The Essential Talmud

A book that is considered the cornerstone and foundation of Judaism is the Talmud. The Talmud, as the extensive and primary collection of Jewish jurisprudence, has been praised and respected by non-Jews throughout history for its comprehensive and rational structure of legal, ethical, and moral principles. However, it has also faced criticism, reproach, and even insult due to its explicit stance towards non-Jews (who were mostly considered infidels during its formation around 2000 years ago) and its strictness towards Jews who do not adhere to Jewish law.
Misquoted and even distorted quotes attributed to the Talmud and Jewish religion, along with subsequent religious texts, have sent waves of insult and ridicule towards this book as a source of religious rulings for Jews, propagated by publications and books to the uninformed public. Fortunately, the positive approach of Iranian society and enlightened Muslim scholars in recent years towards the realities of other religions has somewhat influenced the elimination of this shortcoming, with the publication of “The Essential Talmud” being the most important of these actions.

Hojat al-Islam Bagher Talebi Darabi, a prominent researcher in the field of religions and a member of the faculty of the University of Religions and Denominations, has translated this book with precision and complete trustworthiness and, after multiple reviews by several experts, has submitted it for publication.
In the introduction to the book, while referring to Judaism as a religion that shares more common teachings with Islam than any other religion, he compares Islam’s book and tradition with the written law (Torah – Old Testament) and the oral law (Talmud) in Judaism. Talebi Darabi writes about the Talmud: “The Talmud is a symbol of rationality, thought, exertion, jurisprudence, theology, and in one word, it is a symbol of the religious literature of Judaism. Speaking about the Talmud is speaking about the history of thought and the process of the growing trend of Jewish jurisprudence. The Talmud is a lasting work that has its roots in the history and text of events that took place in the arduous lives of Jews, especially scholars, jurists, and sages of this nation…”