#talmud

In Judaism, there are 613 biblical commandments, and the Talmud says that the chief commandment of all is study. ↗

— Norman Lamm

#commandment #commandments #judaism #says #study

In my tradition, God revealed Himself in words and lives in stories and, no, you cannot touch or even see Him. The Word, in Judaism, was never made flesh. The closest God came to embodiment was in the Temple in Jerusalem...But the Temple was destroyed. In Judaism, the flesh became words. Words were the traditional refuge of the Jewish people - Yochanan ben Zakkai led a yeshiva, my father became a professor. And little boys, in the Middle Ages, ate cakes with verses inscribed on them, an image I find deeply moving and, somehow, deeply depressing. This might help explain a certain melancholy quality books in general, for all their bright allure, have always had for me. As many times as I went down to my parents' library for comfort, I would find myself standing in front of the books and could almost feel them turning back into trees, failing me somehow. ↗

— Jonathan Rosen

#talmud #age

If it be true that our people represent a high percentage of mental vigor, the distinction is probably due, in some measure, to the extremely important part which Talmud studies have played in the spiritual life of the race. ↗

— Abraham Cahan

#distinction #due #extremely #high #high percentage

It's the side-by-side culture of the Talmud I like so much. 'On the one hand' and 'on the other hand' is frustrating for people seeking absolute faith, but for me it gives religion an ambidextrous quality that suits my temperament. ↗

— Jonathan Rosen

#faith #talmud #faith

I argue that the Talmud is about the constant struggle to understand. ↗

— Arthur Hertzberg

#argue #constant #i #struggle #talmud