Deuteronomy Rabba : p. 147 DEUTERONOMY RABBA MOSES declared (Exod. 4.) that he was not a man of words, but observe his eloquence in the book of Deuteronomy; an eloquence acquired since he gained possession of the Torah.--Deut. Rabba 1. The rebukes which the Israelites received from Moses would seem to have been more...
Title Page : TALES AND MAXIMS FROM THE MIDRASH By REV. SAMUEL RAPAPORT Late Rabbi of Port Elizabeth and Eastern District of Cape Colony Author of 'Words of the Sages and their Enigmas, Stories and Sayings from the Talmud' LONDON GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS LIMITED NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO 1907 Scanned , January...
Demons : p. 22 DEMONS THE spirits of demons were created on the eve of the sixth day, but before their bodies were formed the Sabbath set in, when rest was proclaimed, and their formation was not consummated.--Gen. Rabba 7. After Cain had killed Abel, Adam separated from his wife for the space of 130 years...
Midrash Song Of Songs : p. 167 MIDRASH SONG OF SONGS ELISHA B. ABUYA used to make it his duty to call at infant schools and endeavour by his idle talk to divert the children's attention from religious instruction and direct them to frivolous matters.--Mid. Song of Songs 1. Scrupulousness causes cleanliness, which ag...
Exodus Rabba : p. 88 EXODUS RABBA. KING DAVID was a descendant of Miriam.--Exod. Rabba 1. Jethro, who was originally a priest of Midianite idolatry, renounced his idols, and with them his priestly position. For this he was boycotted and excommunicated by his former compatriots; no one was to perform any work...
Introduction : p. 1 THE MIDRASH INTRODUCTION JUST as the Written Law given by Moses emanates from God, whilst He Himself only proclaimed the first two commandments of the Decalogue, owing to the Israelites being too terrified to hear God's voice (Deut. 20. 19), and the whole of the Torah was then conveyed...
Alexander Of Macedon : p. 8 ALEXANDER OF MACEDON THE great conqueror Alexander the Macedonian, the son of Philip, who, at the instigation of the Persians, was assassinated by Pisanius, when yet a boy showed great thirst for conquest. When he heard of his father's conquests he wept bitterly, complaining that by the time...
Midrash Tanchumah Or Yelamdinu : p. 219 MIDRASH TANCHUMAH OR YELAMDINU THE Torah is full of holy fire; it was written with a black fire upon a white fire.--Tanchum. Bereshith. The Torah has meekness as its footgear, and the fear of God as its crown. Hence Moses was the proper person through whose hands it should be delivered; he...
Ashmedai, The King Of Demons : p. 28 ASHMEDAI, THE KING OF DEMONS AFTER King Solomon had ascended his father's throne, he called all his counsellors together one day and addressed them as follows: 'As the wise and distinguished men of the people, you cannot but recognize that the time has now come when I have to discharge...
Midrash Proverbs : p. 212 MIDRASH PROVERBS MAN should attain sound sense and a feeling of responsibility at the age of twenty.--Mid. Proverbs 1. Man must be attentive to his wife, to his studies, and to his occupation.--Mid. Proverbs 5. Happy indeed is the teacher who has a disciple that can intercede with Heaven...
Midrash Lamentations : p. 187 MIDRASH LAMENTATIONS RABBI JOSHUA, as was his wont, was on a mission of charity on a hot summer's day, in a glowing sun, without finding a drop of water to quench his thirst. Towards evening he reached a small village, where he espied a girl filling her pitcher at the village well. 'O grant...
Leviticus Rabba : p. 112 LEVITICUS RABBA THE great characteristic of Moses--humility--pervades his life throughout. When he was first charged with the mission to Pharaoh his hesitation in accepting the charge was based upon self-abasement. 'Who am I,' he says, 'that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring...
Numbers Rabba : NUMBERS RABBA p. 129 THE works of the wicked are darkness (Isa. 29. 15), and their retribution is darkness (Ezkl. 31.): like a pot of earthenware whose cover is of the same material.--Numb. Rabba 1. The tribe of Levi took no part in the making of the golden calf, and moreover punished the offence...
Midrash Psalms : p. 198 MIDRASH PSALMS As the sea throws up its refuse on its shores, so have the wicked their filthiness upon their mouths.--Mid. Psalms 2. As the billows of the sea, when rushing towards the shores in their violence and fury, threaten to swamp the whole shore, yet when they near the shore their...
Genesis Rabba : p. 57 GENESIS RABBA IT is forbidden to inquire what existed before creation, as Moses distinctly tells us (Deut. 4. 32): 'Ask now of the days that are past which were before thee, since the day God created man upon earth.' Thus the scope of inquiry is limited to the time "since" the Creation.--Gen...
Midrash Esther : p. 194 MIDRASH ESTHER RABBI Eleazar, son of Rabbi Jos, says that he saw in Rome fragments of King Solomon's throne.--Mid. Esther 1. As early as the time of creation it was decreed that the following should have precedence, each in his own sphere. Adam was first of man, Cain of murderers, and Abel...
Midrash Samuel : p. 215 MIDRASH SAMUEL BEHOLD the greatness of worship. Israel was redeemed from Egypt because of his worship (Exod. 4.). The Torah was given to the Israelites on account of worship (Exod. 24.). The Temple was built owing to worship (Ps. 99.). The dead will be quickened in consequence of worship...
Midrash Ruth : p. 160 MIDRASH RUTH IN no instance is it permitted to hear the evidence of a witness in the absence of the litigants.--Mid. Ruth 1. 'The words of God were scarce,' etc. (1 Saml. 2.). That generation was known as a generation of hypocrites: they pretended to adhere to the religion of their fathers...
Midrash Ecclesiastes : p. 176 MIDRASH ECCLESIASTES THE prophet Amos stuttered.--Mid. Eccles. 1. King Solomon was like the clever statesman adopted in the king's house, who when asked by his august master what token of his favour he wished, asked for the king's daughter. Solomon, when asked by the King of Kings for his...
Untitled : TALES AND MAXIMS FROM THE MIDRASH By REV. SAMUEL RAPAPORT [1907] Title Page Contents Introduction Alexander of Macedon Demons Ashmedai, The King Of Demons Messiah Genesis Rabba Exodus Rabba Leviticus Rabba Numbers Rabba Deuteronomy Rabba Midrash Ruth Midrash Song of Songs Midrash Ecclesiastes...
Messiah : p. 42 MESSIAH OF the six things which existed before creation, when only 'the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters,' two, the Torah and the throne of God, were complete in every detail. The remaining four, however, viz., the Patriarchs, Israel, the Temple, and the name of Messiah...
