Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash

Rating:
Summary: Simply the best work available on the subject
Review: This is simply the best work available on the subject. Each section is based on a common plan: The text is briefly discussed; variant textual versions of texts are discussed; English translations are noted; and a detailed review is then given of the past hundred years of critical study on the document in question.

It has sections on Rabbinical Hermeneutics and the Oral and Written Tradition. It covers the Mishna, Tosefta, Palestinian Talmud, Babylonian Talmud and the extracanonical tractates. Best of all, it covers all the classical midrashim compilations (midrash). This includes all the halakhic, exegetical and homiletic midrashim.

However, note that this is not a book for beginners. For those who want an introduction to rabbinical literature, you should obtain "Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts", edited by Barry W. Holtz.