Leviticus Rabbah

Rabbinic literature
Talmud Readers by Adolf Behrman
Talmudic literature
—— Tannaitic —— Mishnah Tosefta —— Amoraic (Gemara) —— Jerusalem Talmud Babylonian Talmud —— Later —— Minor Tractates
Halakhic Midrash
—— Exodus —— Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael Mekhilta of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai —— Leviticus —— Sifra (Torat Kohanim) —— Numbers and Deuteronomy —— Sifre Sifrei Zutta on Numbers (Mekhilta le-Sefer Devarim)
Aggadic Midrash
—— Tannaitic —— Seder Olam Rabbah Alphabet of Rabbi Akiva Baraita of the Forty-nine Rules Baraita on the Thirty-two Rules Baraita on the Erection of the Tabernacle —— 400–600 —— Genesis Rabbah Lamentations Rabbah Pesikta de-Rav Kahana Esther Rabbah Midrash Iyyob Leviticus Rabbah Seder Olam Zutta Tanhuma Megillat Antiochus —— 650–900 —— Avot of Rabbi Natan Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer Tanna Devei Eliyahu Alphabet of Sirach Ecclesiastes Rabbah Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah Deuteronomy Rabbah Devarim Zutta Pesikta Rabbati Midrash Shmuel Midrash Proverbs Ruth Rabbah Baraita of Samuel Targum Sheni —— 900–1000 —— Ruth Zuta Eichah Zuta Midrash Tehillim Midrash Hashkem Exodus Rabbah Shir ha-Shirim Zutta —— 1000–1200 —— Midrash Tadshe Sefer haYashar —— Later —— Yalkut Shimoni Machir ben Abba Mari Midrash Jonah Ein Yaakov Midrash HaGadol Numbers Rabbah Smaller midrashim
Targum
—— Torah —— Targum Onkelos Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Fragment Targum Targum Neofiti —— Nevi'im —— Targum Jonathan —— Ketuvim —— Targum Tehillim Targum Mishlei Targum Iyyov Targum to the Five Megillot Targum Sheni to Esther Targum to Chronicles

Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus (Vayikrah in Hebrew). It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel (c. 1035–1106) in his Aruk as well as by Rashi (1040–1105) in his commentaries on Genesis 46:26, Exodus 32:5, Leviticus 9:24, and elsewhere. According to Leopold Zunz, Hai Gaon (939-1038) and Nissim knew and made use of it. Zunz dates it to the middle of the 7th century, but The Encyclopaedia Judaica and Jacob Neusner date it to the 5th century. It originated in the Land of Israel, and is composed largely of older works. Its redactor made use of Genesis Rabbah, Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, and the Jerusalem Talmud, in addition to other ancient sources. The redactor appears to have referred also to the Babylonian Talmud, using several expressions in the sense in which only that work employs them.

Contents

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 "par'shiyot," and are further designated according to their contents. Of 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 the prior existence of the Sifra, the legal interpretation of Leviticus: "The redactor of the Wayikra 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, refuted by the circumstance that nearly all the chapters of Leviticus Rabbah (with the exception of chapters 11, 24, 32, 35, and 36) refer to legal passages. Thus, 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. (See Theodor, "Die Midraschim zum Pentateuch und der Dreijährige Palestinensische Cyclus," in "Monatsschrift," 1886, pp. 307–313, 406-415.)

Relation to the Pesikta

In its plan, as well as in 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 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, the explanations of the individual verses are often replaced by series of homiletic quotations that refer to the theme considered in the homily. (Compare chapters 8, 12-15, 18, 19, 23, 31-34, 36, 37). 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 a proem, in the course of each chapter, and even toward the end of a chapter. These excerpts have often very slight reference 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.

The extent of Leviticus Rabbah is the same as that of the edition quoted by Nathan ben Jehiel in the Aruk, 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.

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Wayikra Rabbah". Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company. 

External links

• Full Text of Leviticus Rabba in Hebrew hosted by Bar-Ilan University.
• Sacred Texts: Judaism: Leviticus Rabba, a selection from the work translated into English by Samuel Rapaport.