What would best describe what a reader would find in the Talmud?

Answer 1

A few facts:

The Talmud is the Oral Torah of the Jewish people.

The Talmud serves to clarify the brief verses of the Torah and Tanakh (Hebrew Bible).

The Talmud, after the Torah, is considered the primary text of Jewish learning.

The Talmud contains, in addition to Torah-matters, some mathematics, geometry and trigonometry, medicine, astronomy, and advice on a large range of problems and situations.

The Talmud includes information on the lives and personalities of the Sages, from Abraham down to the writing of the Talmud.

The Talmud was kept entirely orally, and learned by heart, from the time of Moses until it was written 1800 years later (1500 years ago).

The Talmud contains the Mishna (relatively brief paragraphs of law) and Gemara (explanations of the Mishna).

The Talmud has thousands of published commentaries.

The Talmud contains 63 tractates in 2711 leaves (double pages). New printed editions maintain the same pagination as earlier ones.

The Talmud has been banned, censored and burned many times by enemies of the Jews.