16 h 59 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
How do law, hidden meanings and sacred song speak to the same search for wisdom?
Hebrew Literature, edited by Epiphanius Wilson, brings together selections from the Talmud, the Kabbalah and Hebrew poetry. This anthology offers a first taste of three streams of Jewish tradition. Move from scholars debating daily conduct to mystics reading scripture for hidden meaning, then to poets expressing prayer, praise and grief.
The Talmud explores how the Torah’s commands apply to daily life, with teachings on honest dealing, kindness and work. The Kabbalah approaches scripture through symbols and secret readings passed from teacher to student. The poetry gives faith a different expression through lines that echo, answer or deepen one another.
What you’ll discover
- A conversation across centuries Encounter rabbinic teaching that asks how the Torah’s commands shape the conduct of daily life.
- Wisdom close to home Explore sayings about honest dealing, care for guests, respect for teachers and kindness to the poor.
- Scripture and hidden meaning Enter the Kabbalah’s tradition of symbols and secret readings handed down from teacher to student.
- Prayer, praise and grief Discover Hebrew poetry that gives these feelings expression through the form of song.
- The echo within verse Notice how a second line can answer or deepen the first in Hebrew poetry.
Who will love it
For curious readers who want a first taste of Jewish thought, from law and proverb to mysticism and verse.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The Talmud is a conversation across centuries
- Wise sayings turn law into daily conduct
- The Kabbalah looks for hidden meaning in scripture
- Hebrew poetry turns faith into song
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Literatura hebrea
Talmudic debate, mystical symbols and Hebrew songs reveal how Jewish thinkers argue, imagine the divine and pray.
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In short
This book is an anthology of Hebrew writing, put together by the editor Epiphanius Wilson for English readers around the start of the twentieth century. It gathers pieces from three streams of Jewish tradition: the Talmud, the mystical writings of the Kabbalah, and Hebrew poetry.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The Talmud is a conversation across centuries
The Talmud is the central work of rabbinic Judaism. It grew out of the teaching of scholars who studied the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, and asked how its commands apply to daily life. Their discussions were first handed down by memory and later written down. The result is part law book, part debate record, and part storehouse of stories.
What sets it apart is its form. A short ruling is followed by questions, objections and rival opinions, and the minority view is often kept beside the majority. The reader sees how people reasoned, not only what they decided. Readers of a sampler like this one meet that style in small doses.
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What is Hebrew Literature by Epiphanius Wilson about?
It is an anthology that gathers selections from three Jewish traditions: the Talmud, with its law and wise sayings, the Kabbalah, with its mystical readings of scripture, and Hebrew poetry. It gives English readers a broad first view.
What is the Talmud?
The Talmud is the central text of rabbinic Judaism. It records the discussions of scholars about the Torah and daily life, mixing legal rulings, debate, stories and practical advice on how to live well.
What does Kabbalah mean?
Kabbalah is a Hebrew word meaning received or handed down. It names the Jewish mystical tradition, which looks for hidden meanings in scripture and uses rich symbols to describe God, creation and the soul.
The author
Epiphanius Wilson
Epiphanius Wilson was the editor of this volume, not its author. He compiled anthologies of world literature for English-language readers around the turn of the twentieth century. The texts themselves come from many anonymous and named Jewish scholars, mystics and poets working in the rabbinic tradition across many centuries.
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