Last week's recommendation.
Week 5 recommendation.
Week 4 recommendation.
Week 3 recommendation.
Week 2 recommendation.
Introduction to the series and first recommendation.
The Talmud and the Internet, Jonathan Rosen.
Talmud is as central to creating the Judaism we recognize today as Tanakh, but intimidating to most Jews as well as gentiles. There is no sweeter introduction to Talmud than this little book, and the Internet analogy is surprisingly apt.
In the Internet's "world of unbounded curiosity, of argument and information, where anyone with a modem can wander out of the wilderness for a while, ask a question and receive an answer" Rosen finds a real parallel to the Talmud, "a place where everything exists, if only one knows how and where to look...." And the Internet suggests to Rosen "a similar sense of Diaspora, a feeling of being everywhere and nowhere. Where else but in the middle of Diaspora do you need a homepage?"If your curiosity is piqued by Rosen's book, many Jewish adult education centers offer an Intro to Talmud class (although there are now good English translations, it is meant to be studied aloud in groups and needs a knowledgeable guide), and here are some websites.
There is something Victorian about the scope of this book, which encompasses the creation and emendation of the Talmud; the career of the traitorous Jewish-Roman historian Josephus; the sly and symbolically rich story of a famed rabbi's attempt to sneak out of newly Roman Jerusalem; the author's personal family saga; a visit to Chartres; Odysseus' journey to the land of the dead with buckets of blood; and a summoning of the ghost of the eminent Victorian Henry Adams. . . .
"The core of the Talmud is the Mishnah, a statement of Jewish law. Surrounding the Mishnah are blocks of commentary . . . giving the appearance that a rabbi in the 2nd century is directly commenting on something one of his peers had to say in the 11th. The Internet is similar, in that a page you're currently viewing may have links to jaw-dropping associations of widely varied material. . . . Both become economical metaphors for serendipity, openness, connection, and knowledge."
In the Simpsons episode, "Like Father Like Clown" Bart and Lisa actually learn some Talmud in order to do a mitzvah. You can follow their arguments via a parody of a page of Talmud and commentary.
Anti-semites often misquote Talmud to smear Jews - this site is a good corrective.
The Sages often compared studying Talmud to swimming in a great sea - grab your life vest and dive in!
Week 8.
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