The Talmud is one of the richest and most complicated works of literature the world has ever known. Since being composed around 1500 years ago it has inspired not only religious reverence but significant intellectual engagement. In this course learners will be introduced to the unique characteristics of this text and the challenges that inhere in studying it while studying a chapter of the Talmud. Students of the course can expect to develop an appreciation for how the Talmud works and why it continues to inspire religious and intellectual devotion. They will be challenged to employ critical reading skills and to analyze legal and historical concepts.
The course is great and the instructors are superbly skilled people making complex topics easy to understand.
Very informative. As a reader of the Bible, I wanted to get as many understandings as I could. This course has definitely helped in my understanding of interpretation.
Fascinating and very well presented lessons and discussions of traditions of reasoning and argument.
The choice of material was excellent as was the presentations by both knowledgable instructors.Would be happy to take additional advanced courses in Talmud skills from them as well.
Great way of introducing a topic as complex as the Talmud. It was surely amazing to have such course instructors who can rarely be matched both in eloquence and erudition. Overall it was fun!
I was a good course. I learned many things about Talmud that I did nit know before. It gave me a good understanding while reading the book The Talmud.
Thank you Professor Wimpfheimer for offering this course. Though I am a Catholic, the course gave me a clearer perspective on how to understand the Sacred Scriptures. Thank you! Shalom!
I learned a lot. The course was well thought out, the presenters were knowledgeable and their material was well articulated, useful and interesting. Thank you!
A very exacting course with much unfamiliar material, but I found it very interesting. Thank you.
An outstanding look into the complexities and nuances of the the Talmud. Well-taught, thought-provoking, interesting...
Phenomenal! I wish that I could study more Talmud with such in-depth guidance for every single page haha
Very interesting peek into the world of Talmud (and interesting to this non-Jewish student). I like that the Hebrew-reading student can access the original texts too.
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Best course I've experienced on Coursera so far! Really engaging and not 'dumbed down'. Fantastic and charismatic professor and assistant. Already recommended the course to many friends.
This course is both a traditional and non-traditional Talmud course. The non-traditional gives a historic prospective of the basis of Talmud with a modern view of its derivation.
The course was incredible! It is extremely informative, yet just the right length for a beginner in the study of Jewish History. I have learned so much through this course, I am deeply grateful for this rare opportunity. The material provided is ideal for studying and further research on your own. The Professor as well as the incredible PhD Candidate ( I assume now a Dr) had a wonderful way of teaching and were very knowledgeable on the subject. Thank you again for the work you have put into this course. Five stars from me!
This course really stretched the limits of my intellect while being totally accessible, well organized, and interesting. As a secular Jew who knows next to nothing about Jewish thought and history, I'm grateful to now have enough knowledge to give an "elevator speech" about the Talmud: its origins, structure, content, and place in the faith and history. Thank you to Barry and Sarah for a wonderful, doable MOOC!
This was a great course! I hope there will come a continuation to this. I certainly will join in. I am inspired to do more study of Talmud myself and can recommend to everybody interested in Talmud to take this course. It is best way to spend your time! Big compliments to the makers of it.
Exactly what I was hoping for in this class - a thorough introduction to Talmud and its associated literature, and a peek at how the material is parsed and has been understood by its readers and editors. Thanks so much!
Great way of introducing a topic as complex as the Talmud. It was surely amazing to have such course instructors who can rarely be matched both in eloquence and erudition. Overall it was fun!
Thank you Professor Wimpfheimer for offering this course. Though I am a Catholic, the course gave me a clearer perspective on how to understand the Sacred Scriptures. Thank you! Shalom!
The choice of material was excellent as was the presentations by both knowledgable instructors.
Would be happy to take additional advanced courses in Talmud skills from them as well.
Excellent course. It is building up gradually an understanding of what is the Talmud and how it works. Clear, short lecture videos, repeated glossary terms which help to memorize and understand the terminology which is foreign for those who are not well versed in Jewish studies. Some of the quizes were a bit difficult (ex. Kal vehomer), especially those with the multiple choices as answers. The little graphic representations ease the solemnity of the topic.
Overall excellent course, I would recommend to anyone who would like to be intelectually stimulated. Kol Hakavod Sarah, the clarity with which you explain complex concepts is remarkable. Professor Wimpfheimer, please do continue your teaching through this medium, it can reach and teach many people and it is very much appreciated.
Thank you all.
Judith
I recently read a book about Talmudic Advises translated in Japanese. I liked it very much and it lead me to exploring Jewish further. I ended up taking this course.
This course was more academic than I had imagined, but I enjoyed a lot. I realized that inside, there was tons of information and studies that I can't even find on internet. So I think the time I spent on this course worth it. I will use this knowledge for further studies as a foundation. One day I hope I'll have a nice discussion time with a real Rabbi. Thank you.
I can only give high five, because of the involvement of the teachers. Even thought I am a proud Christian, I am very interested in Jewish culture and tradition, and I learned a lot from your course. I learned however one important thing : that I might know mroe about the Talmud that most of the people on this globe, but I know almost nothing, and there is still much place to learn about.
I wanted to learn more about Rabbinic Literature, and this course was an essential! I enjoyed both teachers in this MOOC and fell in love and was inspired by the Talmud, even as a non-Jew. Learning about The Talmud helped me think more critically about other parts of my studies and life, such as the Bible, logistics, and concepts on ethics. Really interesting and sophisticated course!
This course really meant a lot to me. All my life, I wondered about the Talmud's content and what studying it would entail. Yet, not being Jewish, I thought I had no way to explore my curiosity. The course provides the tools to analyze and appreciate the Talmud; it also provides a clear path for continued study. I wish this professor offered other MOOCs whatever the subject.
When I joined this course; I had no idea what I was getting into, after all, it seemed eccentric that a 20-year old agnostic ethnically Chinese boy from Singapore would take interest in a religion that is a very small minority in his home country; but I found much of the course content interesting and appealing, and certainly a new entry into a new world! Thank you so much!
As a Seventh Day Adventist Christian that I am, I recommended strongly. We can learn new views to understand, to make interpretations, tools to study the scriptures, and a way to improve the understanding of Jesus as a Jew, as a Torah´s student and master that he was, independient of your believings on his divine character. Great to do better exegesis and hermeneutics!!
This course is awesome. Seriously! I'm not Jewish. I have been studying the Torah with a Jewish friend, and I am learning Hebrew. This course went beyond expectations in providing a frame of reference for understanding not only what the Talmud is, but understanding that it is accessible to any who study it! Grateful to the presenters for their energy and presence.
Very interesting course and well presented, yet I would have used examples from other sections of the Talmud.But all in all a SUPRB course.
The narrative at the bottom of the videos contains numerous mistakes and it needs to be proofread.
The biggest HOWLER was when then the Professor used the word " flippancy ; which was written as FLIP and SEA
Excelente disciplina, ótima exposição, materiais muito relevantes e ofereceram elementos para que eu possa continuar com o estudo. Parabéns e obrigado!! Alvaro C. Pestana
Excellent discipline, great exposure, very relevant materials and offered elements for me to continue with the study. Congratulations and thanks !! Alvaro C. Pestana
This was an extremely interesting and satisfying experience. For someone who has had an interest in Rabbinic literature for a long time but never the opportunity to truly “learn”, this course was an organized, foundational starting point. Really enjoyable!