“[The author] illuminates many different phenomena from the Babylonian Talmud [...], especially in tractate Eruvin. He delves into the questions of discretion in the redaction of sugyot. He manages to expose the tripartite structure as a phenomenon that characterizes tractate Eruvin and other places in the Babylonian Talmud. He raises the halakhic decisions from the Talmudic debates, and notices the development of the versions exchange and variants.” — Prof. Noah Aminoach, Faculty of Humanities, Tel Aviv University, Israel“In this comprehensive and thorough book Uri Zur focused on the study of the triangular structure of the issues (sugyot) of tractate Eruvin. Zur found in the sugiot of tractate Eruvin triangular structures in a variety of topics, like expressions of opinions, rules, names of sages, sayings of sages, and linguistic expressions. He has proven through a meticulous and profound investigation that those triangular structures are not random, but that the issues (sugyot) that include them are so structured by design. The primary impressive achievement of the book is that the investigation of the triangular structure has led to finding solutions to many of the puzzles that emerge from the Talmudic texts, based on the assumption that the issues were designed and conducted according to shape and structure considerations. To sum up: the research direction developed by Uri Zur in this book is innovative and worthy to continue and expand.” —Shulamit Valler, Emeritus Professor of Talmud, Jewish History Department, University of Haifa
