''Pesikta Rabbati'' (
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 ...
: פסיקתא רבתי ''P'siqta Rabbita'', "The Larger P'siqta") is a collection of
aggadic midrash (homilies) on the
Pentateuchal and
prophetic
In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or pret ...
readings, the
special Sabbaths
Special Shabbatot are Jewish Shabbat days on which special events are commemorated. Variations in the liturgy and special customs differentiate them from the regular Sabbaths and each one is referred to by a special name; many communities also a ...
, and so on. It was composed around 845 CE and probably called "rabbati" (the larger) to distinguish it from the earlier
Pesikta de-Rav Kahana
Pesikta de-Rab Kahana (Hebrew: פסיקתא דרב כהנא) is a collection of aggadic midrash which exists in two editions, those of Solomon Buber (Lyck, 1868) and Bernard Mandelbaum (1962). It is cited in the '' Arukh'' and by Rashi.
The na ...
(PdRK).
Contents
Pesikta Rabbati has five entire piskot (sections) in common with PdRK — numbers 15 ("Ha-Hodesh"), 16 ("Korbani Lachmi"), 17 ("Vayechi ba-Hatzi"), 18 ("Omer"), 33 ("Aniyyah So'arah"), and the majority of No. 14 ("Para") — but otherwise it is very different from PdRK, being in every respect like the
Tanhuma
Midrash Tanhuma ( he, מִדְרָשׁ תַּנְחוּמָא) is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch aggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. These midrashim, although bearing the name of ...
midrashim.
In 1880 Friedmann edited a version of the ''Pesikta Rabbati'' which contains, in 47 numbers, about 51 homilies, part of which are combinations of smaller ones; seven or eight of these homilies belong to
Hanukkah
or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem)
, nickname =
, observedby = Jews
, begins = 25 Kislev
, ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet
, celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...
, and about seven each to
Shavuot and
Rosh Hashana
Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...
, while the older PdRK contains one each for Hanukkah and Shavuot and two for Rosh Hashana.
Pesikta Rabbati contains also homilies to Torah readings which are not paralleled in PdRK. There are also various differences between these two Pesiktot in regard to the Torah readings for holidays and for the Sabbaths of
mourning
Mourning is the expression of an experience that is the consequence of an event in life involving loss, causing grief, occurring as a result of someone's death, specifically someone who was loved although loss from death is not exclusively ...
and of comforting. The works are entirely different in content, with the exception of the above-mentioned Nos. 15-18, the part of No. 14, and some few minor parallels. PdRK contains no
halakhic exordiums or
proems
__NOTOC__
A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a ''foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often closes ...
by R. Tanhuma. But in the Pesikta Rabbati there are 28 homilies with such exordiums having the formula "Yelammedenu Rabbenu," followed by proems with the statement "kach patach R. Tanhuma"; while two homilies (Nos. 38 and 45, the first of which is probably defective) have the Yelammedenu but lack proems with "kach patach".
Some of the homilies have more than one proem by R. Tanhuma. The piskot taken from PdRK have of course no Yelammedenu or Tanḥuma proems; the first part of piskah No. 14, which does not belong to PdRK, has at the beginning two halakhic introductions and one proem of R. Tanhuma. Homilies Nos. 20-24, which together form a
midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
to the
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
, lack these introductions and proems. Only three of the homilies for the Sabbaths of mourning and comforting (Nos. 29, 31, 33) have such passages; but they are prefixed to those homilies, beginning with No. 38 (except No. 46, which is of foreign origin), which have the superscription "Midrash Harninu"—a name used to designate the homilies for Rosh Hashana and
Sukkot
or ("Booths, Tabernacles")
, observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans
, type = Jewish, Samaritan
, begins = 15th day of Tishrei
, ends = 21st day of Tishre ...
which the old authors found in the Pesikta Rabbati.
The present edition of the Pesikta Rabbati, which ends with the homily for
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...
, is doubtless defective; the older PdRK has also various homilies for
Sukkot
or ("Booths, Tabernacles")
, observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans
, type = Jewish, Samaritan
, begins = 15th day of Tishrei
, ends = 21st day of Tishre ...
,
Shemini Atzeret
Shemini Atzeret (—"Eighth ay ofAssembly") is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday. It is celebrated on the 22nd day of the Hebrew calendar, Hebrew month of Tishrei in the Land of Israel, and on the 22nd and 23rd outside the Land, usually coi ...
, and
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah or Simhat Torah (, lit., "Rejoicing with/of the Torah", Ashkenazi: ''Simchas Torah'') is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simch ...
. In addition, some of the homilies (Nos. 19, 27, 38, 39, 45) are defective. Pesikta Rabbati therefore appears to be a combination of various parts; perhaps the homilies were added later.
It is said above that No. 46 is a foreign addition; here
Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
90:1 is interpreted as an acrostic למשה (ascribed to Moses), and there is also a passage from the
Midrash Konen
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 ...
. Other passages also may have been added, as the passage in No. 20, which is elsewhere quoted in the name of the "Pirkei Heikhalot" and of "Ma'aseh Bereshit". No. 36 was considered doubtful on account of its contents; No. 26 is peculiar, referring not to a Scripture passage but to a verse or a parable composed by the author.
The diction and style are very fine in many passages. In the beginning of the first homily, which shows the characteristics of the "genuine" portions of the Pesikta Rabbati (in the proems of R. Tanhuma following the halakic exordium), the year 845 is indicated as the date of composition of the work; there are no grounds for regarding the date as a gloss.
In the appendix to the Friedmann edition, four homilies are printed from a manuscript, Nos. 1 and 2 of which have yelammedenus and proems. The midrash referred to here is a later, shorter midrash for the feast-days, designated as "New Pesikta," and frequently drawing upon the Pesikta Rabbati; it has been published by
Jellinek.
[In "Bet ha-Midrash," vi. 36-70]
References
Sources
*
*''Pesikta Rabbati; Discourses for Feasts, Fasts, and Special Sabbaths, Part 1'' (1968), translated by William G. Braude. Yale University Press. . William G. Braude is Rabbi of the Congregation Sons of Israel and David, Providence, Rhode Island.
*Rivka Ulmer (ed.), ''A Synoptic Edition Of Pesiqta Rabbati Based Upon All Extant Hebrew Manuscripts And The Editio Princeps''. Vol. I. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997. Vol. II. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1999.Vol. III and Index. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2002. Paperback edition, vols. I-III, 2009.
Jewish Virtual Library - Pesikta Rabbati
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Aggadic Midrashim
840s
9th-century books
Jewish medieval literature