Forged in Exile: Babylon and the Birth of the Talmud

In this episode of The Sages of the Talmud, I’m joined by Morty Roth to step into the world where the Babylonian Talmud was formed. Before we profile individual sages, we zoom out and look at why the historical setting matters, how Jewish life in Babylonia developed after the destruction of the First Temple, and the timeline from the Mishnah to the redaction of the Bavli.

We talk geography, politics, the rise and shifts of empires, and why Babylonia became the center of Torah scholarship. We also explore why Torah learning is built on questions and debate, how Aramaic became the language of the Talmud, and how modern Daf Yomi turned the Talmud into a shared global heartbeat. Throughout, we anchor the conversation in the idea that Hashem brings light from darkness, then and now

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