The Talmud is second only to the Bible in religious importance for Jews: or as Rabbi Norman Solomon elegantly puts it, “If Scripture is the sun, the Talmud is the moon that reflects its light.”
Today, there are probably more Jews than at any time in history seriously studying Talmud, but still its language and difficult style make it inaccessible to the majority.
But now you can take a dip into the debates of the ancient rabbis more easily. A selection of Talmud has just come out as a Penguin Classic, translated with an introduction by Rabbi Solomon. You can sample an extract in our Judaism section.