While remaining acutely aware of the shortcomings of both Heidegger and Derrida, the writer nevertheless uses insights and terminology from their discourse in the service of exposing the historical and thought trends which have alienated Judaism from what makes it tick. The writer makes the claim the a careful analysis of the final redaction of the Babylonian Talmud points the way towards a retrieval of Judaism's "burning living center" revealed through a study of the character of that final editing of the Babylonian Talmud.