Rabbinic writings (e.g. * Rabbah and other midrash) use the words "mashal" (noun) and "nimshal" (verb). What do these terms mean in English? I've heard "parable" or "allegory" for the noun but I am very uncertain about "nimshal". How should I understand these words when I encounter them in this context?
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3There are no best practices regarding transliteration so long as it is reasonably understandable– Double AA ♦Mar 31, 2013 at 16:27
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2while this is asking for a translation, it is asking for a term which has utility almost exclusively within a religious context. Is it so off topic? By the way, I vote for "deciphered interpretive application".– rosendsMar 31, 2013 at 18:01
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1@Yoel, I've made an edit to try to make the on-topic-ness more clear. Does this look ok to you?– Monica CellioMar 31, 2013 at 18:38
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1@Yoel, done. (I wanted to make sure you were ok with its edited form before proceeding.)– Monica CellioMar 31, 2013 at 19:23
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1@Dan I'm not sure that this is exclusively religious in context. The example given is, however, Mashal and Nimshal are words that young children learn in school(Israeli) when dealing with things like fables. My daughter's first day at Gan was the teacher giving a long mashal, and then explaining and even longer nimshal(which I had to sit through).– Rabbi Michael TzadokApr 1, 2013 at 21:10
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3 Answers
Mashal= Parable. It is a story or comparison for the sake of conveying a deeper truth.
Nimshal= Technically it means moral. It is the deeper truth being hinted at in the story.
For instance in Aesop's fables, like the tortoise and the hare, in which a bullying hare is challenged to a race by a tortoise. The hare takes off, and confident of victory naps, the tortoise though tired continues to plug on, and when the hare awakes he sees the plucky tortoise win. The Nimshal, is 'many people have good natural abilities which are ruined by idleness; on the other hand, sobriety, zeal and perseverance can prevail over indolence. Source.
Oh on a gramatical note. משל is both a noun and a verb in the Paal(or Qal depending on how scholarly you want to be) form. While נמשל is also both a noun and a verb in the Niphal. The diference being that the Paal is active/stative while the Nifal is passive/reflexive. Source.
answered Apr 1, 2013 at 21:05
"nimshal" means something like "to be compared with" or "to be like".
It's also used in a general sense as the lesson learned from the "mashal".
I'll add that "nimshal" isn't commonly used in modern Hebrew, and many people don't know the difference between the two.
Mashal is, as you say, the story which is trying to teach a lesson
The nimshal is the lesson which that story teaches--the moral of the story.
answered Apr 3, 2013 at 3:52
