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''Pesikta Rabbati'' ( Hebrew: פסיקתא רבתי ''P'siqta Rabbita'', "The Larger P'siqta") is a collection of
aggadic midrash Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...
(homilies) on the
Pentateuchal 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 ...
and prophetic 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 (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 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, and about seven each to
Shavuot (''Ḥag HaShavuot'' or ''Shavuos'') , nickname = English: "Feast of Weeks" , observedby = Jews and Samaritans , type = Jewish and Samaritan , begins = 6th day of Sivan (or the Sunday following the 6th day of Sivan i ...
and Rosh Hashana, 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 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 ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...
exordiums or proems 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 to the Ten Commandments, 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, 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, and Simchat Torah. 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 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 Jellinek is a Germanized variant of the Czech name Jelínek meaning "little deer" (diminutive of ''jelen''). When used as a kinnui, it refers to the Biblical allusion to Naphtali. Notable people with the surname include: * Adolf Jellinek (1821–1 ...
.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
{{Authority control Aggadic Midrashim 840s 9th-century books Jewish medieval literature