Questions tagged [midrash]
Exegetical interpretation, often of verses in Tanach. The term also refers to books based on these interpretations, e.g., Midrash Rabba, Midrash Tanchuma, et al.
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If they hadn't eaten the fruit
I recall hearing (many years ago) a medrash that said that if Adam and Chava had not eaten of the Eitz Hada'at, and made it to Shabbat, Mashiach would have come. I have been unable to find it. I was ...
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Death as a key flaw in existence -- where is this from?
I recall learning at one point the idea to effect: Death is the key imperfection in human existence
What are the sources under this?
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Source on the life of Shlomo Hamelech
There are many Gemoras, Mirashim and Mifarshim explaining what Shlomo did or did not do wrong. Can anyone recommend a Sefer, dissertation or book on the life of King Shlomo which gives perspective on ...
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Malachim not to sing Shirah at the Yam Suf, and the verse proving it
The Baal Haturim brings on Shemos 14:20
וַיָּבֹ֞א בֵּ֣ין ׀ מַחֲנֵ֣ה מִצְרַ֗יִם וּבֵין֙ מַחֲנֵ֣ה יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַיְהִ֤י הֶֽעָנָן֙ וְהַחֹ֔שֶׁךְ וַיָּ֖אֶר אֶת־הַלָּ֑יְלָה וְלֹא־קָרַ֥ב זֶ֛ה אֶל־זֶ֖ה כׇּל־...
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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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Understanding Midrash in a rational manner?
When it comes to non-metaphorical interpretation methods for midrashim and aggadah, there are two concepts for the purposes of this question:
Literal: the story presented by the midrash is factual. ...
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Do we see anywhere that Og actually was a slave to Noach?
It says in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 23 that Og swore to be Noach and his descendant's slave forever.
וימח את כל היקום אשר על פני האדמה חוץ מנח וכל אשר אתו בתבה שנאמר וישאר אך נח ואשר אתו בתבה וחוץ מעוג ...
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Did any rabbis say that Adam and Eve did not have sexual intercourse in the garden? [closed]
Rashi as well as other rabbis said that Adam and Eve had intercourse in the garden. However, did any rabbis say that they did not have intercourse before they sinned?
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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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New rivers that will spring during The World to Come?
Once in the past, I read an article online (Now I don't remember where exactly), that says that during the messianic age or the world to come, there will be a phenomenon of the appearance of new ...
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List of Seforim that Collect Midrashim on the Parsha
I'm looking for a list of seforim that collect midrashim on the Parsha. In particular, I am looking for a sefer or seforim that can help me see what happens between the lines of the pesukim according ...
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What is Binyan HaMalchut?
The Kuntrus Umayan writes, in discourse 18 chapter 1, that the period between Rosh Hashanna and Yom Kippur is for the preparation for Binyan HaMalchut. What does that mean and how does this work? He ...
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Looking for medrash regarding briyas ha'adam
I've heard referenced a medrash that says at the time of brias ha'adam, the melachim were so taken aback by adam that they thought maybe it was a type of deity, or that they should be worshiping him ...
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What is the significance of demanding that a Jew write on the horn of an ox that they have no portion in the G-d of Israel?
In reflecting over the concepts of Hanukkah there seem, at first glance, to be many contradictory and conflicting messages.
In the blessing related to Hanukkah we acknowledge, thank and praise G-d for ...
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Midrash Pertaining to the Rekindling of the Menorah Commemorated by Chanukah
The predominant traditional explanation for the eight days of Chanukah is the miracle of the oil: there was only enough pure oil to keep the Menorah fueled for a single day but it miraculously lasted ...
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Books on understanding Midrash
Anyone know any books or websites or just commentators who delve into and actually try to figure out the deep meaning behind crazy midrashim?
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Between Sanhedrin 108b & Sanhedrin.38b
According to Sanhedrin 108b:
Rav Ḥana bar Leva’ei says that Shem the Great said to Eliezer, servant of Abraham: When the four great kings of the east and the west
came upon you to wage war with ...
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Why did Batya stretch out her hand?
See Why does Rashi cite the Midrash of Pharaoh's daughter stretching out her arm? for sources, the midrash says she stretched out her arm to reach for Moshe, and it miraculously grew.
The (...
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Is the Medrashic understanding at the Akeidah applied elsewhere?
In Bereisheet 22:2, Hashem commanded Avraham וְהַעֲלֵ֤הוּ שָׁם֙ לְעֹלָ֔ה to "raise [his son] up as a sacrifice." Rashi explains that the language was never that Hashem demanded an actual ...
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Language of midrash?
What Hebrew did Louis Ginzberg learn to translate the midrashim? In his famous book, is there a dictionary for midrashic words and a midrashic grammar, or is modern Hebrew enough?
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Who is Matrona which asked Reb Yossi many questions?
The Medrash in last week Parsha says מטרונא שאלה את רבי יוסי בן חלפתא אמרה ליה למה יצא עשו תחלה if we search for Reb Yossi with maternya there are a number of questions which she asked. Jastrow says ...
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Why did Rachel steal her father's gods? [duplicate]
When the righteous have the opportunity to dispose of gods they do so. For example:
Jacob buried alien gods under the terebinth in Shechem (Gen 35.4).
Moses burned the golden calf, ground up its ...
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Why is channukah not mentioned in Medrash chazal?
In Medrash chazal, (including medrash raba, tanchuma, toras kohanim etc…) there is no mention of the Yom Tov of channukah. This took place 100-200 years before Medrash was written. Although it is ...
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Where are the midrashim about the Jews intermarrying during the Babylonian Exile?
Someone told me that there is an argument between different midrashim about how many Jews intermarried during the Babylonian Exile. I don't know where to look to find these midrashim. Does anyone know ...
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Source: King Returns From War And Hangs Weapons On Wall
There is a Midrash that says a king returned victoriously from war and hung his weapons on the wall, which is apparently related to Sukkos. Where is this Midrash?
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Who was/were the leaders during the Asarah Harugei Malchus?
I know that the Asarah Harugei Malchus took place over generations. Nonetheless, who is recognized as being the original antagonist? Who is the one who went to Chazal about the claim about Yosef's ...
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The cruelty with visitors in Sodom and Gomorrah [duplicate]
They say that there was a special type of cruelty in Sodom and Gomorrah. If they received a visitor in the city who needed shelter, they would take him to a room with a bed. If the visitor was a tall ...
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Is this the correct phrase: העול של תורה [closed]
The Yoke of the Torah
Please adjust so I have the phrasing/prepositions correct. (And any source references welcome!)
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Are there any compliations of ancient/medieval Jewish comments on Scripture?
Is there any book or website where I can look up ancient/medieval Jewish teaching on any given verse in the Tanach to see what the Talmud, Midrash, Rashi, etc. says about the verse? Something akin to ...
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Chazal Imply Gechazi was Rotten and Elisha Didn't Know -- What Lesson is Gained from This?
If you just read the verses in Melachim Bet, Gechazi seems to faithfully serve his boss Elisha a few times, then he gets greedy and makes a couple of bucks off of the venture, at which point Elisha ...
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Why did Adam attribute himself to dirt rather than God's soul?
"And you, [God said], what is your name? [Adam] said to him: It would be right to be called Adam, since I was created from the dirt (adamah)." Bereishit_Rabbah.17.4
It would be logical that ...
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Did Saul consult the Urim before his final battle?
Scripture tells us that on the eve of his final battle, Saul besought God but was answered with no dream, Urim or prophets (Samuel 1.28.6). The midrash says that Saul chose not to consult with the ...
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Does Rashi say that cats are more Tzanua than dogs?
My friend says there is a Rashi that says this, but I couldn't find it.
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Are the stories in the Midrashim and Targumim meant to be historical? [duplicate]
The Midrashim and Targumim contain stories meant to further elaborate on the accounts in the Hebrew Bible. Are these stories meant to be historically accurate?
Further reading on this issue would be ...
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Why isn't midrash rabbah learnt as much as other commentaries
I feel like there's more of a stress to learn other commentaries, and midrash rabbah and tanchuma are just nice things extra if you want to. I see amazing droshos in the midrash, and was wondering why ...
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Looking for a midrash mentioned by Falaquera
When Noah recovered from his wine, he enslaved his grandson Canaan to his sons Shem and Japheth. The relationship he envisioned for his sons Japheth and Shem is spelled out in Gen 9.27:
יפת אלהים ...
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Looking for a source in Midrash Kohelet
Related.
In a short article called "New Identifications", C. R. Conder wrote:
"Beror-Hail (Midrash Koheleth vii, 7), the place to which Rabbi Johanan retired when the younger Gamaliel ...
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Matan Torah: Coercion or out of love?
There is a Midrashic approach to "and they stood at the foot of the mountain" (Shemos 19:17), namely that G-d literally held the mountain over the heads of B'nei Yisrael, coercing them to ...
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Emptying out Mitzrayim [duplicate]
If when the Jews left Egypt it says וינצלו את מצרים, they emptied out Mitzrayim, then where did all the silver and gold that the Egyptians had at the Yam Suf come from? And the spoils at the sea were ...
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Source for atheism being better than lack of observance
It is written “they have abandoned Me and have not observed My Torah” (Jeremiah 16, 11)
G-d says “if only Me they would abandon but My Torah they would observe.” G-d declares that it would be better ...
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Rabbits in the Torah
Are there are quotes about Rabbits in Tanach, Midrash, Gemara etc..
I am looking for somewhere which speaks about them.
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Haman's gallows originating from Noach's ark
There is an interesting Yalkut Shimoni, remez 256 (on parshas Beshalach) where it details that when Haman was searching for a large enough beam of wood with which to make the gallows - he ended up ...
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Looking for a Midrash about the point that one can learn from everybody
I’m looking for (the source of) a Midrash I once heard. It was about a Talmid Chacham who didn’t let himself be lectured by others except for his own Rabbi (or the Rabbi’s). Then he had this encounter ...
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If the nations' ministers are all appointed by Hashem, why is it idol worship? [closed]
I apologize if this is a stupid question, but I was pondering it today and I hope you will find it as interesting as I do. Every Rabbinic opinion I've seen, although there are plenty I haven't of ...
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Midrash Rabbah - User Friendly Edition
Can someone recommend a user friendly edition of Midrash Rabbah? To be more specific, I am looking for an edition that has - a) clear print b) user friendly layout that is good for study b) ...
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need help finding online midrash sources about the story of exodus?
I need to find online midrash sources (in English ,and can be searched using key words ) that explain the whole or most of the story of Moses and the pharaoh...
Thanx all.
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Philistines destroyed the Temple?
Posting for someone else:
The Rashbam on Bereshis 22:1 brings that Hashem, in retaliation for Avraham giving 7 sheep to Avimelech, says that Avimelech's descendants will destroy 7 sanctuaries of ...
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What was the process for acceptance of midrashim?
The Talmud tells us that the Sages had long discussions about which books should be included in the Tanach [Bava Batra 14b-15a]. Their decisions were important. First, the books they excluded do not ...
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Where can I find the original Hebrew text for this quote?
From the Jewish Encyclopedia:
Armenia is also mentioned in the Midrashim: "God said, if I let them pass through the deserts, they will die of starvation. Therefore I lead them by the road of ...
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Midrash Rabbah - Edition
The accuracy and reliability of various editions of Midrashim, especially Midrash Rabbah, is not great. I have the few available volumes by Mechon Schecter, who have been putting out critical editions ...
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