548 texts in Midrash Aggadah
Mar Ukba was a man of extraordinary generosity, but his generosity had one absolute rule: the recipient must never know who gave. Every day, Mar Ukba would slip coins under the doo...
Mar Ukba learned that a certain poor man in his town had once been wealthy — a man accustomed to fine food, comfortable furniture, and the pleasures of an affluent life. Poverty ha...
Rav Huna once sent Rav Sheshet on a mission that neither man took lightly: to consult Anan on a question of law, with the threat of excommunication hanging over Rav Sheshet's head ...
The students of Rabbi Ishmael undertook a task that sounds shocking to modern ears but was, in the ancient world, a contribution to medical and religious knowledge. When a prostitu...
R. Ishmael and R. Elazar b. Azaryah did not act uni- alike while reciting prayers, in order that the pupils should not follow the way of one alone, as they would have done if they ...
Pinhas b.Jari's ass, when stolen by thieves, refused to eat for 3 days because the thieves’ provender had not been tithed. 236 f. 160b. Joshua b. Hananya owned to having been taugh...
Beruria — the brilliant, sharp-tongued wife of Rabbi Meir — encountered Rabbi Yose HaGelili on the road one day. He asked her a simple question, but he asked it in five words when ...
A father prepared a wedding feast for his son. Guests arrived from distant cities. Music filled the courtyard. Wine flowed. The bride was radiant, the groom joyful, and the father'...
Rabbi Shimon ben Halafta was invited to a brit milah — the circumcision ceremony of a newborn child. He came, he prayed, and through the power of his prayer, the life of the infant...
Rabbi Akiba laughed when everyone else wept — and his laughter changed the course of Jewish faith. The first time was in Rome. Rabbi Akiba and his colleagues walked through the str...
The sages would not allow a girl to do as she wanted or to expose herself before the man, who had become lovesick and very ill in consequence. Licentiousness was not to be encourag...
The death of Rabbi Akiba in a Roman prison was one of the most sacred and terrible events in all of Jewish history. The greatest sage of his generation, the man who had laughed on ...
The sages preserved a curious historical note about a girl named Justina, the daughter of Asverus, who was married at the age of six and gave birth to a child at the age of seven. ...
Rabbi Akiba was brought a case that tested the limits of both law and compassion. A girl, only three years old, had been presented to the priestly authorities as a candidate for ri...
The Exempla of the Rabbis preserves a sprawling collection of tales about Solomon and the power of the divine Name. In these stories, Solomon commands demons, builds the Temple wit...
Two brothers lived in Cou$y in the year 893(1). Moses was a scholar and poor and Haim very rich. The latter asked his brother to act as his adviser and he would provide for his fam...
When God gave the Torah at Mount Sinai, the scene was unlike anything the universe had ever witnessed. The entire nation of Israel stood at the base of the mountain, and when the v...
A Jewish man who was lame heard a rumor that spread through the cities of the ancient world: an idol in a certain temple was healing the lame. Pagans who could not walk entered the...
A man entrusted a single dinar to a woman for safekeeping. She placed the coin in a jar of flour — a common hiding place in the ancient world — and promptly forgot about it. Days l...
III. 2. A rich man on his death bed, ordered his son never to take an oath. Swindlers came and robbed him of all his property, claiming debts from his father, he refusing to swear....
On a Sabbath day, several children fell into a well. The community was thrown into a terrible dilemma: the Sabbath prohibits most forms of work, including the kinds of physical lab...
IV. 4. A man called Joseph Mokir Shabba (“honourer of the Sabbath") lived next to a rich Parsee. The latter was told that all his property would go to Joseph. He, therefore, sold a...
V. 1. A man on his deathbed commanded his son to cast bread upon the waters. He did it daily and one fish caught it regularly and grew very big and persecuted the other fishes. The...
V. A man fed his father daily with two doves. When asked where he got them, he replied, “Evil—eyed dog, *) From shorter recension B. ed. Jellinek. vide p. 7, § 19. - 147 “ eat and ...
VII. 2. R. Meir on his pilgrimage to Jerusalem used to lodge with Judah the butcher, whose wife looked after him. She died and Judah married a second time and entreated by him Meir...
X. A scholar travelling in a boat was mocked at by his fellow travellers who had asked him where his merchandise was and could not find any in the place he had indicated. On landin...
2. A merchant whilst travelling, is asked by an innkeeper to be allowed to go with him. Near a town they meet a blind man. The merchant gives him something; the other refuses sayin...
Korah was the richest man who ever lived — and his wealth destroyed him. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) teaches that three hundred mules were needed just to carry t...
7 A hunter once caught a bird, which spoke with a human voice. It asked the hunter to let it free, saying it would teach him three wise things, (1) “Rue not a thing that is past. (...
10. Rich man sent his son far away to trade. In his absence, the old man died and left all his property in the hands of a slave. When the son returned, the slave claimed to be the ...
11. Ashmedai wished to confuse Solomon's wisdom, so he brought up from the netherworld a man with two heads. Solomon was surprised and so was Benaya, who would not believe it. Aske...
12. Rabbi Joshua b. Levi and the prophet Elijah travelled together although the prophet said R. Joshua would see things which he would not understand. The first night they slept at...
13. Rabbi Meir once left synagogue earlier than usual. Wonder at the reason. He had overheard a snake saying, “I am sent to kill R. Judah the Antoti and his whole family because ha...
A pious man owned a large tree in his garden. The tree was beautiful, its shade deep and cool — and a demon lived in it. This was not unusual in the ancient world. The sages accept...
16. A pious man, digging up the ground, found a marble statue. It spoke to the man and asked to be cleaned and to be placed in the house in a clean place, promising riches. One day...
A wicked man lay on his deathbed. He had lived selfishly, hoarded his wealth, and never once given charity. The Angel of Death was approaching, and the man's ledger in heaven was c...
18. Story of Ben Sabar, a very charitable man who went to a distant place to marry a young couple. On his return he crossed safely over the back of a dragon stretched across the la...
A wealthy merchant was traveling far from home when he fell gravely ill. He knew he was dying. His only son was back in his homeland, too far away to reach in time. But the merchan...
20. A young lad, going on a journey, encountered a storm at sea. All the other passengers who were very rich took out their idols and prayed without any result. He who was poor wen...
II. A young man travelling from Tiberias to Betar saw a young woman who fell in love with him and married him. After a year she asked him to return home on a visit. On the way they...
IV. Three young men served King Solomon. After three years' apprenticeship, believing they had learned nothing, they asked leave of departure from Solomon. He offered them each 100...
V. A beautiful woman, persecuted by the governor, put her gold in jars and covered it on the top with honey. She left them with a friend and went away. After the death of the goxer...
VIII. God decreed that Solomon should be punished for transgressing three laws. Ashmedai, after the building of the temple, told Solomon that he would show him some wonderful thing...
b) Two men again are pointed out to R. Beroka as worthy of Paradise. On enquiring he learned that wherever people were in grief and sorrow, those two used to go and cheer them and ...
King David once asked God what good there was in gnats, spiders and fools. One day, fleeing from Saul, he hid in a cave and a spider quickly covered the opening with its web. Saul,...
In time of drought the sages sent to Abba Hilkiah to pray for rain. They found him digging in the field and he did not reply to their greeting. In the evening, returning home, the ...
In time of drought, the people appealed to Honi to pray on their behalf. He drew a circle, stood in the midst of it and prayed saying he would not step out of the circle until rain...
Abraham, the Carpenter in Jerusalem, hac. saved some money through hard work. His neighbour stole it and ran away, but dropped down dead on the road. A young man found him, dug his...
