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Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud is a vast collection of Jewish laws and traditions. This edition contains ten volumes, including influential sections of the Talmud on the "festivals" and "jurisprudence."
Targums on the Pentateuch
Targum means oral translation. In Jewish practice, when the Scriptures were read in the synagogue, they were to be accompanied by a translation into Aramaic, the popular form of Hebrew that Jesus and most Jews spoke in Israel at the time. After each verse was translated, the translator would add a commentary. Hence the value of the Targums in trying to recreate Jewish understanding of their sacred texts during the time of Jesus and the early Church. This site includes Targums on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
For more on the importance of the Targums:
- Targums (from the Catholic Encyclopedia)
- History of the Targums
For a start at learning the language of the Targums, including the Lord's prayer:
- Aramaic for beginners
Targum of Palestine
English Translation of Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Book of Genesis with commentary ascribed to Jonathan Ben Uzziel. Rabbi Jonathan was a first-century rabbi and student of Hillel, the Doctor of the Law during the time of King Herod. Scholars say the Targum attributed to Jonathan should be dated much later. It is in 3 parts:
- Targum of Palestine - Part 2
- Targum of Palestine - Part 3 (on the Sacrifice of Isaac).
See, also:
- Targum to the Book of Ruth
- Targum to the Song of Songs
Midrash
Collections of rabbinic commentaries on various books of the Old Testament. For an introduction:
- Midrashim (From the Catholic Encyclopedia)
- A Goy's Guide to the Midrashim (An excellent resource with a tongue-in-cheek name)
- A Midrash Bibliography
For other selections from the Targums and Midrash:
- Targum and Midrash on Salvation History Themes and Events
- Messianic Exegesis
- Jewish Apocalypse
- Midrash Tanhuma
The Midrash of the Messiah
A complete book that studies in-depth the "meal of the Messiah" as depicted in Midrash Ruth (Chapters 5,7,8) and other Jewish literature. By Lutheran scholar, Risto Santala. A quote: "It reveals an eternal perspective on the Messianic banquet similar to the Holy Communion in the New Testament. The concepts as 'to eat in this world, and in the Messianic age, and in the World to Come', 'the bread of the kingdom', the Messiah, who 'was wounded for our transgressions', the Messiah who will 'rain down manna' upon his people, the discussion concerning Elijah recording our good deeds and 'the Messiah and the Holy One subscribing to and sealing' them, provided imposing spectacles for studying other Jewish writings. No wonder Midrash Ruth has been awarded the nickname 'the Midrash of the Messiah'." (.pdf files, requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
Rabbinic Texts and Tradition
Good short explanations of currents of prayer and biblical interpretation in the time of Jesus. See also this overview:
- Figures in the Rabbinic Tradition
For what the rabbis considered what the rabbis considered to be:
- Messianic Texts from the Bible
For excerpts from the writings of the rabbis:
- Rabbinic Wisdom
- Rabbinic Parables
Moses Maimonides
The great Spanish rabbi of the twelfth century. For an introduction, see:
- The Teachings of Moses Maimonides (Catholic Encyclopedia)
For extracts from his writings:
- Circumcision and Circumcision
- The Binding of Isaac (the Aqedah)
- 613 Mizvot
- Thirteen Articles of the Jewish Faith
- The Laws and Basic Principles of the Torah
- The Laws Concerning the Coming of the Messiah
- The Oath of Maimonides
Halacha-Yomi
A translation of the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, a compendium of Jewish law made by Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried in the late 19th century. While not a text from biblical times, it includes laws relating to prayer, to the study of the Torah and more.
