The Book of Legends/Sefer Ha-Aggadah: Legends from the Talmud and Midrash

Where has "legend" gone? Do you study the Scriptures? Do you study the Hebrew Scriptures? Are you able to draw out all the meaning you can? Do you know about the "Foundation Stone?" When does it first appear in God's creation? Where does it reappear in the Scriptures? Do you know what is the "navel of the world? Do you know the story behind it? Do you realize that if you did you could understand Israel and Jerusalem better? These are "legends!" For centuries they provided a context in which the Torah and other Hebrew Scriptures could be taught orally. We know the story of Moses. At the "burning bush," Moses enters into a crucial moment in his life. He has undergone a purification. He no longer looks back at his mistakes and failures. He has gone through conversion. He has achieved a certain openness. He has a new understanding of God. Before, it was Moses who had things to do for God. Now, there is room for God to step in. Moses is now willing to let God take the initiative. Yet, he's fearful (a good sign-a God sign), but he is capable of letting God illuminate him and to use him as he wishes. In, The Book of Legends/Sefer Ha-Aggadah: Legends from the Talmud and Midrash, the Rabbis show us that Moses has undergone a transformation. Not only this. For Christians, in fact, I am sure there is seen in it: a foretelling of the Parable of the Good Shepherd. This is legend! This is what it's all about: "`Now Moses was tending the flock' (Ex. 3:1). The Holy One tested Moses by means of the flock, as our masters explained: When Moses our teacher was tending Jethro's flock in the wilderness, a lamb scampered off, and Moses followed it, until it approached a shelter under a rock. As the lamb reached the shelter, it came upon a pool of water and stopped to drink. When Moses caught up with it, he said, "I did not know that you ran away because you were thirsty. Now you must be tired." So he hoisted the lamb on his shoulder and started walking back with it. The Holy One then said: Because you showed such compassion in tending the flock of a mortal, as you live, you shall become shepherd of Israel, the flock that is Mine." It's a great collection of the wisdom of the Rabbis that touches various and multiple aspects of human life. It follows the format of the books of Scripture. It therefore doubles as a ready-made commentary, filled with riches in English that you may not find elsewhere. Once you begin, you may not want to study the Hebrew Scriptures any other way. The price may seem steep. But it is well-made with a beautiful dust jacket which will stand out on you book shelves. It will probably last a lifetime, and then some. FYI, on Wikipedia, I saw what they call "a modern folklorist's professional definition of legend" proposed by Timothy R. Tangherlini in 1990: Legend, typically, is a short (mono-) episodic, traditional, highly ecotypified historicized narrative performed in a conversational mode, reflecting on a psychological level a symbolic representation of folk belief and collective experiences and serving as a reaffirmation of commonly held values of the group to whose tradition it belongs."

Since I started writing commentaries on lectionary selections, I have gotten a LOT of books which surround me on three sides, all within arm's reach. That comes to about a 100 volumes surrounding me on four bookshelves. Of all those, including the famous Anchor Bible Dictionary, the even more august Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, and 10 translations of the Bible, I still go to this volume more than any 10 other volumes put together. It's stuff you don't learn in a Christian semenary, and it's a great leavening for Old Testament stories. It tells the tales which have been added on by the Talmud and other sources. This may be the best source of such stories aside from the Talmud itself, which runs to over 20 volumes.It's longevity in service to my writing is the best testament I can make.

This book is very informative and a delight to discover today more detailed information in ordinary English about the Torah and Midrash; however the print is quite small .I bought this for my son's birthday, and he is delighted with it. When I handed him the book, he opened it that day, and we had a discussion on the page which was discussing all about the synagogue in Alexandria, Egypt; it had been shown the day before on TV World News that Egypt had restored that very building to all its glory.

From first read to first glance, an enduring masterpiece. It is very clearly meant to be a national inheritance for the Jewish people, an expression of their spirit. Praise God for this Hebrew-English translation. Messianic Jews, pastors, etc will find incredible gems of wisdom in here like none other. How did Abraham first find God amongst rampant lawlessness/polytheism? Where did the replacement for Isaac's sacrifice truly come from? What is the cause of Moses' slow tongue? Why does God give wisdom to the wise and not to the foolish, shouldn't it be the other way around?Not only, is this hardcover tome (as opposed to book) packed with the creative wisdom of the Jews and their quintessential spirit, it is aesthetically beautiful. In my eyes, it could easily serve as the centerpiece on a coffee table. So if you're reading this, you probably should purchase it; I wager it's meant for you. Because most people aren't going to click on this product even if it was the very first thing that came up in their search. I think it takes a certain kind of person to be even remotely interested in the Aggadah. And if you're on this page, chances are you're it.

I recommend this book:- Enjoyable content: Study and nicely written (nice translation)- High Quality finition: Superb book (cover and paper quality)=> This book is a reference that you (and your familly) will enjoy for a long time: A must to learn the "story" part of Talmud.