Babylonian Talmud Volume 1: First Century Hebrew Practices Relating to the Sabbath (Babylonian Talmud Collection)

Why should we care about the Talmud? From a Christian perspective, why do we care about the writings of ancient Jews religious thinkers? From a modern Jewish perspective, isn’t this all out of date for the modern person?As long as the scriptures are relevant, and most people believe that they are, then the perspectives on them remain relevant. If the scriptures are in fact a giant message from God, then how people understand the message throughout history is important for us, if we hope to understand it today.The Scriptures at the time of Jesus were well known and understood by the people of that time, as they were living them with great enthusiasm through the guidance of the Rabbinical movement, of which Jesus was an important part. Jesus did not condemn the Law, and instructed His followers to follow the instructions of the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees because they “sit in the seat of Moses. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you.” (Mt 23:2) If Jesus thought enough of the Law and the Pharisees to tell His followers to follow their instructions (but not their example) then we should probably take some steps to see what they taught. Those teachings are embodied in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Talmud.I have another series being compiled as well, re-presenting the Early Church Fathers, and between these two great bodies of work, we can understand the first century frame of mind. This was the frame of mind the Apostles and the earliest Church had, and we can benefit by understanding the people of that time. Read more