{ "language": "en", "title": "Midrash Aggadah", "versionSource": "https://www.sefaria.org", "versionTitle": "Sefaria Community Translation", "actualLanguage": "en", "languageFamilyName": "english", "isBaseText": false, "isSource": false, "direction": "ltr", "heTitle": "מדרש אגדה", "categories": [ "Midrash", "Aggadah" ], "text": { "Genesis": [ [ [ "In the beginning, God created. This is a scripture: Thus said the Lord, if the heavens are measured (from above) [to upward] and the institutions of the earth below are searched, I will also be overwhelmed by all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, said the Lord (Jeremiah, 31:36), according to what Jeremiah said, He is overwhelmed by Judah and Gomer (ibid. 14:15), the answer is that if you have seen the heavens and the earth that have passed, at that moment you will be able to say that I am tired of them, according to the fact that Israel is the foundation of heaven, and if the foundation is tired, the building on top of it will fall. And where did you learn that heaven and earth were not created except for Israel, as it is said in Bereshit [בראשית], which means beginning, and Israel was called the first, as it is said that Israel is holy to God, the beginning of his harvest (Jeremiah 2:3). ", "Another thing in Genesis. With reverence for God, the Holy One, blessed be He, created his world saying the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God (Psalms 111:10).", "Another thing in Bereshit. Thanks to the Torah, the Holy One created his world with his blessings, which is called the beginning, as it is said, God is the beginning of the beginning, and his works have preceded him ever since (Proverbs 8:22).", "Another thing in Bereshit. In the beginning, there are six letters, against the six words in which the Holy One created his world with his blessing, as it is said that in her the Lord created the worlds (Isaiah 26:4), there are two words, the Lord is four words, six, do not create but (rock) [flint] Worlds. ", "Another thing in Bereshit. b're (ברא) shit (שית), shit is for the altar and the b're for the world. ", "Another thing in Bereshit. ב & ר the beginning of the word, י & ת the end of the word, and it is a word ברית (brit) i.e. covenant, And thanks to the Word and the Sabbath, the Holy One with His blessing created the world, and from whence was the Sabbath called a covenant, when it was said to their generations an eternal covenant (Exodus 15), and the word was also called a covenant, which was said to be a covenant in your flesh (Genesis 17:13), and it was also because of the Torah that the world was created, because it remained from the word of Genesis Black fire and it is fire, and there is no fire but the Torah, which is said to be from the right hand, the fire of religion to him (Deuteronomy 32:2). ", "Another thing in Bereshit. Six letters are, against six series of Mishnah, and against six days of Creation. ", "Another thing in Bereshit. By removing the letter S there are six hundred and thirteen, against six hundred and thirteen unleavened bread, and the letter S that a person is obliged to memorize for his sons, as it was said and memorized for your sons (Deuteronomy 6:7).", "And the Torah began with the letter ב (B), and why? It represents two Torahs, the written Torah, and the oral Torah. ", "Another thing is why in the second letter, against male and female, it is written that there is no confusion between creation and completion (Isaiah 45:18), and the wise man said that the two years are better than the one (Ecclesiastes 4:9). ", "Elokim created. It doesn't say \"G-d created,\" as initially, He thought to create the world through the attribute of Judgement. However, since He saw that it would not be able to endure Judgement alone, he combined it with the attribute of Mercy, as it says, \"These are the generations of heaven and earth when they were created, on the day that G-d Elokim made earth and heaven.\" [Alternative Translation: ברא אלהים Created Elohim. And it is not said that YHVH created, that in the beginning he arose in thought in the measure of judgment to create the world, and since he saw that he could not stand the measure of judgment alone, he shared with it the measure of mercy, as it is said that these are the history of the heavens and the earth in creation on the day that God created the earth and the heavens (Genesis 2:4) ]", "And why didn't it say \"God created at the first\", but said \"At the first God created\"? According to the fact that there is no mention of the name of heaven except for speech, which is said to be a sacrifice to God (Leviticus 1:2). After all, things are light and heavy, and what about those whose way is to dedicate, the Torah says that one should not say a \"to YHVH sacrifice\", but a \"sacrifice to YHVH\", light and heavy to those who revile and blaspheme and who swear in vain, which they must before the place.", "את השמים the Heavens. Teaches that all the history of the heavens was created........ In a world where he would not eat and the opinion of the Holy One, blessed be He, agreed with her, therefore she did not put forth a tree bearing fruit." ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "", "And some say that [when the moon was reduced in size] she became totally dark, and [God] decreed upon her that she would only shine from the light of the sun. [The moon] said to [God]: Master of the Universe, [how can it be that] because I spoke a correct matter to you, I should be diminished? God said to [the moon]: If so, I will in the future, in the days of the messiah, return your light. As it is written \"And the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun\"(Isaiah 30:26). [The moon] said to [God]: I have sinned [by challenging you]. Forgive me. [God] said to [the moon]: I forgive you. [The moon] said to [God]: How will I know that you have forgiven me? [God] said to [the moon]: And you will rule by day and night. [The moon] said to [God]: Master of the Universe, what benefit is there if I shine at day when [the sun] appears? [After all], you have called me the small light, as it says \"and the small light\" (Genesis 1:16). [God] said to [the moon]: The righteous will be called after your name: Jacob the Small [son] (Genesis 26:15), David the Small (I Samuel 17:14). [The moon] said to [God]: Master of the Universe, if the righteous are also called small, what sign of forgiveness is this for me? Once God saw that [the moon's] mind would not be settled, he increased her multitude [of stars]. As it says: \"And the stars\" (Genesis 1:16). And due to her honor, [God] increased her multitude [of stars], as a ruler who walks forth and the wealthy [dignitaries] of the land walk with him." ] ], [ [], [], [ "", "", "\"That God created to do/make.\" Here is not written \"he did/made\", but \"to do/make\", [which means] that He placed strength in them to do/make." ], [ "", "", "Another explanation of \"b'hibaram.\" He created it with Avraham - the Holy One lookd upon the actions of Avraham and created the world." ] ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "\"And I will remember my covenant.\" When there is a cloud over the land, I will remember my covenant that I sealed with you, and I will show you a the rainbow in the cloud, and you will know that I remember my covenant that a flood will not destroy all flesh.\" " ] ], [ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "The great city of God: Why was Nineveh called a great city of God? Because they were evil through their bodies in forbidden sexual relations, as it is written, \"How can I do this great evil and sin before God (Genesis 39:9)?" ] ], [ [], [], [], [], [], [ "THE LORD SAID - The Holy One, Blessed is He, said:", "ALL HAVING ONE LANGUAGE - Each understood what his fellow would say to him, whether 'clay' or 'brick,' and this way they would build. During the time that they had one language, they were not restrained from building. Rather, I will confuse their languages and they will put aside the construction. What did G-d do? He called the divine messengers and commanded them to descend below, and each one [of the messengers would teach] each family a different language, so that this family would not understand that family. And so they did, as it says, \"Come, let us descend.\"" ] ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "\"And his wife looked behind him\" - After the angel said, \"Do not look behind you\" - Her soul was stirred regarding her daughters that remained in Sodom", "\"And she became a piller of salt\" - Due to her having sinner with salt. How? In that on that night on which the angels came to Lot's house, she went to her neighbors' places with pretext to ask for salt. Her neighbors said to her, \"And why do you need salt? Didn't you know that you were short on salt to got and take salt while it was still daytime?\" She said to them, \"We didn't need salt until guests came to us.\" And therefore, the people of Sodom knew about the angel that came to Lot's house." ] ], [], [], [], [ [ "As it was taught; And the life of Sarah....", "When she was 100, she was like 20 in sin, and when she was 20 she was like a 7 year old in beauty. Therefore, they said 100 and 20 and 7 years. " ] ], [], [], [], [], [], [ [], [ "And he looked and there was a well in the field. teaches that he saw Sinai where the Torah was given, which is called Be'er Haim.", "Three flocks of sheep. Priests and Levites and Israelites." ] ], [ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "", "Another thing, \"And God remembered etc.\" The Holy Blessed One remembered Rachel's modesty who passed on the signs to her sister that Jacob gave her so that her sister should not be embarrassed." ] ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ [ "And Joseph was brought down to Egypt.\" The descent is connected to another descent:", "Alternatively, \"He descended to Egypt.\" Do not read \"descended\" but rather \"caused the Divine Presence to descend to Egypt.\"", "Alternatively, \"that Jacob, his father, caused to descend to Egypt.\"", "\"And Potiphar, Pharaoh's chamberlain.\" Potiphar is Poti-phera (Genesis 41:50). Why is he called Potiphar? Because he fattenedthe calves for idolatry.", "\"An Egyptian man.\" A cunning man. What was his cunning? In every place, an Egyptian was sold as a Cushite, and here a Cushite was sold as an Egyptian." ] ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "And he fell on his neck. And why didn't Yaakov kiss Yosef? Because he was saying Kriat Shema (recitation of the shema prayer) at that same time. " ] ], [], [], [ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "At first a cub, as a governor; and at the end a lion, as a king." ] ] ], "Exodus": [ [ [], [ "\"Reuben, Simeon - all the tribes were named after their redemption. Reuben after the verse, 'I have seen the affliction of my people' (Exodus 3:7); Simeon after the verse, 'And God heard their groaning' (Exodus 2:24); Levi after the verse, 'And many nations will be joined to the Lord' (Zechariah 2:15); Judah after the verse, 'And you shall say on that day, I will give thanks to you, Lord' (Isaiah 12:1); Issachar after the verse, 'Because there was a reward for your work' (Jeremiah 31:16); Zebulun after the verse, 'And built a city called Zebulun' (1 Chronicles 8:13); Dan after the verse, 'And also the nation that they will serve will judge' (Genesis 15:14); Naphtali after the verse, 'And your speech is sweet' (Song of Songs 4:11); Gad after the verse, 'And the manna was like coriander seed' (Numbers 11:7); Asher after the verse, 'And all the nations will call you blessed' (Malachi 3:12); Joseph after the verse, 'And it shall come to pass on that day that God will again stretch forth His hand to acquire the remnant of His people' (Isaiah 11:11); Benjamin after the verse, 'The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by the arm of His strength' (Isaiah 62:8). This teaches us that all the tribes were named after their redemption. And why aren't their names equal in every place? Because one is placed before the other so that the children of the noble families do not say that they come first and the children of the servant families come last, and so that they do not boast to themselves. Therefore, they are arranged in a certain order to teach you that all the sons of Jacob are equal, that none of them are greater than the others.\"" ] ] ], "Leviticus": [], "Numbers": [ [ [ "", "", "", "In the Sinai Desert, in the Tent of Meeting, etc.: That is why the verse needed to say, \"in the Tent of Meeting in the second month.\" It is like a man who enters with his bride under the wedding canopy and writes her a ketubah, signing the time and the place to it. Likewise did the Holy One, blessed be He, do. As up until now, he wrote them neither a ketubah nor a divorce bill. But now he wrote them a ketubah, however he did not write them a divorce bill. That is what the prophet said (Isaiah 50:1), \"Where is your mother's book of divorce?\"" ], [], [], [], [], [ "To Shimon, Shelumiel ben Tzurishaddai. Even though his descendant is Zimri, on whose account 24,000 died in a plague, G-d made peace with him and placed him next to Reuben, who had done repentance (a ba'al t'shuvah). Therefore it is said, \"ben tzuri-shaddai,\" (\"Shaddai is my rock\")..." ] ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "\"And they wept for Aaron thirty days, all the House of Israel\" (Numbers 20:29): What is stated about Aaron is greater than what is stated about Moses. As regarding Moses, only the men wept for him, but regarding Aaron, the men and the women wept for him - since he was one that pursued peace and loved peace, and restored peace between a man and his wife, and between a man and his fellow. This is [the meaning of] that which is written (Malachi 2:6), \"He walked with Me in peace and justice, and brought many back from iniquity.\" And what did Aaron do? When he heard that two men or a man and his wife were arguing, he would go to one of them and say to him, \"Your fellow came to me and is distraught in his heart that he angered you; so he cajoled me that I should come to you [and get your forbearance], so that he [can] come to you and be forgiven by you.\" And Aaron would not leave from there until he would remove all the hatred in his heart and bring peace between them. Then he would leave. And when he (the one with which Aaron had spoken) met his fellow, they would immediately love and embrace each other and kiss each other. And so was it during all the days of Aaron, peace be upon him; and such was his trait. When he heard that there was an argument between a man and his wife, he would not leave them until they made peace. Hence the men and the women wept for Aaron, but only the males wept for our teacher Moses, peace be upon him. And also [because] Moses would say, \"Let justice pierce the mountain,\" whereas Aaron would bring a compromise between two litigants." ] ], [], [], [], [], [ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "And it will be for his seed - From here they said that Pinchas was not a kohen until that very moment, when he stood up - as it is written (Malachi 2:5) \"My covenant was with him was life and peace\"", "From the [book of] commentary of Eliezer Ben Hyrkanus: \"And he said 'I certainly was zealous for Ad-nai'\" (I Kings 19:14) The Holy One of Blessing said to Eliahu: You were zealous regarding idolatry in Shittim, as it says: 'Pinchas the son of Eleazar etc.' and here you were certainly zealous! For your life [I swear] that there will be no brit milah that Israel does and you don't see with your eyes. From here the sages established that a honorary seat will be made for Eliahu, who is the angel of the brit [milah] as it says \"And the angel of My brit\" (Malachi 3:1)", "The Holy One of Blessing said to Pinchas: 'you defended My children with your tongue, hold onto the jaw as a gift; you directed the spear on the belly of a man and a woman, hold onto [your] belly; you exerted yourself with your arm, hold your arm as you project peace between people - behold you will bless My children with peace, as it says \"May Ad-nai give you favor and grant you peace\" (Numbers 6:26) ", "Resh Lakish said: Pinchas and Eliahu are one and the same. The Holy One of Blessing said to him: you established peace between Me and the children of Israel, so too even in the future you will establish peace between Me and them, as it is written \"behold I am sending to you Elijah the prophet\" (Malachi 3:23)", "And it will be for him and his seed after him - that they will be blessed by Me ;;forever." ] ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ [], [], [], [], [], [ "However, for the sake of their paternal tribe, they shall be married within their own tribe. Advice was given to them that if they wish to marry men who are suitable from their paternal tribe, they should not marry others." ] ] ], "Deuteronomy": [] }, "schema": { "heTitle": "מדרש אגדה", "enTitle": "Midrash Aggadah", "key": "Midrash Aggadah", "nodes": [ { "heTitle": "בראשית", "enTitle": "Genesis" }, { "heTitle": "שמות", "enTitle": "Exodus" }, { "heTitle": "ויקרא", "enTitle": "Leviticus" }, { "heTitle": "במדבר", "enTitle": "Numbers" }, { "heTitle": "דברים", "enTitle": "Deuteronomy" } ] } }