Rabbinical Literature Exodus Rabbah Hebrew , Shemot Rabbah is the midrash to Book of Exodus Exodus , containing in the printed editions 52 parashiyyot. It is not uniform in its composition. Structure In parashiyyot i. xiv. the proems are almost invariably followed by the running commentary on the entire seder or other Scriptural division the beginnings of the sedarim are distinguished by an asterisk Parashah i., on Book of Exodus Ex. i. 1 ii. 25 par. ii. and iii., on Ex. iii. 1 iv. 17 par. iv. and v., Nos.2 8, on Ex. iv. 18 26 par. v., Nos. 1, 9 23, on Ex. iv. 27 vi. 1 par. vi., on Ex. vi. 2 12 par. vii., on Ex. vi. 13 et seq. par. viii., on Ex. vii. 1 et seq. a Tan uma homily par. ix., on Ex. vii. 8 25 par x., on Ex. vii. 26 viii. 15 par. xi., on Ex. viii. 16 ix. 12 par. xii., on Ex. ix. 13 35 par. xiii., on Ex. x. 1 20 par. xiv., on Ex. x. 21 29 There is no exposition nor, in the Tan uma midrashim, any homily to Ex. xi. 1. Beginning with parashah xv., Exodus Rabbah contains homilies and homiletical fragments to the first verses of the tanach Scripture sections. Many of the homilies are taken from the Tan umas , though parashiyyot xv., xvi. xix., xx., xxx., and others show that the author had access also to homilies in many other sources. In the printed editions the text is sometimes abbreviated and the reader referred to such collections, as well as to the Pesikta Pesi ta Disambiguation needed date June 2011 in parashah xxxix. the entire exposition of the Pesi ta lesson Ki Tissa Ex. xxx. 11 has been eliminated in this fashion. Eras of the Halakha Such references and abbreviations were doubtless made by later copyists. There is an interesting statement in parashah xliv. regarding the manner of treating a proem text from the Psalms for the homily to Ex. xxxii. 13. The assumption is justified that Shemot Rabbah down to Ex. xii. 1, with which section the Mekilta begins, is based on an earlier exegetical midrash, constituting, perhaps, the continuation of Bere ... more details
is older than Pesi ta Rabbati , since the latter borrowed passages directly from it. As the Pesi ta Rabbati was composed about 845 C.E., Shir ha Shirim Rabbah must have been composed about the end ... more details
Rabbati contains about eighty proems said to have originated with Tan uma, and beginning with the phrase ... Tan uma . In addition to these proems several lengthy sections of the Pesi ta Rabbati as well as of the Midrash ... more details
Abraham Epstein December 19, 1841 1918 was a Russo Austrian rabbinical scholar born in Staro Constantinov , Volhynia . Epstein diligently studied the works of Levinsohn , Krochmal , and S. D. Luzzatto , and when he traveled in western Europe for the first time in 1861, he made the acquaintance of J. L. Rapoport , Z. Frankel , and Michael Sachs . After his father s death in 1874 ref see Israel Epstein s biography in Ha Sha ar, vi.699 708 ref Epstein took charge of his extensive business interests, but gradually wound up all his affairs, and since 1884 devoted most of his time to travel and study. He settled in Vienna in 1876 and became an Austria Hungary Austrian subject. He was the possessor of a large library which contained many valuable manuscripts. Literary works Epstein is the author of the admut ha Tan uma, a review of S. Buber s edition of the Midrash Tan uma Presburg, 1886 , and of Mi admoniyyot ha Yehudim, which contains 1 treatises on Jewish chronology and archeology, and 2 a revised and annotated edition of Midrash Tadshe Vienna, 1887 . He also wrote Bereschit Rabbati, Dessen Verh ltnisse zu Rabba, etc. Berlin, 1888 R. Simeon Kara und der Jalkut Schimeoni Cracow, 1891 Eldad ha Dani, a critical edition, with variations from divers manuscripts, of the well known work of Eldad , with an introduction and notes Vienna, 1891 La Lettre d Eldad sur les Dix Tribus Paris, 1892 reprinted from R. E. J. xxv R. Moshe ha Darshan mi Narbona Vienna, 1891 Dibre Bi oret li Kebod Rabbi S. L. Rapoport, a defense of J.L. Rapoport against the attacks of I. H. Weiss Vienna, 1896 J dische Alterth mer in Worms und Speier Breslau, 1896 reprinted from Monatsschrift, v.40 . He wrote in addition many critical, biographical, historical, and archeological articles for the Jewish periodical press, especially for Monatsschrift, Revue des Etudes Juives, and Ha o er, some of which have been reprinted in book form. References JewishEncyclopedia article Abraham Epstein url http www.jewish ... more details
Rabbinical Literature Midrash Eleh Ezkerah lang he is an aggadic midrash , one of the smaller midrashim , which receives its name from the fact that a seli ah for the Yom Kippur Day of Atonement , which treats the same subject and begins with the words Eleh ezkerah, recounts the execution of ten famous teachers of the Mishnah in the time of the persecution by Hadrian see Ten Martyrs . The same event is related in a very ancient source, Ekah Rabbati on Book of Lamentations Lam. ii. 2, ed. S. Buber , p. 50b comp. also Midr. Teh. on Psalms Ps. ix. 13, ed. Buber, p. 44b . The version in Eleh Ezkerah File Eleh ezkerah.jpg thumb left Page from Midrash Eleh Ezkerah , Constantinople ? , 1620. According to the Midrash Eleh Ezkerah, a Roman emperor commanded the execution of the ten sages of Israel to expiate the guilt of the sons of Jacob , who had sold their brother Joseph Hebrew Bible Joseph a crime which, according to Book of Exodus Ex. xxi. 16, had to be punished with death. The names of the martyrs are given here, as in the seli ah already mentioned varying in part from the Eichah Rabbah Eicha Rabba and the Midrash Tehillim , as follows R. Simeon b. Gamaliel R. Ishmael the high priest Akiva ben Joseph R. Akiba R. anina b. Teradion R. Judah b. Baba R. Judah b. Dama R. uzpit R. Hananiah b. akinai R. Jeshebeab R. Eleazar b. Shammua Although this midrash employs other sources, borrowing its introduction from the Midrash Konen , and the account of the conversation of Rabbi Ishmael with the angels in heaven probably from the Hekalot , it forms, nevertheless, a coherent work. It was edited, on the basis of a Hamburg codex, by A. Jellinek Leipsic, 1853, and in his B. H. ii. 64 72 , and, according to another manuscript, by S. Chones , in his Rab Pe alim pp. 157 160 . A second and a third recension of the midrash were edited, on the basis of manuscript sources, in B. H. vi. 19 35 , and a fourth is contained in the Spanish liturgical work Bet Ab Leghorn, 1877 . Accord ... more details
Rabbinical Literature Midrash Aseret ha Dibrot Hebrew or Midrash of the Ten Statements is one of the smaller midrashim which dates, according to A. Jellinek , from about the 10th century, and which is devoted entirely to the Feast of Weeks , being actually called in a Vatican library manuscript a haggadah for Shabu ot. Goals of the Midrash The author of the Midrash seeks to inculcate the doctrines of the Ten Commandments Decalogue by citing pertinent tales of a moral and religious nature, and he employs, in addition to much material from unknown sources, many passages from treatises on the Creation, revelation, and similar topics, which he introduces with the phrase ameru akamim the sages say he seldom cites his authorities. He writes in a lucid Hebrew style. The separate commandments are prefaced by a general introduction based on Psalms Ps. cvi. 2 Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? who can shew forth all his praise? This verse is explained, with reference to Pir e R. El. iii., as follows Even the angels are unable to recount His mighty acts only faintly may be shown what He hath created and what shall come to pass, that the name of the King of all kings, the Holy One, blessed be He may be praised and honored. Sample of Contents After a few sentences follows the aggadah of the strife of the letters, which contended with each other for the honor of forming the beginning of Creation myth creation . The victor in this contest was the letter bet, the initial of the word , while alef was comforted by the promise that with it, as the first letter of , the revelation of the Ten Commandments should begin comp. the recension of the Midrash of the Alphabet in A. Jellinek , B. H. iii. 50 et seq. Gen. R. i., ed. Theodor, p. 9 . The word is explained as a no ari on and as ancient Egyptian language Egyptian comp. Shab. 105a Pesikta Pesi . Disambiguation needed date June 2011 109a . This section is followed by a mystic and cosmological di ... more details
Press, 1994 ref Elimah Rabbati , a highly abstract treatise on kabbalistic concerns revolving around ... 1993 . Eilima Rabbati of which 2 3 are still unpublished Ohr Neerav A Pleasant Light can also mean a mixed ... more details
, 1897 Midrash Ekah Rabbati , Wilna, 1899 Yalkut Makiri , on the Psalms , Berdychev , 1899 Menahem ben ... he propounds a new theory concerning the Petichtot Introductions in Midrash Ekah Rabbati . Buber corresponded ... more details
to the Pesi ta Rabbati the Greater Pesi ta . This second title was because the editors ... was confused with the Pesi ta Rabbati by Gedaliah ibn Ya ya Shalshelet ha abbalah, p. 24b, Amsterdam ... more details
are quoted by R. Nathan , who invariably calls the work Megillat Eichah. The term Eichah Rabbati, which ... of the Rabbot to Pent. and Megillot , Venice, 1545 Cracow, 1587 Salonica, 1594 Eichah Rabbati, ed ... more details
File Midrash tehillim title.jpg thumb 250px Title page of Midrash Tehillim Prague, 1613 , from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia . Midrash Tehillim Hebrew or Midrash to Psalms is a haggadic midrash known since the 11th century, when it was quoted by Nathan of Rome in his Aruk s.v. , by R. Isaac ben Judah ibn Ghayyat in his Halakot 1b , and by Rashi in his commentary on I Sam. xvii. 49, and on many other passages. This midrash is called also Agadat Tehillim Rashi on Deut. xxxiii. 7 and many other passages , or Haggadat Tehillim Aruk, s.v. , and in six other passages . From the 12th century it was called also Shocher Tov see Midrash Tehillim , ed. S. Buber , Introduction, pp. 35 et seq. , because it begins with the verse Prov. xi. 27, , etc. Editions The true midrash covers only Psalms Ps. i. cxviii., and this is all that is found either in the manuscripts or in the first edition Constantinople , 1512 . In the second edition Thessaloniki , 1515 a supplement was added covering, with the exception of two psalms, Ps. cxix. cl. The author of this supplement was probably R. Mattithiah Yi hari of Zaragoza , who collected the scattered haggadot on Ps. cxix. cl. from the Yal u , adding comments of his own. Since Ps. cxxiii. and cxxxi. are in the Yal u , the author of the supplement included no haggadic interpretations on these two psalms. This omission has been supplied by S. Buber , in his very full edition of the Midrash Tehillim, by printing, under the superscription of the two psalms, collectanea from the Pesi ta Rabbati , Sifre , Numbers Rabbah , and the Babylonian Talmud , so that the midrash in its present form covers the entire Book of Psalms . Nature of the work The name of the editor and the date of the redaction of the true midrash Ps. i cxviii. cannot now be determined. The assumption that Rav Johanan bar Nafcha Rav Johanan or Rav Simon , the son of R. Judah ha Nasi , edited it can not be substantiated comp. Buber , ... more details
Rabbinical Literature Sifre Zutta Hebrew is a midrash on the Book of Numbers . Zur Gesch. der J dischen Tradition, ii. 238 . Medieval authors mention it under the titles Sifre shel Panim A erim and Wi Yeshalle u uta and to distinguish from it the Sifre , Or Zarua ii. 22 calls the latter Sifre Rabbati. The Sifre Zu a has not been preserved and, as appears from a remark of Abraham Bakrat , it was no longer extant at the time in which he wrote his commentary on Rashi comp. Br ll, Der Kleine Sifre, in Gr tz Jubelschrift, p. 184 . Quoted in the Sefer ha Mi wot Earlier authors knew of it and occasionally quoted it, e.g., R. Samson of Sens in his commentary on the mishnaic orders Zera im and ohorot . Numerous fragments are found in Yal u Shim oni to Book of Numbers , which Br ll l.c. has collated corrections and additions by D. Hoffmann , Zur Einleitung in die Halachischen Midraschim, p. 60 . Quotations are found also in Num. R. to Naso , as A. Epstein Mi admoniyyot ha Yehudim, p. 71 has pointed out. The Mekilta to Numbers frequently quoted by Maimonides in his Sefer ha Mi wot is nothing else than the Sifre Zu a for all his quotations may be identified among the fragments of the Sifre contained in the Yal u Shim oni , with the exception of a passage in Shoresh 11 referring to a Biblical section, for which, as Hoffmann shows l.c. p. 59 by a comparison with the Aruk , Yal u Shim oni has not quoted the Sifre. Maimonides frequently drew upon the Sifre Zu a in his Yad ha aza ah also and other medieval authors who occasionally quoted it are mentioned by Br ll l.c. pp. 180 et seq. . The Midrash ha Gadol to Numbers quotes the larger part of the Sifre Zu a, and has recently become a source of information concerning the latter. Around 1900, K nigsberger began to edit the Sifre Zu a on the basis of the extracts in the Midrash ha Gadol and Yal u Shim oni . A small fragment of the Sifre has been published by S. Schechter in J. Q. R. vi. 656 663. From the School of R. ... more details
Jewish views on suicide state that suicide is forbidden by Jewish law . Judaism has traditionally viewed suicide as a serious sin . It is not seen as an acceptable alternative even if one is being forced to commit certain Self sacrifice under Jewish law cardinal sins for which one must give up one s life rather than sin. Assisted suicide Assisting in suicide and requesting such assistance thereby creating an accomplice to a sinful act is also forbidden, a minimal violation of Leviticus 19 14, Do not put a stumbling block before the blind, for the Rabbis interpreted that verse to prohibit any type of stumbling block theological e.g., persuading people to believe in false doctrine , economic e.g., giving bad financial advice or in this case moral stumbling blocks, as well as physical ones. ref See Talmud Bavli B. Pesah.im 22b B. Mo ed Katan 5a, 17a B. Bava Mezia 75b. and B. Nedarim 42b . ref Talmudic opinions The prohibition against suicide is not specifically recorded in the Talmud . The post talmudic tractate Semahot Evel Rabbati 2 1&ndash 5 serves as the basis for most of later Jewish law on suicide, together with Genesis Rabbah 34 13, which bases the biblical prohibition on Genesis 9 5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require. ref Cf. M.T. Laws of Murder 2 3 Babylonian Talmud tractate Laws of Courts Sanhedrin 18 6 S.A. Yoreh De ah Code of Jewish Law 345 1ff. ref Rabbi Jacob Emden writes that a person who according to Jewish Law deserves the death penalty, can commit suicide to atone for his sin. ref She elat Yaavetz siman 33 ref Chassidic philosophy According to Chassidic philosophy, a soul descends into this world to perform a mission, which cannot be performed in the spiritual worlds . This is the Chassidic interpretation of the Talmudic statement One second in the World to Come is more pleasurable than the whole life in this world. But one good deed in this world is more important than the whole eternity of the World to Come Ethics of Our Fathers, Mis ... more details
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