The rabbis are as important today as they were two thousand years ago, at the dawn of the literature that came to be named after them. The Mishnah, the Tosefta, the Talmud, the collections of Midrash, and other writings ascribed to the ancient rabbis—the oral Torah—were gradually produced between the first and the seventh centuries of the Common Era. What began as the rabbis’ comments and decisions on practical matters were eventually written down and preserved. Over time the literature constantly grew and changed, eventually evolving into a widely diverse collection of material. Regardless of what form it took, rabbinic literature guided and shaped Jewish life.

Opening the vast pages of rabbinic literature is like entering a conversation already in progress. To understand and appreciate what is going on, one needs to know some basic things about the content, purpose, and context of the speakers.

In Introduction to Rabbinic Literature, legendary author and teacher Jacob Neusner distills a lifetime of scholarship into the essence of what has been received from the rabbis. This book gives readers everything they need to know to understand rabbinic literature. It explores the formative age and the forces that gave rise to rabbinic literature, and tells in a simple, straightforward way what these documents are, where to find them, how to read them, and why their content matters. Best of all, Neusner masterfully covers all this in one relatively compact volume that both novice and expert can appreciate.