LITHUANIA AUTHOR · TALMUD · COMMENTARIES
Isidore Epstein
Most acclaimed
Hebrew-English edition of the Babylonian Talmud
1. Berakoth deals with the laws of blessings and prayer. 2 Mishnayoth Zera'im: the Mishnaic tractates of the Order of Zera'im, principally deal with laws pertaining to agriculture. 3. Shabbath discusses the laws of the Sabbath. 4. Erubin deals with the laws of domains as they relate to the observance of the Sabbath. 5. Pesahim deals with the laws of Passover and the Passover offering. 6. Bezah, Rosh Hashanah, Shekalim: these tractates deal respectively with the laws of the holidays, the laws of the New Year, and the laws of Temple donations. 7. Yoma discusses the laws of the holiday of Yom Kippur. 8. Sukkah and Moed Kattan deal with the laws of the holiday of Sukkoth and the laws of the intermediate days of the holidays, respectively. 9. Ta'anith, Megillah, and Hagigah deal with the subjects of fast days, the holiday of Purim, and the special holiday offering, respectively. 10. Yebamoth deals with the subject of levirate marriage. 11.^ Kethuboth: this volume deals with the laws of the kethubah, a document delineating a husband's obligations to his wife. 12. Nedarim deals with the subject of vows. 13. The tractate of Nazir deals with the subject of Nazarite vows; the tractate of Sotah addresses the laws pertaining to a wife suspected of adultery. 14. Gittin deals with the subject of divorce. 15. Kiddushin deals with the laws of marriage. 16. Baba Kamma deals with the laws of property damage, injury, and compensation for theft, robbery or violence. 17. Baba Metzia focuses on property ownership, wages, and civil law. 18. Baba Bathra deals with legal claims of rights of action or possession. 19. Sanhedrin deals with the subject of the Jewish court system. 20. Shevuoth deals with the subject of vows, while the tractate of Makkoth discusses the punishment of flagging and the crimes for which it is administered. 21.^ Abodah Zarah, Horayoth, Eduyyoth, Aboth: these tractates deal respectively with the laws of idolatry, the laws relating to erroneous court decisions, the recording of conclusive Rabbinic teachings, and general Jewish ethics and wisdom. 22. Zebahim deals with the subject of animal Temple offerings. 23. Menahoth deals with the laws of Temple flour offerings. 24. Hullin deals with the laws of slaughtering animals for consumption. 25. Bekoroth, Arakin detail the laws of firstborn animals and the evaluation of specific forms of vows. 26. Temurah, Keritoth, Meilah, Kinnim, Tamid, and Middoth deal with various subjects relating to the Temple and Temple offerings. 27. Niddah discusses the laws concerning menstruation and the monthly period of separation between husband and wife. 28. Mishnayoth Tohoroth: this volume contains all the Mishnaic tractates of the Order of Tohoroth, which principally deals with the laws of spiritual and ritual purity and impurity. 29.^ Minor Tractates: fifteen tractates in all, the Minor Tractates cover such wide-ranging subjects as: the laws pertaining to Torah scrolls and the scribes who write them, the laws of mourning and of marriage, the wisdom collected by Rabbi Nathan, moral and ethical principles, laws pertaining to converts, and more. 30. Index: this volume contains the complete index of the Talmud, includes a subject index, an index of Scriptural references, and an index of all the Rabbis quoted throughout the Talmud.
Judaism
"We treat the word Judaism as a given for describing the religion of Jews. But the term is in some ways socially constructed, rather than inevitable. After all, exactly what would constitute "authentic" Judaism? Some have argued that there are multiple Judaisms, going in the direction of plurals that so many scholars find satisfying. But Boyarin takes a different tack, proposing that before the modern era there should be no "Judaism" at all. For Boyarin, there was no sphere of life that can be called Judaism that was separate from the political, artistic, and cultural elements of life. Moreover, he argues that Judaism is a Christian coinage to serve Christian discursive purposes by setting what we call Judaism in opposition to Christianity and that the term has little utility for Jews. The various Jewish languages have no such concept and no such term. He believes that categories drawn from outside the culture are anachronistic, not informative. Boyarin will be making a case for substituting Jewry for Judaism. Jewry is a concept that integrates many aspects of the lives of Jews, rather than separating out religion from other aspects of life"--