Customer Reviews

Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
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This is simply the best work available on the subject. Each section is based on a common plan: The text is briefly discussed; variant textual versions of texts are discussed; English translations are noted; and a detailed review is then given of the past hundred years of critical study on the document in question.

It has sections on Rabbinical Hermeneutics and the Oral and Written Tradition. It covers the Mishna, Tosefta, Palestinian Talmud, Babylonian Talmud and the extracanonical tractates. Best of all, it covers all the classical midrashim compilations (midrash). This includes all the halakhic, exegetical and homiletic midrashim.

However, note that this is not a book for beginners. For those who want an introduction to rabbinical literature, you should obtain "Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts", edited by Barry W. Holtz.

The book is compact, yet very informing. It is called an "introduction", yet it is perhaps a little bit more than an introduction. At the same time, I would recommend this work for beginner as well as those more familiar with the topic.

The book is very readable for the amount of compressed information and scholarship it includes. The many reprints make it up-to-date.

There are many books that claim to be an "introduction" to the Talmud. Most of them make that introduction without much context. Strack's volume will not teach you how to study Talmud and Midrash, but it will give you a good understanding of what they are and how they fit into the larger frame of Jewish tradition and literature.

For the intermediate and more advanced reader alike, the book is a well-indexed reference work for Talmud and Midrash study, including quick and simple definitions of terms, identifications of obscure titles, and superior (if occasionally outdated) bibliographies for each chapter. This is a work that should be in the library of every serious student of rabbinics.

Good solid book, but assumes more familiarity with the material and history than would justify the title "Introduction".

It's a little difficult to follow at times if the reader is not already familiar with the subject and has the source documents at hand. It would also be helpful to have some understanding of the rabbis that contributed to the body of Talmud and Midrash.

An absolutely indispensable volume on Rabbinic texts. A great reference book to study and to have on your shelf if you are student of Judaic texts. I will not repeat what has been said by other reviewers, but for me the summaries provided a great overview. The book is dry and academic, technical and reads almost like a dictionary, but this is what one should actually expect from this type of material. This book is not for an initial introduction to the rabbinic literature, but for those who perhaps understand much of scholarly talk and technical terminology. I especially like bibliographies at the end of each sections. They tell you of published editions and translations of the original texts discussed if you are trying to locate them for study.

This is a good introduction to the Talmud and Midrash. However, perhaps the authors should have published an "Introduction to the Introduction of the Talmud and Midrash." There is a lot of scholarly material here, but it is written from the viewpoint that the reader is already somewhat familiar with Rabbinic Literture. One may wish to familiarize himself/herself with such terms as Baraita, Tannaim and Amoraim before beginning this book. A great book for anyone wanting to study Rabbinic Literature.