Talmud formed a majority. This is the reason why historians like
Graetz, though they dilate upon the unparalleled qualities of
Rashi's genius, can devote only a disproportionately small number
of pages to him and his works.

Though the writer has throughout been aware of the difficulties
inherent in his task, yet he is also conscious that he has
sometimes succeeded in removing them only by eluding them. In
parts, when the matter to be treated was unyielding, it became
necessary to dwell on side issues, or fill up gaps and replace
obscurities by legends and hypotheses. The object in view being
a book popular in character and accessible to all, technical
discussions had to be eschewed. Many knotty points had to be
brushed aside lightly, and the most debatable points passed over
in silence. These are the sacrifices to which one must resign
himself, though it requires self-restraint to do it consistently.
The reader may, therefore, not expect to find new data in these
pages, new facts and texts not published before. If the book has
any merit, it is that it presents the actual state of knowledge
on the subject, and the author anticipates the charge of
plagiarism by disclaiming any intention of producing an original
work. Recondite sources have not always been referred to, in
order not to overload a text which at best is apt to tax the
reader's powers of attention. Such references and special remarks
as were deemed necessary have been incorporated either in Notes
placed at the end of the book, or in an Appendix containing a
bibliography. There the works are mentioned to which the author
is chiefly indebted, and which his readers may profitably consult
if they desire to pursue the subject further.