Ein Yaakov: The Ethical and Inspirational Teachings of the Talmud

Rating:
Summary: Translating the Ein Yaakov
Review: Jason Aronson Inc. and Avraham Finkel are to be commended for publishing this translation of Ibn Haviv's classic compendium of aggadot from the Babylonian Talmud. The translations are, for the most part, extremely accurate. Finkel generally differentiates the translation of the text from his explanatory comments by placing square brackets around the comments, which he frequently takes from the medieval commentaries. This is crucial to Talmudic translation, as many Talmudic passages are very terse and elliptical. By clearly indicating the commentary, Finkel leaves open to the reader to explain the source in a different way, or at least to appreciate how much has been supplied to make sense of the text.

One caveat: I have noticed that Finkel omits certain stories from the translation, generally stories that present unflattering portrayals of sages. For example, there are several stories of sages seeing attractive women and almost committing a sexual transgression in Qiddushin 81a-b. The stories of Rav Amram and R. Hiyya b. Abba are not translated. Similarly, there is a graphic description of the bodies of several sages in the midst of a long aggadic compilation in Bava Metsia 84a. Those sentences are simply skipped by Finkel (p. 534). In his introduction Finkel states that he omits repetitions of material that appears several times in the Ein Yaakov (p. xxix). But he makes no mention of these omissions. So the translation has been slightly censored by excluding these negative passages. My impression is that the omissions are few and far between, but I have not been over the translation with a fine-toothed comb. One occasionally finds this slight apologetic tendency in the translations themselves. That is, Finkel translates in such a way as to portray the sages in a more favorable light.

It is interesting to note that there actually was an earlier translation of the EinYaakov, by S.H. Glick (4 vols; Brooklyn, 1916-1922). Glick omits some of the same passages as Finkel. Glick also translates the introduction to aggadot of Rabbi Avrham, son of the Rambam, that Finkel provides, pp. xxix-xxvi.

In sum, this is an excellent translation for a popular audience. Scholars should use it only with caution due to its apologetic tendencies.

Dr. Jeffrey L. Rubenstein, Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University

Rating:
Summary: Translating the Ein Yaakov
Review: Jason Aronson Inc. and Avraham Finkel are to be commended for publishing this translation of Ibn Haviv's classic compendium of aggadot from the Babylonian Talmud. The translations are, for the most part, extremely accurate. Finkel generally differentiates the translation of the text from his explanatory comments by placing square brackets around the comments, which he frequently takes from the medieval commentaries. This is crucial to Talmudic translation, as many Talmudic passages are very terse and elliptical. By clearly indicating the commentary, Finkel leaves open to the reader to explain the source in a different way, or at least to appreciate how much has been supplied to make sense of the text.

One caveat: I have noticed that Finkel omits certain stories from the translation, generally stories that present unflattering portrayals of sages. For example, there are several stories of sages seeing attractive women and almost committing a sexual transgression in Qiddushin 81a-b. The stories of Rav Amram and R. Hiyya b. Abba are not translated. Similarly, there is a graphic description of the bodies of several sages in the midst of a long aggadic compilation in Bava Metsia 84a. Those sentences are simply skipped by Finkel (p. 534). In his introduction Finkel states that he omits repetitions of material that appears several times in the Ein Yaakov (p. xxix). But he makes no mention of these omissions. So the translation has been slightly censored by excluding these negative passages. My impression is that the omissions are few and far between, but I have not been over the translation with a fine-toothed comb. One occasionally finds this slight apologetic tendency in the translations themselves. That is, Finkel translates in such a way as to portray the sages in a more favorable light.

It is interesting to note that there actually was an earlier translation of the EinYaakov, by S.H. Glick (4 vols; Brooklyn, 1916-1922). Glick omits some of the same passages as Finkel. Glick also translates the introduction to aggadot of Rabbi Avrham, son of the Rambam, that Finkel provides, pp. xxix-xxvi.

In sum, this is an excellent translation for a popular audience. Scholars should use it only with caution due to its apologetic tendencies.

Dr. Jeffrey L. Rubenstein, Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University

Rating:
Summary: A Gateway to the Talmud in English
Review: This book is truly a treasure trove, and I am delighted to see it steeply discounted here so that I can recommend it to friends. Rabbi Yaakov ibn Chaviv, who lived about the same time as Columbus, extracted from the Jerusalem Talmud all the portions that were not discussions of the intricacies of the law. What is left is about a quarter of the Talmud known as the aggodot: the ethical and inspirational teachings. For those of us who are not ready to follow the intricacies of debates about legal matters, this is the core of the Talmud we always wished we could dig into.

This is the first complete translation of "The Eye of Jacob," and Avraham Finkel has done more than translate. He has added descriptive titles of each selection, which are listed as a table of contents and then indexed, making the book accessible both for reference and browsing. He has also incorporated several rabbinic commentaries (Rashi, Maharsha and others) into the text, marking them with square brackets. He also provides two introductions to the material, one that he has written and one written three hundred years before Ein Yaakov was compiled by the son of Rambam. Both are instructive, and the older one gives a great deal of insight into interpretation of this kind of text. The whole book is very readable.

The result is a delightful 800 page, small print book, containing more than a quarter of the Talmud, that makes good bed-side reading as well as being a scholarly reference tool. It is expensive, but compared to the bilingual Talmud at about $800, this is a great buy.

Rating:
Summary: A Gateway to the Talmud in English
Review: This book is truly a treasure trove, and I am delighted to see it steeply discounted here so that I can recommend it to friends. Rabbi Yaakov ibn Chaviv, who lived about the same time as Columbus, extracted from the Jerusalem Talmud all the portions that were not discussions of the intricacies of the law. What is left is about a quarter of the Talmud known as the aggodot: the ethical and inspirational teachings. For those of us who are not ready to follow the intricacies of debates about legal matters, this is the core of the Talmud we always wished we could dig into.

This is the first complete translation of "The Eye of Jacob," and Avraham Finkel has done more than translate. He has added descriptive titles of each selection, which are listed as a table of contents and then indexed, making the book accessible both for reference and browsing. He has also incorporated several rabbinic commentaries (Rashi, Maharsha and others) into the text, marking them with square brackets. He also provides two introductions to the material, one that he has written and one written three hundred years before Ein Yaakov was compiled by the son of Rambam. Both are instructive, and the older one gives a great deal of insight into interpretation of this kind of text. The whole book is very readable.

The result is a delightful 800 page, small print book, containing more than a quarter of the Talmud, that makes good bed-side reading as well as being a scholarly reference tool. It is expensive, but compared to the bilingual Talmud at about $800, this is a great buy.