Talmud Author: Maurice H. Harris Publication Year: 2022-1

Foreword

The Talmud is the most important book for the Jewish people after the Bible. It is also known as the Jewish Wisdom Scroll or the wisdom gene bank of 5,000 years of Jewish civilization, and it is a golden key to unlocking the mystery of the extraordinary wisdom of the Jewish people.

In 70 AD, after the destruction of the Jewish Temple, generations of Jewish sages, for the sake of survival and the continuation of their national spirit, tirelessly preached and expounded the first five books of the Old Testament to their people, known as the Pentateuch, the Torah, or the Jewish Code, attempting to prevent the people from forgetting "God's Law." These orally transmitted contents were compiled into a collection, also known as the "Oral Torah" or the Talmud, written between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD. The Talmud in a broad sense includes the Mishnah and the Gemara. The Mishnah mainly contains the explanations and interpretations of the Old Testament by Jewish rabbis and sages, while the Gemara contains the commentaries and discussions of Jewish scholars on the former. The Mishnah consists of 6 volumes and 63 treatises, and together they comprise 613 commandments, including 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments. The Talmud in a narrow sense refers only to the Gemara. The Gemara can be further divided into two major systems: the Babylonian Talmud and the Palestinian Talmud. The Talmud in a general sense specifically refers to the Babylonian Talmud.

The complete set of the Talmud comprises 20 volumes, totaling 12,000 pages and 2.5 million words. Its content is vast and complex, covering a wide range of topics, from major subjects like religion, law, folklore, ethics, medicine, and superstition, to minor details such as daily living, diet, bathing, clothing, and sleep. It begins with the proverbs of the Old Testament, followed by mythological stories, poems, fables, as well as moral reflections and historical recollections. Its themes are diverse and its content is vivid and lively. Although one-third of it is Midrash, which consists of admonitions and moral preachings, it does not feel stiff or rigid. If the Old Testament is an eternal book, then the Talmud is a companion for daily Jewish life, full of the wisdom of life and strategies for resolving crises. It is not a history book, yet it discusses history; it is not a biographical record, yet it tells stories of people; it is not an encyclopedia, yet it encompasses everything. It is precisely this work that fostered the pattern of Western civilization and became the source of Jewish wisdom. Alongside the Bible, Plato's "Republic," Aristotle's "Politics," and the Islamic "Quran," it is considered one of the monumental works that have influenced human civilization, a true enduring classic.

The Talmud is widely circulated throughout the world and has been translated into approximately 12 languages. In particular, every Jewish person owns a copy, studying it from birth to death, constantly finding new insights. It not only teaches Jews what to think, but also how to think. It has built the Jewish worldview with a consistent voice. It is like a kind friend or a profound scholar, constantly engaging in conversation and discussion with every Jewish person, and penetrating the minutiae of life, making one feel a vibrant wisdom and a power that touches all things.

A true Chinese translation of the Talmud has never been published. The various so-called "Talmud anthologies" circulating on the market are all clumsy and haphazard compilations of contemporary Jewish "short stories." This book selects and translates the excellent chapters of the Talmud, removing idealistic chapters such as "fatalism" and mystical culture from the original, and reorganizing the format to suit modern reading habits.