The Land of Truth: Talmud Tales, Timeless Teachings

by Jeffrey L. Rubenstein

Published by the University of Nebraska Press as a Jewish Publication Society book.

Genres: Judaism, Religion

ebook

Published November 1, 2018

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Talmud study group had high hopes for this book and were disappointed, but we probably know more about Talmud than most non-scholars. There is a dearth of books about Talmud for folks like us in the middle territory -- we know a lot but aren't academics -- which frustrates me, but of course it's also true that we're a pretty niche audience. This is Rubenstein's one "popular" book, and a lot of it read like transcripts of jocular undergrad lectures.

Rubenstein is good when he's doing historical readings of these tales, although in some cases we wanted a lot more such history. And I appreciated his literary analysis of the tales, which is his area of academic expertise; I didn't always agree with his reading, but I always found them interesting. Where the book was not great was when he was doing modern connections to the Talmud tales, which felt like a weak attempt to say, "see, this is actually relevant!"

[Bob Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Unlike most books, this one made me realize things I knew before, but it was nice to hear them again. As I always knew, the Torah is the world's oldest living document, and I'm really glad this book highlighted some of its teachings that are still relevant today.

I would recommend it to Jews and non-Jews alike.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many people think of the Talmud as a legal compendium – a text filled with laws about ritual practice, correct business conduct and ethical behavior. While the Talmud does offer legal discussion and rulings, that’s not the only material included. The Talmud also features stories, fables and legends that teach life lessons, although their morals aren’t always obvious at first glance. In “The Land of Truth: Talmud Tales, Timeless Teachings” (The Jewish Publication Society), Jeffrey L. Rubenstein, a Skirball professor of Talmud and rabbinic literature at New York University, shows how these deceptively simple tales contain far more depth than one might expect.
See the rest of my review at http://www.thereportergroup.org/Artic...

[Kyrie]

I can't rate this book because I really felt I was not the intended audience, and a ton of it went over my head. I did learn a bunch of new words, but I'm not sure I'll ever use them.

Tbhe first two sections were a bit more of what I expected - a story, and an explanation, along with possible interpretations. Even so, I felt bewildered at times. The last section just confused me and I wasn't sure what to make of it.

[David Blankenship · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intreresting introduction to some talmudic teachings for non-specialists. While not all of his interpretations of these teachings hold equal merit, and while at other times it becomes repetitive, it does make for some interesting reading to think about.

[David Doel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers a lot of good life lessons. I'm hoping to find a comparable book on the parables of Jesus.