This lucid and elegant English translation of Maimonides" introductory work to the Talmud has become a classic. Here Maimonides explains the origins, aims, methodology and spirit of the Talmud and delineates all the Rabbinic sages of the period. He covers such fundamental issues as the powers of the Rabbis to add to the original laws of the Torah, why dissensions from the accepted rulings of the Jewish law were permanently recorded in the Talmud, and the criteria for the determination of a true prophet. This edition features annotations, charts, indexes and a glossary, as well as Maimonides" complete original Hebrew text. Essential reading for any student of the Talmud!