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Midrash Jonah is the aggadic midrash to the Book of Jonah.
In the editions the work consists of two parts.
The second part, in which the story of Jonah is allegorically referred to the soul, beginning with the words "Vayomer Adonai la-dag," is reprinted in Adolf Jellinek, Bet ha-Midrash. [1] This part is merely a literal translation from the Zohar; [2] it is not found in the version printed by C. M. Horowitz (after a Codex De Rossi). [3]
The first part, the midrash proper, is found also in Yalkut Shimoni to Jonah [4] with the exception of a few missing passages and with several variations; but here the Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer (PdRE) is given as the source (for some passages, Yerushalmi and Bavli).
Jellinek assumes that the first part of the Midrash Jonah was compiled subsequently to Yalkut Shimoni. But as many passages which Yalkut Shimoni has in common with the Midrash Jonah—e.g., the penitential prayer given in Jellinek, Bet ha-Midrash (i. 99) and the description of Nineveh's grandeur there—are not found in PdRE; and as, furthermore, the author of Yalkut Shimoni probably did not find all this material in PdRE, he must have taken his quotations from a midrash which was substantially identical with the Midrash Jonah (i.e., with the first part). The author of this midrash borrowed nearly the whole of chapter 10 from PdRE, and borrowed also from Yerushalmi and Babli. The version of the Codex De Rossi begins with the passage which in the Midrash Jonah is found in connection with 3:3 et seq.; the extracts borrowed by the latter from Bavli and Yerushalmi and inserted in the course of its commentary to this passage and later are missing in the Codex De Rossi. Then follows the end of part 1 of the midrash, into which chapter 10 of PdRE has been interpolated. (For comparison, in a compilation included in the earlier editions of Tanhuma to the pericope Vayikra, [5] which dates from a later time, chapter 10 of PdRE was also included.) It concludes with the exposition of some verses—Deuteronomy 4:31, Micah 7:8, and others.
Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah is an aggadic midrash on Song of Songs, quoted by Rashi under the title "Midrash Shir ha-Shirim". It is also called Aggadat Hazita, from its initial word "Hazita", or Midrash Hazita.
Midrash Abkir is one of the smaller midrashim, the extant remains of which consist of more than 50 excerpts contained in the Yalkut Shimoni and a number of citations in other works. It dealt, according to all accessible evidence, only with the first two books of the Pentateuch.
Midrash Tadshe is a small midrash which begins with an interpretation of Gen. 1:11:
"And God said, Let the earth bring forth". R. Pinchas asked, "Why did God decree that grass and herbs and fruits should grow upon the third day, while light was not created until the fourth? To show His infinite power, which is almighty; for even without the light He caused the earth to bring forth [while now He creates all manner of trees and plants through the operation of the light]."
The Yalkut Shimoni, or simply Yalkut, is an aggadic compilation on the books of the Hebrew Bible. It is a compilation of older interpretations and explanations of Biblical passages, arranged according to the sequence of those portions of the Bible to which they referred.
The Midrash on Lamentations or Eichah Rabbah is a midrashic commentary to the Book of Lamentations ("Eichah").
Deuteronomy Rabbah is an aggadah or homiletic commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy.
A number of midrashim exist which are smaller in size, and generally later in date, than those dealt with in the articles Midrash Haggadah and Midrash Halakah. Despite their late date, some of these works preserve material from the Apocrypha and Philo of Alexandria. These small works, were in turn used by later larger works, such as Sefer haYashar (midrash) and Zohar. Important editors and researchers of this material include Abraham ben Elijah of Vilna, Adolf Jellinek, and Solomon Aaron Wertheimer.
Sifre Zutta is a midrash on the Book of Numbers. Medieval authors mention it under the titles "Sifre shel Panim Acherim" and "Vi-Yeshallehu Zutta"; and to distinguish from it the Sifre, Or Zarua calls the latter "Sifre Rabbati."
Midrash Petirat Moshe or Midrash on the Death of Moses is one of the smaller midrashim. This midrash describes in great detail the last acts of Moses and his death, at which the angels and God were present. There are several recensions of it, dating to between 7th and 11th centuries. The first, published at Constantinople in 1516 begins with a brief exegesis by R. Samuel Naḥmani and R. Tanhuma of the first verse of the pericope "V'Zot HaBerachah", closing with its last verses, and doubtless intended for Simhat Torah. In 1693, the Midrash was translated into yiddish by Aaron ben Samuel, leading to its popularization with women.
Midrash Esfah is one of the smaller midrashim, which as yet is known only from a few excerpts in Yalkut Shimoni and two citations in Sefer Raziel and Ha-Roḳeaḥ.
The Chronicle of Moses is one of the smaller midrashim. In this midrash, which is written in pure (pseudo-biblical) Hebrew, and which is in many portions only provides a mere hint of verses from the Bible in a close imitation of Biblical style, is presented a history of the life of Moses embellished with many legends.
Midrash Vayisau is one of the smaller midrashim. This small midrash, "the heroic legend of the sons of Jacob," is based on Genesis 35:5 and 36:6, and recounts the story of the wars of Jacob and his sons against the kings of the Amorites and against Esau and his army.
Midrash Samuel is an aggadic midrash on the books of Samuel.
Esther Rabbah is a midrash to the Book of Esther.
Midrash Eleh Ezkerah is an aggadic midrash, one of the smaller midrashim, which receives its name from the fact that a seliḥah for the Day of Atonement, which treats the same subject and begins with the words "Eleh ezkerah," recounts the execution of ten famous teachers of the Mishnah in the time of the persecution by Hadrian. The same event is related in a very ancient source, Eichah Rabbah.
Midrash Maaseh Torah is one of the smaller midrashim, and contains compilations of doctrines, regulations of conduct, and empirical rules, arranged in groups of three to ten each and taken from various works. It is frequently found in manuscript, and has been edited at Constantinople (1519), Venice (1544), Amsterdam (1697), and elsewhere, while it has appeared more recently in A. Jellinek's B. H. and is contained also in the Kol Bo, where it frequently deviates from the Amsterdam edition even in the arrangement of its sentences.
Midrash Vayosha is an 11th-century CE midrash, one of the smaller midrashim. It is based on Exodus 14:30-15:18. It is an exposition in the style of the later aggadah, and seems to have been intended for Shabbat Shirah or for the seventh day of Passover.
Yalkut haMachiri is a work of midrash. Its author was Machir ben Abba Mari, but not even his country or the period in which he lived are definitively known. Moritz Steinschneider supposes that Machir lived in Provence; but the question of his date remains a subject of discussion among modern scholars. Strack & Stemberger (1991) indicate that the work was most probably composed in the late 13th or 14th century.
Allusions in rabbinic literature to the Biblical character Jonah, the unwilling prophet on whom the Book of Jonah centers, contain various expansions, elaborations and inferences beyond what is presented in the text of the Bible itself.
Shir haShirim Zutta is a midrash on Shir haShirim.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Midrash Haggadah". The Jewish Encyclopedia . New York: Funk & Wagnalls.