Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon
Encyclopedia
The Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon (Hebrew: מכילתא דרבי שמעון בר יוחאי) is a Halakic midrash on Exodus from the school of R. Akiba, the "Rabbi Shimon" in question being Shimon bar Yochai. No midrash of this name is mentioned in Talmudic literature, but medieval authors refer to one which they call either "Mekilta de-R. Simeon b. Yoḥai," or "Mekilta Aḥrita de-R. Shimon," or simply "Mekilta Aḥeret" = "another mekilta."
, as Israel Lewy
first pointed out (Ein Wort über die Mechilta des R. Simon). These fragments have been collected by David Zvi Hoffman
and published under the title Mechilta des R. Simon b. Jochai in the Hebrew monthly Ha-Peles (vols. i. to iv., passim).
This Mekilta compiled from the Midrash ha-Gadol preserves abundant material from the earliest Scriptural commentaries, quoting, for instance, a sentence from the Doreshe Reshumot on Ex. xxi. 12 (Ha-Peles, iii. 258) which is found nowhere else. It contains also much from post-Talmudic literature (comp. Hoffmann, l.c. p. 387, note 19), for the collector and redactor of the Midrash ha-Gadol had a peculiar way of dressing sentences of such medieval authorities as Rashi
, Ibn Ezra
, Aruk, and Maimonides
in midrashic garb and presenting them as ancient maxims (comp. S. Schechter, Introduction to Midrash ha-Gadol, p. 13, Cambridge, 1902).
Current status
The Mekilta de-R. Shim'on has disappeared, but some extracts from it have been preserved in the collection known as Midrash ha-GadolMidrash ha-Gadol
Midrash HaGadol or The Great Midrash is an anonymous late compilation of aggadic midrashim on the Pentateuch taken from the two Talmuds and earlier Midrashim. In addition, it borrows quotations from the Targums and Kabbalistic writings , and in this aspect is unique among the various midrashic...
, as Israel Lewy
Israel Lewy
Israel Lewy was a German-Jewish scholar. He was educated at the Jewish Theological Seminary and the University in Breslau. In 1874 he was appointed docent at the Lehranstalt für die Wissenschaft des Judenthums in Berlin, and in 1883, on the death of David Joël, he was called to the seminary at...
first pointed out (Ein Wort über die Mechilta des R. Simon). These fragments have been collected by David Zvi Hoffman
David Zvi Hoffman
David Zvi Hoffmann , was an Orthodox Rabbi and Torah Scholar. Born in Verbó in 1843, he attended various Yeshivas in his native town before he entered the college at Pressburg, from which he graduated in 1865...
and published under the title Mechilta des R. Simon b. Jochai in the Hebrew monthly Ha-Peles (vols. i. to iv., passim).
This Mekilta compiled from the Midrash ha-Gadol preserves abundant material from the earliest Scriptural commentaries, quoting, for instance, a sentence from the Doreshe Reshumot on Ex. xxi. 12 (Ha-Peles, iii. 258) which is found nowhere else. It contains also much from post-Talmudic literature (comp. Hoffmann, l.c. p. 387, note 19), for the collector and redactor of the Midrash ha-Gadol had a peculiar way of dressing sentences of such medieval authorities as Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
, Ibn Ezra
Abraham ibn Ezra
Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra was born at Tudela, Navarre in 1089, and died c. 1167, apparently in Calahorra....
, Aruk, and Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
in midrashic garb and presenting them as ancient maxims (comp. S. Schechter, Introduction to Midrash ha-Gadol, p. 13, Cambridge, 1902).
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
- M. Friedmann, introduction to his edition of the Mekilta, pp. 51-73, Vienna, 1870;
- David Zvi HoffmanDavid Zvi HoffmanDavid Zvi Hoffmann , was an Orthodox Rabbi and Torah Scholar. Born in Verbó in 1843, he attended various Yeshivas in his native town before he entered the college at Pressburg, from which he graduated in 1865...
, Einleitung in die Halachischen Midraschim, pp. 45-51, Berlin, 1887; - Israel LewyIsrael LewyIsrael Lewy was a German-Jewish scholar. He was educated at the Jewish Theological Seminary and the University in Breslau. In 1874 he was appointed docent at the Lehranstalt für die Wissenschaft des Judenthums in Berlin, and in 1883, on the death of David Joël, he was called to the seminary at...
, Ein Wort über die Mechilta des R. Simon, Breslau, 1889.
External links
- Jewish Encyclopedia article for Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon, by Isidore SingerIsidore SingerIsidore Singer was an editor of the Jewish Encyclopedia and founder of the American League for the Rights of Man.-Biography:...
and Jacob Zallel LauterbachJacob Zallel LauterbachJacob Zallel Lauterbach 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, and is best known for his landmark critical edition and English...
. - The central site for all matters regarding Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his bural place in meron,