Questions tagged [agada-stories-legends]
Questions about the understanding and interpreting of the story-like content found in the Talmud and Midrash
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Is it true Baal Shem Tov knew his zivug?
Is it true the Baal Shem Tov knew his zivug before he got married to her? If yes how did he know?
That is, in this story, we read:
Rav Efraim Kitover, the Av Beit din of Brody, was once involved in a ...
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Story of a woman hitting a rabbi because husband said
BH
I heard there was a story from the Talmud, correct me if I’m wrong, that a man told his wife to hit a rabbi on the head or something and she went hit him and after she hit him he asked: "My ...
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Source for Bloody Fruits Story
Recall reading a story when I was younger, pretty sure in a kid's book of Midrash/Aggadah, like Our Sages Showed The Way.
Trying to find the original source, could be have some details wrong.
Someone ...
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Deeper meaning of Bat Shlomo midrash
Do any commentaries elucidate any deeper meaning into the story of Bat Shlomo in the tower (found here: The Medrash About Shlomo HaMelech's Daughter )
Obviously the Pashut message is that Gd runs ...
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Meaning of this Og midrash
So what’s the meaning of this midrash exactly? Do any commentaries talk about what it could represent, what 60 represents, etc…
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Are the stories from Chashukei Chemed real?
Is there any information about the anonymous stories from the series of seforim Chashukei Chemed from R' Yitzchok Silberstein if they are real or just made up?
One that was particularly bugging me ...
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Legends of the Jews sources
I’ve come across some very interesting midrashim in Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg, but all the versions online I’ve seen of it aren’t sourced. Can anyone find a version online that contains ...
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Do the Crimean Jews have stories about the Khazars?
It seems reasonable to say that the (Jewish) Khazars fleeing the destruction of their state by the Rus' could have joined the Crimean Jews. Do the Crimean Jews themselves have any info on the Khazars? ...
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Book recommendation: commentaries on aggadah?
Shalom. Does anyone know of a good book/set that collects mefarshim on aggadic portions of the talmud? I am specifically looking for works that summarize or collect various opinions or commentaries, ...
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Anyone know where I can find this book
Anyone know where I can find this book online either to buy or if it’s a pdf online or something? It’s a very skinny brown book
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Midrash about eshet potifar
I heard in a shiur a midrash that the friends of Eshet Potiphar didn’t believe how beautiful a Jew like Joseph was, so she brought all her friends in a room, sat them in a circle and gave them knives ...
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Is there a source for this story of the seven brothers?
This is part of the story:
"There were once seven brothers, the sons of one woman, in the city of Tzippori. They were wealthy, but one day they went to a certain city in the land of India. They ...
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Who was Adina? (Lavan's wife)
In Sefer Hayashar it says:
ויזרע יצחק בארץ ההיא, וימצא בשנה ההיא מאה שערים ויברכו ה׳. ויגדל האיש ויהי לו ובשנת חמישים ושש שנים לחיי יעקב, באו אנשים מחרן ויגידו לרבקה על אודות לבן בן בתואל אחיה. כי ...
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40 days before the formation of the fetus
I know chazel say 40 days before the formation of a fetus a bas Kol goes out and says "bas ploni lploni" I was wondering in the language of the bas Kol, why does it say "bas ploni ...
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Sefer guidebook to Understanding Aggadata Perspectives
I'm on the lookout for a sefer (ideally that is on Otzer Hachochmo or Hebrewbooks) that delves into the diverse ways of interpreting Aggadata Gemaras, if such a resource exists. What I'm after is a ...
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Did Benjamin know what happen to Yosef in real time? [duplicate]
It is mentioned in the sources that Benjamin named his sons after what Joseph went through when he was separated from his family: And the sons of Benjamin, Bela and Becher and Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, ...
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How the Hachamim did not recognize Shalmai
The legend of the Talmud is known that Shalmai replaced Solomon in his kingdom for a period of time. After all, Solomon, by virtue of his position as king, had to pass judgments and discuss with the ...
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Why do Rabbis say that HaShem was mistaken and HaShem states that He was defeated and that He must obey the Rabbis?
I've been reading an article on an Islamic website called Muslim Skeptic and came accross the following:
The way that Jews depict God, they celebrate the notion of debating with God, winning ...
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Difference between aggadah in gemara and midrash
Much of the non-halachic aggadah quoted in the gemara overlaps with aggadah from the midrash such as midrash tanchuma or midrash rabbah and others. Yet there are some aggadah that are only found in ...
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Did the Jews burn the Temple?
In Meam Loez The Story of Tisha Bav by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, it is written that the Romans burned to Holy of Holies and then seeing this, the Jews burned the rest of the temple and all the wealthy ...
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What kinds of vegetables did Adam eat in the Garden?
In Bereshit 1:29-30, Adam is told that vegetables were allocated for him to eat for food. However, is there any information as to what vegetables Adam was permitted to eat, specifically whether Adam ...
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Is Aggada bad to learn?
In Masechet Soferim 16 (and I believe in the Yerushalmi too) it is written:
א"ר יהושע ב"ל הדא אגדתא כתוב בה הכותבה אין לו חלק לעולם הבא והדורשה מתברך והשומעה אינו מקבל שכר
Whoever writes ...
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Why is Kamtza blamed?
The famous Gemara in Gittin says אקמצא ובר קמצא חרב ירושלים, that Jerusalem was destroyed because of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza. I understand why Bar Kamtza s getting some of the blame, but why is Kamtza ...
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Midrash that Paul changed sabbath to sunday [duplicate]
I have heard a few times that there is a midrash (or other rabbinic source) that Paul, as some kind of "undercover pharisee" type situation, deliberately changed the sabbath to sunday in the ...
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Why couldn’t Rabbi Yochanan revive Reish Lakish?
We are told in Bava Kama 117b a story of how Rabbi Yochanan looked at Rav Kahana and killed him, and proceeded to then revive him.
We also know the story of how Rabbi Yochanan looked at Reish Lakish ...
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Where can I find the indexes to Ein Yaakov online?
Ein Yaakov, a collection of aggadah from Shas, was originally published with a thematic index and an index according to the parshah, haftarah and megillos. They are described in this article
and this ...
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Interpreting non-Jewish folk tales in a Jewish way
In “in the footsteps of the kuzari,” Shalom Rosenberg writes:
“Rabbi Nachman of Breslov was well known for composing remarkable stories, full of Kabbalistic and philosophical allusions. He also taught ...
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What is the source for the battle between Leviathan and Behemoth in the end of days?
I hear often the tradition that the Leviathan and the Behemoth will engage in battle and kill each other in the end of days. I was wondering what is the (earliest) source for this tradition?
EDIT
On a ...
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Source for Story about Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi Collecting Teachings from All the Tanaim
Someone recently mentioned to me a story that in the days of the Tannaim most people learned from a single teacher and learned a single derekh or set of halakhot. Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi was unusual in ...
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Why does the Torah sometimes use riddles, metaphor and misleading words instead of direct explanation?
If the Torah's lessons are critical for all to know, and written by Hashem, why is it sometimes so obtuse?
Let's focus this question on 2 places: the 3 sefarim of King Shlomo Shir HaShirim, Kohellet ...
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Talmudic legend about the souls refusing to enter Adam's and Hava's bodies?
Ted Hughes, in the Crow collection, has a poem named A Childish Prank (full text), which is a grotesque narration of Adam's and Hava's creation.
In March 1976, at the Adelaide Festival Writers’ Week, ...
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Hashem wrapped Himself in Light
Midrash Tanchuma Vayachel 6:
שָׁאַל רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יְהוֹצָדָק אֶת רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר
נַחְמָן. אָמַר לוֹ: אַתָּה בַּעַל הַגָּדָה, אֱמֹר לִי הֵיאַךְ בָּרָא
הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת ...
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How did the Magic (Kishuf) applied on the Tanaim?
It is mentioned in Yerushalmi (Sanhedrin, 87, Halacha 13) that a magician/ witch (Mechashef) applied his magic on three Taanaim: Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Lazer and Rabbi Akiva in a public bath house. How ...
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When is a Talmudic statement considerd aggadah?
When is a statement in the Talmud considerd aggadah (and thus not necessarily to be taken litteraly, but rather teaches us a lesson) and when is a statement in the Talmud acctually literal? (i.e that ...
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Medrashim which seem to go against logic
I am giving a speech this week. I would like to include examples of Medrashim which seem implausible that it ever happened or could have ever happened.
Can any of you provide examples of medrashim ...
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Do the Sages tell us why Ezekiel's wife died?
Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, behold, I am
about to take away from thee the delight of thy eyes at a stroke: yet
thou shalt neither mourn nor weep, nor shall thy tears run ...
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Agadah / Talmud Bavli Map
Is there a spreadsheet or list available, linking the אגדתא of shas with the standard pagination? I.e., flagging daf כ ע"א, כב ע"ב, כה ע"א as having אגדתא. (Anything in עין יעקב, but in ...
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The Gemara (Sukkah 25b) mentions "taking your mind off your worries." Do any commentators elaborate on exactly how to do that?
The Gemara (Sukkah 25b) mentions that an avel (mourner) is obligated in the mitzvah of Sukkah. One might have thought that since someone who is mitzta'er (in pain) is exempt from the mitzvah, that an ...
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What is the "Sefer Ruach Chen" mentioned by Rabbi Mashash?
Highly related.
After a lot of searching, it turns out that the story about Rabbi Akiva's parents is sourced to Rabbi Yosef Mashash's book נחלת אבות חלק ג', pp. 167-171. Rabbi Mashash himself sourced ...
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Where can I find the story about the cow that kept shabbos?
I think this might be in the Yershalmi (Jerusalem Talmud) but which meseches and which page?
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Is Buber's Legend of the Baal Shem Tov credible?
Did Buber base his stories on authentic Chassidic lore or was it his own making?
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What is the difference between the Benayahu and the Ben Yehoyada?
Among his many sefarim, the Ben Ish Chai wrote the Ben Yehoyada and the Benayahu, each an exposition on the Aggadita in the Gemara. First he wrote the Ben Yehoyada, then the Benayahu.
Why are they two ...
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Why didn't the Sages also subdue the inclination for murder?
The Talmud, on Sanhedrin 64a recounts how the Sages subdued and imprisoned the evil inclination for idolatry and then subdued and injured the evil inclination for sexual immorality. Those are two of ...
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Where is Rabbi Akiva told to stick to Halacha and not try Aggadah?
I recall a Gemara where Rabbi Akiva makes an Aggadic (“midrashic”) comment on a story in the Torah, and he is told by a colleague that he has no business with aggadeta.
The Gemara on Shabbat 96b is ...
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Is there a connection between "מקום מים רעים" and "מקום מים יפים"?
In Avot D'Rabbi Nathan 14:6 it says:
"כשיצאו מלפניו הוא אמר אלך לדמסית למקום יפה ומים יפים ונאים והם אמרו נלך ליבנה למקום שתלמידי חכמים מרובים אוהבים את התורה הוא שהלך לדמסית למקום יפה ומים יפים ...
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What are some Gemarot that contain a lot of stories and aggadah?
Looking for a list of Gemara's that has lots of aggadic stories.
The following can be excluded from the list- Avoda Zara and Perek Chelek in Sanhedrin.
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How does this verse show that Vespasian will be emperor?
In the famous story about the meeting between Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakai and Vespasian, RYb"Z brings an asmachta from a verse to show that Vespasian will become emperor. The verse is:
"And ...
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What tractates have the most aggada?
Recently, Daf Yomi completed Mesechet Taanis, which has a bunch of awesome Aggada. It got me thinking, which tractate has the most aggada? I know there may not be a perfect quantifiable number, but I ...
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Remote Viewing and Judaism
I’m fascinated to know if there are any kabbalistic ideas and/or aggadic references in chazalic literature that refer to or discusses the idea of “remote viewing” ( the practice of seeking impressions ...
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Where do I find compassionate references to the Angel of Death
The references that I find to the malach hamoves, Angel of Death, in our folklore and tale are largely filled with images of fear and trepidation . Where do I find stories depicting compassion?
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