Aggadah ( Aramaic אגדה: tales, lore; pl. Aggadot ) refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic texts in classical rabbinic literature - particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash. Other terms for this body of teachings are Aggadata (אגדתא) lit.“the” aggada, and the Hebrew Haggadah (הגדה), pl. Haggadot. In general, the aggadot are presented as folklore, historical anecdotes, moral exhortations, and business and medical advice, and often refer to mythical creatures, and incredible historical events.
As part of the Jewish oral law
The Aggadah is part of Judaism's Oral law (תורה שבעל פה) - the traditions providing the authoritative interpretation of the Written Law. In this context, the widely held view in Rabbinic literature, is that the aggada is in fact a medium for the transmission of fundamental teachings (Homiletic Sayings - מאמרים לימודיים) or for explanations of verses in the Tanakh ( Exegetic Sayings - מאמרים ביאוריים). In Rabbinic thought, therefore, much of the Aggadah contains a hidden, allegorical dimension in addition to its overt, literal sense; in general, where a literal interpretation contradicts rationality, the Rabbis seek an allegorical explanation.
Maimonides in his preface to the tenth chapter of Mishnah Sanhedrin ("Perek Chelek") describes three possible approaches to the interpretation of the Aggadah. [1]
- The first is to take literally anything said by the Sages, without admission of any hidden, allegorical explanation - even where a literal interpretation runs counter to common sense. Maimonides is dismissive of this approach.
- The second is to assume that anything said by the Sages was intended literally and to therefore reject non-rational or fantastic teachings (and to consequently consider the Sages as "simpletons and ignoramuses"). Maimonides does not entirely reject rationalist interpretation, but he opposes an exegetical approach which denies the Aggadah a hidden rationality.
- The third is to recognise that many Aggadot are intended to teach profound truths, and that the teachings thus operate on two levels: "overt" and "hidden". Thus any impossible assertion was, in fact, intended as a parable; further, where aggadot can be understood literally, they may be taken on this level. This is the view of the Rabbis.
The reason for this dual mode of transmission is explained by Moshe Chaim Luzzatto in his well known Discourse on the Haggadot. The Oral Law in fact comprises two components, the legal component (חלק המצוות), discussing the mitzvot and halakha; and "the secret" component (חלק הסודות), discussing the deeper teachings. The aggadah, along with the Kabbala, falls under the latter. The rabbis of the Mishnaic era, realized the danger of recording the deeper teachings in explicit, mishnah-like, medium. Rather, they would be conveyed in a "concealed mode" and via "paradoxes". (Due to their value, these teachings should not become accessible to those "of bad character" and due to their depth they should not be made available to those "not schooled in the ways of analysis".) This mode of the transmission was nevertheless based on consistent rules and principles such that those "equipped with the keys" would be able to unlock their meaning; to others they would appear as non-rational or fantastic.
The aggadah is today recorded in the Talmud and the Midrash. Throughout the Talmud, aggadic and halakhic material are interwoven – legal material comprises around 90%. The Talmudic aggada, generally, convey the "deeper teachings" - though in concealed mode, as discussed. The Ein Yaakov is a compilation of the aggadic material in the Babylonian Talmud together with commentaries. Tractate Avoth, which has no gemara, deals exclusively with non-halakhic material, though is not regarded as aggadic in that it is focused, largely, on character developement. In the Midrash, the aggadic and halakhic material are compiled as two distinct collections: the Aggadic Midrashim, generally, are explanatory aggada, deriving the "sermonic implications" from the biblical text; the Halakhic Midrashim derive the laws from the text.
Well known works interpreting the Aggadot in the Talmud include:
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Chiddushei Aggadot (Novellae on the Aggadot) by Samuel Edels "the Maharsha"
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Yehoyada and MeKabtziel (from 2 Samuel 23:20) by Yosef Chaim "the Ben Ish Chai"
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Beur Aggadot (Clarification of the Aggadot) and Perush al Kamma Aggadot (Commentary on several Aggadot) by Elijah ben Solomon "the Vilna Gaon"
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Chiddushei Aggadot (Novellae on the Aggadot) by Judah Loew "the Maharal", as well as most other works by Loew
Note that many of the Torah commentaries interpret the Torah text in the light of Aggadic statements, and hence contain much material on Aggadah interpretation.
Development of the Aggadah
The Aggadah has been preserved in a series of different works, which, like all works of traditional literature, have come to their present form through previous collections and revisions. Their original forms existed long before they were reduced to writing.
The first traces of the midrashic exegesis are found in the Bible itself; while in the time of the Soferim the development of the Midrash Haggadah received a mighty impetus, and the foundations were laid for public services which were soon to offer the chief medium for the cultivation of Bible exegesis.
Much Aggadah, often mixed with foreign elements, is found in the Apocrypha, the Pseudepigrapha, the works of Josephus and Philo, and the remaining Judæo-Hellenistic literature; but aggadic exegesis reached its highest development in the great epoch of the Mishnaic-Talmudic period, between 100 and 550 C.E.
The Haggadah of the Amoraim (sages of the Talmud) is the continuation of that of the Tannaim (sages of the Mishna). The final edition of the Mishnah, which was of such signal importance for the Halakah, is of less significance for the Haggadah, which, in form as well as in content, shows the same characteristics in both periods.
Exegetic and Homiletic Aggadah
It is important to emphasize the fundamental difference in plan between the midrashim forming a running commentary (מאמרים ביאוריים) to the Scripture text, and the homiletic midrashim (מאמרים לימודיים). When the scholars undertook to edit, revise, and collect into individual midrashim the immense array of haggadot, they followed the method employed in the collections and revisions of the halakot and the halakic discussions. The form which suggested itself was to arrange in textual sequence the exegetical interpretations of the Biblical text as taught in the schools, or the occasional interpretations introduced into public discourses, etc., and which were in any way connected with Scripture. Since the work of the editor was often merely that of compilation, the existing midrashim show in many passages the character of the sources from which they were taken. This was the genesis of the midrashim which are in the nature of running haggadic commentaries to single books of the Bible, as Bereshit Rabbah, Eikah Rabbati, the midrashim to the other Megillot, etc. See Midrash for more details.
Aggadah compilations
- The Ein Yaakov is a compilation of the aggadic material in the Babylonian Talmud together with commentary.
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Sefer Ha-Aggadah (The Book of Legends) is a classic compilation of aggadah from the Mishnah, the two Talmuds and the Midrash literature. It was edited by Hayim Nahman Bialik and Yehoshua Hana Ravnitzky . Bialik and Ravnitky worked to compile a comprehensive and representative overview of aggadah; they spent three years compiling their work. When they found the same aggadah in multiple versions, from multiple sources, they usually selected the later form, the one found in the Babylonian Talmud. However they also presented a great some aggadot sequentially, giving the early form from the Jerusalem Talmud, and later versions from the Babylonian Talmud, and from a classic midrash compilation. In each case each every aggadah is given with its original source. In their original edition, thy translated the Aramaic aggadot into modern Hebrew. Sefer Ha-Aggadah was first published in 1908-11 in Odessa, Russia, then reprinted numerous times in Israel. In 1992 it was translated into English as The Book of Legends, by William G, Braude.
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Legends of the Jews, by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, is an original synthesis of a vast amount of aggadah from the Mishnah, the two Talmuds and Midrash. Ginzberg had an encyclopedic knowledge of all rabbinic literature, and his masterwork included a massive array of aggadot. However he did not create an anthology which showed these aggadot distinctly. Rather, he paraphrased them and rewrote them into one continuous narrative that covered five volumes, followed by two volumes of footnotes that give specific sources.
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Mimekor Yisrael, by Micha Yosef (bin Gorion) Berdichevsky. Berdichevsky was interested in compiling the folklore and legends of the Jewish people, from the earliest times up until the dawn of the modern era. His collection included a large array of aggadot, although they were limited to those he considered within the domain of folklore.
- The collected works of Dov Noy. According to Peninnah Schram, "Dov Noy is the fourth major figure in the renaissance of preserving and perpetuating the Jewish oral tradition. While he has published many books and important essays (including the entry “Folklore” in The Encyclopedia Judaica), his two main contributions are: 1) he applied an international classification system to Jewish traditional narrative; and 2) he established the Israel Folktale Archives....In 1954, Noy established the Israel Folktale Archives and Ethnological Museum at Haifa University. Presently, this archive contains over 23,000 folktales, classified according to tale types and motifs, country of origin, informant, etc. These folktales have been collected from all the various ethnic communities who live in Israel."
External links
References
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Introduction to the commentary on the Mishnah, Maimonides, transl. Zvi Lampel (Judaica Press, 1998). ISBN 1880582287
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Discourse on the Haggadot, Moshe Chaim Luzzatto
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The Infinite Chain : Torah, Masorah, and Man, Nathan T. Lopes Cardozo, (Philipp Feldheim, 1989). ISBN 0944070159
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The Juggler and the King, Aharon Feldman, (Philipp Feldheim, 1991). ISBN 0873065573
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The Talmud: A Reference Guide, Adin Steinsaltz, (Random House, 1996). ISBN 0679773673
- Mimekor Yisrael: Classical Jewish Folktales, Micha Joseph bin Gorion, translated by I. M. Lask, Trans. Three volumes. Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1976
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Mimekor Yisrael: Classical Jewish Folktales Abridged and Annotated Edition Micha Joseph bin Gorion. This is a one volume abridged and annotated version, with an introduction and headnotes, by Dan Ben-Amos. Indiana University Press. 560 pages. ISBN 0253311586.
- Four Master Folklorists And Their Major Contributions Peninnah Schram, from Opening Worlds of Words, Peninnah Schram and Cherie Karo Schwartz
