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Invitation to the Talmud: A Teaching Book
This book invites the reader to try to get in the Talmud. Nowadays, people are scarcely able to try. They do not know how to begin or where--or why. Getting into the Talmud is no easy matter, even for those Jews who are ardent to recover for themselves what their ancestors once knew. This invitation is to join a community of learning men and women, for Talmudic learning is collective. You do not "read" the Talmud, you "learn" it, preferably with a haver, or a fellow student, and always with a rabbi. Here, Neusner shall be your rabbi.
359 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
6 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Jacob Neusner
1,201 books55 followersBorn in Hartford, Connecticut, Neusner was educated at Harvard University, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (where he received rabbinic ordination), the University of Oxford, and Columbia University.
Neusner is often celebrated as one of the most published authors in history (he has written or edited more than 950 books.)Since 1994, he taught at Bard College. He also taught at Columbia University, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Brandeis University, Dartmouth College, Brown University, and the University of South Florida.
Neusner was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and a life member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University. He is the only scholar to have served on both the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. He also received scores of academic awards, honorific and otherwise.
Neusner is often celebrated as one of the most published authors in history (he has written or edited more than 950 books.)Since 1994, he taught at Bard College. He also taught at Columbia University, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Brandeis University, Dartmouth College, Brown University, and the University of South Florida.
Neusner was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and a life member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University. He is the only scholar to have served on both the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. He also received scores of academic awards, honorific and otherwise.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 29, 2016
This book was recommended as an introduction in a chapter of Back to the Sources, a fantastic collection.
If you want to decide whether or not to accept Neusner's invitation to study the Talmud, ask yourself if you are interested in reading about 300 pages in small font about a single passage from the Mishnah its subsequent discussion: when to wash hands in connection to a meal, and when to light candles after Shabbat. To put it in Neusner's words: "All reality comes under the discipline of the critical intellect, all is capable of sanctification." (p. 274) The book will give you a good impression of what this emphasis on a holistic approach means in practice.
I am thankful for Neusner's approach to choose a narrow and specific topic to illustrate how the Talmud works. This allows him to walk his readers through the discussion in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and both the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmud. Having written an incredible amount of books (over 900 distinct works), the author is more concerned about the content than the form. You won't find beautiful prose, but straight-forward, lecture-like wording, which can be long and dry.
As an introduction, I do have my issues with the book. On the one hand, Neusner intercepts excerpts from the Talmud often to comment the flow of discussion or point to its logic. He goes to great lengths to make sure you follow the argument and can partake in the discussion, so to speak. On the other hand, for someone who never ever read something from the Talmud, the level of detail can be overwhelming and frustrating.
I recommend reading first an easy and crispy introduction on what the Talmud is in general, and only then skim through parts of this book. Now I can imagine why studying the Talmud is so much more rewarding and insightful if you can do it in person and with another person sitting next to you. And why Talmidim stick to talking, rather than reading -- it is not without reason we refer to the Talmud as Oral Torah.
If you want to decide whether or not to accept Neusner's invitation to study the Talmud, ask yourself if you are interested in reading about 300 pages in small font about a single passage from the Mishnah its subsequent discussion: when to wash hands in connection to a meal, and when to light candles after Shabbat. To put it in Neusner's words: "All reality comes under the discipline of the critical intellect, all is capable of sanctification." (p. 274) The book will give you a good impression of what this emphasis on a holistic approach means in practice.
I am thankful for Neusner's approach to choose a narrow and specific topic to illustrate how the Talmud works. This allows him to walk his readers through the discussion in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and both the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmud. Having written an incredible amount of books (over 900 distinct works), the author is more concerned about the content than the form. You won't find beautiful prose, but straight-forward, lecture-like wording, which can be long and dry.
As an introduction, I do have my issues with the book. On the one hand, Neusner intercepts excerpts from the Talmud often to comment the flow of discussion or point to its logic. He goes to great lengths to make sure you follow the argument and can partake in the discussion, so to speak. On the other hand, for someone who never ever read something from the Talmud, the level of detail can be overwhelming and frustrating.
I recommend reading first an easy and crispy introduction on what the Talmud is in general, and only then skim through parts of this book. Now I can imagine why studying the Talmud is so much more rewarding and insightful if you can do it in person and with another person sitting next to you. And why Talmidim stick to talking, rather than reading -- it is not without reason we refer to the Talmud as Oral Torah.
November 8, 2019
An excellent resource for those looking to begin to wrap their minds around Talmud. Be forewarned, you do get into pages of the nitty gritty, but that is part of it. While you may feel like you slog through those parts, Neusner’s insight and explanations are worth it for the whole thing.
December 2, 2018
The book was well-written and well-researched, but it was not my cup of tea. I really skimmed it rather than read it.
February 9, 2016
This book sat forgotten on my shelves for years until I finally started reading it cover to cover late last year. Little lost in the waiting. While I greatly appreciate the author's obvious passion for and ability to intepret the Talmud, as well as his explanatory comments interspersed throughout the book, this book did anything but inspire me to dig any deeper into the Talmud. Very dry reading indeed.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews