Free Download of the Soncino Talmud in English Online at Halakhah.com: 25,000+ satisfied customers a month

The Soncino Babylonian Talmud English translation is online - at a site that is not anti-Semitic or polemical.

Download the Talmud in English free at http://www.halakhah.com/ - 25,000+ downloads each month! 300,000+ each year.

TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH WITH NOTES, GLOSSARY AND INDICES UNDER THE EDITORSHIP OF RABBI DR. I. EPSTEIN B.A., Ph.D., D. Lit. FOREWORD BY THE VERY REV. THE LATE CHIEF RABBI DR. J. H. HERTZ. INTRODUCTION BY THE EDITOR. THE SONCINO PRESS, LONDON.

Contains the Sedarim (orders, or major divisions) and tractates (books) of the Babylonian Talmud, as translated and organized for publication by the Soncino Press in 1935 - 1948.

The site has the entire Soncino Talmud edition in PDF format and  about 8050 pages on line in browser compatible HTML format, comprising 1460 files — of the Soncino Talmud.

Please add a link to the site http://www.halakhah.com on your web site or blog.

Highlights:

• A newly formatted 2-column PDF version of the Soncino Talmud at Halakhah.com.
• A Kindle edition of the Soncino Talmud available from Amazon.com: The Kindle Soncino Talmud in English

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Team One Family Triathlon Special: Free Kindle Book: God's Favorite Prayers

I swam in the Hudson on a rally team with Team One Family in the NYC Tri this Sunday. Yitz did the whole tri.

So here is my Triathlon Offer: God's Favorite Prayers
Free Kindle Book from now until Sunday Night July 14.

Make a contribution to Team One Family to sponsor Yitz to help victims of terror.

Purchase all of Our Talmudic Books
Buy the Kindle Talmud in English
Ponder the Questions of Whence and Wherefore
Experience the paperback of God's Favorite Prayers

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Holiday Promotion: Free Kindle Talmudic Books for Shavuot and Mother's Day

Click and Enjoy Your Kindle Free Talmudic Books for Shavuot and Mother's Day

Check Out All the Other Talmudic Books
See the 36 Volume Kindle Talmud in English
Ponder the Questions of Whence and Wherefore
Experience God's Favorite Prayers

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Is the author and spiritual seeker Paulo Coelho Jewish?

No Paulo Coelho is not a Jew. He was brought up Catholic and attended a Jesuit school in Brazil. Coelho is not a big fan of any organized religion. He speaks with lyrical disdain and disparagement in his books about the wisdom and ritual of religions.

His current publication, Manuscript Found in Accra, is set in Jerusalem before a battle. The people in the book gather to ask about life so that they can learn enough to save "the soul of Jerusalem." The publisher tells us:

July 14, 1099. Jerusalem awaits the invasion of the crusaders who have surrounded the city’s gates. There, inside the ancient city’s walls, men and women of every age and every faith have gathered to hear the wise words of a mysterious man known only as the Copt. He has summoned the townspeople to address their fears with truth:

“Tomorrow, harmony will become discord. Joy will be replaced by grief. Peace will give way to war. . . . None of us can know what tomorrow will hold, because each day has its good and its bad moments. So, when you ask your questions, forget about the troops outside and the fear inside. Our task is not to leave a record of what happened on this date for those who will inherit the Earth; history will take care of that. Therefore, we will speak about our daily lives, about the difficulties we have had to face.”

The people begin with questions about defeat, struggle, and the nature of their enemies; they contemplate the will to change and the virtues of loyalty and solitude; and they ultimately turn to questions of beauty, love, wisdom, sex, elegance, and what the future holds. “What is success?” poses the Copt. “It is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace.” ...

Now, these many centuries later, the wise man’s answers are a record of the human values that have endured throughout time. And, in Paulo Coelho’s hands, The Manuscript Found in Accra reveals that who we are, what we fear, and what we hope for the future come from the knowledge and belief that can be found within us, and not from the adversity that surrounds us.

This book is new age in every respect that we can think of especially in the way that it wanders through spiritual landscapes and themes without a care for a conventional framework of organization or presentation.

One passage struck us because it sounded like the utter opposite of the philosophy of life and values that we heard espoused at Yeshiva University by our teacher the Rav, Rabbi Soloveitchik and by his followers.

We will cite Coelho's passage and leave it without explanation; and we wish that understanding will flow to those who understand:

Beauty is present in all creation, but the dangerous fact is that, because we human beings are often cut off from the Divine Energy, we allow ourselves to be influenced by what other people think... And we become ugly and embittered.

At that moment, we can draw comfort from so-called wisdom, an accumulation of ideas put together by people wishing to define the world instead of respecting the mystery of life. This "wisdom" consists of all the unnecessary rules, regulation, and measurements intended to establish a standard of behavior. 

According to that false wisdom, we should not be concerned about beauty because it is superficial and ephemeral. 

That isn't true. All the beings created under the sun, from birds to mountains, from flowers to rivers, reflect the miracle of creation. 

If we resist the temptation to allow other people to define who we are, then we will gradually be able to let the sun inside our own soul shine forth... (pp. 60-61)

Back in 2011 we wrote about his previous book Aleph saying that the book... will greatly entertain the spiritual seeker. By that we mean if you are open to the concepts of past lives and the mystical energies of the universe, this book will speak to you. But even if you are such a seeker, you may feel, as we do, that at times the book overdoes some of its themes.

Within the story Coelho provides some gems of writing. We identified with his metaphor of the Chinese bamboo plant since we had spent several years putting down the roots of our latest book. And now, that book (God's Favorite Prayers) has sprouted up boldly after its publication.

Coelho explains that the Chinese Bamboo first, “...spends 5 years as a little shoot, using that time to develop its complex root system. And then from one moment to the next, it puts on a spurt and grows up to 25 meters high.”

Within the narrative Coelho casts in what can be wonderful observations, if they resonate for you. On the life-value of mistakes he tells us, “...only mediocrity is sure of itself, so take risk and do what you really want to do. Seek out people who aren’t afraid of making mistakes and who, therefore, do make mistakes. Because of that, their work often isn’t recognized, but they are precisely the kind of people who change the world and, after many mistakes, do something that will transform their own community completely”.

He does get this inspiring exhortation partly right. We'd say to seek out people who are afraid to make mistakes -- that is a human trait -- but who nevertheless go ahead and make them. And he does need to differentiate and specify what he means by "mistakes". He surely means the worthy and meaty and bold and creative mistakes, not the foolish ones. And then of course, we all need to know some definition of the notion of "transform" -- but we never do get that from most of those who throw out the idea. We just know that they mean that transformation is something good and different and fresh and original.

It's all in a narrative that is highly intuitive and new age. And we get it and we like it. We also like the title.

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Free at Last from Friday through Sunday: Six People You Meet in Synagogue

For the Passover holidays, the Talmudic Blog and Talmudic Books is giving away a new book:  Six People You Meet in Synagogue.

In this book, the author, Tzvee Zahavy, presents six ideal personalities of Jewish prayer and their respective prayers.

This is a condensed version of the author's previous work, God's Favorite Prayers (Talmudic Books, 2011) where he first developed the notion of the six distinct prayer archetypes: the performer, the mystic, the scribe, the priest, the meditator and the celebrity.

Six People You Meet in Synagogue
For Kindle from Amazon: FREE for Passover -- from Friday through Sunday, March 29-31.

Check Out all the Talmudic Books
See the Kindle Edition Talmud in English
ALSO FREE for Passover -- Ponder the Questions of Whence and Wherefore -- FREE 

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Was Rashi the Greatest Bible Exegete?

Indeed, many scholars believe that Rashi was the greatest Bible exegete.

The paradigmatic master of medieval rabbinic commentary was Rashi (Rabbi Solomon b. Isaac, 1040-1105) a scholar from the north of France. While he is often credited with the move to “literal commentary” in medieval times, even a cursory study of his commentaries reveals how indebted he was to the rabbinic exegesis of the earlier classical compilations. With Rashi we witness the mature development of a new paradigm of interpretation. He delicately balances his interpretations between gloss and exposition. He picks at and edits the earlier Midrash materials and weaves together with them into his commentary the results of new discoveries, such as philology and grammar. His main proposition is hardly radical within rabbinism. He accepts that there is one whole Torah of Moses consisting of the oral and written traditions and texts. In his commentaries he accomplished the nearly seamless integration of the basics of both bodies of tradition.

You can purchase this book at Amazon by Maurice Liber, Rashi: The Greatest Exegete and read about Rashi and his work. We added a Foreword. Price: $0.99

Check Out 44 Talmudic Books
See the 36 Volume Kindle Talmud in English
Ponder the Questions of Whence and Wherefore
Experience God's Favorite Prayers

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Five Free Kindle Books -Our Purim Promotion February 10

Make some noise about this, you can get these Free Amazon Kindle Books in Honor of Purim - on Sunday, February 10.

By Tzvee Zahavy 

• God's Favorite Prayers - Our Hot Best Seller
• God Bless You: The Origins of Jewish Prayers and Blessings
• Eleazar: Rabbi, Priest, Patriarch
• Define Judaism: Ten Seminars

And by Zev Zahavy

• Whence and Wherefore

Also on Kindle with a foreword by Tzvee Zahavy

• Rashi: The Greatest Exegete ($.99)

And get your copies of the Talmud in English - 36 volumes @ $.99 each!

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Is Menstruation Kosher?

Well that silly question got your attention... Kosher means fit or proper.

Yes, you will know that menstruation is kosher, if you are an educated person. There is nothing unfit about it. It is a normal part of human health and life.

But according to an op-ed report in the Times, "The Taboo of Menstruation," religious and cultural taboos concerning menstruation are widespread in India, to the degree that, "The taboo of menstruation in India causes real harm. Women in some tribes are forced to live in a cowshed throughout their periods. There are health issues, like infections caused by using dirty rags, and horror stories..."

Menstrual taboos also exist among Orthodox Jews, though to the best of our knowledge without the concomitant damaging physical health issues. We are not expert enough to comment on whether there are damaging psychological or social issues associated with the taboos. We were taught about only the beautiful meanings of the taboos when we studied at the Orthodox men's schools of Yeshiva University.

The Talmud has a tractate dedicated to the taboos: in English translation - Niddah (The Menstruant: 10 chapters, 73 folios, 509 pages) Nidah.PDF and in an improved edition 52a Niddoh 2a-23a | 52b Niddoh 23b-48a | 52c Niddoh 48b-73a, and a Kindle edition, Soncino Babylonian Talmud Niddah (Soncino Bablylonian Talmud).

Talmudic Conclusion: We don't like any taboos that are damaging, especially those directed by men against women.

Talmudic Books for Kindle | Kindle Talmud in English | Six People You Meet in Synagogue: God's Favorite Prayers

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Free For Daf Yomi: Tractate Shabbat in English

For daf yomi Tractate Shabbat in English:

Amazon - Kindle: Soncino Babylonian Talmud Shabbath

On www.Halakhah.com:

PDF FREE Classic or PDF FREE 2 column: 12a Shabbos 2a-31b | 12b Shabbos 35a-65b | 12c Shabbos 66a-100b | 12d Shabbos 101a-129b | 12e Shabbos 130a-157b

44 Talmudic Books for Kindle | The Amazing 36 Volume Kindle Talmud in English | Whence and Wherefore | God's Favorite Prayers

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Times: Is Einstein's Physics of Relativity Jewish?

In George Johnson's review of a new book by Steven Gimbel, the Times considers the issue of the connection between Albert Einstein's science and the Talmud. We're glad to see that the Talmud is given credit for such great scientific advances. Still, we need to reserve judgement on the assertions at least until we read the book.

The book blurb announces that, "There are some senses, Gimbel claims, in which Jews can find a special connection to E = mc2, and this claim leads to the engaging, spirited debate at the heart of this book."

Here is the Talmudic crux of the review:

...“Jewish physics.” With Einstein’s theories now at the bedrock of modern science, the Nazi’s words have been justly forgotten. It seems almost perverse that Steven Gimbel, the chairman of the philosophy department at Gettysburg College, would want to bring back the old epithet and give it another spin. In his original new book, “Einstein’s Jewish Science: Physics at the Intersection of Politics and Religion,” he considers the possibility that the Nazis were on to something. If you can look past the anti-Semitism, he proposes, “maybe relativity is ‘Jewish science’ after all.” What he means is that there might have been elements of Jewish thinking that gave rise to what is now recognized as one of the deepest insights of all time.

...What gives Einstein’s work a Jewish flavor, Gimbel believes, is an approach to the universe that reminds him of the way a Talmudic scholar seeks to understand God’s truth. It comes only in glimpses. “Thou shalt not steal” may seem clear enough. But is it stealing to keep a $100 bill you find on the ground? It depends. Did you see the person who might have dropped it? Was it found on a busy street or in a friend’s backyard? In a hotel lobby with a lost and found? Without the luxury of a God’s-eye view, we must reckon from different vantage points.

“The heart of the Talmudic view is that there is an absolute truth, but this truth is not directly and completely available to us,” Gimbel writes. “It turns out that exactly the same style of thinking occurs in the relativity theory and in some of Einstein’s other research.”

From our blinkered perspective we see qualities called space and time. But in relativity theory, the two can be combined mathematically into something more fundamental: a four-dimensional abstraction called the space-time interval. Time and space vary according to the motion of the observer. But from any vantage point, an object’s space-time interval would be the same — the higher truth that can be approached only from different angles. The same kind of thinking, Gimbel says, also led to Einstein’s thought experiments with the elevator showing that when we feel the pull of gravity from the Earth or the push of acceleration from the takeoff of a jet, we are experiencing the same under­lying phenomenon.

Gimbel isn’t saying that only a Jew could have discovered these things but that being Jewish just might have given Einstein an edge...

And by the way, our dad wrote about relativity in several places in his book, Whence and Wherefore, as for instance this observation:

Consider the excitement generated by Einstein’s theory of relativity in the early years of the twentieth century. Its implications shook the very pillars of scientific determinism. At the outset, there was no way to test its validity. The scientists who accepted its credibility, could do so only as an act of faith. On the other hand, its recognition would indicate a challenge to the undisputed principle of scientific determinism. Courageous scientists, in those early inconclusive days, boldly took that leap of faith, and by doing so, they incautiously placed their scientific reputations on the line. The rest of the tale is now common knowledge. Einstein was vindicated and proved correct. A revolution ensued in the world of physics and related sciences. The behavior of the light of stars acted in accordance with the remarkable conclusions of an ingenious intellect, and those who indulged in the early leap of faith were rewarded by the ultimate triumph of their convictions.

44 New Talmudic Books for Kindle | The Amazing 36 Volume Kindle Talmud in English | God's Favorite Prayers

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Free Sunday July 15 - Eleazar by Tzvee Zahavy

Free Sunday July 15. Eleazar: Rabbi, Priest, Patriarch. Amazon Kindle e-book edition.

Description: For anyone concerned with the formative period of rabbinic Judaism, the study of Rabbi Eleazar b. Azariah and his traditions is naturally important. He was prominent as a rabbi, a priest and a politician. According to rabbinic texts, Eleazar was a major figure among the rabbis at Yavneh in Israel in the second century C.E. Rabbinic literature speaks of Eleazar in more than two hundred places. One narrative describes that he was an important political figure at Yavneh and reports that he played a role in the events surrounding the deposition of Gamaliel II from the patriarchate. Many other traditions juxtapose his teachings with those of Aqiva, Eliezer, Joshua, and other major rabbis of the early era.

44 New Talmudic Books for Kindle | The Amazing 36 Volume Kindle Talmud in English | Whence and Wherefore | God's Favorite Prayers

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Book Notice: Relics for the Present: Contemporary Reflections on the Talmud by Levi Cooper

Relics for the Present: Contemporary Reflections on the Talmud by Levi Cooper is a wonderful, learned book of comments and insights on the first five chapters of the Talmud Bavli Berakhot, the relic that the author brings into the present through his interpretations based on rabbinic authorities that he cites whose listing runs five plus pages.

The book is clearly written and deftly argued. The lessons that Rabbi Dr. Cooper extracts are sensitive and sensible.

We recommend this volume to anyone wanting to learn more about Jewish prayer through the prisms of great Talmudic and later rabbinic authorities.

By coincidence we have published an anthology of the texts of the first five chapters of Talmud Yerushalmi Berakhot in a Kindle ebook edition, Kosher Prayers: an Anthology from the Talmud Yerushalmi Berakhot. Like the Bavli, the Talmud of Land of Israel in Yerushalmi Tractate Berakhot presents many of the ancient rabbis’ discussions about Jewish prayers with particular attention to how to pray the major Jewish prayers, the Shema and the Amidah for the weekdays, Sabbaths and holidays.

Together the two volumes will enhance in different ways a person's understanding of the daily prayers of the Jewish liturgy.

44 New Talmudic Books for Kindle | The Amazing 36 Volume Kindle Talmud in English | Whence and Wherefore | God's Favorite Prayers

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Get the Kindle Babylonian Talmud in English

Get the Amazing Kindle Babylonian Talmud in English:

1.      Kindle Babylonian Talmud Berakoth

2.      Kindle Mishnah Seder Zera‘im

3.      Kindle Babylonian Talmud Shabbath

4.      Kindle Babylonian Talmud ‘Erubin

5.      Kindle Babylonian Talmud Pesahim

6.      Kindle Babylonian Talmud Yoma

7.      Kindle Babylonian Talmud Sukkah

8.      Kindle Babylonian Talmud Bezah

9.      Kindle Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah

10.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Taanith

11.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Megillah and Shekalim

12.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Moed Katan

13.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Hagigah

14.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Yebamoth

15.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Kethuboth

16.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Nedarim

17.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Nazir

18.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Sotah

19.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Gittin

20.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin

21.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Baba Kamma

22.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Baba Mezia

23.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Baba Bathra

24.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin

25.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Abodah Zarah

26.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Horayoth and Shebuoth

27.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Makkoth, Eduyyoth and Aboth

28.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Zebahim

29.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Menahot

30.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Hullin

31.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Bekoroth and Arakin

32. Kindle Babylonian Talmud Temurah

33. Kindle Babylonian Talmud Kerithoth

34. Kindle Babylonian Talmud Meilah, Tamid, Middoth and Kinnim

35.  Kindle Babylonian Talmud Niddah

36.  Kindle Mishnah Seder Tohoroth

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A Successful Kindle Direct Promotion for God's Favorite Prayers

I allowed the previously scheduled Kindle Direct Publishing promotion for my book "God's Favorite Prayers" to proceed on Sunday May 2, even though I was sitting shiva for my dad. I thought he would have had no objection to that.

I expected that when Amazon made the book free for a day it would result in the download by readers of a few hundred copies. That would be a good way to build momentum for the volume within the KDP publishing program.

At the end of the day on Sunday I looked to see the number of downloads for that one day.

The number was 1,852. The book rose to number 131 on the overall national Amazon free Kindle book list. I was surprised and pleased.

Now I will monitor how this benefits the future sales of the volume, since that is the primary motive for participating in the promotional program.

Talmudic Books for Kindle on the Talmud, Bible, Kabbalah and Prayer
The Kindle Edition of the Classic Soncino Talmud in English

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Slate Magazine: How ex-Orthodox men Learn About Relating to Women (and it's not via Talmud)

The Talmud has seven whole Tractates in the division called "Women" and one of them is over 1000 pages in the English Translation. For starters check out tractates Yebamoth and Kethuboth (Soncino Babylonian Talmud Yebamoth, 1072 pages  and Soncino Babylonian Talmud Kethuboth, 877 pages in the Kindle editions).

And remember that about the contents of the Talmud, the saying goes, "Turn and turn it for you will find everything in it" -- presumably including some really good advice about relating to women.

That's why we cannot understand how come ex-Orthodox men need any dating advice at all.

(Hat tip to Rebecca...) On Facebook we found a link to this article in Slate, "Hey Baby, What’s Your Sinai? - Teaching ex-Orthodox Jews how to date in New York" by Diana Spechler.

As you can see from this quote below, in a heartwarming story, Diana thinks that some formerly Orthodox men are clueless about women and need coaching. All we can say is perhaps these guys skipped their Talmud classes at the Yeshiva.

...According to Irenstein, lack of self-confidence pervades the recently ex-Orthodox, who refer to themselves as OTD, or “Off the Derech” (derech is Hebrew for path). Once they’ve gone off the path, for a variety of reasons including loss of faith, distaste for the lifestyle, and longing to educate themselves beyond the Jewish texts, OTD’ers are like immigrants in the secular world, unsure of the language and customs of dating, battling the voices of their parents and rabbis, who warned them that touching the opposite sex before marriage would incur God’s wrath.

“There are three problems specific to the ex-religious when they first try to date,” Irenstein says. “Inexperience, having no identity, and having no understanding of the opposite sex.” That makes sense when you consider how insular the Orthodox communities are. Premarital sex, even premarital touching, is prohibited. And there is a rule for everything, including which shoelace to tie first and what to do with one’s facial hair. OTD’ers who come to Irenstein never had the awkward, albeit formative, experiences the rest of us had—slow-dancing with some height-inappropriate partner in seventh grade, locking braces with someone in the back of a movie theater, getting to “second base.” Their questions for Irenstein range from the peculiar such as, “Is it OK to pay a girl $80 to go out with me?” to the commonplace concerns of men on the New York dating scene: “How many dates before I should allow her to split the check?”

Irenstein doesn’t just answer their questions about the game; he shoves the men out onto the field. By the end of his session with Sam, he’ll have Sam approaching girls, trying to score a phone number, or at least to touch an elbow during some flirtatious banter.

At 29, Irenstein was married with two daughters, living in the Hasidic community he’d grown up in. He remembers his 6-year-old coming home from school and telling him that non-Jews existed solely to witness the good deeds of the Jews. He’d wanted out of Hasidism for a while, but that was the day he pulled his kids out of school and laid plans to move. “I would have done anything,” says Irenstein, “even given up my own life, to make sure my kids weren’t forced into cult living.”

Having grown up in Israel and Brooklyn, Irenstein landed in secular New York with a third-grade-level education and a mediocre grasp of English. When he and his wife divorced, he found himself on foreign ground. “I had no idea how to talk to women,” he says. “I’d never even looked one in the eye.” Irenstein’s former Hasidic community, Gur, is one of the strictest sects, as well as one of the most sexually squeamish. Even married couples aren’t supposed to kiss, and they’re allowed sex only for purposes of procreation....

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