Decoding the Talmud

Lesson One
The Jewish People and the Talmud
Why Jewish life orbits a book of law.

Jewish law's ultimate record is the Talmud, but what is Jewish law? Explore its nature, scope, and roots in the written Torah and Oral Law and see learning's central role in Jewish practice and culture.

Lesson Two
The Mishnah
The origins, authors, and contents of Judaism's first legal code.

See how Jewish law shifted from oral tradition to written code and encounter the Mishnah's precise style, tight structure, and tolerance for debate and its spiritual significance in Jewish life.

Lesson Three
Decrypting the Mishnah
How the sages studied, debated, and understood the Mishnah.

Discover the tools, methods, and principles the sages employed in the centuries-long effort to unpack the Mishnah's full practical implications.

Lesson Four
To Create the Talmud
How the sages shaped its structure and substance.

Meet the pivotal sages in the Talmud's story from Rav and Shmuel's first academies to Rav Ashi and Ravina's final text and see how they wove in stories as well as ethical and philosophical teachings.

Lesson Five
How the Talmud Thinks
A unique method of logic and why it matters.

Understand the Babylonian Talmud's rigorous mode of legal reasoning, how it balances dueling principles to arrive at clear legal boundaries, and how its elegant logic fuels deeper learning.

Lesson Six
The Talmud until Today
Talmudic literature and fifteen centuries of constant study.

See how and why the Talmud became the core of Jewish law and discover the vast literature of responsa, legal codes, and commentaries that continue the conversation until today.