Talmud
The Talmud is a central religious text of Rabbinic Judaism. It is a less important or not important text for groups such as the Sadducees, Karaite Judaism, and Reform Judaism. Not all Jews, in the past and present, have accepted the Talmud as having religious authority.
Commentary and study
Orthodox Judaism maintains that the oral law was revealed together with the written law. As such, Orthodox Judaism has resisted any effort to apply the historical method to the Talmud. It also resists imputing motives to the authors of the Talmud. The Talmud is the written record of an oral tradition. It became the basis for many rabbinic legal codes and customs.
The Christians
Throughout history, Christian scholars have studied the Talmud in order to compare the teachings of the Talmud with the teachnings of Christianity. In 1892, an important book was published by Rev. Ignatius Pranaitis, The Talmud Unmasked.[1] In this book, Pranaitis gave a summary of what the Talmud teaches about Christians, the gentiles or goyim. According to the Talmud[2]:
- Jews do not regard non-Jews as human beings
- Judaism despises non-Jews
- Christians Unworthy to Associate with Jews
- Christians are Unclean
- Christians are Idolaters
- Christians are Evil
- Christians are not like men, but beasts
