The Mekhilta le-Sefer Devarim (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: מכילתא לספר דברים) is a
halakhic midrash
''Midrash halakha'' ( he, הֲלָכָה) was the ancient Judaic rabbinic method of Torah study that expounded upon the traditionally received 613 Mitzvot (commandments) by identifying their sources in the Hebrew Bible, and by interpreting these ...
to
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...
from the school of
Rabbi Ishmael
Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha Nachmani (Hebrew: רבי ישמעאל בן אלישע), often known as Rabbi Yishmael and sometimes given the title "Ba'al HaBaraita" (Hebrew: בעל הברייתא), was a rabbi of the 1st and 2nd centuries (third gener ...
which is no longer extant. No midrash by this name is mentioned in
Talmudic
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
literature, nor do the medieval authors refer to such a work. Although
Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
says, "R. Ishmael explained from 've-eleh shemot' to the conclusion of the
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
, that is, the Mekhilta," he did not see this midrash, which also includes Deuteronomy, since he does not quote any Mekhilta passages to that book of the
Pentateuch
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...
in his ''Sefer ha-Mitzvot,'' although he draws upon the
halakhic midrashim
''Midrash halakha'' ( he, הֲלָכָה) was the ancient Judaic rabbinic method of Torah study that expounded upon the traditionally received 613 Mitzvot (commandments) by identifying their sources in the Hebrew Bible, and by interpreting these ...
in discussing most of the commandments. Maimonides probably knew, therefore, merely through an old tradition which he had heard that such a midrash by R. Ishmael existed.
Evidence in favor of its existence
But there are other circumstances which prove that there was once such a work. Many midrashic
baraitot
''Baraita'' (Aramaic: "external" or "outside"; pl. ''Barayata'' or ''Baraitot''; also Baraitha, Beraita; Ashkenazi: Beraisa) designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. ''Baraita'' thus refers to teachings "ou ...
to
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...
are introduced in the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
with the words "Tena debei R. Yishmael," and may be recognized in form and substance as R' Ishmael's midrashim.
Bava Batra
Bava Batra (also Baba Batra; Talmudic Aramaic: בָּבָא בַּתְרָא "The Last Gate") is the third of the three Talmudic tractates in the Talmud in the order Nezikin; it deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of pr ...
124b quotes a passage to a verse in Deuteronomy from the "She'ar Sifre devei Rav," a term by which the
Mekhilta de-Rabbi Yishmael is designated. This clearly indicates that there was a midrash to Deuteronomy by
R. Ishmael
R. or r. may refer to:
* ''Reign'', the period of time during which an Emperor, king, queen, etc., is ruler.
* '' Rex'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning King
* ''Regina'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning Queen
* or , abbreviat ...
at the period of the
Amoraim
''Amoraim'' (Aramaic language, Aramaic: plural or , singular ''Amora'' or ''Amoray''; "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen") refers to Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 Common Era, CE, who "sai ...
.
This work, which was called also "Mekhilta," disappeared at an early date, and was therefore unknown to the medieval authors. The editor of the
Midrash ha-Gadol
Midrash HaGadol or The Great Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש הגדול) is a work of aggaddic midrash, expanding on the narratives of the Pentateuch, which was written by Rabbi David Adani of Yemen (14th century).
Its contents were compiled from the ...
, however, knew it and included many passages from it in his collection. The citations from R. Ishmael's Mekhilta to Deuteronomy which are contained in the Midrash ha-Gadol have been collected by
David Zvi Hoffmann
David Zvi Hoffmann (November 24, 1843, Verbó, Austrian Empire – November 20, 1921, Berlin) (Hebrew: דוד צבי הופמן), was an Orthodox Rabbi and Torah Scholar. He headed the Yeshiva in Berlin, and published research on the Pentat ...
and printed under the title ''Liḳḳuṭe Mekilta: Collectaneen aus einer Mechilta'' and separately under the title ''Liḳḳuṭe Batar Liḳḳuṭe: Neue Collectaneen aus einer Mechilta zu Deuteronomium''. It appears from these passages that this midrash contained much valuable material from the earlier halakic exegetes. Especially noteworthy is the statement that
R. Simon Gamaliel, together with
R. Johanan b. Zakkai, addressed a circular letter to the Galileans and other communities, a statement which certainly antedates the parallel passage in
Tosefta
The Tosefta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah.
Overview
In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...
,
Sanh.
''Sanhedrin'' () is one of ten tractates of Seder Nezikin (a section of the Talmud that deals with damages, i.e. civil and criminal proceedings). It originally formed one tractate with Makkot, which also deals with criminal law. The Gemara of ...
2:6.
Hoffmann's collection of extracts from the Mekhilta includes also many quotations from
Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
' ''Yad''.
[Compare D. Hoffmann, ''Ueber eine Mechilta,'' p. 85, and his preface to the ''Liḳḳuṭe Mekilta,'' p. 4] Aside from the passages included in the
Midrash ha-Gadol
Midrash HaGadol or The Great Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש הגדול) is a work of aggaddic midrash, expanding on the narratives of the Pentateuch, which was written by Rabbi David Adani of Yemen (14th century).
Its contents were compiled from the ...
, some fragments of the Mekhilta have been preserved in the
Cairo Genizah
The Cairo Geniza, alternatively spelled Genizah, is a collection of some 400,000 Jewish manuscript fragments and Fatimid administrative documents that were kept in the '' genizah'' or storeroom of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat or Old Cairo, Eg ...
; these were discovered by
S. Schechter
Solomon Schechter ( he, שניאור זלמן הכהן שכטר; 7 December 1847 – 19 November 1915) was a Moldavian-born British-American rabbi, academic scholar and educator, most famous for his roles as founder and President of the ...
and published by him in the ''
J. Q. R.''
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
*
D. Hoffmann, ''Zur Einleitung in die Halachischen Midraschim'', p. 77, Berlin, 1887;
*idem, ''Ueber eine Mechilta zu Deuteronomium'', in ''Jubelschrift zum Siebzigsten Geburtstag des Dr.
Isr. Hildesheimer'', German part, pp. 83–98, Berlin, 1890.
References
External links
{{JewishEncyclopedia, article= Mekilta le-Sefer Devarim, url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=377&letter=M, author=
Isidore Singer
Isidore Singer (10 November 1859 – 20 February 1939) was an American encyclopedist and editor of ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' and founder of the American League for the Rights of Man.
Biography
Singer was born in 1859 in Weisskirchen, M ...
and
Jacob Zallel Lauterbach
Jacob Zallel Lauterbach (1873–1942) was an American Judaica scholar and author who served on the faculty of Hebrew Union College and composed responsa for the Reform movement in America. He specialized in Midrashic and Talmudical literature, ...
Halakhic Midrashim
Book of Deuteronomy