Like the Talmud itself, this book bears a two-fold character and deals with both the Halachah, the legal aspects of the Talmud, and the Aggadah, the non-legal portions. Presenting his analysis with the experience and insight of a world-renowned talmudic scholar, R. Chajes imparts a detailed history and classification of the Talmud and its underlying oral tradition.

He presents rational explanations for many of the seemingly irrational statements of the Talmud, describing the methodologies utilized and the rationales behind them.

"The commentary of Rabbeinu Zevi Hirsch Chajes that appears in the printed editions of the Talmud Bavli has been widely recognized in the Torah world as one of the basic tools necessary to gain a higher understand of Talmudic sugyot. In addition, his fundamental and specialized essays on the early development of Mishnah, Talmud and Midrash serve until today as a cornerstone for the understanding of the literary, Halachic and Aggadic combination of the early Rabbinic literature..."