[ noun ] the collection of ancient rabbinic writings on Jewish law and tradition (the Mishna and the Gemara) that constitute the basis of religious authority in Orthodox Judaism <noun.communication>
Talmud \Tal"mud\, n. [Chald. talm[=u]d instruction, doctrine, fr. lamad to learn, limmad to teach.] The body of the Jewish civil and canonical law not comprised in the Pentateuch.
Note: The Talmud consists of two parts, the Mishna, or text, and the Gemara, or commentary. Sometimes, however, the name Talmud is restricted, especially by Jewish writers, to the Gemara. There are two Talmuds, the Palestinian, commonly, but incorrectly, called the Talmud of Jerusalem, and the Babylonian Talmud. They contain the same Mishna, but different Gemaras. The Babylonian Talmud is about three times as large as the other, and is more highly esteemed by the Jews.
And while some top money managers take limousines to work, Mr. Berg rides the subway to Manhattan from the Bronx, reading business publications on one leg of the trip and the Talmud on the other.
Michael Stolar, the 28-year-old son of Chicago-born refusenik Abe Stolar, said he and a group of six friends meet daily in the Choral Synagogue to study the Talmud, the writings on Jewish civil and religious law.