Smaller midrashim

A number of midrashim exist which are smaller in size, and generally later in date, than those dealt with in the articles Midrash Haggadah and Midrash Halakah. Despite their late date, some of these works preserve material from the Apocrypha and Philo of Alexandria. These small works, were in turn used by later larger works, such as Sefer haYashar (midrash) and Zohar. Important editors and researchers of this material include Abraham ben Elijah of Vilna, Adolf Jellinek, and Solomon Aaron Wertheimer.

The chief of these are:

9. Midrash Leku Nerannena

This midrash, which is cited in the Maḥzor Vitry (§ 426, p. 334) and of which a few fragments are still preserved, seems to have been a homily ("pesiḳta") for the Feast of Ḥanukkah.

Bibliography: Epstein, Ha-Ḥoḳer, i. 65 et seq.

10. Midrash Ma'aseh Torah

This midrash contains compilations of doctrines, regulations of conduct, and empirical rules, arranged in groups of three to ten each and taken from various works. It is frequently found in manuscript, and has been edited at Constantinople (1519), Venice (1544), Amsterdam (1697), and elsewhere, while it has appeared more recently in Jellinek's "B. H." (ii. 92-101) and is contained also in the "Kol Bo" (§ 118), where it frequently deviates from the Amsterdam edition even in the arrangement of its sentences. The fact that this midrash is ascribed to the patriarch R. Judah ha-Nasi (Rabbenu ha-Ḳadosh) receives its explanation from the fact that the Ma'aseh Torah is merely another recension of the similar midrash found in the edition of Schönblum (in his collection "Sheloshah Sefarim Niftaḥim," Lemberg, 1877) and in Grünhut's "Sefer ha-Liḳḳuṭim" (iii. 33-90). This latter midrash begins in both editions with the teachings which Rabbenu ha-Ḳadosh taught his son, and the work is accordingly called "Pirḳe de-Rabbenu ha-Ḳadosh" or "Pirḳe Rabbenu ha-Ḳadosh" in the two editions and in the manuscripts on which they are based.

The editions in question comprise two different recensions. In the text of Schönblum the number of numerical groups is 24; and at the beginning stands the strange order 6, 5, 4, 3, followed by the numbers 7-24. On the other hand, in Grünhut's text, which is based on a defective manuscript, the order of the "peraḳim" proceeds naturally from 3 to 12 (or 13), but the rest are lacking; and, quite apart from this divergence in the method of grouping, even within the numerical groups the two editions differ strikingly in the number and occasionally also in the wording of individual passages. In an Oxford codex of the Maḥzor Vitry a passage occurring in böth editions (ed. Schönblum, p. 35a; ed. Grünhut, p. 35) is cited as being in the Pesiḳta; and it is also stated that it treats of a series of from 3 to 10 objects (comp. the introduction to the Maḥzor Vitry, p. 179; Tos. Ber. 8b; 'Er. 19a).

A similar collection, probably more ancient in origin, was edited by Horowitz in the "Kebod Ḥuppah," Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1888, the work being based on a codex of De Rossi of the year 1290. This compilation is named the "Ḥuppat Eliyahu" or the "Sheba' Ḥuppot," on account of its opening words, "Seven canopies will God set up for the righteous in the world to come" (comp. B. B. 75a). This haggadah agrees for the most part with the Ma'aseh Torah and the Pirḳe Rabbenu ha-Ḳadosh, and presents the numerical groupings up to the number 24, arranged without much order; on the whole, it harmonizes more closely with the Pirḳe. According to Horowitz, the "Ḥuppat Eliyahu" was revised and expanded into the "Huppat Eliyahu Rabbah."

The "Ḥuppat Eliyahu" was edited as far as No. 16 by R. Israel Alnaqua at the end of his "Menorat ha-Ma'or"; and this portion of the compilation, together with other extracts from this work, was appended by Elijah de Vidas to his "Reshit Ḥokmah" (comp. Schechter, "Monatsschrift," 1885, pp. 124 et seq., 234). Alnaqua mentions also among the sources which he used "Ḥuppat Eliyahu Zuṭa we-Rabbah," which were evidently merely parts of the same work. From them were probably derived the two extracts in paragraphs 201 and 247 of the "Menorat ha-Ma'or" of Isaac Aboab, which are cited as occurring in the "Ḥuppat Eliyahu Rabbah" and the "Ḥuppat Eliyahu Zuṭa." Alnaqua was, furthermore, the compiler of many maxims beginning with the words , and , and forming the "Or 'Olam" at the end of his "Menorat ha-Ma'or." This collection was likewise incorporated by De Vidas in his work, and has been reprinted by Jellinek ("B. H." iii. 109-130) as the "Midrash le-'Olam" and "Midrash Gadol u-Gedolah."

The "Ma'aseh Torah" formed the model for the rich collection of Elijah Wilna which bears the same name, and which appeared at Warsaw in 1804 with the additions of his son Abraham.

Bibliography: Zunz, G. V. pp. 284 et seq.; Chones, Rab Pe'alim, pp. 59 et seq., 87 et seq.; Benjacob, Oẓar ha-Sefarim, pp. 337 et seq., 357 et seq.; Grünhut, Sefer ha-Liḳḳuṭim, iii., Introduction, pp. 17 et seq. Abundant material regarding this midrash has been collected by Horowitz; but the numerical relations of the midrashim require thorough investigation.

13. Midrash Ṭa'ame Ḥaserot we-Yeterot

(see image) Page from Midrash Eleh Ezkerah, Constantinople (?), 1620.(From the Sulzberger collection in the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York.)This midrash, which has been edited most completely by Wertheimer (Jerusalem, 1899), gives haggadic explanations not only of the words which are written defective or plene, as the title of the work implies, but also of a great number of those which are not read as they are written (comp. on the ketib in Wertheimer's ed., Nos. 8, 11, 13, 19, 21-30, 37, 51, 89, 106, 111, 113, 124, 125, 127-129, 131, 134, 138-140, 181, and No. 12 on a word which is read without being written). There are likewise notes on names and words which are read differently in different places (e.g., in Nos. 17, 20, 123, 126, 141, 142, 164, 172), on the ἅπαξ λεγόμενον , Judges iv. 18 (No. 108), on the peculiar writing of certain words (e.g., No. 133 on , Isa. ix. 6, and No. 163 on , Josh. x. 24), and on the suspended letters in Judges xviii. 30, Ps. lxxx. 14, and Job xlviii. 50 (Nos. 112-114). The midrash may be termed, therefore, a Masoretic one, although it frequently deviates from the Masorah. The haggadic interpretations are derived for the most part from scattered passages in the Talmud and in the Midrashim, while the arrangement is capricious, the individual words being arranged neither according to the order of the alphabet nor according to the sequence of the books of the Bible. In the different manuscripts and editions of it this midrash varies considerably, not only in the number and arrangement of the passages which it discusses, but also in the wording of individual interpretations. It is cited under its present title in the Tosafot (Ber. 34a), in the "Sefer Miẓwot Gadol" of Moses of Coucy, and by Asher ben Jehiel, while it is called "Midrash Ḥaserot we-Yeterot" by Solomon Norzi. A brief extract from this work enumerating the words to be written "defective" or "plene," but omitting the reason therefor, is contained in the Maḥzor Vitry, § 518, pp. 656 et seq.

To the Masoretic midrashim belong also the explanations of passages read and not written or written and not read which have been edited from an old grammatical and Masoretic miscellany in the "Manuel du Lecteur" of Joseph Derenbourg (Paris, 1871), and in Jacob Saphir's "Eben Sappir" (ii. 218 et seq., Mayence, 1874), and reprinted by Jellinek in his "B. H." (v. 27-30).

Bibliography: The midrash on the reasons for words written "defective" and "plene" was edited by Berliner on the basis of a Munich manuscript in his Peleṭat Soferim, Hebrew section, pp. 36 et seq., Breslau, 1872; by Wertheimer on the basis of a Genizah manuscript in the Batte Midrashot, i. 32 et seq., iii. 1 et seq.; and on the basis of a codex of De Rossi in the edition mentioned in the text; comp. Berliner, l.c. German section, pp. 34 et seq.; the introductions of Wertheimer in the various editions; Zunz, G. V. p. 284; Rab Pe'alim, pp. 65 et seq.; Buber in Ha-Shaḥar, iv.

14. Midrash Tadshe (called also Baraita de-Rabbi Pineḥas b. Ya'ir)

This small midrash begins with an interpretation of Gen. i. 11: "And God said, Let the earth bring forth" ("Tadshe ha-areẓ"). "Why," asked R. Phinehas, "did God decree that grass and herbs and fruits should grow upon the third day, while light was not created until the fourth? To show His infinite power, which is almighty; for even without the light He caused the earth to bring forth [while now He creates all manner of trees and plants through the operation of the light]." The name of the author occurs twice (ed. Epstein, pp. xxi., xxxi.); and the midrash closes with the words "'ad kan me-dibre R. Pineḥas ben Ya'ir." No other authors are named. This midrash is peculiar in several respects, varying in many statements from other midrashim; and, although written in pure Hebrew, it contains numerous expressions which are not found elsewhere, such as , (= "planets," p. xix.). The structure of the midrash is very loose.

Analogies with the Book of Jubilees.

The Midrash Tadshe is in the main symbolic in tendency, and it plays much on groups of numbers. Section 2 contains a symbolization of the Tabernacle; and, according to Epstein, the central idea of the midrash is the theory of three worlds—earth, man, and the Tabernacle. Section 10 contains a mystic explanation of the numbers mentioned in connection with the offerings of the princes (comp. Num. vii. 12 et seq.). Combinations and parallelisms based on the number ten are found in sections 5 and 15; on seven, in 6, 11, and 20; on six, in 20; on five, in 7; on four, in 20; on three, in 12, 18, etc. Desultory expositions of Gen. ii. 17; iii. 3, 14 et seq.; Ex. vii. 12 et seq., 83 et seq.; Lev. xiii. 2, xiv. 34; Lam. i. 1 et seq.; Num. iv. 3, xxvii. 7; and Deut. xxxii. 12, are contained in sections 7, 10, 17, 20, 21, and 22. Especially noteworthy is section 8, on "the ages of the pious," the Patriarchs, the Matriarchs, and the twelve sons of Jacob, giving also the dates of their births. In this list the months are not designated as Nisan, etc., but as "the first," "the second," etc. The dates for Zebulun and Benjamin are lacking in the present text, but are given in a citation by Baḥya and in the Yalḳuṭ, where, however, the months are named and not numbered. The length of life ascribed to the sons of Jacob agrees with that given in the Seder 'Olam Zuṭa; but only the Book of Jubilees gives the days and months of their births, and even it does not state the length of their lives (comp. Jubilees, xxviii. and xxxii., where, however, some dates differ from those given in the midrash). On the other hand, section 6 of the Midrash Tadshe is in entire agreement with the Book of Jubilees (ii., iii., iv., vii., x., xii., xiv., xv., and xxxiii.) in its statement that twenty-two varieties of things were created in the world—seven on the first day; one on the second; four on the third; three on the fourth; three on the fifth; and four on the sixth—and that these twenty-two varieties correspond to the twenty-two generations from Adam to Jacob (and to the twenty-two letters of the alphabet).

Epstein has drawn attention to other striking analogies between this midrash and the Book of Jubilees, especially to the strange theory of Rabbi Phinehas b. Jair (p. xxxi.) that Adam was created in the first week, and that Eve was formed in the second week, from his rib; this serving as the foundation for the rule of purification given in Lev. xii. 2 et seq., with which Jubilees, iii. 8 is to be compared. On these grounds, Epstein advances the hypothesis that in this and many other passages the author of the Midrash Tadshe used the Book of Jubilees, which existed at that time in Hebrew and was much larger in scope than at present, and was ascribed, "on account of its Essenic tendency," to Rabbi Phinehas b. Jair, who was famous for his great piety. It is hardly probable, however, that the present Book of Jubilees is incomplete; and a much more plausible view of Epstein's is that which regards the Midrash Tadshe as the work of Rabbi Moses ha-Darshan. Either on account of its beginning, or for some other reason, R. Phinehas b. Jair was regarded as the author of this midrash, and Num. R. xiii. 10 and xiv. 12, 18 contain several expositions and maxims from it cited under the name of that tanna. The midrash, from which Yalḳuṭ excerpted several passages and which has been cited by various authors, has been edited according to manuscript sources by Jellinek ("B. H." iii. 164-193) and by Epstein ("Beiträge zur Jüdischen Alterthumskunde," Vienna, 1887).

The Midrash Tadshe must not be confused with another baraita bearing the title "Baraita de-Rabbi b. Jair," which deals with gradations of virtues, the highest of which causes its possessor to share in the holy spirit (comp. Soṭah, end, and parallels).

Bibliography: Zunz, G. V. p. 580; Rab Pe'alim, pp. 114 et seq.; Jellinek, B. H. iii., pp. xxxiii. et seq.; vi., p. xxix.; Epstein, l.c. pp. i.-xiv.; idem, Le Livre des Jubilés, Philon et le Midrasch Tadsche, in R. E. J. xxi. 80 et seq., xxii. 1 et seq.; Weiss, Dor, iv. 216; Kautzsch, Apokryphen, ii. 37; Bacher, Ag. Tan. ii. 497, 499; Grünhut, Sefer ha-Liḳḳuṭim, ii. 20b.

15. Midrash Temurah (called by Me'iri Midrash Temurot)

A small midrash consisting of three chapters. It develops the view that God in His wisdom and might has created all things on earth as contrasted pairs which mutually supplement each other. Life is known only as opposed to death, and death as opposed to life; and, in like manner, if all were foolish or wise, or rich or poor, it would not be known that they were foolish or wise, or rich orpoor. "Therefore God created man and woman, beauty and deformity, fire and water, iron and wood, light and darkness, heat and cold, food and famine, drink and thirst, walking and lameness, sight and blindness, hearing and deafness, sea and land, speech and dumbness, activity and repose, pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow, health and sickness," and the like. In ch. iii. the antitheses given in Eccl. iii. 1 et seq. are enumerated and are paralleled with Ps. cxxxvi. Ch. i., which contains an interesting anthropological passage, and ch. ii. begin with pseudepigraphical interpretations ascribed by the midrash to Rabbis Ishmael and Akiba; the latter appear, consequently, as joint authors of the midrash.

According to Jellinek, the Midrash Temurah was composed in the first half of the thirteenth century, since it drew upon Ibn Ezra and upon Galen's dialogue on the soul, even though it is cited by Me'iri and Abraham Abulafia. It was first edited by Azulai (Leghorn, 1786), being appended to the second part of his "Shem ha-Gedolim"; and it has been reprinted by Jellinek ("B. H." i. 106-114).

Bibliography: Zunz, G. V. p. 118; Rab Pe'alim, pp. 123 et seq.; Jellinek, B. H. i., pp. xx. et seq.

16. Midrash Wa-Yekullu

A midrash named after Gen. ii. 1 ("Wa-Yekullu ha-Shamayim"). It contained both halakic and haggadic material, and doubtless covered several books of the Pentateuch; but it now exists only in citations by various authors after the middle of the twelfth century. In "Ha-Roḳeaḥ," §§ 192, 209, 320, and 324, passages from it are quoted as belonging to Gen. xix. 24, to the pericopes Beḥuḳḳotai and Beha'aloteka and to Deut. ii. 31. Judging from the first and fourth of these citations, the Midrash Wa-Yekullu was a homiletic one, since Tanḥuma on Gen. xix. and on Deut. ii. 31, as well as Deut. R. on the latter passage, likewise contains homilies. The midrash must have derived much material from the Tanḥuma-Yelammedenu, since some of the few fragments that have been preserved agree more or less accurately with passages from the Tanḥuma or with excerpts in Yalḳuṭ from Yelammedenu. The midrash seems also to have been called "Wayekullu Rabbah." The citations from it are collected in Grünhut's "Sefer ha-Liḳḳuṭim," ii. 16b et seq.

Bibliography: Zunz, G. V. p. 281; idem, G. S. iii. 252; Rab Pe'alim, pp. 52 et seq.; Grünhut, Sefer ha-Liḳḳuṭim, Introduction, pp. 13 et seq.

18. Midrash Wayosha'

A midrash based on Ex. xiv. 30-xv. 18. It is an exposition in the style of the later haggadah and seems to have been intended for the "Shirah" Sabbath or for the seventh day of the Passover. Entire sections are taken verbatim from the Tanḥuma, such as the passage on Ex. xv. 3 from Tan., Bo, and on xv. 5 from Ḥuḳḳat, beginning. With the story in the exposition of Ex. xiv. 30, concerning Satan, who appeared before Abraham and Isaac as they went to the sacrifice, may be compared the addition in Tan., Wayera, ed. Stettin, No. 24; Yalḳ., Ex. §§ 98-99, end; and "Sefer ha-Yashar," end of pericope "Wayera." The midrash on Ex. xv. 2, 7 also contains extracts from the Chronicle of Moses, the passage on Usa, the genius of Egypt, agreeing word for word with the excerpt in Yalḳ., § 241. Here the first edition has merely "Midrash," while other editions give the Midrash Abkir as the source, although it is doubtful whether this haggadah ever occurred in that work.

The sections begin for the most part with the words "ameru ḥakamim," though Rabbi Joshua ben Levi and Rabbi Samuel b. Naḥmani are occasionally given as the authors. In the exposition of xv. 18 on the sorrows and the redemption in the Messianic time, the terrible figure of King Armilus is described, and it is said that he will slay the Messiah of the race of Joseph, but will himself be slain by the Messiah who is the son of David (comp. Suk. 52a); God will then gather together the scattered remnant of Israel and hold the final judgment; and the wonderful beauty of a new world full of joy and happiness is revealed.

The Midrash Wayosha' was first published at Constantinople in 1519 (Metz, 1849, and elsewhere), and has been reprinted by Jellinek ("B. H." i. 35-37).

Bibliography: Zunz, G. V. p. 282; Rab Pe'alim, p. 55; Jellinek, B. H. i., p. xvii.; Benjacob, Oẓar ha-Sefarim, p. 299.

The more recent collections of small midrashim mentioned in this article and in Midrash Haggadah are the following: A. Jellinek, "B. H." parts i.-iv., Leipsic, 1853-57; parts v.-vi., Vienna, 1873-78; Ḥayyim M. Horowitz, "Agadat Agadot," etc., Berlin, 1881; idem, "Bet 'Eḳed ha-Agadot: Bibliotheca Haggadica," 2 parts, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1881; idem, "Kebod Ḥuppah," ib. 1888; idem, "Tosefta Attiḳta: Uralte Tosefta's," i.-v., ib. 1889-90; S. A. Wertheimer, "Batte Midrashot," i.-iv., Jerusalem, 1893-97; idem, "Leḳeṭ Midrashim," ib. 1903; L. Grünhut, "Sefer ha-Liḳḳuṭim, Sammlung Aelterer Midraschim." etc., i-vi., ib. 1898-1903; comp. also Abraham Wilna, "Rab Pe'alim," ed. Chones, pp. 133 et seq., H. L. Strack, in Herzog-Hauck, "Real-Encyc." s.v. "Midrasch."

In these collections, especially in Jellinek's "Bet ha-Midrash," there are many small midrashim, eitheredited there for the first time or reprinted, as well as a number of works under other names, a discussion of which belongs rather to an article on mystic literature. The following treatises, however, may be mentioned here, the titles being given for the most part according to Jellinek:

(1) Agadat Mashiaḥ (Haggadah of the Messiah; ib. iii. 141 et seq.). (2) Baraita Ma'ase Bereshit (in Chones' addenda to Abraham Wilna's "Rab Pe'alim," pp. 47 et seq.); also Seder Rabbah de-Bereshit (in Wertheimer, l.c. i. 1-31). (3) Gan 'Eden we-Gehinnom (Paradise and Hell; ib. v. 42 et seq.). (4) Ma'aseh R. Yehoshua' b. Levi (History of R. Joshua b. Levi; ib. ii. 48 et seq.). (5) Midrash Konen (in "B. H." ii. 23-39); Be-Ḥokmah Yasad (Divine Wisdom; ib. v. 63-69); Masseket Gehinnom (Tractate of Gehenna; ib. i. 147-149). (6) Milḥamot ha-Mashiaḥ (War of the Messiah; ib. vi. 117 et seq.). (7) Misterot R. Shim'on b. Yoḥai (Mysteries of R. Simeon b. Yoḥai; ib. iii. 78 et seq.). (8) Otiyot de-Rabbi Aḳiba (Alphabetical Midrash of R. Akiba; first and second recensions in "B. H." iii. 12-64; comp. ib. v. 31-33; vi., p. xl.; Wertheimer, l.c. ii. 23 et seq.; and see Akiba ben Joseph, Alphabet of); Hekalot Rabbati (Great Hekalot; in "B. H." iii. 83-108); Masseket Hekalot (Tractate Hekalot; ib. ii. 40-47; comp. also ib. i. 58 et seq., iii. 161 et seq., vi. 109 et seq.); and "Baraita Ma'ase Merkabah" (in Wertheimer, l.c. ii. 15-25). (9) Otiyot Mashiaḥ (Signs of the Messiah; ib. ii. 58-63). (10) Pirḳe Eliyahu (Sections Concerning the Messiah; ib. iii. 68 et seq.). (11) Seder Gan 'Eden (Description of Paradise; ib. ii. 52 et seq.; second recension, ib. iii. 131-140; additions, ib. 194-198). (12) Sefer Eliyahu (Apocalypse of Elijah; ib. iii. 65 et seq.). (13) Sefer Zerubbabel (Book of Zerubbabel; ib. ii. 54-57; comp. also Wertheimer, l.c. ii. 25 et seq., 29 et seq.).

Bibliography

For recent studies, see Jacob Elbaum. “The Hebrew Narrative Anthology in the Middle Ages” Prooftexts (2004) pp. 176ff.

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