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36-417: Leviticus Rabbah is not a continuous, explanatory interpretation to Leviticus, but a collection of exclusive sermons or lectures on the themes or texts of that book. It consists altogether of 37 such homilies, each of which constitutes a separate chapter. Leviticus Rabbah often refers to Scriptural passages on which the homilies are based as "parshiyot," and are further designated according to their contents. Of

72-570: A few words of the first verse, of the passage on which the parashah is based. In some cases, long pieces, in others brief sentences only, have been adduced in connection with the Scriptural passages, seemingly in accordance with the material at the redactor's disposal. Inasmuch, however, as the homilies in Leviticus Rabbah deal largely with topics beyond the subject matter of the Biblical text itself,

108-505: A general knowledge curriculum. In this period, Romanian officials encouraged such efforts to integrate the Jews into mainstream Romanian life. Malbim's insistence on adhering to the halakha , such as daily inspection of butcher's knives, resulted in portions of the religious personnel (e.g., shochtim and dayanim ) becoming hostile toward him. Through their frequent complaints, his opponents almost succeeded in having him sent to prison. Malbim

144-517: A proem, in the course of each chapter, and even toward the end of a chapter. These excerpts often have minimal relation to the context. But otherwise, Leviticus Rabbah carefully follows the form of the Pesikta. The end of each chapter in Leviticus Rabbah, like the Pesikta, consists of a passage containing a Messianic prophecy. Sifra Sifra ( Jewish Babylonian Aramaic : סִפְרָא , romanized:  sip̄rā , lit.   'document')

180-430: A pupil of R. Eliezer. Similarly, Sifra, Emor , 17:4 et seq. agrees with R. Eliezer's view. Aside from R. Judah's midrash, R. Ḥiyya may have used also R. Simeon's midrash, although some of the passages mentioned there seem to prove little. More doubtful is the relation to R. Ishmael 's midrash; and in this connection must be considered the question whether the citation of certain explanations of Leviticus introduced by

216-691: Is given in Biagio Ugolini , Thesaurus, xiv. Other editions include: Malbim Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Wisser (March 7, 1809 – September 18, 1879), better known as the Malbim ( Hebrew : מלבי"ם ), was a rabbi , master of Hebrew grammar , and Bible commentator . The name Malbim was derived from the Hebrew initials of his name. He used this acronym as his surname in all his published works and became known by it in common usage. His writings do not include works about Kohelet or Eicha . Malbim

252-499: Is no repetition or duplication in the verses, and no expression comes to the "glory of reading" (as claimed, for example, by Ibn Ezra). Its interpretation of the Torah consists of two parts intertwined with each other: In the parts on which there are halachic midrash , the commentary is actually on the halachic midrash. He discusses them in comparison to simplifying the verses while being precise in biblical grammar. The first midrash on which

288-574: Is possible to harmonize the apparently conflicting sentences and thereby show that they may be assigned to the same authority. Many errors have crept into the text through the practice of repeating one and the same midrash in similar passages. The Sifra is usually still cited according to the Weiss edition of 1862 . The editions of the Sifra are as follows: Venice , 1545; with commentary by RABaD , Constantinople , 1552; with Ḳorban Aharon, Venice, 1609; with

324-465: Is similarly to be distinguished from the remainder of the Sifra. It exists in two recensions, of which the second, covering mishnayot 14-16 and 29-end, is cited by Rashi as "Baraita ha-Nosefet 'al Torat Kohanim she-Lanu." The tannaim quoted most frequently in Sifra are R. Akiva and his pupils, also R. Eliezer , R. Ishmael, R. Jose ha-Gelili , Rebbi , and less often R. Jose bar Judah , R. Eleazar bar R. Simeon , and R. Simeon b. Eleazar . The Sifra

360-598: Is the Midrash halakha to the Book of Leviticus . It is frequently quoted in the Talmud and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah . Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called Torat Kohanim , and in two passages Sifra debbe Rav . Maimonides , in the introduction to his Yad ha-Ḥazaḳah , and others have declared that the title Sifra debbe Rav indicates Abba Arikha

396-526: Is the author. I.H. Weiss attempts to support this. His proofs are not conclusive, though neither are the opposing arguments of Friedmann, who tries to show that the expression Sifra debbe Rav does not refer to the midrash under discussion. Malbim wrote in the introduction to his Sifra edition that Hiyya bar Abba was the redactor of the Sifra . There are no less than 39 passages in Jerusalem Talmud and

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432-476: The 37 homilies, eight (1, 3, 8, 11, 13, 20, 26, 30) are introduced with the formula " Patach R. " or "The teacher has commenced"; eight (2, 4–7, 9, 10, 19), with " Hada hu dich'tiv " or "As it is written"; and 21 (12, 14–18, 21–25, 27–29, 31–37), with " Zeh she-amar ha-katuv " or "This is what the Holy Scriptures say." Weiss explains that the redactor selected only these 37 texts for his exposition as indicating

468-584: The Bible. His first published commentary was on Megillat Esther (1845), followed by his commentary on most of the Hebrew Tanakh from then until 1876. His commentary on the Bible is based most notably upon his principle that there are no true synonyms in the Tanakh; apparent stylistic repetitions are not that, but rather each introduces a distinct idea. His approach is described as follows: According to his method, there

504-650: The book express it, and indeed all the laws of the book are mapped to rules. Also in his commentaries on the Mechilta and the Sifre written after that, there are references to the rules in the Ayelet Hashahar from which they were derived, and in his introduction to "Ayelet Hashahar" he invites the Torah sages to analyze all of the halachic midrash in the Talmud in this way. In the parts that do not have halachic midrash, he interprets

540-452: The commentary was written is the Sifrah , and as a background for his commentary he wrote a treatise called "Ayelet HaShahar" in which he formulates 613 (Taryag) rules from which all the halachic laws are derived: 248 (Ramah) rules deal with the syntax of the law and 365 rules deal with semantic grammars and the differences between words. At the end of each rule there is a reference to which laws in

576-669: The community would have appointed him as rabbi, but the governor of Vilna opposed the election. He did not want to sanction the appointment of a rabbi who had been expelled from Moghilev as a political criminal. Malbim also declined an offer to be chief rabbi of the Orthodox in New York City. In September 1879, Malbim was traveling to Kremenchuk , where he had been called as rabbi, when he fell sick. He died on Rosh HaShanah 5640 in Kiyv . Malbim's fame and popularity rest upon his novel commentary on

612-719: The construction of the Choral Temple which would be equipped with a choir and organ similar to the Great Synagogue of Leopoldstadt in Vienna . He thought this was too Christian in style. In 1864, the Choral Temple became the main neo-orthodox synagogue in Romania. He also condemned the founding (before he arrived) of the first two elementary schools in Bucharest for Jewish children to offer

648-453: The edition quoted by Nathan ben Jehiel in the Arukh , since he refers to passages from chapters 36 and 37 as "the end." Aside from some transpositions, eliminations, and glosses, the printed text of Leviticus Rabbah is noteworthy as containing, at the end of the first three chapters, annotations from Tanna debe Eliyahu which were not contained in the older manuscripts. In its plan, as well as in

684-409: The explanations of the individual verses are often replaced by series of homiletic quotations that refer to the theme considered in the homily. In this, Leviticus Rabbah differs from the Pesikta, for in the Pesikta the individual explanations are seldom lacking. And while the Pesikta rarely quotes lengthy homiletic excerpts after the proems , Leviticus Rabbah quotes such materials after the conclusion of

720-499: The form of the several chapters, Leviticus Rabbah bears great resemblance to the Pesikta de-Rav Kahana . Like the lectures in the Pesikta, the homilies in Leviticus Rabbah begin with a larger or smaller number of poems on passages mostly taken from the Writings . Then follows the exposition proper of the passage to which the homily refers. The explanation often covers only a few verses, or even

756-474: The formula תנא דבי ר"י and actually found in Sifra is not in part due to confusion. But to R. Ishmael 's school undoubtedly belong the later additions to "'Arayot," which (according to Ḥag. 1:1 and Yer. 1b) were not publicly taught in R. Akiva 's school; i.e., Aḥare, 13:3-15; Ḳedoshim, 9:1-7, 11:14, and finally, of course, the so-called Baraita de-Rabbi Yishma'el (beginning). The so-called "Mekilta de-Millu'im" or "Aggadat Millu'im" to Leviticus 8:1-10

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792-496: The latter year, he was called to the rabbinate of Kempen , where he remained until 1859. He was thereafter also known as der Kempener Magid . His first major work, published at age 25, was Artzas HaChaim— a commentary on Orach Chaim . In 1859, Malbim became chief rabbi of Bucharest , Romania . He had disagreements with the upper class and educated Jews there; some of them Austrian citizens (called in Romanian sudiţi ) led by

828-507: The midrashim in which expositions found also in the Sifra are quoted in the name of Ḥiyya, and the fact that no tannaim after Judah ha-Nasi are mentioned in the Sifra supports the view that the book was composed during the time of that scholar. If Ḥiyya was its author, the title Sifra debbe Rav is to be explained as indicating that Sifra was among the midrashim accepted by his school and which came into general use. Traces of R. Judah bar Ilai 's influence are less evident. The fact that

864-522: The noted Dr. Iuliu Barasch . They wanted to introduce changes in the spirit of modern European life into the life of the local Jewry as was done in some Reform congregations. Malbim defended the traditional style of Orthodox Judaism , which demanded strict adherence to Jewish law and tradition . He rejected almost all suggestions to edit the Siddur , give up beards or other distinctions of exterior appearance, or make other changes in observance. Malbim opposed

900-492: The parashat Mishpatim, for example. Malbim had a broad education which he used in his commentaries, and thus we find several times in his commentary mentions of Philo of Alexandria, Kant and other philosophers, as well as the words of the learned who preceded him.[5] "Mikra'ei Kodesh", a commentary to the Prophets and Hagiographa, is also about the depth of simplicity and relative length compared to other commentaries. It consists of

936-570: The present Sifra, and, on the other hand, there are probably passages in the present Sifra which were not known to the Babylonian Talmud. The Sifra frequently agrees with the Judean rather than with the Babylonian tradition; and Tosefta , Sheḳ. 1:7 likewise agrees with the Sifra. In the few cases where the agreement is with the Babylonian Talmud, it must not be assumed that the text of the Sifra

972-501: The prior existence of the Sifra , the legal interpretation of Leviticus: "The redactor of the Vayikra Rabbah had nothing to add to the [Sifra]; he collected therefore only those haggadic explanations which he found on various texts and passages." This surmise by Weiss is, however, contradicted by the fact that nearly all the chapters of Leviticus Rabbah (with the exception of chapters 11, 24, 32, 35, and 36) refer to legal passages. Thus,

1008-404: The redactor of Leviticus Rabbah collected homiletic expositions also of such texts as were treated in the Sifra. The conjecture of Theodor that in the older cycle of weekly lessons the passages on which the homilies of Leviticus Rabbah were based consisted in certain paragraphs, or in lessons for certain festivals, seems therefore to be correct. The length of Leviticus Rabbah is the same as that of

1044-444: The same commentary, Dessau , 1742; with commentary by J.L. Rapoport , Wilna , 1845; with commentary by Judah Jehiel , Lemberg , 1848; with commentary by Malbim (Meir Loeb b. Yehiel Michael), Bucharest , 1860; with commentary by RABaD and Massoret ha-Talmud by I. H. Weiss , Vienna , 1862 (Reprint New York: Om Publishing Company 1946); with commentary by Samson of Sens and notes by MaHRID , Warsaw , 1866. A Latin translation

1080-490: The story according to the depth of the simplicity, when at the beginning of each story he presents questions to which he answers, similar to the interpretation of Rabbi Izaac Abarbanel . Even in these commentaries of his, especially on the Book of Genesis, there is a lot of halachic innovation, compared to other commentaries in which the main halachic discussion stems from precisions only in the verses that deal with halachic, such as in

1116-499: The views expressed in some "setamot" agree with R. Judah's views has little significance. Such seṭamot may be opposed by others that contradict R. Judah's views. All this, however, is no reason for attacking the above-mentioned assumption that the Sifra in its principal parts is a midrash of R. Judah's. Hoffmann remarks not incorrectly that Sifra Nedabah 4:12 agrees with the views of R. Eliezer , whose decision R. Judah frequently accepts as handed down by his own father, R. Ila'i ,

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1152-733: Was born in Volochysk , Volhynia , to Yehiel Michel Wisser. His father educated him in Hebrew and the Talmud . After being orphaned as a child, Meïr was cared for and educated by his stepfather, Rabbi Leib of Volochysk. At the age of 13, he went to study in Warsaw where he became known as "the Illui from Volhynia." At age fourteen, he married but shortly thereafter divorced. The Malbim showed talent from his early childhood, and his works indicate that he had considerable knowledge of secular sciences and history. From 1838 to 1845, he served as rabbi of Wreschen . In

1188-509: Was called to the rabbinate of Mogilev on the Dnieper (1870). There, too, he was a staunch supporter of Judaism and was resented by the richer Jews; they denounced him as a political criminal, and the governor of Moghilev forced him to leave the town. Malbim went to Königsberg as chief rabbi of the Polish community, but his conflicts with Reform Jews continued. Malbim visited Vilna in 1879, where

1224-528: Was divided, according to an old arrangement, into 9 "dibburim" and 80 "parashiyyot" or smaller sections. As it exists today it is divided into 14 larger sections and again into smaller peraḳim, parashiyyot, and mishnayot. As the commentators point out, it varies frequently from the Sifra which the Talmudic authors knew; furthermore, entire passages known to the authors of the Babylonian Talmud are missing in

1260-464: Was emended in agreement with the Babylonian Talmud, but that it represents the original version. The Babylonian Talmud, as compared with Yerushalmi , cites Sifra less accurately, sometimes abbreviating and sometimes amplifying it. The Babylonian Talmud occasionally makes use, in reference to the Sifra, of the rule "mi she-shanah zu lo shanah zu" (i.e., the assigning of different parts of one halakah to different authorities), but unnecessarily, since it

1296-568: Was freed through the intervention of Sir Moses Montefiore upon the condition that he leave Romania. Malbim went to Constantinople and complained to the Turkish government but obtained no satisfaction. After staying six months in Paris, he went to Lunshitz , in Russian Poland , as successor to his deceased father-in-law, Hayyim Auerbach (1866). Shortly afterward, he became rabbi at Kherson and thence

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