What is the 'Talmud'?

[BDC]

My understanding is that the Talmud is the commentary on the Torah. Learned Rabbis debate the meaning of the Torah. According to Jewish law there are a number of things you cannot do on Sabbath. One of these is to tear. So there is a debate on whether or not you can tear toliet paper on Sabbath.

That could be unfortunate if you forget to prepare it the night before and ate something which didn't agree with you...

[Watchman]

Oh, that's nothing. Somehwere down in south-central Africa there's (or used to be until fairly recently, I don't really know) this tribe, the Chagga, whose menfolk pretend they stop crapping and their anuses close permanently when they reach adulthood. Anthropologists have naturally had a field day dissecting the particular myths involved in this bit of religious weirdness, but one can only imagine how utterly inconvenient it must be for the menfolk...

True story too.

[Divinus Arma]

The Talmud is basically applied philosophy. It is, as one member put, an attempt to analyze the Torah and apply it to life.

It, coupled with the Torah, provide the basis for Judaism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talmud