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The Soncino Talmud

I. BRIEF OVERVIEW OF STRUCTURE AND CONTENT:

The Soncino Talmud is a CD-ROM containing several important Jewish texts in both Hebrew and English, along with software that allows you to access those texts quickly and easily. This CD-ROM contains the following texts:

  • The Tanach, in Hebrew and in English
  • The Mishnah, in Hebrew and in English
  • The Babylonian Talmud, in Hebrew and in English
  • Rashi's commentary on the Torah, in Hebrew
  • Rashi's commentary on the Babylonian Talmud, in Hebrew

To access these texts, you will use a software program called Judaic Classics Library, which allows you to perform simple or complex searches on a single text or on multiple texts, to look up specific passages, or simply to read the texts on-screen. Tools for working with search results are also available, including the ability to print and save to disk.

II. STARTING UP THE SONCINO TALMUD

  1. Place The Soncino Talmud CD-ROM on the CD-ROM tray of the PC, and close the tray.
  2. Click the Start button (in the lower left-hand corner of the screen). Move to Programs, then to Judaic Classics Library, and click on Judaic Classics IIc2. If you do not see these menu options, please ask a staff member for assistance.
  3. The Judaic Classics Library program will launch, and a new search window will open automatically.

III. USING THE SONCINO TALMUD

The Judaic Classics Library program offers three principal methods of accessing the texts on the CD-ROM:

  • viewing texts directly
  • searching for a word or phrase
  • looking up a specific passage by citation

Each of these methods is described briefly below. More detailed information, including examples in both Hebrew and English, is available in the printed manual accompanying the CD-ROM.

Viewing Texts Directly

To read a portion of a text on-screen, go to the Library menu and choose the text, or portion of a text, that you wish to view. A window containing the text you chose, in the language you chose, will appear. (For more information, see pages 10-12 of the printed manual.)

Searching

  • A search window may already be on screen. If not, go to the Reference menu and choose New Search. A search window will appear.
  • Click the Select button to select which text you wish to search in; the name of the text will appear in the left-hand box. In the right-hand box, type the word you wish to search for.

    NOTE: If the text you are searching is in Hebrew, the word you type will appear in Hebrew. If the text is an English translation, the word you type will be in English. To type in Hebrew, you must know which keys to press on the keyboard. See page 57 of the printed manual for a picture of the Hebrew keyboard layout. When typing in English, use only lowercase letters.

  • To begin the search, click the Search button (or press Return).
  • The results of your search will appear in a new window.
  • To view the text corresponding to a given search result, click once on the line containing the search result you want, go to the Reference menu, and choose Look Up Selection (or simply double-click the line containing the search result you want). The text will appear in a new window.
  • The are several search options that allow you to conduct sophisticated searches, including the ability to use AND, OR, and NOT, and the ability to search multiple texts or only parts of a text. For detailed information on performing searches, see Chapter 2 of the printed manual (pages 13-34).

Looking Up a Passage by Citation

To look up a specific passage, go to the Reference menu and choose Look Up. A dialog box will appear in which you can select the language (Hebrew or English) and type in the citation of the passage you want. For information on how to specify the passage you want, see pages 35-38 and Appendix A (page 56) of the printed manual.

Advanced Features

For information on more advanced features, see the printed manual, which explains Cross-referencing (pages 39-42), Linking (pages 42-44), and Working with Search Results (Chapter 4, pages 45-55).

IV. EXITING THE PROGRAM AND REMOVING THE CD-ROM

When you are finished working with The Soncino Talmud CD-ROM:

  • Exit the Judaic Classics Library program by choosing Exit from the File menu.
  • Press the eject button for the CD-ROM tray of the PC and remove the CD-ROM. Please place the CD-ROM back in its case and return it to an Etext Center assistant.