Talmud

The Talmud is a chaotic text with a few frustrations. When you open to the first page, it assumes that you’ve already read the whole thing. Its logical path is a non-linear patchwork of discussion across time and space. Some of its resolutions feel like deus ex machinas. While the Talmud has many possible interpretations, the structure (or lack of) may provide meaning to our own lives, if we approach it openly.

Talmud: Our Central Questions

1. The Talmud and Contemporary Life: What can the Talmud offer contemporary society?

2. The Book of the Talmud: What type of book is the Talmud, and why is it so complex?

3. The Story of the Talmud: Where does the Talmud that we know come from?

EPISODES

Talmud Intro

May 4, 2020
13 min listening

Why start here? In a brief opening thought, David explains the role of Talmud in finding meaning amid chaos.

January 21, 2021

Ari Bergmann: Talmud as an Agent of Chaos

May 11, 2020
28 min listening

In this episode, David discusses the formation and character of the Talmud with special guest Ari Bergmann, founder and Chief Investment Officer at Penso Advisors LLC, as well as Talmud professor at Yeshiva University.

January 22, 2021

Chaim Saiman: Is Talmud the Jewish Constitution?

May 18, 2020
60 min listening

In this episode, David discusses the mystifying qualities of the Talmud and how we find meaning in the nuance of Talmudic law with special guest Chaim Saiman, professor at Villanova Law School.

Michelle Chesner: A Page is Worth a Thousand Worlds

May 25, 2020
52 min listening

In this episode, David and special guest, Michelle Chesner, Columbia University’s Norman E. Alexander Librarian for Jewish Studies, discuss how the formatting of sacred Jewish texts has developed throughout Jewish history and impacted religious Judaism.

Talmud Highlights

January 18, 2021
60 min listening

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we sit down for a special podcast with our host, David Bashevkin, to review the first topic that 18Forty covered: Talmud.

Talmud Conclusion

May 25, 2020
7 min listening

It’s hard to make sense and order within the Talmud. But maybe that’s the point. Listen to some brief closing thoughts on the value of building meaning specifically when it is not apparent.

ARTICLES

Who Gave the Talmudic Rabbis Their Power?

By David Bashevkin
4 min reading
May 4, 2020

The Talmud as an Agent of Chaos

By David Bashevkin
5 min reading
May 11, 2020

Is Talmud the New Constitution?

By David Bashevkin
2 min reading
May 18, 2020

A (Talmud) Page is Worth a Thousand Worlds

By David Bashevkin
3 min reading
May 25, 2020

LISTEN ON APPLE

The Oral Law

H. Chaim Schimmel

This book starts with the premise that the oral tradition was given to Moshe at Sinai and discusses, if so, what aspects of rabbinic law were developed afterwards. It’s a nice introduction, though the development of the premise may be wanting for some.

How Do We Know This?: Midrash and the Fragmentation of Modern Judaism

Jay M. Harris

This is an academic book that approaches a fairly simple question. As it’s title suggest, the book aims to understand, “How do we know this?” Harris states the question more emphatically in his introduction: “Who could honestly believe that Scripture intended to prohibit selling cheeseburgers when it said, ‘Do not seethe a kid in its mother’s milk.” The book discusses the different responses to this question throughout rabbinic history, as well as the underlying textual assumptions of those who responded to this issue. The book remains fairly agnostic about which approach is correct but does an admirable job of outlining the various approaches.

Why Do I Need to Learn Gemara

Chaim Rosenblatt

Educators have long debated how to introduce Talmud to first time students. Some call it “the mind of God.” I think it’s probably closer to “the mind of the Jewish people.” This book approaches the question with an idiosyncratic approach laden with traditional theological terminology. I don’t always love the way he interprets or expresses the answer, but I love the underlying question. It’s a worthwhile read.