full of unclear allusions, and I was very grateful for the side-by-side translation.
July 11, 2020
This is a wonderful edition of the Talmud, with Hebrew and English, modern and Vilna pages, clear and helpful translation, and wonderful notes.
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August 4, 2023It's the Talmud! This is a beautiful edition with lots of helpful explanations. I do not feel comfy giving a star rating to a religious text.
February 6, 2013
Like Artscroll's Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud, Koren's new English-language translation of the Talmud Bavli with commentary by Adin Steinsaltz provides a great resource for English readers who don't yet have a great command of Hebrew and Aramaic.
While Steinsaltz commentary is not as thorough as that provided in the Artscroll edition, it is still more than sufficiently informative, providing helpful cross-references, background information on arguments, concepts, and personalities behind the Talmud Bavli.
Unlike the Artscroll edition, Koren's Steinsaltz edition places the classic Vilna pages (with vowel-pointing on the central text and on Rashi's commentary) at one end of the book, and the English translation with parallel Hebrew and Aramaic text at the other end of the book, nearly cutting in half the number of actual pages needed to present both the Vilna text and translation (Artscroll's Tractate Berachot, for example, takes up two volumes each of which is roughly the same size as the single-volume edition by Koren).
The English translation, as in the Artscroll edition, provides a literal translation (in bold type) that is expanded and elucidated upon (in normal type). The Koren edition doesn't make as judicious use of typeface to distinguish between texts originating in the Mishnah and Gemara, but all such instances are clearly signalled in the elucidation of the translation.
Koren's Steinsaltz edition of the Talmud unquestionably replaces the Artscroll Talmud as the best resource available for the non-Yeshiva-trained individual who wishes to gain some familiarity with this great work.
While Steinsaltz commentary is not as thorough as that provided in the Artscroll edition, it is still more than sufficiently informative, providing helpful cross-references, background information on arguments, concepts, and personalities behind the Talmud Bavli.
Unlike the Artscroll edition, Koren's Steinsaltz edition places the classic Vilna pages (with vowel-pointing on the central text and on Rashi's commentary) at one end of the book, and the English translation with parallel Hebrew and Aramaic text at the other end of the book, nearly cutting in half the number of actual pages needed to present both the Vilna text and translation (Artscroll's Tractate Berachot, for example, takes up two volumes each of which is roughly the same size as the single-volume edition by Koren).
The English translation, as in the Artscroll edition, provides a literal translation (in bold type) that is expanded and elucidated upon (in normal type). The Koren edition doesn't make as judicious use of typeface to distinguish between texts originating in the Mishnah and Gemara, but all such instances are clearly signalled in the elucidation of the translation.
Koren's Steinsaltz edition of the Talmud unquestionably replaces the Artscroll Talmud as the best resource available for the non-Yeshiva-trained individual who wishes to gain some familiarity with this great work.
July 25, 2015
Since this is my first reading of the Talmud, I can't compare it to other editions; but my Talmud teacher Joel Grishaver says although this new publication with notes by Rabbi Steinsaltz is easier to read and is beautifully illustrated, the Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud has more commentary by post Talmud Rabbis (e.g. Rashi).
April 29, 2021
I really liked the format of this book. It's fascinating in some parts and boring in others, but it also helped my Hebrew.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews