 | Jerusalem Talmud Quotes About Shabbat |
Jerusalem Talmud Quotes About Shabbat compiled by derechemet@yahoo.com=========================================== {1} Jerusalem Talmud, tractate Berachot Chapter 1, Law 5: Shabbat is equal to all of the other commandments of the Torah COMBINED. {2} Jerusalem Talmud, Tractate Shabbat, Page 15: Shabbat was given to us in order to study Torah. {2A} Rabbeinu Bachya on Shemot 20:8: On SHABBAT, King David would spend the entire day studying Torah. {2B} Sefer Ben Ish Chai, Hilchot Shanah Sheniah, Parshat Shemot: One hour of Torah-study on Shabbat is equal to a thousand hours of Torah study during the week. {3} Jerusalem Talmud, Tractate Taanit, Page 3B: If all Jews would observe one Shabbat properly, the messiah would come immediately. {3A} This quote is repeated in: Midrash Tehillim for Psalm 95. |
Sunday, December 04, 2005
OrTorah: Jerusalem Talmud Quotes About Shabbat
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
OrTorah: "My big fat Amaraic Wedding"
| "My big fat Amaraic Wedding" |
"My big fat Amaraic Wedding" by Jay BushinskyInternational Jerusalem Post April 29 - May 5, 2005 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HaTsafon There is no better proof of modern Aramaic's vitality than the spectacular weddings held by the Jewish "Nash Didan" community, which hails from the remote foothills of the Caucasus Mountains. "Nash Didan" means "Our People" and its distinctive music and dance have been immortalized by Nissan Aviv, a brilliant composer and orchestrator who arrived in Israel 55 years ago during the peak of the "Nash Didan" immigration, and has devoted his life to preserving and continuing this culture ever since. Soon after the late Naomi Shemer's Yerushalayim Shel Zahav ("Jerusalem of Gold") became a hit on the eve of the Six Day War, Aviv obtained her permission to render it in Aramaic. Translated as Yerushalayim Ai Dheba, it is a beloved staple at "Nash Didan" weddings. Aviv was born in Urmia, an ancient city in Iranian Azerbaijan. "We spoke Aramaic at home, Turkish on the street and learned Persian at school," he said. "I knew a fair amount of Hebrew when we came to Israel because it was taught in our Jewish schools. And partly thanks to my Aramaic, I was able to speak like a sabra in no time." Aviv's lyrics are written in modern Aramaic and his songs not only draw audiences from the various Aramaic-speaking communities in Israel - located in Holon, Givatayim and Jerusalem -- but also are played on the Aramaic (or Syriac) radio and TV stations in Australia, Canada and Sweden. "Jerusalem of Gold is as popular abroad is it is here," he said. Aviv's music is based on three instruments: a drum known as a dair'a, a five-stringed instrument plucked like a balalaika or mandolin known as a kar kavkazi and a Central Asian version of the cello known as a kamanncha. Aviv has won the unstinting acclaim of one of Israel's leading experts in cognate Semitic languages, Hezy Mutzafi, who speaks half a dozen of the Aramaic and Syriac dialects fluently. Noting that the "Nash Didan" community consists of "only a few thousand" Israelis (its members constitute a relatively small percentage of an influx of nearly 200,000 immigrants from Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus), Mutzafi points out that it is also one of the least known Jewish ethnic groups. "Its focus is on culture, folklore and spoken Aramaic," explained Mutzafi, referring to the latter as lishan noshan or "our language." Mutzafi singled out Aviv as one of the outstanding activits in the "Nash Didan" community, a man who has contributed mightily to its spiritual and cultural life. Privately, Aviv is rather pessimistic about what the future holds for the language and lifestyle he loves and has tried to preserve. "Our Aramaic is being forgotten," he said. "The younger generation can understand it, but cannot speak and in time, this too will be lost." One project that gives Aviv hope is the Tel Aviv University's development of an Aramaic dictionary. "The trouble is that the project is enormous and the funding available for it is miniscule," he said. |
OrTorah: "Other" Jewish Languages
| "Other" Jewish Languages |
| www.myjewishlearning.com/xcommon/Hot_Topics/primers_index.htm For most of their history, Jews have been multilingual. Hebrew is the language of the Bible, the principal language of Jewish liturgy, and the language spoken in modern Israel--but it has been the primary language of only a small percentage of Jews who have ever lived. The geographical diversity of the Jewish people accounts for its multilingualism. Jews have adopted the various languages of their homelands and also spoken numerous Jewish hybrid languages. By the beginning of the Common Era, Aramaic had replaced Hebrew as the spoken language of Palestinian Jews. The causes of Hebrew's decline are not wholly understood, but it was certainly hastened by the Babylonian exile in 587 B.C.E. and the continued foreign rule of Palestine during the Second Temple period. Aramaic, like Hebrew, is a Semitic language, and there are many similarities between the two. Because of Aramaic's prominence during the rabbinic era, it is arguably the second most important Jewish language--though it was spoken by non-Jews as well. The Talmud is written in Aramaic, as is the Zohar, the great medieval mystical text. One of the most well known Jewish prayers, the kaddish, also is written in Aramaic. During the talmudic era, Hebrew illiteracy was so high that the Shabbat Torah reading was recited along with a verse-by-verse translation into Aramaic. Jewish hybrid languages have existed for more than two millennia. Linguists have long puzzled with little resolution over whether these tongues should be considered dialects, unique languages, or Creole languages (languages that began as pidgins--simplified forms of speech, often mixtures of two languages--and are later adopted as primary languages). During the Second Temple Period Judeo-Greek, also known as Yevanic, was spoken by Jews in the Hellenistic world. Over the years many other such hybrid languages emerged. These languages tended to adopt structural and lexical elements of the local languages, mixing them with Hebrew and Aramaic words. They were usually written in Hebrew script. The Jews of the Middle East and North Africa spoke Judeo-Arabic. As early as the eighth century, Jews of present day Iran and Afghanistan spoke Judeo-Persian. Many Jews in Italy spoke Judeo-Italian, a language featuring early South Italian elements and Hebrew characters. Most of these languages, and many other Jewish hybrid languages, are extinct or almost extinct. The two most well known Jewish hybrid languages are Judeo-Spanish -- better known as Ladino -- and Yiddish. Judeo-Spanish was spoken by the Jews of medieval Spain, as well as their descendants. It received most of its linguistic characteristics from early-medieval Spanish, but it was written in Hebrew characters. Though Ladino is its earliest documented name, the language is also known as Judezmo (which is a linguistic equivalent of Yiddish) and Spanyol. Today there are still some speakers of Judeo-Spanish in the Balkans, North Africa, and Israel. The Holocaust hastened the decline of the language; the Nazis decimated many Judeo-Spanish speaking communities--particularly in Greece and the Balkans. In many ways, Yiddish is the German equivalent of Judeo-Spanish. Yiddish is almost wholly German in its linguistic structure and vocabulary, but it is written in Hebrew characters. Yiddish originated in the Rhineland cities of Germany in the early Middle Ages, though the first recognizable Yiddish texts date from the 14th century. Over the next few centuries, Yiddish spread all over Europe, from Eastern France to the Baltics. More Jews have spoken Yiddish than any other language. Prior to the Holocaust, Yiddish-speakers accounted for 75 percent of world Jewry, but during the Holocaust, about 75 percent of the world's Yiddish speakers were killed. Today, Yiddish is spoken by fewer and fewer people, though it is still the primary spoken language of many ultra-Orthodox Jews, and there are still probably tens of thousands of Yiddish speakers in the former Soviet states. In addition, the study of Yiddish language and literature is enjoying something of a renaissance on some college campuses. And parts of the language live on in the many Yiddish words that have become part of English vernacular in America, such as nosh (which means to snack) and mentsh (a gentleman). ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> AIDS in India: A "lurking bomb." Click and help stop AIDS now. http://us.click.yahoo.com/VpTY2A/lzNLAA/yQLSAA/eZWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> SENDE EIT INNLEGG? -- Post a message: - Send e-post til -- Send an e-mail to: HaTsafon@yahoogroups.com LESA TIDLEGARE INNLEGG? -- Read previous messages: - Gå til denne nettsida: -- Go to this web site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HaTsafon SEIE OPP MEDLEMSSKAPET? -- Unsubscribe: - Send ein e-post til: -- Send an e-mail to: HaTsafon-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HaTsafon/ |
Thursday, November 17, 2005
OrTorah: Sanhedrin Moves to Establish Council For Noahides
| Sanhedrin Moves to Establish Council For Noahides | |||
Sanhedrin Moves to Establish Council For Noahides 01:39 Sep 29, '05 / 25 Elul 5765By Ezra HaLevi taken from http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=90646
B'nai Noach, literally "Children of Noah," known as Noahides, are non-Jews who take upon themselves the Torah's obligations for non-Jews - consisting of seven laws passed on from Noah following the flood, as documented in Genesis (see below). Until now, Noahide communities and organization had been scattered around the globe, with a particular concentration centered around the southern United States. The communities themselves are a relatively recent phenomenon bolstered by the fact that the Internet has allowed individuals sharing Noahide beliefs to get in touch with one another. The court of 71 rabbis, known as the Sanhedrin, which was reestablished last October in Tiberius following the reinstitution of rabbinic semikha, decided, after numerous requests from the Noahide community, to assist the movement in forming a leadership council. Rabbi Michael Bar-Ron, with the Sanhedrin's blessing, travelled to the United States to meet with representatives of the Noahide movement and select members for the High Council. Bar-Ron, an ordained student, talmid samukh, who currently sits on the Sanhedrin, is also one of the Sanhedrin's spokesmen. Bar-Ron organized a small conference in California where six of the council's future members were selected and also addressed the annual convention of the Vendyl Jones Research Institute - one of the Noahide organizations represented on the council. At the VJRI convention, Bar-Ron met five more of the Noahide leaders who will be joining the council. The purpose of the council, which was the brainchild of Rabbi Avraham Toledano, is to assist the B'nei Noach in their struggle to observe the word of G-d. "The goal is to unify, serve and organize all kosher B'nei Noach communities of the world under a single body that can operate under the direct authority and supervision of the Sanhedrin," the decision to establish the body reads. "To form a vessel through which the Torah, from Zion (via the Sanhedrin) can effectively serve non-Jewish communities around the world." A third goal of the creation of the High Council and the Sanhedrin's efforts in regard to the Noahide community, is to "transform the Noahide movement from a religious phenomenon - a curiosity many have not heard of - into a powerful international movement that can successfully compete with, and with G-d's help bring about the fall of, any religious movement but the pure authentic faith that was given to humanity through Noach, the father of us all," said emissary Bar-Ron. To that end, one of the primary functions of the council will be the creation and development of effective outreach materials for the world. Although Judaism does not require or encourage non-Jews to become Jewish, the observance of the Seven Laws of Noah is incumbent upon humanity and widespread observance is to be worked toward, even through active proselytization, something that is anathema to Judaism. The council is also seeking to identify and contact communities around the world who observe the Seven Laws of Noah in order to invite them to learn more about the movement. B'nei Noach in India and Brazil are already in touch with Noahide leaders. Asked why the Sanhedrin would reach out to B'nei Noach before concentrating on outreach within the Jewish community, Rabbi Bar-Ron answered: "There was no conscious choice to ignore the issue of outreach toward other Jews, but there is a Torah principle that a mitzva, positive precept, that comes to your hand should be fulfilled first and should not be put off. It happens to be that the group that showed the most outward display of support and genuine concern for the success of the Sanhedrin - contacting us from the very outset - were the B'nei Noach. One of the great responsibilities of the Jewish people is to spread the laws of Noach." Bar-Ron said he had mixed feelings as he departed for the meetings with the B'nei Noach leaders, as he left the day the forced expulsion of Jews from Gaza began. "I was in such a horrible heart-wrenching pain about leaving - I almost felt like a traitor to our people. But I realized then that although the government was detaching itself from the Land of Israel - a partial annulment of our covenant with G-d, similar to the sin of the ten spies - there is another aspect of the covenant that has not been pursued. That aspect is our obligation to be a nation of priests unto the nations. This is the core of the covenant with Abraham and it is something the Jewish people as a nation has not involved itself in since Second Temple times. So as the government disengaged from the covenant, I was participating in the reengagement with an aspect of the covenant that has been dormant." Bar-Ron was very impressed with the B'nei Noach leaders he met. "Each of them had a different unique talent. One was an extremely talented media coordinator, two were great scholars of Noahide law, one was secretary of a large successful Noahide community and research institute and one was a law enforcement officer for a number of years. Each had the wisdom and experience that will help them lead the movement. All of the prospective members of the High Council are obligated to appear in Jerusalem this coming January, at which time they will be ordained by the Sanhedrin as members of the High Council. "One of the things I thought would be more difficult was implementing the fact that the Sanhedrin's steering committee unanimously voted that the High Council members must appear personally before the Sanhedrin to be ordained as such," Bar-Ron said. "But the level of commitment of these people is so high that it is not posing a problem at all. Each member was screened very carefully and accepted not only on the basis of their high reputation, wisdom and experience - there were many dedicated and talented B'nei Noach who we would have loved to have accepted into the council - but for their role as representatives of entire B'nei Noach communities or as experts in a particularly field. The acting head of the Sanhedrin, Rabbi Yoel Schwartz, has set up a Beit Din for B'nei Noach to serve the needs of B'nei Noach worldwide. At this point, the council will not serve as a adjudicating body. "It is our sincere hope that in years to come, the knowledge of the halakha, Torah law, of the Seven Laws of Noach will grow to such a degree that there will be true Noahide judges," Bar-Ron said. "One of the goals is to delineate clearly the seven laws and their applications according to the Mishneh Torah of the Rambam." "Never before in recorded history have B'nei Noach come together to be ordained by the Sanhedrin for the purpose of spreading Noahide observance of laws," Bar-Ron said. "This is the first critical step of bringing about the ultimate flowering of the brotherhood of mankind envisioned by Noach, the father of mankind." The Seven Laws of Noah are: Shefichat damim - Do not murder. Gezel - Do not steal or kidnap. Avodah zarah - Do not worship false gods/idols. Gilui arayot - Do not be sexually immoral (engage in incest, sodomy, bestiality, castration and adultery) Birkat Hashem - Do not utter G-d's name in vain, curse G-d or pursue the occult. Dinim - Set up righteous and honest courts and apply fair justice in judging offenders and uphold the principles of the last five. Ever Min HaChai - Do not eat a part of a live animal. For more information email the Sanhedrin's secretary at: dbtc@actco.com |
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Chapters On Jewish Literature, by Israel Abrahams
A whole book, to download, to read and discuss:
Chapters On Jewish Literature, by Israel Abrahams
(downloadable also as PDF from the Midrash Library 4all)
Chapters On Jewish Literature, by Israel Abrahams
(downloadable also as PDF from the Midrash Library 4all)
Halakha/Aggadata/Midrash
Halakha/Aggadata/Midrash
taken from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Halakha_&_aggadata_&_midrash.html
The Talmud is the most comprehensive compilation of the Oral Law. Throughout its many volumes, one finds the rabbis engaged in two types of discussions, halakha (purely legal matters), and aggadata (ethical and folkloristic speculations).
The opening Mishna in the tractate Bava Mezia is a classic halakhic discussion:
"Two men are holding a cloak [and come before a judge]. This one says: 'I found it,' and the other one says, 'I found it.' If this one says, 'It is all mine,' and the other one says, 'It is all mine,' then this one must swear that he does not own less than a half, and the other must swear that he does not own less than a half and they divide it [dividing means that each gets half of the value of the cloak].
"If this one says: 'It is all mine,' and the other one says, 'It is half mine' [because he believes that they discovered it simultaneously then the one who says, 'It is all mine' must swear that he does not own less than three quarters, and the one who says, 'Half of it is mine' must swear that he does not own less than a quarter, and this one takes three quarters and this one takes one quarter."
The Talmud's discussion of this Mishna is very extensive, and directly and indirectly raises numerous legal nuances. For one thing, since each party concedes that he only found the cloak but never purchased it, what about the man to whom the cloak originally belonged-shouldn't it be returned to him? We must assume, therefore, that the cloak either had been abandoned or that efforts to find the owner had proven futile. (There are extensive laws in the Talmud dealing with restoring lost objects to their owners, based on the biblical laws recorded in Deuteronomy 22:13.)
Secondly, it is no coincidence that the Mishna portrays both parties coming into court holding the cloak. As a rule, Jewish law accepts the principle that "possession is nine tenths of the law." In noting that both litigants are holding the garment, the text underscores that each has a tangible claim. If, in fact, only one party held the cloak, the cloak would be presumed to belong to him unless the second litigant could produce evidence that the first person had taken it from him.
Third, why the need for an oath at all? Why not just divide the cloak? The purpose of the oath is to induce fear in the liar, to discourage him from persevering in his dishonesty. Without an oath, a person might be more prone to lie, feeling that no harm is involved, since he is not depriving the real finder of something that had cost him money, but only of something he had found. Rabbi Louis Jacobs summarizes the principle behind the oath: "While a man may be willing to tell an untruth in order to obtain something that is not his, he will be reluctant to swear in court that he is telling the truth when he is not really doing so." In Jewish law, perjury is a particularly serious sin, and outlawed by the ninth of the Ten Commandments.
Fourth, why do the rabbis impose so strange an oath? Since each litigant claims "it is all mine," why not have each one swear that the entire cloak belongs to him? What is the sense in saying "I swear that I own not less than a half." There is a moral consideration behind the strange wording. Were each party to swear to owning the entire garment, the court knowingly would be administering a false oath: Two people would be swearing to full ownership of one garment. Yet were each party to swear that he owns only half of the garment, he would be discrediting his earlier claim that he owns it all. That is why each party swears, "I own not less than a half." This is the only oath that might possibly be truthful, for the two litigants might have picked up the garment simultaneously.
As for the Mishna's second part — in which one party claims ownership of the whole garment, and the other ownership of half — why the strange wording of the oath, and why give one litigant three quarters of the garment's value and the other only one quarter? The Talmud reasons: Since the person who claims that he owns only a half admits that the other half of the garment belongs to the first litigant, the dispute facing the court is restricted to the remaining half. That half, the court in turn divides in half, so that one party gets three quarters and the other a quarter.
This lengthy discussion about halves reminds me of an old Jewish joke about a man who complains to his friend, "A horrible thing. My daughter is getting married tomorrow and I promised a five-thousand ruble dowry. Now, half the dowry is missing."
"Don't worry," his friend consoles him. "Everybody knows that people usually pay only half the promised dowry."
"That's the half that's missing."
Aggadata refers to all of the Talmud's nonlegal discussions, including such varied matters as medical advice, historical anecdotes, moral exhortations, and folklore. One particularly well-known bit of aggadata is found in the talmudic tractate Bava Mezia 59b. The aggadata follows a halakhic discussion in which the rabbis debated whether an oven that had become impure could be purified. While almost all the sages felt it couldn't be, Rabbi Eliezer, a lone voice but a great scholar, disagreed:
"On that day, Rabbi Eliezer put forward all the arguments in the world, but the Sages did not accept them.
"Finally, he said to them, 'If the halakha is according to me, let that carobtree prove it.'
"He pointed to a nearby carob-tree, which then moved from its place a hundred cubits, and some say, four hundred cubits. They said to him 'One cannot bring a proof from the moving of a carob-tree.'
"Said Rabbi Eliezer, 'If the halakha is according to me, may that stream of water prove it.'
"The stream of water then turned and flowed in the opposite direction.
"They said to him, 'One cannot bring a proof from the behavior of a stream of water.'
"Said Rabbi Eliezer, 'If the halakha is according to me, may the walls of the House of Study prove it.'
"The walls of the House of Study began to bend inward. Rabbi Joshua then rose up and rebuked the walls of the House of Study, 'If the students of the Wise argue with one another in halakha," he said, "what right have you to interfere?'
"In honor of Rabbi Joshua, the walls ceased to bend inward; but in honor of Rabbi Eliezer, they did not straighten up, and they remain bent to this day.
"Then, said Rabbi Eliezer to the Sages, 'If the halakha is according to me, may a proof come from Heaven.'
"Then a heavenly voice went forth and said, 'What have you to do with Rabbi Eliezer? The halakha is according to him in every place.'
"Then Rabbi Joshua rose up on his feet, and said, 'It is not in the heavens' (Deuteronomy 30:12).
"What did he mean by quoting this? Said Rabbi Jeremiah, 'He meant that since the Torah has been given already on Mount Sinai, we do not pay attention to a heavenly voice, for You have written in Your Torah, 'Decide according to the majority' (Exodus 23:2).
"Rabbi Nathan met the prophet Elijah. He asked him, 'What was the Holy One, Blessed be He, doing in that hour?'
"Said Elijah, 'He was laughing and saying, "My children have defeated me, my children have defeated me.""'
The British-Jewish scholar and writer Hyam Maccoby has commented: "This extraordinary story strikes the keynote of the Talmud. God is a good father who wants His children to grow up and achieve independence. He has given them His Torah, but now wants them to develop it...."
A third category of rabbinic literature is midrash, of which there are two types. Midrash aggada derive the sermonic implications from the biblical text; Midrash halakha derive laws from it. When people use the word midrash, they usually mean those of the sermonic kind. Because the rabbis believed that every word in the Torah is from God, no words were regarded as superfluous. When they came upon a word or expression that seemed superfluous, they sought to understand what new idea or nuance the Bible wished to convey by using it. Thus, we find the following discussion on a verse from Genesis concerning Noah.
"This is the story of Noah. Noah was a righteous and blameless man in his generation" (Genesis 6:9).
What words seem superfluous? "In his generation." So why, the rabbis ask, did the Torah include them?
Characteristically, more than one view is offered. Rabbi Yochanan said: "In his [particularly awful] generation [Noah was a righteous and blameless man] but not in other generations." Resh Lakish maintained: "[If even] in his generation' how much more so in other generations" (Sanhedrin 1 08a).
Aside from the ingenuity of these explanations, this midrash also demonstrates that a reader understands a text in light of his own experiences. Take Resh Lakish's point: If even in his generation Noah was righteous, how much more so would he have been had he lived in another society? Elsewhere, the Talmud informs us that Resh Lakish became religious only as an adult. Earlier on, he had been a thief, a gladiator, or a circus attendant. Resh Lakish knew firsthand how much harder it is to be a good person when you come out of a seedy or immoral environment. In his eyes, if Noah could emerge from so immoral a society as a righteous man, how much greater would he have been had he been raised among moral people.
Midrash continues to be created. For example, Genesis 19:26 records that when Lot and his family were fleeing the destruction that Cod wrought on Sodom and Gomorrah, they were told not to look back. "But Lot's wife looked back, and she thereupon turned into a pillar of salt."
What possible relevance could this verse have to our lives? A friend of mine was teaching this chapter at a home for the aged, and the residents were debating the verse's meaning. An eighty-five-year-old woman broke into the discussion: "Don't you understand what it means? When you are always looking backwards, you become inorganic."
Finally, in modern Jewish life, the word halakha refers to any issue of Jewish law. If a person wants to know the Jewish law on a specific issue, he will ask a rabbi, "What is the halakha in this case?" The word also is used for the Talmud's legal sections, the codes of Jewish law (for example, the Shulkhan Arukh) or any of Judaism's legal writings (e.g., Responsa).
Aggadata, as noted, describes the non-halakhic sections of the Talmud, and the word aggada in modern Hebrew refers to any legendary or folkloristic writing.
Midrash most commonly refers to the famous compilation of Midrash Rabbah, a compilation of the rabbis' comments on each of the five volumes of the Torah. But to this day, you can hear a Jew who has some novel interpretation of a Torah passage say, "I want to give you a drash [from midrash] on this week's Torah portion."
Source: Joseph Telushkin. Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People and Its History. NY: William Morrow and Co., 1991. Reprinted by permission of the author.
Midrash: what is it?
GUIDE TO TEXTS 
Midrash
taken from http://www.wujs.org.il/activist/learning/guide/midrash.shtml
what is it?
Midrash is the name given to certain collections of writings that are ordered around the layout of the Tanach. The Midrash is distinguished by the high amount of Aggadah it contains. Aggadah is the name given to a certain kind of writing (be it history, story, legend, allegory, scientific observation or such like) that is not legal or concerned with law. The Midrash is, therefore, mostly collections of stories that relate to words, themes, or narratives in the Tanach.
The word Midrash comes form the Hebrew root 'darash', meaning to search or investigate. Midrash attempts, through minute examination and interpretation of the Tanach, to bring out the deeper or ethical meaning of the text.
There are many different collections of Midrash. The largest collection is called Midrash Rabbah (The Great Midrash), which consists of a number of volumes. Other collections include Pesikta (Divisions), Mechilta (Treatise), Sifra (Book), and Sifre (Books).
what is it about?
The Midrash is about a wide variety of topics. Faced with opposition from those who interpreted Torah in a strictly literal sense, the Rabbis sought to find more subtle meanings within the words of Torah. The Midrash often includes whole stories from an examination of a word or words. Other times, the Midrash will fill in an apparent gap in a story. The Midrash can be thought of as an attempt to discover the inner meaning of Tanach.
There are two main types of Midrash - Midrash Aggadah and Midrash Halachah. Midrash Aggadah is the most common and contains stories and legends, concerned with ethical teachings or other topical issues. Midrash Halachah expounds upon the legal aspects and implications of texts in Tanach. Midrash Halachah and Midrash Aggadah exist side by side in the same way that Halachic (to do with Jewish Law) and Aggadic (not to do with Jewish Law) material exist together in the Talmud. However some volumes contain mostly Midrash Halachah, and others mostly Midrash Aggadah.
Midrash Rabbah contains volumes on the Chumash (Five Books of Moses) and the Hamesh Megillot (Five Scrolls, from Ketuvim).
The Pesikta (Divisions) is really three different works, based around the Shabbat and festival readings from the Prophets (the Haftorot).
Mechilta (Tractate) is a Midrash to Shemot (Exodus). Sifra (Book) is a Midrash to Vayikra (Leviticus). Sifre (Books) is a Midrash to Bamidbar (Numbers) and Devarim (Deuteronomy). All three are mainly Halachic (to do with Jewish Law). Different Midrashim are sometimes repeated in different collections.
where does it come from? who wrote it down?
The Midrashim are thought by some to have been divinely inspired and so are part of the religious corpus. Some are meant to be interpreted literally and others aren't, but all are meant to be taken seriously.
The material of the Midrash is mostly from the time of the Amoraim (200 - 500 CE). Some of the Midrash (particularly Mechilta, Sifra, and Sifre) can be traced back to the Tannaim (400 BCE - 200 CE).
Different Midrashim were written down at different times, over a period of almost a thousand years, from 300 - 1200 CE.
The compilers of the different collections of Midrash are generally unknown.
what do we do with it?
Because of the accessibility of a story, and the ethical messages that they contain, Midrashim are often used in preaching. Rabbis' sermons often start with a Midrash, which is used to bring out the deeper meaning of a passage from Tanach.
Many of the stories that are taught about characters from the Tanach are from Midrash. Because the Midrash is written to fill in gaps in the narrative, any attempt to reconstruct the lives of characters from Tanach will necessarily include a use of the Midrash. The film, 'Prince of Egypt', for example, was full of material taken from collections of Midrash.
Midrash was translated into Modern Hebrew by early Zionists.Writers such as Bialik collected various stories from Midrash, and published them to encourage Jews to read from the actual body of Jewish tradition. Today Midrash is often studied as literature, as well as a religious text.
what language is it in?
The Midrash, like the Talmud, is written in a combination of Hebrew and Aramaic. Some parts are in Hebrew, most are in Aramaic, and others are a combination of the two.
what does it look like?
This page is from the 1923 Vilna Edition of the Midrash Rabbah. (1) is the Midrash. (2), (3), (4) and (7) are commentaries. (5) compares different versions of stories in different volumes of Midrash. (6) suggests emendations to the text. (8) is a collection of cross-references and sources.
if I want to read it...
There is a translation of the Midrash Rabbah published by Soncino. This comes in ten volumes, including an index. It is a well-written and fairly straightforward translation.
The Sefer HaAggadah (Book of Legends) by Bialik and Ravinitzky is a compilation of many stories from both Midrash and Talmud. It is very well written and contains a very wide range of material, with a clear indication of the source. It is an expensive book, but can frequently be found in Jewish libraries.
MIDRASH TANHUMA
MIDRASH TANHUMA
taken from http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/midrash.htm
The Torah is full of holy fire; it was written with a black fire upon a white fire.
The Torah has meekness as its footgear, and the fear of God as its crown. Hence Moses was the proper person through whose hands it should be delivered; he was meek, and with the fear of the Lord he was crowned.
You can not expect to occupy yourself with the study of the Torah in the future world and receive the reward for so doing in this world; you are meant to make the Torah your own in this life, and to look for reward in the life to come.
Cain's offering consisted of the seed of flax, and that of Abel of the fatlings of his sheep. This is probably the reason why the wearing of a garment of various materials, as of woolen and linen together, was prohibited.
As one who finishes the building of his house proclaims that day a holiday, and consecrates the building, so God, having finished creation in the six days, proclaimed the seventh day a holy day and sanctified it.
If the fraudulent man and the usurer offer to make restitution, it is not permitted to accept it from them.
The Bible, or written law, contains unexplained passages and hidden sentences, which can not be fully understood without the help of the oral law. Further, the written law contains generalities, whilst the oral law goes in for explanations in detail, and is consequently much larger in volume. Indeed, as a figure of speech we could apply to it the words in Job (iv. 9), "The measure thereof is longer than the earth and broader than the sea." The knowledge of this oral law can not be expected to be found amongst those who are bent on enjoying earthly life and worldly pleasures; its acquisition requires the relinquishment of all worldliness, riches and pleasures, and requires intellect aided by constant study.
There is no evil that has no remedy, and the remedy for sin is repentance.
continues at http://midrash.ieshivah.net/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=9
What are some other important Haggadic works?
What are some other important Haggadic works?
taken from http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/03-Torah-Halacha/section-31.html
Answer:
Megillat Ta'anit
A list from the time of the Second Temple describing 36 days on which fasting is not permitted because of the joyous events that occurred on those days. The main text is from the 1st century, while the commentary is post-Talmudic.
Seder Olam Rabbah (Seder Olam)
Traditionally written by Tannaitic Rabbi Yose ben Halafta. It covers topics from the Creation to the construction of the Second Temple.
Seder Olam Zutta
This book draws up a list of 89 generations from Abraham to the exile, and then to the Talmudic period. Not written before the 8th century.
Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer (Baraita de Rabbi Eliezer)
Contains 54 chapters on the life of Rabbi Eliezer, and most of the Torah. It is nor a midrash in the real sense of the word, but is more a coherent biblical story. Dates from the 8th century.
Josippon
A history of the Jews from the fall of Babylonia to the destruction of the Second Temple. Written in 953 CE by an anonymous author in Southern Italy, based on many historical records, but mainly the works of the Roman Jew, Josephus.
Sefer haYashar (Toldot Adam)
"The Book of The Upright" presents a view of history from Adam and Eve to the Exodus from Egypt. Written sometime between the 12th and 16th centuries.
Mesillas Yesharim
Mesilas Yesharim is a guide to character improvement written by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato (a/k/a the Ramchal, after his initials). He lived in the 18th cent, born in Italy but spending most of his life in Amsterdam. Professionally, he was a gem cutter.
The Ramchal bases the structure of Mesilas Yesharim on a progression of personality traits listed by the tanna (mishnaic era rabbi) Rabbi Pinchas ben Ya'ir (quoted in Tr. Avodah Zarah 20a). For each trait, he has one chapter defining the trait, sometimes he has a second defining subcategories of it, and finally advice for how to acquire it. The Ramchal starts with Watchfulness, and makes his way to aquiring Holiness. A complete translation can be found at: [5]http://www.shechem.org/torah/mesyesh.
What are the Midrashim on the Five Megillot (aka The So-Called Rabbot)?
What are the Midrashim on the Five Megillot (aka The So-Called Rabbot)?
taken from http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/03-Torah-Halacha/section-30.html
Answer:
Lamentations Rabbah
As noted in Section [5]3.27, Lamentations Rabbah is exegetical
midrash on Eichah (Lamentations). It contains verse by verse
expositions, simple lexical explanations and also many parables
and stories. It contains many stories about the destruction of
the Temple, the crises under Trajan and Hadrian, and the Bar
Kokhba revolt. It draws upon the Mishna, Tosefta, Mekhilta,
Sifra and Sifre.
Midrash Shir haShirim (Song of Songs Rabbah)
An allegorical interpretation of 'Song of Songs'. Written
sometime between the 3rd and 6th century.
Midrash Ruth
Exposition of the book of Ruth, redacted around 500.
Midrash Kohelet (Ecclesiastes Rabbah)
An exposition of the book of Ecclesiastes, written in the 8th
century.
Midrash Ester (Haggadat Megillah)
An exposition of the book of Ester, written around 500 CE.
What are the main Homiletic Midrashim?
What are the main Homiletic Midrashim?
taken from http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/03-Torah-Halacha/section-29.html
Answer:
Leviticus Rabbah (Vayikra Rabbah)
This consists of 36 homilies on Leviticus, and was redacted
sometime between 400 and 500 CE.
Pesiqta de Rab Kahana (Verses of Rabbi Kahana)
For a long time this work was only known by separate
quotations, although recent scholarship has reconstructed the
content and structure by piecing together more recently
discovered manuscripts and fragments from the Cairo Genizah.
This book is a homiletic midrash for the readings on the
festivals and Sabbaths. The material contained within it was
probably written between 500 and 700 CE.
Pesiqta Rabbata
A collection of sermons for the festivals and Sabbaths. It may
have been written sometime in the 6th or 7th century, but a
more accurate dating still is impossible.
Tankhuma (Yelamdenu)
A homiletic midrash on the whole Torah. It probably was
redacted around 400 CE.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) Rabbah
Consists of 27 self contained homilies that relate to
Deuteronomy. Its core material was written before 400 CE, but
later material was added until its redaction around 800 CE.
Shmot (Exodus) Rabbah
The first part is an exegetical midrash on Exodus, while the
second part is a homiletic midrash. It was redacted sometime
before the 12th century, although it contains much older
material.
Bamidbar (Numbers) Rabbah
A haggadic and homiletic midrash on Numbers. Although its final
form was reached around the 12th century, most of the material
is probably from the 8th century.
What are the main Halakhic Midrashim?
What are the main Halakhic Midrashim?
taken from http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/03-Torah-Halacha/section-27.html
Answer:
Mekhilta. The Mekhilta is an important commentary on Exodus. It is
essential to note that there are two separate versions of this midrash
collection. One is "Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael" and the other is
"Mekhilta de Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai". The former is the one that most
Jews use today, but the latter is the text that was used by many
medieval Jewish authorities. While the latter (ben Yohai) text was
popularly circulated in manuscript form from the 11th to 16th
centuries, it was lost for all practical purposes until it was
rediscovered and printed in the 19th century.
* Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael. This is a halakhic commentary on
Exodus, concentrating on the legal sections, from Exodus 12 to 35.
It derives halakha from Biblical verses. This midrash collection
was redacted into its final form around the 3rd or 4th century CE;
its contents indicate that its sources are some of the oldest
midrashim, dating back possibly to the time of Rabbi Akiva. The
midrash on Exodus that was known to the Amoraim is not the same as
our current mekhilta; their version was only the core of what
later grew into the present form.
* Mekhilta de Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai. Based on the same core
material as Mekhlita de Rabbi Ishmael, it followed a second route
of commentary and editing, and eventually emerged as a distinct
work. The Mekhlita de Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai is an exegetical
midrash on Exodus 3 to 35, and is very roughly dated to near the
4th century CE.
Sifra. A comprehensive halakhic commentary on Vayikra (Leviticus),
which works through all of Leviticus verse by verse. References in the
Talmud to the Sifra are ambiguous; It is uncertain whether the texts
mentioned in the Talmud are to an earlier version of our Sifra, or to
the sources that the Sifra also drew upon. However, we do know that
the references to the Sifra from the time of the Geonim and after are
to the text that is extant today. The core of this text developed in
the mid-3rd century as a critique and commentary of the Mishnah,
although subsequent additions and editing went on for some time
afterwards.
* Sifre Numbers. A mainly halakhic midrash on Bamidbar (Numbers). It
also includes a long haggadic piece in sections 78-106. References
in the Talmud, and in the later Geonic literature, indicate that
the original core of Sifre was on Numbers, Exodus and Deuteronomy.
However, transmission of the text was imperfect, and by the middle
ages, only the commentary on Numbers and Deuteronomy remained. The
core material was redacted around the middle of the 3rd century.
* Sifre Zutta (The small Sifre). A Halakhic commentary on Bamidbar
(Numbers). The text of this midrash is only partially preserved in
medieval works, while other portions were discovered by Solomon
Schecter in his research in the famed Cairo Geniza. It seems to be
older than most other midrash, coming from the early 3rd century.
Terminology alert: Maimonides refers to this work as Mekhlita (de
rabbi Ishamel) in his Sefer Ha'Mitzvot.
* Sifre Deuteronomy. An exegetical and halakhic midrash on
Deuteronomy. Redacted near the late 3rd century.
Midrash Tannaim (also known as Mekhilta on Deuteronomy). This was a
Halakhic midrash on Deuteronomy, of which only fragments exist today.
Only portions of it can be reconstructed from quotes in other extant
works, including Genizah fragments.
What are Halakhic (or Tannaitic) Midrashim?
What are Halakhic (or Tannaitic) Midrashim?
taken from http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/03-Torah-Halacha/section-26.html
Answer:
These are exegetical [5]midrashim on the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, primarily legal. They establish the Tanakh (Hebrew bible) as the source of Halakha.
What is a Midrash?
What is a Midrash?
taken from http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/03-Torah-Halacha/section-25.html
Answer:
Dr. Jacob Neusner explains that the word 'Midrash' is based on a Hebrew word meaning 'interpretation' or 'exegesis'. He shows that the term 'Midrash' has three main usages:
1. The term 'Midrash' can refer to a particular way of reading and interpreting a biblical verse. Thus we may say that the ancient rabbis provided Midrash to Scripture. This does not mean that any interpretation of scripture is automatically true rabbinical Midrash. In fact, most of what people call 'Modern Midrash' has nothing to do with the classical modes of literary exegesis that guided the rabbis. Commentary and Midrash are two different things! In order to get a good idea of what classical rabbinic Midrash really is, one has to actually study it; No two or three sentence definition can accurately define the structure of Midrash.
2. The term 'Midrash' can refer to a book - a compilation of Midrashic teachings. Thus one can say that "Genesis Rabbah" is a book that is a compilation of Midrash readings on the book of Genesis.
3. The term 'Midrash' can refer to a particular verse and its interpretation. Thus one can say that "The Midrash on the verse Genesis 1:1 says that...[and some Midrashic interpretation of the verse would go here].
Dr. Charles T. Davis (Appalachian Statue University, Philosophy and Religion Department, NC) has prepared a [5]summary of the definition and features of Midrash, based on Rabbi Burton Visotzky's "Reading the Bible". This summary says that once a canon (i.e., approved scriptural text) is closed, the problem facing the community is the problem of "searching out" the canon. Midrash is a method of reading the Bible as an Eternal text, and is the result of applying a set of hermeneutical principles evolved by the community to guide one in reading the canon, in order to focus one's reading. The ultimate goal of midrash is to "search out" the fullness of what was spoken by the Divine Voice.
In developing midrash, there are two schools of thought on how to handle the language of Torah. One is that the language is the language of human discourse, and is subject to the same redundancies and occasional verbiage that we all encounter in desultory conversation.
The other view holds that since Scripture is the Word of G@d, no word is superfluous. Every repetition, every apparent mistake, every peculiar feature of arrangement or order has meaning.
Midrash minimizes the authority of the wording of the text as communication, normal language. It places the focus on the reader and the personal struggle of the reader to reach an acceptable moral application of the text. While it is always governed by the wording of the text, it allows for the reader to project his or her inner struggle into the text. This allows for some very powerful and moving interpretations which, to the ordinary user of language, seem to have very little connection with the text. The great weakness of this method is that it always threatens to replace the text with an outpouring of personal reflection. At its best it requires the presence of mystical insight not given to all readers.
Additional reading on Midrash may be found in the [6]Midrash Reading List.
What are the main Exegetical Midrashim?
What are the main Exegetical Midrashim?
taken from http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/03-Torah-Halacha/section-28.html
Answer:
* Genesis Rabbah (Bereshit Rabbah). A midrash on Genesis, it offers
explanations of words and sentences and haggadic interpretations
and expositions, many of which are only loosely tied to the text.
It is often interlaced with maxims and parables. Its redactor drew
upon earlier rabbinic sources, including the Mishna, Tosefta, the
halakhic midrashim the Targums. Genesis Rabbah also apparently
drew upon a version of Talmud Yerushalmi that resembles, yet was
not identical to, the text that survived to present times. It was
redacted sometime in the early 5th century.
* Lamentations Rabbah (Eichah Rabbah). An exegetical midrash on
Eichah (Lamentations). It contains verse by verse expositions,
simple lexical explanations and also many parables and stories. It
contains many stories about the destruction of the Temple, the
crises under Trajan and Hadrian, and the Bar Kokhba revolt. It
draws upon the Mishna, Tosefta, Mekhilta, Sifra and Sifre.
Lamentations Rabbah has been transmitted in two versions. One
edition is represented by the 1st printed edition, 1519 Pesaro;
the other is the Buber edition, based on manuscript J.I.4 from the
Biblioteca Casanata in Rome. This latter version (i.e. Buber) is
quoted by the Shulkhan Aurkh, as well as medieval Jewish
authorities. It was probably redacted sometime in the 5th century.
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