INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON THE TALMUD THE first five books of Moses, ordinarily known as the Pentateuch, are the oldest written records in the world. Next to these in antiquity probably come portions of the Talmud. The Rabbis and the learned Jews assert that on Mount Sinai, in addition to the Law—embodied in the books of Moses—the Law in writing (תורה שבכתב, Torah Shebekthab), another and an oral Law (תורה שבעל פה, Torah Shebaal Peh), the Law upon the Lip—was given to Moses by the Eternal. This second