[MUSIC] Welcome to the Talmud, a methodological introduction, an online course designed to provide a basic framework for accessing one of the most important and inspirational works of literature, the Babylonian Talmud. I'm Barry Wimpfheimer, and I've been studying the Talmud intensely and at an advanced level for the past 25 years. Perhaps, I should start with a warning, then. Studying the Talmud can be very satisfying and somewhat addictive. I spent seven years formally studying the Talmud in a traditional yeshiva and five years studying the Talmud academically in Columbia University's Doctoral Program in Religion, where my doctoral adviser was the world-renowned Talmud scholar David Weiss Halivni. For the past decade, I have been a professor of Religious Studies at North Western, where I've continued to teach the Talmud and conduct advanced research in it. When I teach Talmud, I mostly teach undergraduate students, but I have also taught Talmud, which has a lot to say about law at Northwestern's Pritzker's School of Law and to doctoral students in religious studies. One of those doctoral students, Sarah Wolf, has partnered with me in the creation of this course and will be appearing regularly in the course videos. Sarah spent time in a traditional yeshiva setting and in rabbinical school prior to her enrolling at Northwestern. She is an exceptionally advanced scholar of the Talmud who has already produced original academic research in the topic, and she's a fantastic teacher. This course is designed to lead the student through a chapter of Talmud while providing answers to some of the larger questions of context that help frame one's engagement with the text. At the end of the course, you'll have a strong foundation for understanding how the Talmud works and the background to continue to study the Talmud in English translation on your own. You might be asking yourself why should I study the Talmud in the first place? That's not a bad question. There are lots of things one could do with one's time. Permit me to make a case for studying the Talmud though. How many works of literature do you know that were written 1,500 years ago and have been studied continuously and intensely by a community ever since? What other writings have formed the basis for a religion's beliefs, practices, mythology, folklore, and wisdom? Perhaps instead of telling you about the Talmud, I should let the Talmud speak for itself. The Talmud at Ta'anit 23a tells a story about Honi the Circle-Drawer that is reminiscing to Rip Van Winkle. Honi is walking along and see someone planting a tree that will take 70 years to grow. Surprised by the man's hubris that he will live that long, Honi asks what he is doing. The man answers that he does not expect to live to see the grown tree, but that he is paying for the care he received from his own ancestors. Just as they planted for him, he will plant for his children and their children. The tree turns out to be a plot device because the sooner has this conversation has ended, but Honi falls into a deep 70-year sleep. When he wakes up and sees the grown tree, the age of the tree and the identity of the farmer who is benefiting from its fruits are the indicators that he has slept for 70 years. Returning to his own home, Honi discovers that his son has passed away, and his grandson is now master of the house. Returning to the study hall, where he would have studied, he finds none of his old colleagues but new scholars, who invoke Honi's name in their studies. Realizing that he has no peers, Honi prays to die and is granted his request. The Talmud comments on the story, but this is the basis for the proverb that states [FOREIGN] either companionship or death. In other words, a life without social interactions is not a life worth living. Talmud has traditionally been studied in a havruta, the same term that the proverb contrasts with death. Only this time the word companionship usually refers to one study partner. For Talmud scholars, the havruta relationship is one of the most intimate and special, for havruta partners are companions on a journey to acquire knowledge. With this course, I invite you to become my havruta, my learning companion, on a journey to acquire the knowledge of the rabbis who produced one of the great works of world literature. Like the farmer in the story I have benefited from those who planted before me and made it possible for me to study the Talmud and learn from it. This course pays that forward and will hopefully inspire you to further the tradition of engaging with this timeless and classic test. [MUSIC]
