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40-507: The Hebrew word haggadah (הַגָּדָה) is derived from the Hebrew root נגד, meaning "declare, make known, expound", also known from the common Hebrew verb להגיד. The majority scholarly opinion is that the Hebrew word aggadah (אַגָּדָה) and corresponding Aramaic aggadta (אֲגַדְתָּא) are variants of haggadah based on a common linguistic shift from haphalah to aphalah forms. However, a minority of scholars believe that these words derive from

80-595: A "great principle" of the Torah. In Shabbat 31a, Hillel , when challenged by a prospective convert to explain the entire Torah while the latter stood on one foot, answered: "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: This is the entire Torah, the rest is the explanation, go now and learn it." (This maxim is not included in Pirkei Avot.) The attribution of Biblical Wisdom books to King Solomon (e.g., Ecclesiastes , Proverbs , Book of Wisdom ) attests also to

120-471: A separate Aramaic root נגד meaning "draw, pull, spread, stretch" (corresponding to the Hebrew root משך or נטה). According to the latter etymology, aggadah may be seen as "the part of the Torah which draws man towards its teachings", or the teachings which strengthen one's religious experience and spiritual connections, in addition to explaining texts. (See similar re Masorah – in the sense of "tradition" – at Masoretic Text § Etymology .) The Aggadah

160-464: A short segment on Avot, and over 400 published references on Avot in general or individual mishnayot. The Russian-American poet and translator Yehoash published his Yiddish translation of Pirkei Avot in 1912 under the title Di Lehren fun di Foters . This translation was subsequently included in a trilingual (Hebrew-Yiddish-English) edition that was published in 1921. A Chinese translation of Pirkei Avot by Prof. Ping Zhang from Tel Aviv University

200-822: Is a compilation of the aggadic material in the Babylonian Talmud together with commentary. It was compiled by Jacob ibn Habib and (after his death) by his son Levi ibn Habib , and was first published in Saloniki (Greece) in 1515. It was intended as a text of aggadah, that could be studied with "the same degree of seriousness as the Talmud itself". Popularized anthologies did not appear until more recently—these often incorporate "aggadot" from outside of classical Rabbinic literature . The major works include: Notes Bibliography Discussion Source material Textual resources Masorah From Misplaced Pages,

240-748: Is devoid of understanding, it is the reader" ( Shnei Luchos HaBris , introduction). See also the Maharal's approach . The Aggadah is today recorded in the Midrash and the Talmud . In the Midrash, the aggadic and halakhic material are compiled as two distinct collections: Many of the Torah commentaries , as well as the Targumim , interpret the Torah text in the light of Aggadic statements, particularly those in

280-462: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Avoth Pirkei Avot ( Hebrew : פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת , romanized :  pirqē aḇoṯ , lit.   'Chapters of the [Fore]fathers'; also transliterated as Pirqei Avoth or Pirkei Avos or Pirke Aboth ), which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers , is a compilation of

320-806: 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 CE. The Aggadah of the Amoraim (sages of the Talmud) is the continuation of that of the Tannaim (sages of the Mishna). The final edition of

360-640: Is part of Judaism 's Oral Torah , the traditions providing the authoritative interpretation of the Written Torah . In this context, the widely-held view in rabbinic literature is that the Aggadah is in fact a medium for the transmission of fundamental teachings (Homiletic Sayings— מאמרים לימודיים ‎) or for explanations of verses in the Hebrew Bible ( Exegetic Sayings— מאמרים ביאוריים ‎). Rabbinic thought, therefore, understands much of

400-590: The Babylonian Talmud is also presented separately in Ein Yaakov , a compilation of the Aggadah together with commentaries. Well-known works interpreting the Aggadot in the Talmud include: 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

440-578: The Great Assembly , i.e., the early generations of Sages (Avot 1:1). It contains sayings attributed to sages from Simon the Just (200 BCE) to shortly after Judah haNasi (200 CE), redactor of the Mishnah. These aphorisms concern proper ethical and social conduct, as well as the importance of Torah study . The first two chapters proceed in a general chronological order, with the second focusing on

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480-498: The Omer period, this chapter being seen well-suited to Shabbat Shavuot , when the giving of the Torah is celebrated. (See below.) The term Pirkei Avot refers to the composite six-chapter work ( Avot plus Kinyan Torah ). Modern scholars suggest that Avot 5:21 ("He would say: A five-year-old proceeds to Bible [study], a ten-year-old to mishna [study]...") was not authored by Rabbi Yehudah ben Teimah (the author of 5:20, and seemingly

520-527: The ethical teachings and maxims from Rabbinic Jewish tradition. It is part of didactic Jewish ethical literature . Because of its contents, the name is sometimes given as Ethics of the Fathers . Pirkei Avot consists of the Mishnaic tractate of Avot , the second-to-last tractate in the order of Nezikin in the Mishnah , plus one additional chapter. Avot is unique in that it is the only tractate of

560-437: The Aggadah as containing 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: "We are told to use our common sense to decide whether an aggada is to be taken literally or not" (Carmell, 2005). Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707–1746), discusses this two-tiered, literal-allegorical mode of transmission of

600-686: The Aggadah in his Discourse on the Haggadot . He explains that 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 Kabbalah , falls under the latter. The rabbis of the Mishnaic era ( c. 10 to c.  220 CE) believed that it would be dangerous to record

640-642: The Masoretic text Masortim , meaning "traditional", semi-observant Jews in Israel Masorti Judaism, another name for Conservative Judaism Mesora, an alternative spelling for Metzora (parashah) Mesorah Publications Ltd., the publisher of ArtScroll Torah Umesorah – National Society for Hebrew Day Schools , a Haredi American educational network Masora River , a river in Mahanoro , Atsinanana, Madagascar Topics referred to by

680-484: The Midrash, and hence contain much material on Aggadah interpretation. Throughout the Talmud, aggadic and halakhic material are interwoven—legal material comprises around 90%. (Tractate Avoth , which has no gemara , deals exclusively with non-halakhic material, though it is not regarded as aggadic in that it focuses largely on character development.) The Talmudic Aggadah, generally, convey the "deeper teachings"—though in concealed mode, as discussed. The aggadic material in

720-527: The Mishnah dealing solely with ethical and moral principles; there is relatively little halakha (laws) in Pirkei Avot. In the title Pirkei Avot , the word "pirkei" is Hebrew for "chapters of". The word avot means "fathers", and thus Pirkei Avot is often rendered in English as "Chapters of the Fathers", or (more loosely) "Ethics of the Fathers." This translation engenders an appealing and not entirely mistaken image of "patriarchal teachings". However,

760-514: The Mishnah, which was of such signal importance for the Halakah, is of less significance for the Aggadah, which, in form as well as in content, shows the same characteristics in both periods. 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

800-495: The Mishnaic tractate containing numerous additional ethical teachings and legends. The number of medieval and modern commentaries on the Tractate of Avot is large, and probably not known accurately. Among the best-known commentaries are the following: A comprehensive bibliography of Hebrew commentaries on Pirke Avot has been published, including over 1500 detailed entries. The appendix lists over 500 additional books that contain

840-647: The central importance that Jews of this period placed on transmitting the ethical way of life. The Mishnaic tractate Avot consists of five chapters. It begins with an order of transmission of the Oral Tradition; Moses receives the Torah at Mount Sinai and then transmits it through various generations (including Joshua , the Elders, and the Neviim , but notably not the Kohanim ), whence it finally arrives at

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880-421: The clear and straightforward mishnaic prose. In addition, the anomalous character of Avot is heightened by the biblical influences on its linguistic expressions, grammatical forms, and vocabulary." From at least the time of Saadia Gaon (10th century), it has been customary to study one chapter a week on each Shabbat between Passover and Shavuot ; today, the tractate is generally studied on each Shabbat of

920-448: The deeper teachings in an 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 transmission nevertheless depended on consistent rules and principles such that those "equipped with

960-572: The format of moral aphorisms attributed to specific rabbis. In liturgical use, and in most printed editions of Avot , a sixth chapter, Kinyan Torah ("Acquisition of Torah") is added; this is in fact the eighth (in the Vilna edition) chapter of tractate Kallah , one of the minor tractates . It is added because its content and style are somewhat similar to that of the original tractate Avot (although it focuses on Torah study more than ethics), and to allow for one chapter to be recited on each Shabbat of

1000-538: The 💕 [REDACTED] Look up Masorah in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Masorah or Mesorah (Hebrew: מסורה ) refers either to the transmission of Jewish religious tradition , or to the tradition itself, and may refer to: The Hebrew vowel points also known as niqqud Masoretic Text , the authoritative text of the Tanakh for Rabbinic Judaism Masoretes , scribes who passed down

1040-470: The keys" would be able to unlock their meaning; to others they would appear as non-rational or fantastic. In line with the above, Samuel ibn Naghrillah (993–1056), in his "Introduction to the Talmud", states that "Aggadah comprises any comment occurring in the Talmud on any topic which is not a commandment (i.e. which is not halachic ) and one should derive from it only that which is reasonable." As regards this, Maimonides (1138–1204), in his preface to

1080-521: The majority of Mishnaic tractates, Avot has no corresponding gemara . Some have said this is because the concepts in it can never be dealt with completely, being the "fifth part of the Shulchan Aruch " (being intrinsically " derekh eretz ": wise practices). Although Avot does not have an accompanying gemara, one of the minor tractates of the Talmud, the Avot of Rabbi Natan , is an expansion of

1120-589: The midrashic exegesis are found in the Bible itself; while in the time of the Soferim the development of the Midrash Aggadah 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. Abtalion and Shemaiah are the first to bear the title darshan , and it was probably by no mere chance that their pupil Hillel

1160-527: The possibility that the title was intentionally worded to support multiple renderings—both "fathers" and "fundamental principles"—cannot be ruled out. The recognition of ethical maxims as 'Fundamental Principles' may derive from the high regard in which the Torah , Mishnah , and Talmud hold such wisdom. "Love your neighbor as yourself," states the Bible ( Leviticus 19:18 ), an injunction that Rabbi Akiva in Genesis Rabbah 24:7 famously calls

1200-477: The referent of "He would say" in 5:21) but rather by Shmuel ha-Katan , and was not part of the Mishna tractate of Avot, but rather added later to Pirkei Avot. In Machzor Vitry , for example, this passage is printed after the words "Tractate Avot has ended". "The structure of the tractate differs greatly from the thematic structure of the other tractates and Avot sayings employ a highly stylized language instead of

1240-457: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Masorah . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Masorah&oldid=1254697719 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing Hebrew-language text Short description

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1280-533: The saying, "The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to bestow merit upon Israel; therefore he gave them Torah and mitzvot in abundance" ( Makkoth 3:16). The tractate includes several of the most frequently-quoted rabbinic sayings on a variety of topics, including: Mishnaic tractates, composed in Mishnaic Hebrew , are usually accompanied by commentaries in Aramaic known as gemara ("the teaching"). Unlike

1320-555: 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 halakhot and the halakhic 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

1360-403: The students of Yochanan Ben Zakkai . Chapters Three and Four are thematic and contain various attributed sayings in no explicit order. Chapter Five departs from the organization and content of the preceding four in that it consists mostly of anonymous sayings structured around numerical lists, several of which have no direct connection with ethics. The last four paragraphs of this chapter return to

1400-462: The summer, from Passover to Rosh Hashanah , the entire cycle repeating a few times with doubling of chapters at the end if there are not a perfect multiple of six weeks. The tractate is therefore included in many prayer books , following Shabbat afternoon prayers. In the course of such study, it is common to preface each chapter with the Mishnaic saying, "All Israel has a share in the world to come" ( Sanhedrin 10:1), and to conclude each chapter with

1440-477: The tenth chapter of Tractate Sanhedrin ( Perek Chelek ), describes three possible approaches to the interpretation of the Aggadah: Maimonides' approach is also widely held amongst the non-rationalistic, mystical streams of Judaism—thus, for example, Isaiah Horowitz ( c.  1555 -1630) holds that "none of these sometimes mind-boggling 'stories' are devoid of profound meaning; if anyone

1480-601: The term 'avot' is not usually used as an honorary designation for 'rabbis' or 'sages'; in rabbinical usage, it refers to the Patriarchs of the Bible. Rather, in the Mishnah , the word avot generally refers to fundamentals or principal categories. (Thus, the principal categories of creative work forbidden on Shabbat are called avot melacha , and the principal categories of ritual impurity are referred to as avot tum'ah .) Using this meaning, Pirkei Avot would translate to "Chapters of Fundamental Principles". Additionally,

1520-464: 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. Ein Yaakov

1560-651: Was published in 1996 by CASS Press, together with footnotes and an introduction of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz . The first edition, of 1500 copies, sold out immediately. A revised version of Zhang's translation, with some influence from the Chinese Catholic Bible, was published in 2001 under the title "猶太聖傳·民刑卷·先賢篇" ('Jewish sacred teachings, records, and ethics articles'). It is available online. Scholars have noted similar themes and language shared between Pirkei Avot and earlier Jewish traditions found in

1600-566: Was the first to lay down hermeneutic rules for the interpretation of the Midrash ; he may have been indebted to his teachers for the tendency toward aggadic interpretation. These two scholars are the first whose sayings are recorded in the aggadah . The new method of derush (Biblical interpretation) introduced by Abtalion and Shemaiah seems to have evoked opposition among the Pharisees. Much Aggadah, often mixed with foreign elements,

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