Decoding the Talmud
The Talmud has shaped Jewish writing, thinking, and living for the past fifteen hundred years. One might argue that much of Jewish culture emerges from the substance—and style—of the Talmud. Echoes of the Talmud’s dialectic argumentation are found in Jewish texts of all genres; discussions between Talmud-conversant Jews often contain the treatise’s characteristic give-and-take.
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Decoding the Talmud, a new six-week course from the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, aims to introduce the Talmud, its mysteries, and its treasures to curious students of all backgrounds. Participants will explore the origins of its material and meet the great sages who composed it. They will become acquainted with the Talmud’s content and style to understand why an intellectual study of the Talmud is, in effect, a spiritual religious practice.
The course will include several deep dives into Talmudic sugyot (discussion topics). Participants will learn how to navigate the twists and turns of a Talmudic discussion and appreciate the attentive focus on every detail the authors of the Talmud maintained. These explorations will be accompanied by visual study aids that enable new students to follow the sugya’s complexities.​
Six Monday Evenings starting February 10, 2025
7:30 - 9:00 pm on Zoom
This course will not be recorded
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This course cuts a clear path into the Talmud. Treat your mind to an unforgettable journey into this classic Jewish text.
Master its structure, penetrating logic, and history; meet the brilliant sages who fill its pages; and see why the Talmud matters today.
Lesson Overviews
1. 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.
Sample Texts: Pesachim 99b, Bava Metzi’a 75b, Yoma 6a, Sanhedrin 90a
2. 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.
Sample Texts: Mishnah, Pesachim 10:1-2
3. 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.
Sample Texts: Pesachim 99b-100a
4. 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.
Sample Texts: Pesachim 99b-100a (revisited); Pesachim 112a; Shabbat 77b
5. 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.
Sample Texts: Pesachim 99b-100a (revisited); Bava Metzi’a 75b-76b; Jerusalem Talmud, Pesachim 10:1
6. 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.
WHAT IS JLI?
The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute is the premier institute for continuing adult Jewish education, in the states and worldwide. Founded in 1998, JLI's flagship program continues to operate in over 350 locations worldwide offering three accredited courses per year on an array of topics including Jewish ethics, Jewish mysticism and philosophy, Jewish history and culture, and Jewish belief and practice. JLI's courses are accredited for continuing legal and medical education and all courses offer CEU credits.