One of the world’s supreme works of religious literature, the Talmud has been unjustly neglected by a civilization that is rightly proud of its Judaeo-Christian heritage. This sacred book of Israel came to birth during the centuries following the fall of Jerusalem to the Roman Empire, when the people of Palestine were scattered to the four corners of the earth. To preserve their faith amid the strange customs of pagan lands, the wandering Israelites turned to their teachers for a fresh interpretation of the Torah , the ancient book of Moses. The Oral Laws formulated by the sages were eventually codified in the Talmud .