Midrashic Literature

This article explores rabbinic traditions that see in the character of Joseph a figure of uncertain sexual orientation. I examine a series of rabbinic and biblical texts in which an unconventional gender dynamic may be present. While it is true that these biblical and rabbinic texts ran contrary to the normative ideational and behaviorally prescriptive traditions concerning sexuality presented by the main body of biblical and rabbinic texts, it is nonetheless true that the texts I examine invite readers to see an alternative dynamic through their stories. I will employ a variety of methodologies, including philological/critical scholarship, close literary reading, and queer theory, through which we might most profitably examine the interpretative traditions I consider.

This paper offers a critical analysis of Rabbinic sources concerning the the history of Loshon HaQodesh. The paper first attempts to define the language known as "Loshon HaQodesh" and then trace its origins through Midrashic and Talmudic sources. The paper also follows the rise and decline of this language.
A more complete version of this paper was printed in Nov. 2014 under the name Lashon HaKodesh: History, Holiness, & Hebrew (Mosaica Press, 2014).

Midrash Pitron Torah is a Midrash on Torah preserved only in central Asia, and retains some exclusive Amoraic Drashot.  Until now this Midrash ha been found in one manuscript copy, which starts in Leviticus. We present here a remnant extant in one bifolio- one folio from Leviticus, which is very similar to Pitron Torah, and the other from the end of Exodus.
Published in Moriah, 35 (5777- 2016), pp. 5-10.

Midrás Tanhuma Buber es una colección de comentarios al Pentateuco.
Pertenece a la clasificación de midrases homiléticos que, encabezados en
importancia por Midrás Rabbah, se ocupan de dilucidar asuntos vinculados
con la praxis de la existencia judía. Es más homogéneo que Midrás Rabbah,
obra mixta en tiempo y autores. Al igual que Levítico Rabbah, es una
colección de homilías en torno al ciclo de los sedarim de la sinagoga.

My paper focuses on two biblical verses which are inserted in a midrashic unit appearing in different forms in the Babylonian Talmud. The evolution of the midrash is traced through its appearances in stories dealing with the ability of Joseph's descendents to protect themselves against the evil eye, ultimately developing into an incantation that any person may use against it. In addition, I present a literary unit which conducts a sharp ideological struggle against the spell and against the stories which pose genealogy at their centre. The reading reveals the poetics of the Talmudic story, the literary methods that are used and the way that the Talmud binds stories that are different from one another into a large unit composed of the sum of its parts.

The Biblical Book of Psalms has served throughout the ages as a repository of texts used for the magical purposes. Psalm 91 has been particularly eagerly resorted to and the history of its apotropaic usage extends from the ancient collection of the apocryphal Psalms from Qumran (11Q11), through the medieval commentary Glossa ordinaria up till the Renaissance magical grimoire Shimush Tehilim. Midrash Bamidbar rabbah 12:3 is one of the examples in the history of the apotropaic reception of Ps 91. The content of the hereby presented text is unique as it delivers a rich and detailed rabbinic exposition. It speaks about the origins of the Psalm, the special significance of the Torah studies and the nature of the demons mentioned in Ps 91:5-6.

This study examines all the midrashim of Sifre on Numbers with the purpose of identifying all those that are based on a linguistic issue. The objective of the study is to give a maximally comprehensive overview of the exegetical methods used in addressing such issues in Sifre on Numbers, in hopes of laying down the groundwork for a future description encompassing all Rabbinic texts. The advantage of this study lies in its systematicity: it offers a description, as comprehensive as I could make it, of all the relevant exegetical methods, both common and rare.
The midrashim were classified into five categories: orthographic, phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic, as reflected in the study's five chapters. Each category is divided into sub-categories as necessary. Every chapter deals at length with a small number of midrashim which reflect the principles that guided the Sages in addressing the relevant domain. In addition, a comprehensive appendix presents all the midrashim belonging to each category.
The study's five chapters review many exegetical methods pertaining to orthography, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics, and beyond the numerous details, which are important in themselves, four main conclusions emerge. These conclusions are stated directly only with respect to the midrashim of Sifre on Numbers, since only these were subjected to a systematic analysis in the study; however, I believe these conclusions may also apply to other midrashim, in particular Tannaitic ones, or at least offer some directions towards an broader examination of midrashic literature.
The conclusions are as follows:
A. The majority of linguistically-based midrashim in Sifre on Numbers pertain to morphology, syntax and semantics, and only a few to orthography and phonology. These findings are in line with the accepted view that in Tannaic midrashim, especially those dealing with halachic issues, exegetical methods tend to be less bold and more conservative.
B. Linguistically-based Rabbinic midrashim are not random, but follow clear and organized rules, well-defined exegetical methods that can be accurately identified and described, as demonstrated throughout the study.
C. The methods used by the Sages in their exegesis were based on a solid linguistic awareness, which they employed in interpreting the Bible.
D. The Sages employ a very broad range of means in their midrashim. In some cases, the breadth of the spectrum leads to a duality that is evident in at least three domains:
1. Rabbinic Hebrew versus Biblical Hebrew: Many midrashim reflect an awareness of the difference between Biblical and Rabbinic Hebrew. Conversely, other midrashim interpret the Biblical text based on Rabbinic Hebrew.
2. Minimalist versus maximalist approach: Many midrashim reflect a minimalist approach that gives words the narrowest possible interpretation, whereas other midrashim attribute to words the broadest possible meaning.
3. Scribal traditions versus reading traditions:  The exegetes sometimes focus on the written text, understanding it not according to the accepted reading tradition but based on an examination of its letters and signs. In other cases, however, they completely ignore the orthography and rely exclusively on the accepted pronunciation.

This is an English version of
משה שוֹשן, הדרך ללוד – סיפורו של ניצול: בריחתו של רבן יוחנן בן זכאי מירושלים על פי מדרש איכה רבה א, ה
The article presents an analysis of the story of the escape of R. Yohanan ben Zakkai from Jerusalem as it appears in Eicha Rabba. This version of the story differs markedly from the accounts found elsewhere in rabbinic literature, most notably in its lack of reference R. Yohanan's request to save "Yavne and her sages." The Eicha Rabba account focuses on the very fact of the Jews' survival rather than on the establishment of a center of Jewish study and practice to succeed Jerusalem. Torah is presented as a source of practical wisdom which gives the rabbis the ability to save a remnant of their people. The article also explores the implications of the identification of the figure of Abgar with the figure of the same name known to us from Christian legend. In light of this, the story should also be read as an anti-Christian counter narrative.

This article focuses on the shifts in the portrayal of Pharaoh in aggadic midrashic compositions,
mostly those connected with Exodus 13:17. Tannaitic Midrashim from the
Roman period create the motif of “Pharaoh’s repentance.” Aggadic Midrashim from
the Byzantine period reject, in turn, this motif. At the end of the Byzantine period, perhaps
influenced by the Islamic reading of the biblical Pharaoh, the motif of “Pharaoh’s
repentance” returns to the fore and even enjoys some literary development. The
dynamic changes that these interpretations underwent reflect shifts in the internal
spiritual life of the sages and in their interchanges with the surrounding cultures.

Whenever we hear the phrase “Pirsumei Nisa” (publicizing the Miracle), we immediately tend to think about the lighting of Hanukkah. From the time of the Talmud up until our days, the lighting of the Hanukkiah has been the most paradigmatic example of a commandment whose main purpose is to spread a miracle. Despite this fact, there are other commandments too that, according to the Babylonian Talmud, also involves Pirsumei Nisa. This is the case of the reading of the Megillah during Purim, the recitation of the Hallel in the festivals and drinking the four cups during the Pesach Seder.

Throughout this paper we will try to trace the origin of Pirsumei Nisa, its meaning in Talmudic literature and its expansion and interpretation in the Rishonim and in the post-Talmudic halakhic literature. The main goal, however, is to understand why especially in these three festivals (Passover, Hanukkah and Purim) we have this special claim of the rabbis of Pirsumei Nisa and why over these specific commandments. What do Passover, Hanukkah and Purim have in common? What do the commandments which the Talmudic dictum Pirsumei Nisa is applied have in common? Why is the commandment of Pirsumei Nisa on Hanukkah more popular and better known than in Passover? These are some of the questions that will lead our study.

The present article discusses two rare Rabbinic Hebrew words denoting types of dried fruit: דמדמון in Yosef berabbi Nisan’s Seder for Qedushta הנני ממטיר, and קיטנים in Midrash Shir ha-Shirim Zutạ (according to MS St. Petersburg, Russian National Library, Ms. Antonin Ebr. III B 928). The etymology, morphology, and semantics of דמדמון and קיטנים are examined on the basis of the most probable lexical descendants of these words in Palestinian colloquial Arabic, viz. damdamūn and quṭṭēn respectively. The Palestinian Arabic word damdamūn ‘over-ripe grapes that are shriveled and dry by the time of the vintage season’ matches the Hebrew דמדמון both morphologically and semantically. The Palestinian Arabic word quṭṭēn ‘dried figs’ corresponds to the semantics of the unvocalised Hebrew קיטנים and suggests that it might be read as *qiṭṭēn (pl. qiṭṭǝnīm or qiṭṭēnīm), deriving from the Hebrew root קטן qtṇ.

This paper compares the Babylonian and Palestinian talmudic traditions on the fate of the ark of the covenant-either lost before or during the Babylonian conquest, or buried in the Temple precincts (b. Yom'a 53b-54a; y. Sheqalim 6:1-2, 49c). In the Babylonian Talmud, the ark and the cherubim are described in highly erotic, femi-nized terms, blurring traditional gender categories of Israel and God. The feminization of the ark serves as a "survival strategy" to counter the defiling gaze of the gentile conqueror , but also preserves the sacred center as a locus of longing for Jews in diaspora. Keywords ark-counter-locative-diaspora-gender reading-locative-sense of sight-Talmud … Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the fal-coner; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

Nahum Glatzer once quipped,
An author wrote a commentary on Song of Songs and took it to a rabbi for an approbation before presenting the material to the publisher. The rabbi looked at the commentary on Song of Songs and said to the author, "You should have written a commentary on the Book of Job." The author inquired, "Well, do you really think I am qualified to write a commentary on the book of Job?" The rabbi replied, "No, I didn't mean that, but the Song of Songs is so lovely, so tender, you should leave it alone. Job has suffered so much, he'll suffer your commentary.

Despite its general absence from the Jewish liturgical cycle and its limited place in Jewish practice, the
Book of Job has permeated Jewish culture over the last 2,000 years. Job has not only had to endure the suffering described in the biblical book, but the efforts of countless commentators, interpreters, and creative rewriters whose explanations more often than not challenged the protagonist’s righteousness in order to preserve Divine justice. Beginning with five critical essays on the specific efforts of ancient, medieval, and modern Jewish writers to make sense of the biblical book, this volume concludes with a detailed survey of the place of Job in the Talmud and Midrashic corpus, in medieval biblical commentary, in ethical, mystical, and philosophical tracts, as well as in poetry and creative writing in
a wide variety of Jewish languages from around the world from the second to sixteenth centuries.

This chapter focuses upon appearances of the color blue
(in the stone, Lapis Lazuli) in the image of God’s
footstool at the ratification of the Sinai covenant
(Exod 24:10).  This is one of the most astonishing
and inexplicable verses in the Hebrew Bible. Moses
and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and the seventy of
the elders of Israel ascended Mount Sinai, where they
saw “the God of Israel: under His feet there was the
likeness of brick-work of sapphire, like the very sky
for purity.” The author compares the Targum and midrashic traditions, as it engages with the experience of visual rapture and anthropomorphic language in Scripture.

Throughout Rabbinic literature—the Talmud and the Midrash—a mysterious creature known as the Salamandra is mentioned. This creature is also mentioned by various early philosophers and scientists. It is reported to have been created in fire and therefore have fire-resistant capabilities. Other sources attribute the origins of the Salamandra to witchcraft. This discrepancy is elaborated upon and several methods of resolution are presented. Nonetheless, all these mythological stories seem to contradict the reality where no such creature is found. This paper explores and reconciles the differences between various descriptions of the Salamandra’s origin and its role in rabbinic literature. Many Classic Rabbinic sources (from Medieval to contemporary) have been used throughout this work to illustrate the Salamandra’s significance in Jewish theology and laws of purity.

The basis of the Legend about Joseph the Beautiful was taken from the life story of Prophet Joseph, narrated in Torah (Genesis, 37-50) and the 12th surah (chapter) of Holy Qur`an. There is given all Joseph’s life in the Torah – from birth to his death. And, in Qur’an unlike stories of other Prophets, the details of which are scattered throughout the Holy Qur`an, the history of Prophet Joseph was revealed completely in one surah.
This article explores the location of the tomb of the Prophet Joseph based on the Sacred Books, as well as scientific and religious literature. The study shows that the location of the Prophet Joseph`s tomb is still controversial. Muslims believe that the tomb of the Prophet Joseph is located about 35 km south of Jerusalem, the Cave of the Patriarchs (also called the Cave of Machpelah), placed in the ancient city of Hebron. Jews, as well as some Christian scholars,  claim that the Prophet Joseph`s tomb is located in a grave on the outskirts of the city of Nablus on the West Bank, 300 meters northwest of Jacob`s Well. Neither Jewish, Christian, nor Islamic sources until the 5th century have information about the existence of this grave, although the tomb has been revered by Jews, Samaritans, Christians, and Muslims for centuries. Many archaeologists believe that a Muslim saint named Yusuf Al-Duveykat is buried in this tomb, and the burial is not so ancient. Hassan Al-Shaqa, the mayor of Nablus stated the need to conduct an international inquiry into the presence of bones in the grave. And if the discovered bones belong to the Prophet Joseph, this place will be considered burial place attributed to Biblical personality, and the Jews will have the full legal right to visit this tomb. In 2009-2010 the tomb was refurbished, a new cupola installed, and visits by Jewish pilgrims have resumed. Currently, groups of Jewish worshippers are regularly delivered to the tomb of Joseph by agreement with the Israel Defense Forces.

Approximately thirty tefillin cases were discovered in the Judean Desert. The publishers of these finds distinguished between single-compartment cases, which they identified as "arm-tefillin," and four-compartment cases, which they identified as "head-tefillin." Here I present a further typological distinction between two subtypes among the four-compartment tefillin cases: (1) the "simple-type," in which a single line of stitching separates the compartments from one another, and (2) the "split-type," in which the compartments are separated by incisions in the leather and each compartment is stitched closed individually. It seems likely that some kind of ritual issue is at stake, and an allusion to these two types as competing halakhic practices may be found in the tannaitic literature—with the rabbis ultimately rejecting the "split-type." The Judean Desert finds may represent a synchronic debate between competing groups, a diachronic development, or perhaps practices followed contemporaneously by members of one and the same group.

The  visualization of the two revelations  on Mount Sinai  the burning bush and the giving of the Torah as expressed in word and image in Jewish and Byzantine art and the visualization of the Theophany  in Christian and Islamic manuscripts. How Jewish Midrash entered these works.

This is a sample (last proof, not final) of my book "The Meshalim in the Mekhiltot. An Annotated Edition and Translation of the Parables in Mekhilta de Rabbi Yishmael and Mekhilta de Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai"
With the assistance of Esther van Eenennaam. Mohr Siebeck, 2019.  Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism 176. See https://www.mohrsiebeck.com/en/book/the-meshalim-in-the-mekhiltot-9783161556487

The Torah and the Quran share many common stories of key Biblical characters, each told in its own distinct way. Of the over forty Biblical persons mentioned either in passing or at length in the Quran, none is as complete or detailed as that of the Joseph story. Although a thorough scholarly examination of each and every one of the similarities and differences of the two narratives is far beyond the scope of this paper, herein is an attempt to narrow the focus on the special role which garments play in both the Genesis and Quranic accounts. The garments of the Joseph story, in primary text as well as in aggadic literature, weave a story of parental favoritism, sibling jealousy, lust, piety, social and political status, and the redemptive power of forgiveness. Using the garments of the Joseph story as presented in both scriptural texts and aggadic literature is a way of knitting back together the torn-apart skeins of a shared narrative to re-create a cross-cultural legend which touches a human universal chord, making the story of Joseph a story for all peoples, at all times.

The Wandering Throne of Solomon: Precious Objects and Legends of Kingship in the Medieval Mediterranean focuses on the circulation of artifacts and literary traditions related to king Solomon, particularly among Christians, Jews and Muslim, roughly between X and XIII centuries. The idea is to show how things of striking visual impact and written sources interact with each other, thus revealing the unceasing obsession exerted by crafty and beautiful objects on man’s imagination and the continuous effort to match the literary echoes of past wonders by producing things that can be deemed worthy of becoming legendary on their turn. In this perspective, king Solomon and the rich material related his long-lasting legend, provide an ideal topic of research. The vast basin of folklore and learned traditions related to him constitutes a common cultural heritage, shared by the Eastern and the Western world alike during the Middle Ages. The power of his name affected also the things he came in contact with (and also others that were attached to him later on), removing them from the realm of the ordinary and transforming them into symbolic, evocative or magic objects.

As in orthodox Judaism the Talmud possesses a degree of authority second only to that of the Hebrew scriptures, so in orthodox Islam the authority of the traditions of al-Bukhari is second only to that of the Kur'an.
The purpose of the thesis has been to collect the numerous traditions of
al-Bukhari which bear a striking similarity to the aggadic traditions to be
found chiefly in the Talmud and the Midrashim. Scholars have frequently
assumed that these were parallels in the bodies of tradition. But hitherto no one has undertaken to assemble them or to set them in relation to one another for a study of their inter-dependence.
This investigation has necessitated a study of the successive stages in the
evolution both of the Jewish and of the Muslim traditions and of their origin, oral transmission and reduction to writing. The three periods into which Jewish influence on Muslim tradition falls are (a) the period of the first Caliphs in Arabia, (b) that of the Umayyads in Syria and (c) that of the
Abbasids in the Iraq. The factors which operated in the decline of Jewish influences arc noted.
The subject-matter of the thesis is presented under three heads; (a)
traditions dealing with the heroes of the faith in the Old Testament and
Muhammad (the Past), (b) traditions related to the daily practices and the
seasonal observances of the two religions, (the Present), (c) the eschatological traditions (the Future). An additional section covers those traditions of al-Bukhari which throw light upon the relations between Muslims and Jews.
The conclusion of the investigation is that the Muslims were largely indebted to the Jews for a great body of their traditions. However, this conclusion must be modified by the recognition of a common dependence of Jews and Muslims on a common Semitic heritage and a common spirit.

Rabbinic texts apply the metaphor of the vineyard to the Torah as well as to Israel. Conceptual Metaphor Theory allows us to explain the parallel use of the vineyard metaphor for the two target domains, Israel and the Torah. The conceptual metaphor of the vineyard includes such aspects as the fence, the vines and the wine. The generic metaphor SOMETHING PRECIOUS IS A CULTIVATED PIECE OF LAND enables us to include related conceptual fields, such as a field of wheat, or another cultivated piece of land. By means of the principle of the "creation of similarity," the Torah and Israel are linked in the rabbinic cultural world, using the notion of preciousness, segulah. The metaphor of the vineyard not only reflects, but also induces the similarity: conceived as vineyards, Israel and the Torah become precious in the minds of the people using and hearing or reading the metaphorical texts.

Questions posed by God and biblical characters in the Hebrew Bible are often philosophically empowering moments. They transpire from the very inception of human history, according to the Bible's own reconstructed version of it. Rather than divinely imposed law, biblical questioning is a vital tool initiating the decisive biblical way toward truth through independent investigation. Questions then recur throughout various biblical narratives, revealing the Bible's philosophical dimension. As such, they may indicate the Bible's conception of the essential expression of humanity, or where the Bible locates the beginning of serious thought, and how it suggests proceeding in the search for truth and the highest good. This chapter explores specific episodes where questions are posed, beginning with the Garden of Eden and ending with the book of Job.

Many sugyot in the Jerusalem Talmud have identical parallels in several places. Usually, these parallels are completely identical to each other, and it seems that they are a result of technical copying from one place to another. In some cases, the sugya itself is missing in one of its occurrences, and we find instead of it the Aramaic (?) term גרש ('geresh'), which probably means ‘to pull’. The scholars in the last century disagreed about the origins of this phenomenon. Some thought of it as a shortcut made by copyists. Instead of writing the same text twice, the copyist wrote it only once, and in its second appearance only a reference to it was given. Others thought that this term hints to a certain editorial practice. The late editors, who copied the sugya from its original place to another, added the term as an instruction to transfer the text. This thesis analyzes this phenomenon. The paper includes (1) a collection of all occurrences in our textual witnesses (about fifty cases) and the bibliography related to them; (2) statistical analysis of various characteristics of these cases; (3) a detailed study of some sugyot that seem to be quite unusual; (4) an attempt to offer a new theory regarding the role of the 'geresh'.
The thesis showed the profound effect that the phenomenon had on the text of the Jerusalem Talmud. Besides, it advanced our understanding of the ancient scholars’ attitude to this Talmudic text.


עבודת התזה מוקדשת לבחינת תופעת הגרשים בתלמוד הירושלמי. מלבד סקירת מחקר מקיפה, העבודה כוללת איסוף שיטתי של כל הגרשים וספק-גרשים שמזדמנים בעדי הנוסח של הירושלמי ובמידע שניתן ללמוד אודותיהם. בעבודה אני מציע ניתוח של מאפייני תופעת הגרשים, וכן פירוש לסוגיות נבחרות ומשמעותיות. בפרק האחרון מוצעת תיאוריה חדשה למשמעותה של תופעת הגרשים.

The author reviews the frequent claim that Messiah ben Joseph’s death has no atoning significance. An examination of rabbinic literature from Renaissance to temple times, and a consideration of the conceptual background of atoning death in the near east, suggests that this view is mistaken, and that Messiah ben Joseph’s death was indeed viewed as an atonement in every period.

This M.A. thesis discusses the theatrical staging of Talmudic and Rabbinic literature, analyzing their interpretive nature and dialogic qualities

המושגים תיאטרון ויהדות נתפסים פעמים רבות כעומדים בניגוד זה לזה. חיבור זה מבקש לערער על תפיסה זו בהראותו את העושר המתקיים בסינתזה בין ספרות יהודית פרשנית להצגות בז'אנר תיאטרון-סיפור. המחקר מתבסס על ניתוח הצגות, ראיונות אישיים עם יוצרים ושילוב תיאוריות מתחום התיאטרון, הספרות, הפילוסופיה, הסוציולוגיה וחקר התלמוד. באמצעות מקורות אלו בוחנת העבודה מדגם של ארבע הצגות המעלות מדרשי-אגדה בטכניקות תיאטרון-סיפור, ומראה כיצד מבנה ההצגות אלו מונע מבחירה מודעת לחיבור בין תוכן וצורה. הצגות אלו משיבות למדרשים את איכות מסירתם האורלית, ודרכן מודגש המעשה הפרשני הפורש מצע להצגת ריבוי קולות. מופעים תיאטרוניים אלו מראים כיצד עולמות בית המדרש והתיאטרון לא רק שאינם סותרים זה לזה, כפי שנטען, אלא אף משלימים, מעשירים ומחיים זה את זה.