Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayikra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus (Vayikrah in Hebrew). It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel (circa 1035–1106) in his Aruk as well as by Rashi (1040–1105) in his commentaries on Genesis 46:26, Exodus 32:5, Leviticus 9:24, and elsewhere. According to Leopold Zunz, Hai Gaon (969-1038) and Nissim knew and made use of it. Zunz dates it to the middle of the 7th Century, but The Encyclopaedia Judaica and Jacob Neusner date it to the 5th Century. It originated in the Land of Israel, and is composed largely of older works. Its redactor made use of Genesis Rabbah, Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, and the Jerusalem Talmud, in addition to other ancient sources. The redactor appears to have referred also to the Babylonian Talmud, using several expressions in the sense in which only that work employs them. Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, also the third book in the Torah (five books of Moses). ... Hebrew redirects here. ... For the astrological concept, see Jyotish#Rashi - the signs. ... Leopold Zunz (1794-1886), Jewish scholar, was born at Detmold in 1794, and died in Berlin in 1886. ... Rabbi (or Rav) Hai Gaon (969-1038) was one of the last geonim (rabbinic authorities of the early Middle Ages). ... The Encyclopaedia Judaica is a 26-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people and their faith, Judaism. ... Jacob Neusner (born July 28, 1932, Hartford, Connecticut) is an influential as well as controversial academic scholar of Judaism, and the most prolific. ... Satellite image of the Land of Israel in January 2003, including portions of the State of Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon. ... Genesis Rabba, (Breshit Rabba in Hebrew), is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. ... 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. ... The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a The Talmud (Hebrew: תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ...

Contents

Leviticus Rabbah is not a continuous, explanatory interpretation to Leviticus, but a collection of exclusive sermons or lectures on the themes or texts of that book. It consists altogether of 37 such homilies, each of which constitutes a separate chapter. Leviticus Rabbah often refers to Scriptural passages on which the homilies are based as "parashiyyot," and are further designated according to their contents. Of the 37 homilies, eight (1, 3, 8, 11, 13, 20, 26, 30) are introduced with the formula "Patach R." or "The teacher has commenced"; eight (2, 4-7, 9, 10, 19), with "Hada hu di-ketib" or "As it is written"; and 21 (12, 14-18, 21-25, 27-29, 31-37), with "Zehshe-amar ha-katub" or "This is what the Holy Scriptures say." Weiss explains that the redactor selected only these 37 texts for his exposition as indicating the prior existence of the Sifra, the legal interpretation of Leviticus: "The redactor of the Wayikra Rabbah had nothing to add to the [Sifra]; he collected therefore only those haggadic explanations which he found on various texts and passages." This surmise by Weiss is, however, refuted by the circumstance that nearly all the chapters of Leviticus Rabbah (with the exception of chapters 11, 24, 32, 35, and 36) refer to legal passages. Thus, the redactor of Leviticus Rabbah collected homiletic expositions also of such texts as were treated in the Sifra. The conjecture of Theodor that in the older cycle of weekly lessons the passages on which the homilies of Leviticus Rabbah were based consisted in certain paragraphs, or in lessons for certain festivals, seems therefore to be correct. (See Theodor, "Die Midraschim zum Pentateuch und der Dreijährige Palestinensische Cyclus," in "Monatsschrift," 1886, pp. 307-313, 406-415.) Sifra (Aramaic: סִפְרָא) is a Halakic midrash to Leviticus. ...

Relation to the Pesikta

In its plan, as well as in the form of the several chapters, Leviticus Rabbah bears great resemblance to the Pesikta de-Rav Kahana. Like the lectures in the Pesikta, the homilies in Leviticus Rabbah begin with a larger or smaller number of proems on passages mostly taken from the Writings. Then follows the exposition proper of the passage to which the homily refers. The explanation often covers only a few verses, or even a few words of the first verse, of the passage on which the parashah is based. In some cases, long pieces, in others brief sentences only, have been adduced in connection with the Scriptural passages, seemingly in accordance with the material at the redactor's disposal. Inasmuch, however, as the homilies in Leviticus Rabbah deal largely with topics beyond the subject matter of the Biblical text itself, the explanations of the individual verses are often replaced by series of homiletic quotations that refer to the theme considered in the homily. (Compare chapters 8, 12-15, 18, 19, 23, 31-34, 36, 37). In this, Leviticus Rabbah differs from the Pesikta, for in the Pesikta the individual explanations are seldom lacking. And while the Pesikta rarely quotes lengthy homiletic excerpts after the proems, Leviticus Rabbah quotes such materials after the conclusion of a proem, in the course of each chapter, and even toward the end of a chapter. These excerpts have often very slight reference to the context. But otherwise Leviticus Rabbah carefully follows the form of the Pesikta. The end of each chapter in Leviticus Rabbah, like the Pesikta, consists of a passage containing a Messianic prophecy. Ketuvim is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). ...

The extent of Leviticus Rabbah is the same as that of the edition quoted by Nathan ben Jehiel in the Aruk, since he refers to passages from chapters 36 and 37 as "the end." Aside from some transpositions, eliminations, and glosses, the printed text of Leviticus Rabbah is noteworthy as containing, at the end of the first three chapters, annotations from Tanna debe Eliyahu which were not contained in the older manuscripts.

External links

• Sacred Texts: Judaism: Leviticus Rabba, a selection from the work translated into English by Samuel Rapaport.

References

• This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.