The Talmud as a Template for Digital Publishing

Jonathan Rosen’s popular book The Talmud and the Internet proposed that the hypertexting foundations of digital discourse were actually borrowed from the Talmud—a 2000 year old Rabbinic text. While most people who read the book were intrigued, few have picked up Rosen’s ball and run with it.

This conference session will be an attempt to apply Rosen’s concept to the modern publishing industry. It will explore the foundations of Talmudic discourse and how they can be applied in digital publishing: collaborative writing, multiple intertwined texts, commentary as source literature, and multiple entry points to the same passage.