The scholarship of the Talmud goes back many years: academic scholarship began with several movements of Jewish thought (Chochmat Israel) that flourished in the 19th century, yet its roots may be found in exegetical traditions of over a millennium ago. The philological study of the Talmud, as it is practiced at the Department of Talmud and Halakha of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, aims at shedding a light and interpreting this vast literature. This literature covers the stories of many personages, a fascinating history, abundant compositions, a versatile theology, and the Jewish people as a whole.
"In order to comprehend the spirit of a work of literature - that is, in order to identify its author’s true meaning - one has no way other than first understanding its text, to become familiar with each and every grammatical and semantic detail, and even sketch and, as much as possible, fully reconstruct the realistic environment in which it grew. In this endeavor, there is no anecdote too small, nor a detail too detailed, to allow you to overlook it out of a disdain of lofty idealism" (E.S. Rosenthal, “המורה”, PAAJR 31 , p. 11*; in Hebrew)