What could be so interesting about a book that it has been studied for centuries, why is it so important?
How it all started: To answer these simple, yet deep questions we must look at the beginning: Ravina and Rav Ashi were the final generations of the Talmudic era. Rav Yochanan first composed the Jerusalem Talmud and 100 years later, Rav Ashi composed the Babylonian Talmud. The intent of the Talmud is to explain the deeper and more complex meaning of the Mishna and to relate the new matters that were developed in court. From these two books of Talmud, we can derive what is forbidden and what is allowed, what is pure and what is not pure, and who is liable and who is not liable.
Before the Talmud was created, their were sages that tried to interpret verses of the Torah. These sages include: Rabbi Hoshai and Rabbi Akiva. These two Rabbis also composed what is called a Mechilta- a collection of all their interpretations of the Torah.
Life after the Talmud: The Talmud shaped Jewish learning for centuries, but what was it like after? After the court of Rav Ashi had finished composing the Babylonian Talmud, the Jewish people dispersed throughout all the land and became distant from Judaism. Instead of thousands of students who would attend Yeshiva, they would now join small groups of people in their own cities and countries to study Torah.
What Have We Learned???
The Talmud is the glue that holds jewish tradition together. We must never deviate from the Talmud and even though we make our own customs, we must always remember the words of the sages and not ignore them. The Talmud established ordinances and decrees in order to help us. Always remember that the Rabbis always had the people's interest in mind and whatever they did was for the better of the Jewish people.
If we did not provide enough information, watch the video below. The video does not belong to us, but offers a great amount of information. The video belongs to Benny Goldstein's Youtube account and AnimatedTalmud.com.