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The Book of Legends/Sefer Ha-Aggadah: Legends from the Talmud and Midrash
The first complete English translation of the Hebrew classic Sefer Ha-Aggadah brings to the English-speaking world the greatest and best-loved anthology of classical Rabbinic literature ever compiled. First published in Odessa in 1908-11, it was recognized immediately as a masterwork in its own right, and reprinted numerous times in Israel.
The Hebrew poet Hayim Nahman Bialik and the renowned editor Yehoshua Hana Ravnitzky, the architects of this masterful compendium, selected hundreds of texts from the Talmud and midrashic literature and arranged them thematically, in order to provide their contemporaries with easy access to the national literary heritage of the Jewish people -- the texts of Rabbinic Judaism that remain at the heart of Jewish literacy today.
Bialik and Ravnitzky chose Aggadah -- the non-legal portions of the Talmud and Midrash -- for their anthology. Loosely translated as "legends", Aggadah includes the genres of biblical exegesis, stories about biblical characters, the lives of the Talmudic era sages and their contemporary history, parables, proverbs, and folklore. A captivating melange of wisdom and piety, fantasy and satire, Aggadah is the expressive medium of the Jewish creative genius.
The arrangement of this compendium reflects the theological concerns of the Rabbinic sages: the role of Israel and the nations; God, good and evil; human relations; the world of nature; and the art of healing. Here, the reader who wants to explore traditional Jewish views on a particular subject is treated to a selection of relevant texts at his fingertips but will soon become immersed in a way of thinking, exploring, and questioning that is the hallmark of Jewish inquiry.
"Whatever the imagination can invent is found in the Aggadah," wrote the historian Leopold Zunz, "its purpose always being to teach man the ways of God." The Book of Legends/Sefer Ha-Aggadah, now available in William Braude's superbly annotated translation, enables modern Jews to experience firsthand the richness and excitement of their cultural inheritance.
The Hebrew poet Hayim Nahman Bialik and the renowned editor Yehoshua Hana Ravnitzky, the architects of this masterful compendium, selected hundreds of texts from the Talmud and midrashic literature and arranged them thematically, in order to provide their contemporaries with easy access to the national literary heritage of the Jewish people -- the texts of Rabbinic Judaism that remain at the heart of Jewish literacy today.
Bialik and Ravnitzky chose Aggadah -- the non-legal portions of the Talmud and Midrash -- for their anthology. Loosely translated as "legends", Aggadah includes the genres of biblical exegesis, stories about biblical characters, the lives of the Talmudic era sages and their contemporary history, parables, proverbs, and folklore. A captivating melange of wisdom and piety, fantasy and satire, Aggadah is the expressive medium of the Jewish creative genius.
The arrangement of this compendium reflects the theological concerns of the Rabbinic sages: the role of Israel and the nations; God, good and evil; human relations; the world of nature; and the art of healing. Here, the reader who wants to explore traditional Jewish views on a particular subject is treated to a selection of relevant texts at his fingertips but will soon become immersed in a way of thinking, exploring, and questioning that is the hallmark of Jewish inquiry.
"Whatever the imagination can invent is found in the Aggadah," wrote the historian Leopold Zunz, "its purpose always being to teach man the ways of God." The Book of Legends/Sefer Ha-Aggadah, now available in William Braude's superbly annotated translation, enables modern Jews to experience firsthand the richness and excitement of their cultural inheritance.
920 pages, Hardcover
First published November 10, 1992
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817 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 27, 2011
This is a huge (897 pages) of collected Rabbinic legends, dreams and teachings of a book first published in Hebrew over eighty years ago. I spent part of every lunch hour for months looking at this book while I saved up the (then) $75.00 to buy it. I was raised a druid and educated in Catholic, private and public schools, and have loved stories since I was a child. This! This is a thinking person's story book! One does not sit down and read it. One samples it day by day, and then starts over again. If you are unaware of Hebrew Literature, this excellent compendium of Jewish Cultural heritage is a great place to start. I love this book!
July, 2011: I am still reading this book, and it continues to fascinate and enchant me with stories, wisdom, and, as I age, challenging my perspective.
July, 2011: I am still reading this book, and it continues to fascinate and enchant me with stories, wisdom, and, as I age, challenging my perspective.
February 6, 2014
Just about all early Jewish non-legal teachings come under the banner of Aggadah: `That which is told.' It originated from Rabbinic Judaism beginning several centuries before the Common Era and Christianity.
The Aggadah was very important to the Israelites. This is because it contains elaborations of Biblical (Old Testament) teachings. The Israelites believed it was crucial to study the Aggadah if you wished to understand the Bible and know God better.
The detailed records demonstrate just how intricate their knowledge was in almost every aspect of their beliefs. The records were conveyed orally and put into writing many hundreds of years after their origin.
This makes them hard to date. There are also variations and it is difficult to say which are the earlier ones. When they were finally written down, neither were they compiled into a single organized book. They were simply absorbed as explanations or supportive evidence to discussions in other Jewish writings such as the Talmud. In turn, the Talmud was complied in two editions: one in Israel and the other - later one - in Babylonia.
The authors of The Book of Legends choose the Babylonian Talmud as the main source of its Aggadah even though it is later and probably less original than the Israeli Talmud. Their reason is that the Babylonian Talmud is better known to the public. They intend to give modern, dispersed Jews an insight into their ancient beliefs and worldview.
This is a wonderful book, however, it is limited in its scope because it deliberately selects more from later Aggadah and promulgates the chosen views of the authors.
To this extent, I was disappointed by this book. Particularly since I was looking to study rabbinical beliefs about creation and the structure of the cosmos. Specifically, I needed to learn more about the mystical belief in seven earths and seven heavens constituting one cosmic unit. This belief is almost identical to that of ancient yogis in India. But nothing at all about the 14 realms of the cosmos is mentioned in this book. For this subject, I highly recommend Louis Ginzberg's The Legends of the Jews, Vol. I; also Angelo S. Rappoport, Myth and Legend of Ancient Israel, Vol. VI. The correspondences with ancient yoga beliefs are extraordinary.
The Aggadah was very important to the Israelites. This is because it contains elaborations of Biblical (Old Testament) teachings. The Israelites believed it was crucial to study the Aggadah if you wished to understand the Bible and know God better.
The detailed records demonstrate just how intricate their knowledge was in almost every aspect of their beliefs. The records were conveyed orally and put into writing many hundreds of years after their origin.
This makes them hard to date. There are also variations and it is difficult to say which are the earlier ones. When they were finally written down, neither were they compiled into a single organized book. They were simply absorbed as explanations or supportive evidence to discussions in other Jewish writings such as the Talmud. In turn, the Talmud was complied in two editions: one in Israel and the other - later one - in Babylonia.
The authors of The Book of Legends choose the Babylonian Talmud as the main source of its Aggadah even though it is later and probably less original than the Israeli Talmud. Their reason is that the Babylonian Talmud is better known to the public. They intend to give modern, dispersed Jews an insight into their ancient beliefs and worldview.
This is a wonderful book, however, it is limited in its scope because it deliberately selects more from later Aggadah and promulgates the chosen views of the authors.
To this extent, I was disappointed by this book. Particularly since I was looking to study rabbinical beliefs about creation and the structure of the cosmos. Specifically, I needed to learn more about the mystical belief in seven earths and seven heavens constituting one cosmic unit. This belief is almost identical to that of ancient yogis in India. But nothing at all about the 14 realms of the cosmos is mentioned in this book. For this subject, I highly recommend Louis Ginzberg's The Legends of the Jews, Vol. I; also Angelo S. Rappoport, Myth and Legend of Ancient Israel, Vol. VI. The correspondences with ancient yoga beliefs are extraordinary.
January 26, 2012
Nope. I haven't finished this yet. This Midrash is not meant to be read continuously. I mean, come on, have you seen how humongous this book is?! It is as big as a lectionary, mind you.
I read this constantly in no particular page order.
Anyway, I've read some chapters and I was awestruck. I was like, "aahh, ganun pala yun". This is the Jewish version of the Bible.
One of the few stories I remember is of Mary Magdalene. During that time when the men are about to throw stones at Magdalene. Jesus went beside her and write something on the sand using a stick. Then one by one, the men fled. They got scared because they saw that Jesus is writing the names of those who bedded Magdalene. Bottom line, they are all guilty.
I recommend this read to anyone. You will definitely enjoy and learn more from all the untold bible stories and parables.
I read this constantly in no particular page order.
Anyway, I've read some chapters and I was awestruck. I was like, "aahh, ganun pala yun". This is the Jewish version of the Bible.
One of the few stories I remember is of Mary Magdalene. During that time when the men are about to throw stones at Magdalene. Jesus went beside her and write something on the sand using a stick. Then one by one, the men fled. They got scared because they saw that Jesus is writing the names of those who bedded Magdalene. Bottom line, they are all guilty.
I recommend this read to anyone. You will definitely enjoy and learn more from all the untold bible stories and parables.
May 2, 2024
Okay. Something this massive is impossible for me to read right now. But I did read the interesting-to-me sections and it makes me 1) sad that Rabbi Sacks didn't finish his commentary and 2) really curious about the status of these teachings in modern Judaism because not all of them seem to be respected equally among the people I read.
July 17, 2017
This was less a series of lengthy fables than what Rabbis thought on certain topics (often with a paragraph or two tale).
July 4, 2020
An incredible resource not only for Jews but for anyone who is interested in the thought process behind religions. A lifetime of reading here...
February 16, 2022
Amazing book. Period.
September 26, 2014
Incredible Jewish literature! I haven't finished this one yet as it's mammoth but it's a delicious feast every time I open it! Provides Jewish Rabbinical insight and traditional oratorical views on numerous subjects under the sun and above it as well as details about many Old Testament characters not found in the Torah or the Bible.
February 2, 2010
i love this book, sometimes a reference, sometimes a fun read.
September 23, 2010
Book of Legends/Sefer Ha-Aggadah: Legends from the Talmud and Midrash by Hayyim Nahman Bialik (1992)
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November 13, 2015reading
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April 15, 20221st CE? -
August 31, 2017
Hmmmmmmmm. Interesting. Very interesting.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews