The literary form that perhaps most defines midrash aggada of the amoraic period (200-500 CE), and Vayikra Rabba in particular, is known as the petichta.
In this lecture, we will study two short petichta'ot. These two passages are similar in that they both cite verses from Mishlei (Proverbs) as their petichta verses.
With section seven, the Midrash begins to move away from presenting petichta’ot on the first verse of Vayikra toward a more general discussion of the opening verse of the book.
Section 13 of Vayikra Rabba, which we examined in the last lecture, detailed the differences between Jewish and Gentile prophecy. Now, the midrash in section 14 turns to discuss the difference between Moshe’s prophecy and that of other prophets.
This class begins our study of Vayikra Rabba parasha 3, which focuses on Vayikra 2:1 and the passage that follows, which discusses the korban mincha, the meal offering.
As we saw in the previous class, Vayikra Rabba 3:1 is a petichta which offers multiple explanations of Kohelet 4:6, “Better is a handful of quietness than both the hands full of labor and pursuit of the wind.”
