Wisdom of the Talmud

By: Ben Zion Bokser

Narrated by: Allen O'Reilly

This is a highly comprehensive introduction to the Talmud, the age-old storehouse of Jewish wisdom. Bokser covers the long history of the Talmud, from its origin in the Babylonian exile, its growth through the five centuries after the Roman destruction of the Temple, and the later persecution of the Talmud. The book covers a number of high-level topics, including social ethics and personal morality, with numerous examples from the Talmud. Ben Zion Bokser was one of the major Conservative rabbis of America. He stressed the Rabbinic sages and the Talmud as the source of Judaism. "This is not an uncommon impression and one finds it sometimes among Jews as well as Christians - that Judaism is the religion of the Hebrew Bible. It is, of course, a fallacious impression. Judaism is not the religion of the Bible." Bokser affirms revelation, but revelation is always framed in humans by man. "Man receives a divine communication when the divine spirit rests on him, but man must give form to that communication."

©1951 Philosophical Library (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Interesting but uninspired

The sort of book you might expect from somone who has read the material once or twice and considers themselves an expert... The author didn't even select a reader who could pronounce "deuteronomy" correctly. The author undercuts the sanctity of scripture with the practice of abrigation and aglutination. Permits works righteousness and many other corruptions of the overall message of scripture. As if a man can earn their own salvation and then demand from God the reward that they are due. Reckless foolishness. His views on the miraculous are also ridiculous. The author sounds like a Gnostic. I wish this book was a copy of the actual Talmud instead of some rubes myopic perspective on it.

Very introductory: nice as far as it goes, but ...

I am not Jewish. However, my scholarly interests mix so often with Jewish history that some closer, focused look at it was inevitable. As a first introduction to some of the history and background, this work is satisfactory. However, I just bought an actual volume of Talmud and it is a large and complex work, not thoroughly described or demonstrated in this audio. As a legal scholar, I can now see what people are referring to with their common aphorisms about the detail of Talmudic scholarship. I guess all this indicates I am growing more scholarly, and I'm seldom satisfied with a "lite" version of anything anymore. That is not the author's fault here; I think, given the length and scope of this presentation, the author did fine work. But anyone with a serious curiosity about the Talmud might quickly survey this and move on.

not as complete as I would have liked

Not as complete a reading of the Talmud as i expected. Many mispronounced Hebrew words. There seem have been numerous audio edits that were not cleanly done. But informative none the less.

great audible

alot of great info & understanding. the narrator has a great voice & captivating.

loved it

alot of history, but I'm happy with the sample of what is in the talmud. looking forward to but my own set of books.

absolutely

fascinating insight and education into the foundations of law that governs society and benefit mankind in relationships and communities a great gift to the world at large from the Hebrew people.

Excellent Text, Hebrew Pronunciation Poor

This is an exceptional text for even the lay learner of Talmud. The pronunciation of the included Hebrew terms is poor but intelligible. Don’t let the introduction throw you off of the rest.

Excellent work, poorly read.

The reader mispronounced many terms and names. He obviously had no background in the subject. Excellent work however.

Interesting and well written

Interesting and well written. I didn't intend to take notes when I started, but I ended up repeatedly pressing pause and or rewind to take notes.

Great book ! I enjoyed every minute of it !

I loved every minute of iy and may listen again in a year or two.