What is Aggada? Part I: Aggada in Classical Jewish Sources
Ein
Yaakov - The World of
Talmudic Aggada
By Dr.
Moshe Simon-Shoshan
Lecture 1
- What is Aggada? Part I:
Aggada in
Classical Jewish Sources
This years
course will focus on the aggadic sections of the beginning of the Babylonian
Talmud, tractate Berakhot, chapter Me-eimatai. Before proceeding
to examine this text we must first consider the meaning of the term aggada
(sometimes called haggada or aggadeta). To what sorts of texts and forms of
study does this word refer? What is the status of aggada within the larger world
of Torah study? And finally, what methods are appropriate for analyzing aggadic
texts?
The term
aggada and its equivalents appear throughout the works of the Mishna, the
Talmudim and Midrashim. In general,
aggada appears in lists of disciplines or areas of study that make up the
curriculum of the beit midrash.
Thus, the Sifrei (section 306) lists the components of Torah as mikra
and mishna, talmud, halakhot and haggadot,
while the mishna in Nedarim (4:3) assumes a curriculum made up of
mikra, midrash, halakhot and aggadot.
These
passages do not define for us the exact meanings of these terms. Certainly the term mikra
refers to the study of Scripture, and halakhot most likely refers to the
study of law. But how are we to
differentiate between the Sifreis mishna, talmud,
and halakhot, especially given that the Sifrei was quite
possibly written before the book we know as the Mishna was completed and was
certainly completed long before the Talmud?
As for the
term aggada, we can deduce only that it is consistently paired with the term
halakha. What is the relationship
between halakha and aggada in these sources? They are certainly distinct
categories, and quite possibly contrasting.
However, there is nothing in these texts to suggest that they are either
mutually exclusive or antithetical.
Neither do they imply that these two categories encompass the entirety of Torah
study. Quite to the contrary, they
are but two among many forms and aspects of Torah.
Two famous
Talmudic stories however, do place aggada in direct opposition to shemaatata,
which refers to a discussion or analysis of halakha. First, the Talmud Bavli, Bava Kama
60b, tells the following story:
When R. Ammi
and R. Assi were sitting before R. Yitzchak the Smith,
One of them
said to him,
Will the
master please teach us shemaatata?
The other
said to him,
Will the
master please teach us aggadata?
He began with
aggadata, one would not let him continue.
He began with
shemaatata, the other would not let him continue.
He said to
them,
I will tell
you a parable. To what is the matter
to be compared?
It is like a
man who has two wives.
One is young
(lit. a girl) and one is old.
The young one
plucks his white hairs.
The old one
plucks his black hairs.
He ends up
bald from their actions.
[R. Yitzchak]
said to them,
Since this
is the case, I will tell you something that will be of interest to both of you:
If fire
breaks out and catches in thorns (Shemot 22:5) -
breaks out
implies, of itself.
He that
kindled the fire shall surely make restitution (ibid.).
The Holy One
blessed be He said,
It is
incumbent upon me to make restitutions for the fire which I kindled.
It was I who
kindled the fire in
As it says:
And He has
kindled a fire in
and it is I
who will one day build it anew by fire,
as it says,
For I will
be unto her a wall of fire round about, and I will be the glory in the midst of
her (Zekharya 2:9).
[As for]
shemaatata -
The verse
commences with damage done to chattel,
And concludes
with damage done by the person,
To show that
fire implies also human agency.
In this
story, halakha and aggada are portrayed as two warring wives of the same man. Each one seeks to remake the man in
their own opposing images. The young
wife seeks to make the man look young by removing his white hairs, while the old
wife seeks to make the man look old by removing his black hairs. In the end the man is left with no
hair at all.
Halakha and
aggada in this story are presented as two equal and opposing forces. Aggada is apparently associated with
the vigor of youth, while halakha is linked with the sagacity of old age. Perhaps this is because aggada is
viewed as creative and even daring, while halakha is seen as intellectually
rigorous and conservative in nature.
Halakha and aggada each vie for the students attention, appealing to different
aspects of his personality. If this
conflict remains unresolved the student runs the risk of becoming intellectually
and spiritually paralyzed, mastering neither discipline.
The story
also offers a resolution to this conflict in the form of R. Yitzchaks brief
sermon. This is not the place to
explicate the technical intricacies of R. Isaacs teaching. For our purposes, R. Isaac makes it
clear that the conflict between halakha and aggada is not inevitable or
desirable and that it is possible to give each its due. This is true because, just as both R.
Yitzchaks halakhic and his aggadic
teaching emerge from the same biblical verse, so too, all halakha and aggada
spring from the same divine source.
Another
Talmudic story (Sota 40a) provides a different perspective on the
relationship between halakha and aggada:
R. Abahu and
R. Chiyya bar Abba went to a certain place.
R. Abahu
expounded on aggada.
R. Chiyya bar Abba expounded on
shemaatata.
Every one
neglected R. Chiyya bar Abba, and went [to hear] R. Abahu.
[R. Chiyya]
became upset.
[R. Abahu]
said to him, I will tell you a parable,
To what is
[our situation] similar?
To two men,
One sells
precious stones,
And the other
sells various sundries.
To whom does
every one jump [to buy from]?
Not the one
who sells various notions?
Similar to
the previous story, this one also opens with a conflict between the promoters of
halakha and those of aggada.
However, whereas in the previous story two students compete for the attention of
the same rabbi, now two rabbis compete for the attention of the same audience of
townspeople. Further, in this story
the representative of aggada, R. Abahu shows a decisive advantage; he succeeds
in drawing big crowds, while the halakhist, R. Chiyya bar Abba, preaches to an
empty hall.
Once again,
the situation is explained through a parable.
The fact that a diamond dealer draws in fewer customers than a common dry
goods retailer does not in any way suggest that diamonds are inferior to the
other merchandise. So too, the fact
that halakhic lectures fail to draw a crowd while aggadic lectures bring in
throngs, does not in any way suggest that halakha is inferior to aggada.
Indeed, R.
Abahus parable takes the position that halakha is clearly superior to aggada. Its lack of appeal to a broad
audience is evidence of its refined and profound nature that is beyond the grasp
of the common folk. In this view,
aggada reflects a sort of popular culture within the civilization of Torah. It is akin to the sold-out rock
concerts and paperback bestsellers in contemporary society. Halakha, on the other hand, is an
elite or even esoteric form, appreciated only by a select few, akin to todays
struggling symphony orchestras and publishers of fine poetry. In this parable, R. Abahu presents an
unapologetically elitist approach to Torah.
However, the
story also suggests another possibility, that perhaps aggadas drawing power
does suggest its superiority.
Already we must wonder whether R. Abahu truly believes what he has said or is
simply trying to comfort his friend.
After all, if R. Abahu believes that halakha is superior to aggada, why does he
persist in teaching aggada? Now the
story concludes on a similar ambivalent note:
Normally, R.
Chiyya bar Abba would escort R. Abahu to his residence, out
of respect to the Emperor. (R. Abahu had close ties with the
Roman authorities.)
That day R.
Abahu escorted R. Chiyya bar Abba to his residence.
Even so, R.
Chiyya bar Abba was not consoled by him.
R. Chiyya bar
Abba remains upset. He does not
accept R. Abahus argument that his failure to attract the crowds actually
points to the superiority of his endeavors.
The story does not explicate why it is that R. Chiyya bar Abba persists
in his state of distress. One
possibility is that while R. Chiyya bar Abba clearly believes in the superiority
of halakha, he cannot dismiss aggadas popularity simply as a sign of its
vulgarity. R. Chiyya bar Abba seeks
out the same popularity for halakhic teachings, something which he now realizes
cannot be achieved.
To summarize
our findings thus far, in most classical rabbinic sources halakha and aggada are
two of many categories of Torah study.
They appear to complement rather than conflict with each other and
neither one is portrayed as being more important than the other. In contrast, in the two Talmudic
stories we have seen, halakha and aggada are shown as being in competition and
even in conflict with each other.
The latter story further portrays aggada as being a popular form and halakha as
being an elite one. The story also
suggests that, at least according to R. Abahu, halakha is more important that
aggada.
We will now
turn to a pair of midrashic sources that present a very different view of
aggada:
The
expounders of aggadot say:
If you wish
to know He who spoke, and the world came into being,
study aggada,
for thereby you will come to know Him and cling to His ways.
(Sifrei,
Devarim #49)
This source
declares that far from being a popular or inferior genre, aggada is superior to
all others, in that it gives one direct access to knowledge of God and
facilitates a direct relationship with Him.
Aggada would seem to deal with mystical or theological themes. Given the sublime nature of its
content, we might wonder whether aggada is, in fact, meant for a wide audience. This mystical-esoteric nature of
aggada is stated more explicitly in the second passage:
[
Seeing that I
heard you say that you are an expert aggadist, tell me:
Whence comes
light into the world?
He answered
him:
The Holy One
blessed be He, enveloped Himself therewith in a garment
And the whole
world shone with the splendor of His majesty.
R. Shmuel told it to him in a whisper,
so the other one said to him:
There is an
explicit verse to prove it - for it says,
Who covers
Himself with light as with a garment,
who stretches
out the heavens like a curtain (Tehillim 104:2),
and you tell
it to me in a whisper?
He replied,
As I was told
it in a whisper,
so I tell you
in a whisper. (Vayikra Rabba 31:7)
Once again,
we cannot explicate this difficult passage in its entirety here. For our purposes, this dialogue
presents an aggadist as someone whose expertise includes knowledge of the
details of how God created the world.
The explanation that R. Shmuel gives is frankly anthropomorphic, as it
describes God donning a garment which exudes light.
R. Shmuel further states that this
teaching was not for mass consumption.
He is only willing to transmit this teaching in a whisper, as he received
it from his teachers.
These
midrashic texts present a very different picture of aggada than the one found in
the two Talmudic stories above. Now
aggada appears as an exalted endeavor, mystical and esoteric in nature, focusing
on the nature of God Himself. This
seems a far cry from R. Abahus aggada that plays to packed houses and is
unfavorably compared to halakha.
In
considering these contrasting portrayals of aggada, it is important to remember
that in the entire corpus of rabbinic literature there are very few instances
such as the ones we have just seen, in which individual passages are explicitly
labeled as aggada. The Talmudim
and many Midrashim freely mix apparently halakhic with ostensibly aggadic
material, without any formal indication that at any point the genre, nature or
intended audience of the text has shifted.
Indeed, many rabbinic texts contain aspects of both halakha and aggada
and cannot be easily classified.
Aggadic discourses often grow organically out of halakhic discussions and vice
versa. This would seem to point to
the fact that the editors of these works did not see a clear demarcating line
between halakha and aggada.
Furthermore, the term aggada applies to a broad and diverse category of texts
and may not be defined by a single underlying set of attributes.
Next week we
shall see how medieval interpreters addressed these issues.
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