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5.1 Charges of racism
Many groups attempt to use the Talmud to promote the idea that Judaism is inherently racist. This is usually done through fabrication of quotes, and quote-mining. The Anti-Defamation League issued a report on this topic:
- By selectively citing various passages from the Talmud and Midrash, polemicists have sought to demonstrate that Judaism espouses hatred for non-Jews (and specifically for Christians), and promotes obscenity, sexual perversion, and other immoral behavior. To make these passages serve their purposes, these polemicists frequently mistranslate them or cite them out of context (wholesale fabrication of passages is not unknown)...
- In distorting the normative meanings of rabbinic texts, anti-Talmud writers frequently remove passages from their textual and historical contexts. Even when they present their citations accurately, they judge the passages based on contemporary moral standards, ignoring the fact that the majority of these passages were composed close to two thousand years ago by people living in cultures radically different from our own. They are thus able to ignore Judaism’s long history of social progress and paint it instead as a primitive and parochial religion.
- Those who attack the Talmud frequently cite ancient rabbinic sources without noting subsequent developments in Jewish thought, and without making a good-faith effort to consult with contemporary Jewish authorities who can explain the role of these sources in normative Jewish thought and practice.
Gil Student, an expert on exposing anti-Talmud accusations, writes that "Anti-Talmud accusations have a long history dating back to the 13th century when the associates of the Inquisition attempted to defame Jews and their religion [see Yitzchak Baer, A History of Jews in Christian Spain, vol. I pp. 150-185]. The early material compiled by hateful preachers like Raymond Martini and Nicholas Donin remain the basis of all subsequent accusations against the Talmud. Some are true, most are false and based on quotations taken out of context, and some are total fabrications [see Baer, ch. 4 f. 54, 82 that it has been proven that Raymond Martini forged quotations]. On the internet today we can find many of these old accusations being rehashed..."
6 Talmudists
The most renowned Orthodox Talmud scholars of the 20th century include:
The most renowned Conservative Talmud scholars of the 20th century include:
7 The daily page
Thousands of Orthodox Jews worldwide participate in Daf Yomi - literally the daily page (of Talmud) - as part of a monumental program. Daf Yomi was initiated by Rabbi Meir Shapiro in 1923 at the First World Congress of Agudath Israel in Vienna. With 2711 pages in the Talmud, one cycle takes about 7.5 years. Daf Yomi is now in its 11th cycle of study, which began September 29, 1997.
8 Translations
8.1 Translations of Talmud Bavli
There are a number of contemporary translations of the Talmud:
- The Soncino Hebrew-English Talmud Isidore Epstein, Soncino Press. In this translation, each English page faces the Hebrew page. Notes on each page provide additional background material. See also: Soncino Talmud site.
- The Talmud: The Steinsaltz Edition Adin Steinsaltz, Random House.
- The Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud, Mesorah Publications.
