"This book examines the small library of 24 books common to all Jewish and Christian Bibles--books that preserve the efforts of diverse writers over a span of many centuries to make sense of their personal experiences and those of their people, the ancient Israelites. Professor Christine Hayes guides her readers through the complexities of this polyphonous literature that has served as a foundational pillar of Western civilization, underscoring the variety and even disparities among the voices that speak in the biblical texts. Biblical authors wrote in many contexts and responded to a sweeping range of crises and questions concerning issues that were political, economic, historical, cultural, philosophical, religious, and moral. In probing chapters devoted to each of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, Hayes reconstructs the meanings and messages of each book and encourages a deeper appreciation of the historical and cultural settings of ancient biblical literature"--

A masterful introduction to the to the great repository of Jewish wisdom, the Talmud In The Essential Talmud , the renowned Israeli scholar and teacher Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz succinctly describes the history, structure, and methodology of the sacred text by which the Jewish people have lived and survived through the ages. Rabbi Steinsaltz summarizes the Talmud's main principles, demonstrates its contemporary relevance, and captures the spirit of this unique and paradoxical text as a human expression of divine law. This expanded edition features a historical overview of life in the times of the Talmud and an in-depth look at the content and appearance of the original Talmudic page. As Rabbi Solomon S. Bernards of the B'Nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League puts it, "this book is indispensable to those, Jews and Christians alike, who would like to gain an insight into what it is that moves the contemporary Jew."

Part of the 'What Do We Believe?' series, this title explores the variety of ways Jews live their lives. It also explains what Judaism means, what it means to be a Jew and how and why such a small number of people have played such a significant role in our planet's history.

The only English-language translation of the Tosefta ("supplement"), which contains explanations and discussion not included in the Mishnah and is organized according to the same six divisions. Materials in the Tosefta are attributed to rabbinic authorities in the first and second centuries C.E., the same ones cited in the Mishnah, and as such the Tosefta is crucial to the study of formative rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity. This two-volume edition, by renowned rabbinic scholar Jacob Neusner, contains the complete text of the original six-volume set. The following features enhance the usefulness of this new the text is continuously paginated, with a new preface, a single general index, and a full index of biblical and talmudic references.