The Catholic Moment: The Paradox of the Church in the Postmodern World

Invitation to the Talmud provides an opportunity for the layperson, college student, and general reader to learn the Talmud with well-known and highly regarded rabbi, the author of a score of books, essays, and texts in Judaic studies. Neusner does not lecture the reader "about" the Talmud, but introduces him to the work itself. Invitation to the Talmud makes possible for the first time in English the actual experience of the Talmud as literature. The heart the book is a presentation of one chapter of the Talmud in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Babylonian Talmud, and Palestinian Talmud. In the discussion of such common place behavior as the placing of a napkin or the washing of hands, the reader gains a glimpse into the Talmudic role of defining and analyzing the concerns of everyday living. The Talmud itself comes alive and begins to confront the reader with its special claims.