Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Joseph I. Lauer" <josephlauer AT hotmail.com>]

    Ken Penner <pennerkm AT mcmaster.ca> was kind enough to post a number of
Internet URLs for accessing both the Palestinian (Jerusalem) and Babylonian
Talmuds.
    However, the English translation of the Babylonian Talmud that he refers
to is that of Michael Rodkinson.  Many feel that it is just a curiosity and
definitely not a reliable translation.
    A year ago I had the opportunity to comment on it in a posting on the
"mail-jewish" list, which may be viewed at
http://www.ottmall.com/mj_ht_arch/v38/mj_v38i58.html#CUL
    I was responding to the following request: "Does anyone have any
knowledge of this translation, its provenance and standing?
    Following are my remarks, slightly updated and with apologies for their
length:

    Although I have not researched the Rodkinson Talmud in depth, I went
through parts of it many years ago and read a bit about it in the
intervening years.  Some of its history and a flavor of some of the
criticisms leveled against it can be gleaned from the few introductory
paragraphs at the "Texts of Judaism" website provided [here] by [Ken Penner]
[http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/talmud.htm].
As I remember it, though, the major criticism, aside from its selectivity,
was that it was not a very good translation and conveyor of the Talmud's
discussions.

     A brief biography of Michael Levi [Frumkin] Rodkinson (1845-1904)
can be found at 14 Encyclopedia Judaica 218, which notes that "[i]n his
later years he devoted himself to translating the Talmud into English.
The value of this translation, printed in two editions, lies only in the
fact that it is a pioneering effort."  The encyclopedia's discussion of
translations of the Babylonian Talmud (15 EJ at 768) states, "... the
first attempt at what purported to be an English translation was an
unscholarly abridgement in 20 volumes (1896-1903) by M. L. Rodkinson."

    Rodkinson is very briefly mentioned in the Jewish Encyclopedia from the
early 1900s at the end of the entry devoted to his brother, FRUMKIN, ISRAEL
DOB (BAR) ("His brother Michael Levi, who assumed the name Rodkinson, has
published translations of portions of the Talmud in New York.").  See
<http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=435&letter=F>

    In light of the existence of modern, in-depth English translations
of the Talmud, such as the Soncino Talmud, the Talmud El-Am (which,
unfortunately, only published portions of a few tractates), the
Steinsalz Talmud (not yet complete), and the ArtScroll Talmud (nearing
completion), it is unlikely that reliance on the Rodkinson Talmud would
be recommended.

    Joseph I. Lauer
    Brooklyn, New York