Its Authority.
After the completion of the Talmud as a work of literature, it exercised a twofold influence as a historical factor in the history of Judaism and its followers, not only in regard to the guidance and formulation of religious life and thought, but also with respect to the awakening and development of intellectual activity. As a document of religion the Talmud acquired that authority which was due to it as the written embodiment of the ancient tradition, and it fulfilled the task which the men of the Great Assembly set for the representatives of the tradition when they said, "Make a hedge for the Torah" (Ab. i. 2). Those who professed Judaism felt no doubt that the Talmud was equal to the Bible as a source of instruction and decision in problems of religion, and every effort to set forth religious teachings and duties was based on it; so that even the great systematic treatise of Maimonides, which was intended to supersede the Talmud, only led to a more thorough study of it. In like manner, the Shulhan 'Aruk of Joseph Caro, which achieved greater practical results than the Mishneh Torah, of Maimonides, owed its authority to the fact that it was recognized as the most convenient codification of the teachings of the Talmud; while the treatises on the philosophy of religion which strove as early as the time of Saadia to harmonize the truths of Judaism with the results of independent thinking referred in all possible cases to the authority of the Talmud, upon which they could easily draw for a confirmation of their theses and arguments. The wealth of moral instruction contained in the Talmud exercised a profound influence upon the ethics and ideals of Judaism. Despite all this, however, the authority enjoyed by it did not lessen the authority of the Bible, which continued to exercise its influence as the primal source of religious and ethical instruction and edification even while the Talmud ruled supreme over religious practise, preserving and fostering in the Diaspora, for many centuries and under most unfavorable external conditions, the spirit of deep religion and strict morality.
The history of Jewish literature since the completion of the Talmud has been a witness to its importance in awakening and stimulating intellectual activity among the Jews. The Talmud has been made the subject or the starting-point of a large portion of this widely ramified literature, which has been the product of the intellectual activity induced by its study, and to which both scholars in the technical sense of the word and also a large number of the studious Jewish laity have contributed. The same faculties which had been exercised in the composition of the Talmud were requisite also for the study of it; the Talmud therefore had an exceedingly stimulating influence upon the intellectual powers of the Jewish people, which were then directed toward other departments of knowledge. It is a noteworthy fact that the study of the Talmud gradually became a religious duty, and thus developed into an intellectual activity having no ulterior object in view. Consequently it formed a model of study for the sake of study.
The Talmud has not yet entirely lost its twofold importance as a historical factor within Judaism, despite the changes which have taken place during the last century. For the majority of Jews it is still the supreme authority in religion; and, as noted above, although it is rarely an object of study on the part of those who have assimilated modern culture, it is still a subject of investigation for Jewish learning, as a product of Judaism which yet exerts an influence second in importance only to the Bible.
The following works of traditional literature not belonging to the Talmud have been included in the editions of Babli: Abot de-Rabbi Natan; Derek Erez Rabbah; Derek Erez Zuta; Kallah; Semahot; Soferim.
Bibliography: The manuscripts, editions, and translations have been discussed in the article. For an introduction to the Talmud the following works may be mentioned in addition to the general ones on Jewish history: Weiss, Dor, iii.;
Halevy, Dorot ha-Rishonim, ii., Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1901;
H. L. Strack, Einleitung in den Talmud, 2d ed., Leipsic, 1894 (covers the Mishnah also and contains an extensive bibliography of the Talmud);
M. Mielziner, Introduction to the Talmud, Cincinnati (also gives good bibliography of the Talmud; the second part of this work contains a clear discussion of the hermeneutics and the methodology of the Talmud). On the Palestinian Talmud: Z. Frankel, Mebo, Breslau, 1870;
J. Wiener, Gib'at Yerushalayim, Vienna, 1872 (reprinted from Ha-Shahar);
A. Geiger, Die Jerusalemische Gemara, in his Jüd. Zeit. 1870, pp. 278-306 (comp. Monatsschrift, 1871, pp. 120-137);
I. Lewy, Interpretation des Ersten Abschnitts des Palästinischen Talmud-Traktates Nesikin, in Breslauer Jahresbericht, 1895, pp. 1-19. On the Babylonian Talmud: Z. Frankel, Beiträge zur Einleitung in den Talmud, in Monatsschrift, 1861, pp. 168-194, 205-212, 258-272;
N. Brüll, Die Entstehungsgeschichte des Babylonischen Talmuds als Schriftwerkes, in his Jahrb. 1876, ii. 1-123. On the earlier works introductory to the Talmud: J. H. Weiss, in Bet Talmud, i., ii., Vienna, 1881, 1882;
Samuel b. Hophni, Madkhal ila 'al-Talmud (= "Introduction to the Talmud"; this is the earliest work bearing the title and is known only through a quotation in the lexicon of Ibn Janah, s.v. );
Samuel ha-Nagid, Mebo ha-Talmud (forming an appendix to the first volume of modern editions of the Talmud);
Joseph ibn 'AKnin, an introduction to the Talmud (Hebr. transl. from the Arabic), edited in the Jubelschrift des Breslauer Seminars zum Siebzigen Geburtstage Frankels, 1871.
For other works on the subject see Talmud Hermeneutics;
a list is given in Jellinek, Kontres ha-Kelalim, Vienna, 1878. General articles on the Talmud in reviews and encyclopedias: Emil Deutsch, in Quarterly Review, 1867, frequently reprinted and translated;
J. Derenbourg, in Lichtenberg's Encyclopédie des Sciences Religieuses, 1882, xii. 1007-1036;
Arsène Darmesteter, in R. E. J. xviii. (Actes et Conferences, pp. ccclxxxi.-dcxlii.);
S. Schechter, in Hastings, Dict. Bible, extra vol., 1904, pp. 57-66;
E. Bischoff, Talmud-Katechismus, Leipsic, 1904.
On the literature of the Talmud commentaries see Talmud Commentaries. On grammatical and lexicographical aids to the study of the Talmud see Jew. Encyc. vi.80, s.v. Grammar, Hebrew, and ib. iv. 580-585, s.v. Dictionaries, Hebrew.
Talmud
