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Bereshit Rabbah

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Bereshit Rabbah

Names	Bereshit Rabbah בראשית רבה, בראשית רבה דר' אושעיה, בראשית דר' אושעיא
Date	5th century
Place	Eretz Yisrael
Characteristics	Verse by verse commentary, anthology
Sources	Mishna, Yerushalmi?
Impacted on	Rashi

Background

Names

• Common name – The name בראשית רבה appears already in the Geonic era.¹ The origin of the "רבה" designation is unclear.²
• Other names – The work is also cited under the names בראשית רבה דר' אושעיא‎³ and בראשית דר' אושעיא‎.⁴ See below regarding the attribution of the work to R. Hoshaya.

Date

• Although RambamIntroduction to Mishneh TorahAbout R. Moshe Maimonides attributes a commentary on Sefer Bereshit to R. Hoshaya (3rd century),⁵ it appears that the Midrash was not compiled before the 5th century.⁶

Place

• RashiBereshit 47:2About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki⁷ states that Bereshit Rabbah was written in Israel, and there is general consensus on this.⁸

Language

• The Midrash is written in Hebrew mixed with Galilean Aramaic. It also makes occasional use of Greek words.⁹

Text

• Manuscripts – There are a number of extant manuscripts of Bereshit Rabbah as well as Genizah fragments.¹⁰ MS Vatican 30 is considered to be the best text, while MS Vatican 60 is thought to be the oldest full version.
• Printings – Bereshit Rabbah was first printed as part of a Midrash Rabbah collection on the five books of Torah in Constantinople in 1512.¹¹ In 1545, Bereshit Rabbah was printed in Venice as part of a Midrash Rabbah collection on Torah and Megillot. From 1912 to 1936, Theodor and Albeck produced a critical edition, which remains the standard today.
• Textual layers – Based on a manuscript comparison, a few sections of Bereshit Rabbah have been identified as accretions from Tanchuma literature.¹²

Content

Genre

• Bereshit Rabbah is an aggadic Midrash on Sefer Bereshit which combines a running verse by verse commentary on most of the verses in Bereshit¹³ with introductory thematic homilies.¹⁴

Structure

• In the printed editions,¹⁵ Bereshit Rabbah is divided into 100 sections (פרשיות)‎.¹⁶
• 93 of these parshiyot open with between one and nine homiletical preambles (פתיחתות)‎¹⁷ which are then followed by the verse by verse commentary.
• Almost all of the פתיחתות begin with a verse from Neviim or Ketuvim which is then elaborated on and connected to the opening verse of the particular section from Bereshit.¹⁸

Characteristics

• Many of Bereshit Rabbah's interpretations respond to local textual questions, but there are sometimes lengthy digressions which use the Biblical text as a springboard to address broader issues.
• Bereshit Rabbah frequently serves as an anthology of multiple answers to the same question.¹⁹
• Many of Bereshit Rabbah's interpretations present a non-literal definition of a Biblical word.²⁰

Sources

Significant Influences

• Mishna – Bereshit Rabbah cites the Mishna dozens of times.²¹
• Yerushalmi – There are numerous parallels between Bereshit Rabbah and the Yerushalmi,²² but scholars disagree on whether Bereshit Rabbah had our Yerushalmi.²³

Occasional Usage

• Ben Sira – Cited on four occasions.²⁴
• Aquila's Greek translation – Cited three times.²⁵

Possible Relationship

• Philo and Josephus – ²⁶
• Beraitot and Tosefta – ²⁷
• Midreshei Halakhah – In the three places²⁸ in which Bereshit Rabbah cites "תני דבי ר' ישמעאל"‎, the contents are found in the Mekhilta but the language is different. There are also numerous other cases of parallels between Bereshit Rabbah and the various Midreshei Halakhah (Mekhilta DeR. Yishmael, Mekhilta DeRashbi, Sifra, and Sifre) but it is unclear whether Bereshit Rabbah was using any of these works.²⁹
• Targumim – There are many instances where interpretations similar to those of Onkelos, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan and other Targumim are found in Bereshit Rabbah, but it is difficult to determine what translations Bereshit Rabbah had before him.³⁰
• Seder Olam Rabbah – ³¹
• Bavli –

Impact

Other Midrashim

• Pesikta – ³²
• Tanchuma –
• Shemot Rabbah cites Bereshit Rabbah in one or two places.³³

Medieval Exegetes

• By the 11th century, Bereshit Rabbah was utilized by many commentators³⁴ such as R. Hai Gaon,³⁵ R. Nissim,³⁶ R. Chananel,³⁷ the Arukh,³⁸ Rashi,³⁹ and Lekach Tov.⁴⁰ The popularity of Rashi's commentary contributed significantly to the dissemination of the Midrashim found in Bereshit Rabbah.

Supercommentaries

• There are a number of medieval supercommentaries on Bereshit Rabbah, including one that was erroneously attributed to Rashi.

¹ It is mentioned once in the survey of Rabbinical literature found in Halakhot Gedolot (Hilkhot Mishmarot / Hilkhot Hesped). It is subsequently cited by R. Nissim Gaon (Sefer HaMafteach, Ginzei Schechter 2, p.335), Arukh (see below for the Arukh's use of Bereshit Rabbah) and Rashi (Berakhot 59a).

² Based on the printed edition of the opening of Bereshit Rabbah "רבי הושעיא רבא פתח", L. Zunz (HaDerashot BeYisrael, pp. 76-78) conjectured that the name בראשית רבא is an abridgment of "בראשית דר' הושעיא רבא". However, see Albeck's edition that the word "רבה" does not appear in many manuscripts.

³ See R. Hai Gaon's responsum (published in Goldberg's edition of Iggeret R. Sherira Gaon, p. 67), R. Nissim Gaon (Sefer HaMafteach Berakhot 33a), Sefer HaYashar of R. Tam 408 (הושעיא), Raavyah 1:128, Ohr Zarua 1:552.

⁴ See Halakhot Gedolot, Hilkhot Yom Tov (but only in some editions), R. Nissim Gaon (Sefer HaMafteach Berakhot 48a, 59b, and more), and Rambam's Commentary on the Mishna, Intro. to Keilim (however, this citation refers to material which is found only in Shemot Rabbah 10:4).

⁵ See also the above citation from Rambam's Commentary on the Mishna which refers to בראשית דר' הושעיה. [According to the Rambam, this commentary, like the Midreshei Halakhah on the other Chumashim, was written long before the redaction of the Bavli. Rambam there (based on Bavli Chulin 141a) also attributes Beraitot to R. Hoshaya.]

The basis for this attribution is likely that Bereshit Rabbah opens with "רבי הושעיה רבה פתח". [R. Hoshaya appears a total of 44-45 times in the entire Midrash, but there are other sages who are cited much more frequently.] However, Bereshit Rabbah also cites many Amoraim who lived after R. Hoshaya, and thus most agree that even if an original layer was written by R. Hoshaya, the work in its present form was compiled much later.

⁶ See the discussion in Chanokh Albeck's Introduction to Bereshit Rabbah, pp. 94-96. Based on the Amoraim cited, Albeck establishes that it could not have been earlier than the 5th century, and he tries to make a more precise determination of between 425 and 500 CE based on Bereshit Rabbah's relationship to the Yerushalmi.

⁷ Rashi contrasts Bereshit Rabbah to the Babylonian Talmud. See also Seikhel Tov Bereshit 15:18 (Buber's Introduction p. XXIX contains a fuller list).

⁸ Albeck (Intro. p.96) bases this on both the language of Bereshit Rabbah and the characters who are cited in it. See below that the work incorporates both Galilean Aramaic and occasional Greek. Almost all of the Amoraim quoted lived in Eretz Yisrael.

⁹ Some of these Greek words were omitted in the standard printed editions.

¹⁰ Albeck (Intro. p. 137) maps out the relationship between most of the textual witnesses.

¹¹ A Midrash Rabbah collection on the five Megillot was printed first in 1519.

¹² These include parts of Parshiyot 75,91,93 and all of 95–96, despite their appearance in most manuscripts and citation by medieval commentators. Zunz (p.78) was the first to propose this based on the stylistic divergence of these sections from the rest of Bereshit Rabbah, and Albeck (pp.103-104) established this more definitively based on their absence in MS Vatican 30. MS Vatican 30 contains an alternate version of Parshiyot 95–96 (divided into 3 sections, 95–97), a verse by verse commentary similar to the rest of the Midrash, and this version was published in the Theodor–Albeck edition. Albeck (pp.117-131) also provides a long list of smaller additions to Bereshit Rabbah found in printed editions which do not appear in any of the manuscripts.

¹³ The rare sections where there is no commentary include some of the genealogy verses (Bereshit 5, 11, 25, 36, 46) and the reiteration of previously described events (Bereshit 24:35-48). Regarding Bereshit 47-50, see above for the difference between MS Vatican 30 and other manuscripts.

¹⁴ Bereshit Rabbah thus synthesizes the character of both Midreshei Halakhah (running commentary) and most Midreshei Aggadah (topical homilies), and it may reflect a transitionary evolutionary stage between them. As there is no Midrash Halakhah on Bereshit, the running commentary component of Bereshit Rabbah (to some extent) compensates for this.

¹⁵ The number of sections in manuscripts varies between 97 and 101 due to the confused state of the text in the last part of the book.

¹⁶ A list of these פרשיות can be found in Albeck, Intro. pp. 97-102. The basis for the division of the parshiyot is debated. Only a little over half of them overlap with parshiyot petuchot and setumot and the triennial division, and it is unclear whether the rest arose because of thematic or unitary length considerations.

¹⁷ A detailed list is found in Ch. Albeck, Introduction to Bereshit Rabbah (Jerusalem, 1965): 11-12. The seven exceptions are Parshiyot 13, 15, 17, 18, 25, 35, and 37 which contain only the running commentary. Albeck raises the possibility that these sections had originally been part of the preceding ones and were split off at a later stage. J. Heinemann, "מבנהו וחלוקתו של מדרש בראשית רבה", Bar Ilan 9 (1972): 279-289, maintains that the sections which correspond to the triennial division have a greater number of preambles.

¹⁸ Albeck (Intro. p.17) notes that the concept underlying the פתיחתות adheres to the principle that everything in the Torah is repeated in Neviim and Ketuvim (Bavli Megillah 31a).

¹⁹ See Sources below.

²⁰ For other methodologies employed, see Albeck, Intro. pp.89-93.

²¹ Examples are: Bereshit Rabbah 5:7, 6:6, 7:4, 13:15. For a fuller list, see Albeck, Intro. pp.54-55.

²² See the lists in Albeck, Intro. pp.66-84.

²³ Zunz (HaDerashot BeYisrael p.77) says that Bereshit Rabbah was influenced directly by our Yerushalmi, and Albeck (Intro. pp.66-84) suggests that Bereshit Rabbah utilized an earlier rescension of our Yerushalmi. Others suggest that the relationship could work in the opposite direction, and Margulies (Intro. to Vayikra Rabbah, p.XIX) contends that there is no influence in either direction.

²⁴ Bereshit Rabbah 8:2, 10:6, 73:12, 91:3

²⁵ Bereshit Rabbah 21:1, 70:5, 93:3

²⁶ See the lists and discussion in Albeck, Intro. pp.84-89.

²⁷ See the lists and discussion in Albeck, Intro. pp.55-58.

²⁸ Bereshit Rabbah 38:8, 48:8, 55:8.

²⁹ See the lists and discussion in Albeck, Intro. pp.58-64.

³⁰ See the lists and discussion in Albeck, Intro. pp. 44-54.

³¹ See the lists and discussion in Albeck, Intro. pp.64-65.

³² The Pesikta is cited in Bereshit Rabbah 1:6, but this is a later interpolation found only in some of the printed editions.

³³ See Shemot Rabbah (Vilna) 41:4 and Shemot Rabbah (Shinan) 1:1.

³⁴ See above for the much earlier possible citations in Halakhot Gedolot.

³⁵ See his responsum (published in Goldberg's edition of Iggeret R. Sherira Gaon, p. 67) and the citation of R. Hai in Rashi Berakhot 59a (which does not appear in our text of R. Hai's commentary).

³⁶ See the explicit citations in Sefer HaMafteach, Ginzei Schechter 2, p.335, Sefer HaMafteach Berakhot 33a, 48a, 59b, Shabbat 36b, 55a, 104a, 135a.

³⁷ See R. Chananel Pesachim 94b, Taanit 4a.

³⁸ The Arukh only rarely cites Bereshit Rabbah by name (e.g. s.v. אוותנטי), but he regularly uses material from Bereshit Rabbah without citation.

³⁹ Rashi utilizes Bereshit Rabbah in almost every verse of his commentary on Bereshit, and he explicitly mentions Bereshit Rabbah by name in his comments on Bereshit 1:5, 2:3, 3:8, 4:19, 4:24, 14:13, 17:16, 18:3, 19:2, 19:4, 29:1, 32:15, 37:2, 38:5, 42:21, 44:8, 47:2, as well as in other works.

⁴⁰ See the explicit citations in Lekach Tov Bereshit 15:17, 29:2, 30:11, 33:5, 41:13.