The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind The Talmud: Jewish Law and Life
Apr 3, 2025
Professor Chaim Saiman, a law professor and rabbinic court judge specializing in Jewish law, delves into the significance of the Talmud. He defines its structure and the importance of orality in Jewish tradition. Listeners learn about the dual aspects of Talmudic study as both religious worship and communal dialogue. Saiman contrasts the Talmudic method with Greek philosophy, highlighting its dialogical nature. He also discusses historical challenges faced by the Talmud and its enduring role in Jewish identity and law.
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Talmud As Text, Tradition, And Civilization
- The Talmud is three linked things: a core text, an expanding interpretive web, and a living civilizational embodiment of halakha.
- Its form grew by layered oral discussion over centuries rather than single-author treatises.
Mishnah Is The Seed; Talmud The Conversation
- The Mishnah provides the organized legal core and the Talmud is its multigenerational commentary that often digresses into stories and associations.
- Sugiot (Talmudic discussions) layer voices over time, producing rich but non-linear argumentation.
Linguistic Layering And Orality
- The Talmud mixes Hebrew and Aramaic and includes Greek and Persian loanwords, reflecting its multi-regional development.
- The corpus was primarily oral for centuries and only later committed widely to writing.
