Everyman's Talmud: The Major Teachings of the Rabbinic Sages

by Abraham Cohen, Jacob Neusner (Foreword by)

Long regarded as the classic introduction to the teachings of the Talmud, this comprehensive and masterly distillation summarizes the wisdom of the rabbinic sages on the dominant themes of Judaism.

"To some readers of this book, the Talmud represents little more than a famous Jewish book. But people want to know about a book that, they are told, defines Judaism. Everyman's Talmud is the right place to begin not only to learn about Judaism in general but to meet the substance of the Talmud in particular . . . In time to come, Cohen's book will find its companion-though I do not anticipate it will ever require a successor for what it accomplishes with elegance and a systematic theology of the Talmud's Judaism."
—From the Foreword by Jacob Neusner

This classic introduction reveals the wisdom of the rabbinic sages on such topics as the doctrine of God; God and the universe; the soul and its destiny; prophesy and revelation; physical life; moral life and social living; law, ethics, and jurisprudence; legends and folk traditions; the Messiah and the world to come.

Genres: Judaism, Religion, Jewish, Nonfiction, Theology, Judaica, Spirituality

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1931

About the author

Abraham Cohen was a Jewish-British scholar. He was the editor of the Soncino Books of the Bible and also participated in the Soncino translation of the Talmud and Midrash. He attended the University of London and Cambridge and was a minister of Birmingham Hebrew Congregation from 1933.

Reviews

[فؤاد · Rating 5 out of 5]

ویتگنشتاین در مورد فلسفه گفته بود که مثل بطری‌ایه که مگس توش حبس شده، بال می‌زنه و دور خودش می‌چرخه و خودش رو به جدارهٔ بطری می‌کوبه. هدف فلسفه باید این باشه که راه خروج از بطری رو به مگس نشون بده.

حالا من هم به این رسیدم که مطالعات اسلامی مثل همون بطریه. مفسر و حدیث‌پژوه دور خودش می‌چرخه و آسمون ریسمون می‌بافه و سعی می‌کنه توجیهاتی برای چیزهایی که متوجه نمی‌شه پیدا کنه. راه حل مطالعات اسلامی هم مثل راه حل فلسفه، خروج از بطریه. تلمودپژوهی راه خروج از بطریه.

خیلی از آیات قرآن که مورخ تاریخ اسلام سعی می‌کنه معنا و ریشه‌شون رو توی محیط عرب جاهلی پیدا کنه، در حقیقت ریشه در تلمود دارن. خیلی از واژگان قرآنی که با توسل به ریشهٔ عربی، اشتباه و حتی بی معنی تفسیر شدن، با رجوع به تلمود معنایی روشن و واضح پیدا می‌کنن.

قرآن خودش رو دنبالهٔ سنت دینی زمانهٔ خودش می‌دونه و طبیعیه که از مفاهیم و باورهای این سنت دینی استفاده کنه و روشون کار کنه و مدام باهاشون گفتگو داشته باشه. و تا یکی دو نسل، مسلمان‌های بعدی هم همچنان در گفتگو با سنت دینی یهودی و مسیحی بودن، گواهش وفور روایات تلمودی و میدراشی در منابع قدیمی اسلامیه. روایاتی که مسلمان‌های دوران بعدی حتی با بدبینی‌ای که به «اسرائیلیات» داشتن، نتونستن اثرش رو محو کنن و حتی خیلی وقت‌ها تشخیصش ندادن.

تلمود اینجا به عنوان اصلی‌ترین اثر سنت یهودی مورد توجه قرار گرفته. وگرنه وضع در مورد میدراش‌ها و آثار سنت مسیحی هم به همین منواله.

تلمودپژوهی می‌تواند راه‌گشای مفسران روایت‌های اسلامی باشد

[Brett C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great look into the Jewish Oral Law. The introduction explained a lot of needed information over twenty-two pages. Cohen explained the Talmud (which acts as an encyclopedia), the Mishnah (oral law commentary that supplements the Written Law, the Torah), the Midrash (interpretation of the mishnah; Halachic Midrash seeks to explain the deeper meaning of the text, while Aggadic Midrash seeks to explain the missing parts of the stories), and how these comprise of the overall Talmud.

To go further, the Talmud is comprised of the Mishnah and the Gemara (further interpretation beyond the sixty-three Tractate, or topics). This is six sections called sedarim (Orders) in the overall Massichtoth (Tractates). These include theology, laws, feast observances, marriage, courts and jurisprudence, kosher laws and sanctities, and cleanliness and uncleanliness.

This text explained through Talmudic lense various broad topics to include the doctrine of God, God and the Universe, Man and creation, revelation, domestic life, social life, moral life, physical life, folk-lore, jurisprudence (civil and criminal procedure; civil law), and the Hereafter. Within these topics was much discussion and interpretation.

I gave this four stars only because I had no idea which was a mishnah and a midrash; what was Palestinian Talmud vs. Babylonian Talmudic writing. There was citation from the Tractate but I'm still too new to distinguish the difference.

Overall this was a good starting point into learning about the various midrashim (pl. midrash) that exist within the mishnahim (pl. mishnah). I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in studying Judaism and it's teachings. Thanks!

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very informative book, from the introduction to the bibliography. Many of the stories from the Talmud shed light, for me, on some of Jesus' parables and on some early Christian traditions. Not to mention improving my understanding of Judaism.

[Bob Mendelsohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a classic for anyone to learn about Jewish thought and the development of the categories of Jewish law. What Maimonides did with his codification, Cohen does in our days with this simplification. Very useful.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took an incredibly long time to read this. I guess I have a hard time maintaining interest in books that offer a distillation of the ethical teachings of religious texts, because those teachings are largely what I would have assumed them to be from the beginning. This is a very detailed and informative work, just not one that I found very engaging to read. It did pick up toward the end with the sections on folklore and magic, jurisprudence, and eschatology, which were the subjects I was most interested in.

Cohen maintains a fine balance between scholarship and apologetics, which also puts me off a little: I don't need to be convinced that rabbinic Judaism is worthy of my respect, and I'm intrigued by many of the talmudic statements that seem to make Cohen uncomfortable. He tries to dampen many extracts that do not seem to mesh with his worldview, but to his credit he does not leave them out.

While I found this book to be a bit dull, it served as an excellent introduction to the subject. I am glad to have tackled it because I now feel ready to move on to more interesting studies on the Talmud and rabbinic Judaism.

[Takethat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most important book one can read on the apochrypha, the secrets, the redactions of the Hebrew Bible which impacts the credibility of Christianity. Here you can read hundreds of redacted Old Testament passages, removed from the written Torah by Rabbi Judah HaNazi in the 2nd century. Nazi means prince in Hebrew and the term is derived from his name because he was 'the prince' and the 'great redactor' of the Pentateuch. Removed, redacted passages reveal the censorship in-play to keep Judaism safe from the gentile world. Many describe the redactions as material for on the cutting room floor but this is not the case. As Deuteronomy says, one can not remove one word, nor add one word, to the Five Books of Moses. This is why the oral tradition is still in force along with the written Torah, thus the Hebrew Bible does not end with just the Five written Books. So, use your imagination, if there are Five written Books there might be five oral books not written down that affect everyone's lives whether they are Hebrew or Christian or Muslim. I would bet there are 10 books of law in total. Just an educated guess.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Jew raised in the Reform tradition, the Talmud was always this scary behemoth of a book that only the ultra Orthodox read. Yet, the older I grew, the more intrigued I became with this foundational work of post-Temple Judaism and the role it played in establishing what has become the tradition of my people.

And while this book is indeed tedious at times--as I am sure the Talmud itself must be at times--it is a wonderful book, a fascinating book, a window into a treasure trove of rabbinic debate, folklore, and cosmological reflection.

I wished I could have read it in tandem with another.

I recommend most highly to anyone who has the opinion I once did of this great work, The Talmud. I will be returning to Abraham Cohen's book often, particularly in the month of Ellul and during the Days of Awe.

[Jake Berlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

many parts of this book are quite interesting, and what cohen accomplished in terms of laying out the teachings of the talmud thematically is pretty incredible in and of itself. but it's probably better as a reference -- to be perused on a particular subject, as needed -- than as a book to read straight through, particularly as large tracts of it are essentially indigestible. still, i'm glad i read it, and no doubt have a fuller sense of jewish law and beliefs.

[Tia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is kind of boring, but it does serve as a brief introduction to the Talmud. It basically addresses questions like "what is a good life," "what is the difference between men and women," "does Judaism believe in an afterlife," and "what is God," from a Talmudic perspective.

This book isn't actually the Talmud--instead, for each question, the book has selected some relevant quotation by Rabbi Yossi Ben Bladiba, etc., and compiled various viewpoints.

The book is therefore quite dry, and also not really "well-written" per se, but it does offer a quick and dirty run down of Talmud.

[Asrapila · Rating 1 out of 5]

از دسته کتابهایی بود که از تمام شدن آن بسیار خوشحال شدم ، این کتاب همانند سوهانی برای روح و روان انسان هایی است که از حداقل شعور و عقل برخوردارند. .
کتاب خلاصه ای از نسخه های مختلف تلمود است. حالا تلمود چیست؟ تلمود شامل اطلاعات و نظرات خاخام های یهودی از فلسفه (اگه بشه اسمش رو فلسفه گذاشت) و احکام ، نظرات و ... است.
کتاب بطور کلی به 12 فصل تقسیم شده از تعریف خدا از فصل اول شروع شده و با توصیف جهان آینده در فصل دوازده به پایان میرسد . در نگاه اول مانند تمام کتب مذهبی به نظر میرسد ولی قسمت زیادی از کتاب صرف ماست مالی و توجیه کردن تفکرات عقب افتاده دین یهود میپردازد که خود بسیار چندش آور تر است.
شاید قسمت هایی از کتاب از این نظر ارزش داشته باشد که میتواند منبعی برای بدست آوردن اطلاعات تاریخی در مورد سبک تفکر افراد در گذشته باشد. و نکته ی جالب شباهت بسیار زیاد یهودیت به اسلام و اشتراک خرافات بسیار است و همچنین تاکید مهمی بر یهودیت بعنوان سنگ بنای اسلام است.

[Katie Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dense but interesting book. It helps penetrate the Talmud for the modern reader and to understand generally how the rabbis thought about a variety of things during the era of Talmud and Mishnah.

There's so much here that it will take a few re reads for me to absorb. But I look forward to returning to this (eventually)

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personally I preferred God in Search of Man, but this was still very informative.

[Dr. Paul T. Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic condensed version of the Talmud - Jewish discussions from throughout the ages. You have to remember that they don't teach everything in the Talmud, as it's just an accumulation of discussions that ancient Rabbis had. You will definitely enjoy this one.

[David Rullo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good primer on Rabbinic thought and a great intro to the Talmud and other tomes of Jewish teaching. Here's the pattern, here's the subject, here's stories supporting the thought, here are dissenters, repeat. It's not a page turner, rather an informed textbook.

[Peter Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyman's Talmud by Abraham Cohen

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This is not the Talmud in its raw form. The Talmud per se, which can be found online, is not meant for casual reading. The Talmudic text may contain gems, but finding those gems is the hard work of a lifetime. The actual Talmud is structured eclectically in chapters that may provide no clue about the subject matter. The actual text contains mostly cryptic statements that presuppose an acquaintanceship with the entire text. It is not something to be picked up for momentary inspiration (although the online version is susceptible to word searches.)

What Rabbi Cohen has done is to organize and summarize the Talmud according to the kinds of topics the average reader might be interested in. The structure of Cohen's Talmud reminded me of the structure of St. Thomas Aquinas's Summa or Peter Lombard's The Sentences. Thus, we start with "The Doctrine of God" and cover Scholastic territory like unicity, simplicity, omnipotence, etc. and end with "The Hereafter." Along the way, we visit "God and the Universe," human anthropology, jurisprudence, domestic life, property rights, and the other topics that define human life.

As someone who has been reading the Summa Theologica for twenty years, it seemed familiar and interesting as a text in comparative religion.

My interest was in the doctrines of God and the topics of the Messiah, Heaven, and Hell. Needless to say, there was much that I found familiar - particularly in the theology of God - and stuff that surprised me concerning the Messiah and The World to Come. For example, who is this "mysterious figure," "Messiah, son of Joseph" who is killed in the Messianic age? Proselytes will not be accepted in the time of the Messiah? Sinners suffer for twelve months in Gehinnom before they are admitted to Gan Eden, unless they are eradicated, which may involve a perpetual state of remorse?

Fascinating stuff.

I was interested in seeing that Tobit's dicta that one should not do that which one finds hateful made its way into the Talmud, although not into the Tanakh. (p. 214.)

Then, there is this: "Moses said before Him: Sovereign of the Universe! Cause me to know what the final decision is on each matter of law." He replied, "The majority must be followed. When the majority declare a thing permitted, it is permissible, when the majority declare it forbidden, it is not allowed." (p. 148.) Cohen makes the point that this permits the legal precepts of the Talmud to have a continuing vitality, but it seems surprising.

I was also unexpectedly surprised to see the theology of the horror film "The Seventh Sign" confirmed. In that movie, the Last Judgment is coming because, as the mysterious Jurgen Prochnow tells a pregnant Demi Moore, the Guff - the well of souls is empty, prompting Michael Bien to quip that "it all sounds like a lot of guff." It turns out that the idea of the Guff is actually found in the Talmud.

Who knew?

The introduction was written by Rabbi Jacob Neusner, Pope Benedict's favorite rabbi.

[The Once and Future Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book with a lot of insights on Judaism and the Talmud. I will probably never read the Talmud in its entirety ever in my life, so this is the closest I will ever get to exploring that subject matter. There is so much fascinating information here, I enjoyed it a lot. Although, I will admit that I skipped the whole section on Jurisprudence. It was just a little too boring for me.

I was able to make countless parallels to Jesus and the New Testament. My copy is completely filled with notes and highlights making those exciting observations. I would highly recommend this book to a Christian who is pretty well versed in the Scriptures and is looking to point some Jewish people to Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ).

[Ali Ra · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتابی مناسب برای بررسی آداب و سنن یهودیت.خلاصه ای از تلمود، تورات شفاهی.

[Dan Charnas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got everything that I wanted from this book and more. I wanted to gain a better understanding of the writings of the Talmud and thus the Jewish religion and culture. I gained a great deal of respect for the "evaluation" by the sages of the way that a good life should be lived and the painstaking details that they included in their quest for humanity to behave in a manner in keeping with their perceptions of God's expectations. They were inspired.
I also came to this book with the knowledge that some of the actual Talmudic content would appear archaic and distant to me because most of it was written during times when much of the scientific knowledge that we are fortunate to have today was not yet discovered. I also came to it knowing that there would be certain aspects of the writings that I would find difficult to accept -- again, to a fair degree, attributable to the times in which the Talmud was written, but also attributable to my own prejudices and the impact that living in the present times has had upon me. Nevertheless, Everyman's Talmud enabled me to grasp much of the essence of the principles that has distinguished Judaism as a religion and a culture for centuries.
As I was reading the book, I found myself thinking a lot about the Yin and Yang of Chinese philosophy, as it seemed to me that the Talmud has many parallels in the ways that the writers pondered and presented the arguments in order to reach the conclusions that became Jewish customs and law.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a useful reference for the lay person without a lot of training in Jewish law and ritual practice. It is sort of a cliff's notes version of a law code like the Mishneh Torah or the Shulchan Arukh. The index is pretty good that helps you find discussions on specific topics. It does not get into how specific sects interpret specific laws. Always consult your rabbi on specifics.

[Ushan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1931, the Talmud had not yet been translated into English. An English speaker unfamiliar with Hebrew and Aramaic could read this 400-page book, which has stories about God, morality, society, law, magic, demons, family life and so on. This book is a snapshot of a civilization no less fascinating than Jaques Gernet's Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cohen deserves 5 stars for creating a manageable, single-volume, comprehensive distillation of the Talmud. I never would've read anything about it if not for this book.

I gives it 3 stars, though, for meager entertainment value.

[Max Pappajohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are interested in Jewish ideology and/or theology then I would definitely recommend this to you. This is an abrogated version of the Talmud, but nonetheless, it is still rich with information about the whole of Jewish thought life.

[Amy Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and thought it was helpful in fueling directed discussions.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never made it all the way through this book, but I continue to pick it up from time to time.

[Craig Bolton]

Everyman's Talmud: The Major Teachings of the Rabbinic Sages by Abraham Cohen (1995)

[Clint · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear, concise introduction to Jewish thought.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I keep this as a reference book and I use it quite often. This is good stuff and some ancient wisdom.

Reviewed.

[William Ramsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordy and convoluted

[Janet Schinco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential Talmud to accompany the Tanakh.

[Bob Shair · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want an overview of the teachings of the sages, this is the right book for you.