Aggadah (Aramaic אגדה: tales, lore; pl. Aggadot or (Ashkenazi) Aggados) refers to the homiletic and non- legalistic exegetical texts in classical rabbinic literature - particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash. Other terms for this body of teachings are Aggadta (אגדתא) lit.“the” aggada, and the Hebrew Haggadah (הגדה; pl. Haggadot). In general, the aggadot are presented as folklore, historical anecdotes, moral exhortations, and business and medical advice, and often refer to mythical creatures, and incredible historical events. Aramaic is a group of Semitic languages with a 3,000-year history. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Exegesis (from the Greek to lead out) involves an extensive and critical interpretation of an authoritative text, especially of a holy scripture, such as of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, the Talmud, the Midrash, the Quran, etc. ... Rabbinic literature, in the broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of Judaisms rabbinic writing/s throughout history. ... The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ...

As part of the Jewish oral law

The Aggadah is part of Judaism's Oral law (תורה שבעל פה) -- the traditions providing the authoritative interpretation of the Written Law. In this context, the widely held view in Rabbinic literature, is that the aggadah is in fact a medium for the transmission of fundamental teachings (Homiletic Sayings - מאמרים לימודיים) or for explanations of verses in the Tanakh (Exegetic Sayings - מאמרים ביאוריים). In Rabbinic thought, therefore, much of the Aggadah is understood as containing a hidden, allegorical dimension, in addition to its overt, literal sense. In general, where a literal interpretation contradicts rationality, the Rabbis seek an allegorical explanation: "We are told to use our commonsense to decide whether an aggada is to be taken literally or not" (Carmell, 2005). This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... When Moses received all of the laws that would define the Jewish tradition, he also received the explanation of these laws. ... Torah, (תורה) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or especially Law. ... Rabbinic literature, in the broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of Judaisms rabbinic writing/s throughout history. ... Tanakh (‎) (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... Exegesis (from the Greek to lead out) involves an extensive and critical interpretation of an authoritative text, especially of a holy scripture, such as of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, the Talmud, the Midrash, the Quran, etc. ...

Literal-allegorical teachings

Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, the Ramchal, discusses this two-tiered, literal-allegorical mode of transmission of the Aggadah in his well known Discourse on the Haggadot. He explains that the Oral Law, in fact, comprises two components: the legal component (חלק המצוות), discussing the mitzvot and halakha; and "the secret" component (חלק הסודות), discussing the deeper teachings. The aggadah, along with the Kabbalah, falls under the latter. The rabbis of the Mishnaic era realized the danger of recording the deeper teachings in explicit, mishnah-like, medium. Rather, they would be conveyed in a "concealed mode" and via "paradoxes". (Due to their value, these teachings should not become accessible to those "of bad character" and due to their depth they should not be made available to those "not schooled in the ways of analysis".) This mode of the transmission was nevertheless based on consistent rules and principles such that those "equipped with the keys" would be able to unlock their meaning; to others they would appear as non-rational or fantastic. Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (also Moses Chaim, Moses Hayyim, also Luzzato) (1707-1746), also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RAMCHAL (also RAMHAL), was a prominent Italian Jewish rabbi, mystic, and philosopher best remembered today for his ethical treatise Mesillat Yesharim (Path of the Just). ... This article is about commandments in Judaism. ... Halakha (הלכה in Hebrew or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish law, custom and tradition regulating all aspects of behavior. ... This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ...

Interpretation of the Aggadah

In line with the above, Shmuel ha-Nagid, in his "Introduction to the Talmud," states that "Aggadah comprises any comment occurring in the Talmud on any topic which is not a commandment (i.e. which is not halachic) and one should derive from it only that which is reasonable." As regards this, Maimonides, in his preface to the tenth chapter of Mishnah Sanhedrin (Perek Chelek), describes three possible approaches to the interpretation of the Aggadah. [1] ... This article is about commandments in Judaism. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah with pronunciation emphasis on the third syllable, kha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... For the tractate in the Mishnah, see Sanhedrin (tractate). ...

• The first approach is to accept the Aggadah as literally true, without admission of any hidden, allegorical explanation — even where a literal interpretation runs counter to common sense. Maimonides is dismissive of this approach.

• The second approach is to assume that anything said by the Sages was intended literally, and to therefore reject, as impossible, non-rational or fantastic teachings (and to consequently consider the Sages as "simpletons and ignoramuses"). Maimonides does not entirely reject rationalist interpretation, but he opposes an exegetical approach which denies the Aggadah a hidden rationality. "The sages presented their drashot in a style by which the mind of a fool will reject them because of his way of thinking; it is improper to assign any deficiency to the drash — one may rather suspect that the deficiency is a result of his intellectual shortcomings" (Commentary on the Mishnah: Introduction).

• The third approach is to recognise that many Aggadot are intended to teach profound truths, and that the teachings thus operate on two levels: "overt" and "hidden". Thus any impossible assertion was, in fact, intended as a parable; further, where aggadot can be understood literally, they may be taken on this level. This is, in general, the view of the Rabbis. “It is proper … to carefully analyse [the aggadot] … when any of these seem far-fetched we must immerse ourselves in the various branches of knowledge until we understand the concepts.” (Maimonides, op cit).

Note that Maimonides' approach is also widely held amongst the non-rational, mystical streams of Judaism — thus, for example, Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz, the Shlah HaKodosh holds that "none of these sometimes mind-boggling 'stories' are devoid of profound meaning; if anyone is devoid of understanding, it is the reader" (Shnei Luchos HaBris, introduction). Exegesis (from the Greek to lead out) involves an extensive and critical interpretation of an authoritative text, especially of a holy scripture, such as of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, the Talmud, the Midrash, the Quran, etc. ... Op cit - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. ... Isaiah Horowitz (c. ...

In the Talmud and Midrash

The aggadah is today recorded in the Talmud and the Midrash. The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ...

Throughout the Talmud, aggadic and halakhic material are interwoven – legal material comprises around 90%. (Tractate Avoth, which has no gemara, deals exclusively with non-halakhic material, though it is not regarded as aggadic in that it is focused, largely, on character development.) The Talmudic aggada, generally, convey the "deeper teachings" - though in concealed mode, as discussed. The aggadic material in the Babylonian Talmud is presented separately in Ein Yaakov, a compilation of the Aggadah together with commentaries. Pirkei Avoth (Hebrew: Chapters of the Fathers, פרקי אבות ) or simply Avoth is a tractate of the Mishna composed of ethical maxims of the Rabbis of the Mishnaic period. ... The Gemara (גמרא - from gamar: Hebrew [to] complete; Aramaic [to] study) is a component of the Talmud, comprising the rabbinical commentaries and analysis on the Mishnah, undertaken in the Academies of Palestine and Babylon over a 300 year period to about 500. ... Ein Yaakov is a compilation of all the Aggadic material in the Talmud together with commentaries. ...

Well-known works interpreting the Aggadot in the Talmud include:

• Chiddushei Aggados (Novellae on the Aggadot) by Samuel Edels "the Maharsha."
• Chiddushei Aggados (Novellae on the Aggadot) by Judah Loew "the Maharal" (as well as many other works by Loew).
• Yehoyada and MeKabtziel (names based on 2 Samuel 23:20) by Yosef Chaim "the Ben Ish Chai."
• Beur Aggados (Clarification of the Aggadot) and Perush al Kamma Aggadot (Commentary on several Aggadot) by the Vilna Gaon.
• Ayin Ayah Commentary on Ein Yaakov by Rav Kook

In the Midrash, the aggadic and halakhic material are compiled as two distinct collections: 1) The Aggadic Midrashim, generally, are explanatory aggada, deriving the "sermonic implications" from the biblical text; and 2) the Halakhic Midrashim derive the laws from the text. Note that many of the Torah commentaries, and the Targumim, interpret the Torah text in the light of Aggadic statements, particularly those in the Midrash, and hence contain much material on Aggadah interpretation. Samuel Edels (1555–1631), was a renowned rabbi and Talmudist famous for his commentary on the Talmud, Chiddushei Halachot. ... Judah Low ben Bezalel (1525 — 1609) was a Jewish scholar and rabbi, most of his life in Prague. ... The Books of Samuel (Hebrew: Sefer Shmuel ספר שמואל), are part of the Tanakh (part of Judaisms Hebrew Bible) and also of the Old Testament (of Christianity). ... The Ben Ish Chai, Son [of] Man [who] Lives, (actual Hebrew name Yosef Chaim) was a Sephardic Judaism rabbi (chacham) who lived in (Baghdad from 1832 to 1909). ... Elijah Ben Solomon, the Vilna Gaon The Vilna Gaon (April 23, 1720 – October 9, 1797) was a prominent Jewish rabbi, Talmud scholar, and Kabbalist. ... Ein Yaakov is a compilation of all the Aggadic material in the Talmud together with commentaries. ... Abraham Isaac Kook (1864 - 1935) was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the (now) Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, and a renowned Torah scholar. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Meforshim is a Hebrew word meaning commentators (or roughly meaning exegetes), and is used as a substitute for the correct word perushim which means commentaries. In Judaism this term refers to commentaries by the commentators on the Torah (five books of Moses), Hebrew Bible, the Mishnah, the Talmud, responsa, even... A targum (plural: targumim) is an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) written or compiled in the Land of Israel or in Babylonia from the Second Temple period until the early Middle Ages (late first millennium). ...

Development of the Aggadah

The Aggadah has been preserved in a series of different works, which, like all works of traditional literature, have come to their present form through previous collections and revisions. Their original forms existed long before they were reduced to writing.

The first traces of the midrashic exegesis are found in the Bible itself; while in the time of the Soferim the development of the Midrash Haggadah received a mighty impetus, and the foundations were laid for public services which were soon to offer the chief medium for the cultivation of Bible exegesis.

Much Aggadah, often mixed with foreign elements, is found in the Apocrypha, the Pseudepigrapha, the works of Josephus and Philo, and the remaining Judæo-Hellenistic literature; but aggadic exegesis reached its highest development in the great epoch of the Mishnaic-Talmudic period, between 100 and 550 CE. Apocrypha (from the Greek word , meaning those having been hidden away[1]) are texts of uncertain authenticity or writings where the authorship is questioned. ... Pseudepigrapha (from the Greek words pseudos = lie and epigrapho = write) is a text or a number of texts whose claimed authorship or authenticity is incorrect. ... A fanciful representation of Flavius Josephus, in an engraving in William Whistons translation of his works Josephus (37 – sometime after 100 CE),[1] who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus,[2] was a 1st-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and... Philo (20 BC - 50 AD), known also as Philo of Alexandria and as Philo Judaeus And as Yedidia, was a Hellenized Jewish philosopher born in Alexandria, Egypt. ...

The Haggadah of the Amoraim (sages of the Talmud) is the continuation of that of the Tannaim (sages of the Mishna). The final edition of the Mishnah, which was of such signal importance for the Halakah, is of less significance for the Haggadah, which, in form as well as in content, shows the same characteristics in both periods.

Exegetic and Homiletic Aggadah

It is important to emphasize the fundamental difference in plan between the midrashim forming a running commentary (מאמרים ביאוריים) to the Scripture text, and the homiletic midrashim (מאמרים לימודיים). When the scholars undertook to edit, revise, and collect into individual midrashim the immense array of haggadot, they followed the method employed in the collections and revisions of the halakot and the halakic discussions. The form which suggested itself was to arrange in textual sequence the exegetical interpretations of the Biblical text as taught in the schools, or the occasional interpretations introduced into public discourses, etc., and which were in any way connected with Scripture. Since the work of the editor was often merely that of compilation, the existing midrashim show in many passages the character of the sources from which they were taken. This was the genesis of the midrashim which are in the nature of running haggadic commentaries to single books of the Bible, as Bereshit Rabbah, Eikah Rabbati, the midrashim to the other Megillot, etc. See Midrash for more details. Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ...

Aggadah compilations

• The Ein Yaakov is a compilation of the aggadic material in the Babylonian Talmud together with commentary.
• Sefer Ha-Aggadah (The Book of Legends) is a classic compilation of aggadah from the Mishnah, the two Talmuds and the Midrash literature. It was edited by Hayim Nahman Bialik and Yehoshua Hana Ravnitzky. Bialik and Ravnitky worked for three years to compile a comprehensive and representative overview of aggadah. When they found the same aggadah in multiple versions, from multiple sources, they usually selected the later form, the one found in the Babylonian Talmud. However, they also presented some aggadot sequentially, giving the early form from the Jerusalem Talmud, and later versions from the Babylonian Talmud, and from a classic midrash compilation. In each case each every aggadah is given with its original source. In their original edition, they translated the Aramaic aggadot into modern Hebrew. Sefer Ha-Aggadah was first published in 1908-11 in Odessa, Russia, then reprinted numerous times in Israel. In 1992 it was translated into English as The Book of Legends, by William G, Braude.
• Legends of the Jews, by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, is an original synthesis of a vast amount of aggadah from the Mishnah, the two Talmuds and Midrash. Ginzberg had an encyclopedic knowledge of all rabbinic literature, and his masterwork included a massive array of aggadot. However he did not create an anthology which showed these aggadot distinctly. Rather, he paraphrased them and rewrote them into one continuous narrative that covered five volumes, followed by two volumes of footnotes that give specific sources.
• Mimekor Yisrael, by Micha Yosef (bin Gorion) Berdichevsky. Berdichevsky was interested in compiling the folklore and legends of the Jewish people, from the earliest times up until the dawn of the modern era. His collection included a large array of aggadot, although they were limited to those he considered within the domain of folklore.
• The collected works of Dov Noy. According to Peninnah Schram, "Dov Noy is the fourth major figure in the renaissance of preserving and perpetuating the Jewish oral tradition. While he has published many books and important essays (including the entry “Folklore” in The Encyclopedia Judaica), his two main contributions are: 1) he applied an international classification system to Jewish traditional narrative; and 2) he established the Israel Folktale Archives....In 1954, Noy established the Israel Folktale Archives and Ethnological Museum at Haifa University. Presently, this archive contains over 23,000 folktales, classified according to tale types and motifs, country of origin, informant, etc. These folktales have been collected from all the various ethnic communities who live in Israel."

Ein Yaakov is a compilation of all the Aggadic material in the Talmud together with commentaries. ... The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... Hayyim Nahman Bialik (January 9, 1873–July 4, 1934), also commonly written as Chaim or Haim Nachman Bialik and in the Hebrew language as חיים נחמן ביאליק, was a Jewish poet who wrote in Hebrew. ... The Jerusalem Talmud (In Hebrew Talmud Yerushalmi, in short known as the Yerushalmi), also known as the Palestinian Talmud, like its Babylonian counterpart (see Babylonian Talmud), is a collection of Rabbinic discussions elaborating on the Mishnah. ... Aramaic is a group of Semitic languages with a 3,000-year history. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... ODESSA (German: Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen, Organization of Former SS Members) is the name commonly given to an international Nazi network alleged to have been set up towards the end of World War II by a group of SS officers. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Rabbi Louis Ginzberg was one of the outstanding Talmudists of the twentieth century. ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Moses in rabbinic literature

Of all Biblical personages Moses has been chosen most frequently as the subject of later legends; and his life has been recounted in full detail in the poetic haggadah. ...

External links

Discussion

• Halakha/Aggadata/Midrash, jewishvirtuallibrary.org
• Midrash Haggadah, jewishencyclopedia.com
• Haggada, 1911encyclopedia.org
• The Key to Understanding Aggadah, CB"N Library
• Freedom to Interpret, Rabbi Aryeh Carmell
• Understanding Aggadah, Rabbi Gil Student

Source Material

• Introduction to Perek Chelek (Hebrew), Maimonides
• Discussion on Aggadah in the Introduction to the Commentary on the Mishna (Hebrew), Maimonides
• Discourse on the Haggadot (Hebrew), Moshe Chaim Luzzatto
• Discourse on the Sayings of the Rabbis (Hebrew), Avraham son of Rambam -- translation

Textual resources “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (also Moses Chaim, Moses Hayyim, also Luzzato) (1707-1746), also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RAMCHAL (also RAMHAL), was a prominent Italian Jewish rabbi, mystic, and philosopher best remembered today for his ethical treatise Mesillat Yesharim (Path of the Just). ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Rabbi Avraham son of Rambam (1168 – December 7, 1237, also Avraham Maimuni) the son of Maimonides (Rambam) was the head of the Egyptian Jewish community following his father. ...

• Links to full-text resources
  • Ben Gurion University
  • Halacha Brura Institute
• Excerpted translations
  • The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg
  • Tales and Maxims from the Midrash by Samuel Rapaport

References

• Introduction to the commentary on the Mishnah, Maimonides, transl. Zvi Lampel (Judaica Press, 1998). ISBN 1-880582-28-7
• Discourse on the Haggadot, Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, transl. in "The Juggler and the King" below.
• The Infinite Chain : Torah, Masorah, and Man, Nathan T. Lopes Cardozo, (Philipp Feldheim, 1989). ISBN 0-944070-15-9
• The Juggler and the King, Aharon Feldman, (Philipp Feldheim, 1991). ISBN 0-87306-557-3
• The Talmud: A Reference Guide, Adin Steinsaltz, (Random House, 1996). ISBN 0-679-77367-3
• Mimekor Yisrael: Classical Jewish Folktales, Micha Joseph bin Gorion, translated by I. M. Lask, Trans. Three volumes. Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1976
• Mimekor Yisrael: Classical Jewish Folktales Abridged and Annotated Edition Micha Joseph bin Gorion. This is a one volume abridged and annotated version, with an introduction and headnotes, by Dan Ben-Amos. Indiana University Press. 560 pages. ISBN 0-253-31158-6.
• Four Master Folklorists And Their Major Contributions Peninnah Schram, from Opening Worlds of Words, Peninnah Schram and Cherie Karo Schwartz