Enoch Zundel ben Joseph (; died 1867) was a Polish

Talmudist The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

best known as author of three commentaries on

Ein Yaakov ''Ein Yaakov'' (, "Jacob's Well") is a 16th-century compilation of all the Aggadic material in the Talmud together with commentaries.

, He authored the books "Etz Yosef" (Joseph's Tree), "Anaf Yosef" (Joseph's Branch), and "Yad Yosef" (Joseph's Hand). He also wrote commentaries on Midrash Rabbah,

Midrash Tanchuma Midrash Tanhuma (), also known as Yelammedenu, is the name given to a homiletic midrash on the entire Torah, and it is known in several different versions or collections. Tanhuma bar Abba is not the author of the text but instead is a figure to wh ...

and others. He spent his life in

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

; he was a ''

maggid A maggid (), also spelled as magid, is a traditional Jewish religious itinerant preacher, skilled as a narrator of Torah and religious stories. A chaplain of the more scholarly sort is called a ''Darshan (Judaism), darshan'' (). The title of ''m ...

'' there and gave ''shiurim'' on Midrash.

Biography

He was born to Rabbi Yosef and Leah. He resided in Biaylstok, where he served as a preacher and also delivered lessons in "Chevrat Midrash" on the Midrashim of the Sages. Not much is known about him, but in a Biaylstok notebook, Abraham Shmuel Hirschberg writes about him, stating that the elders of Biaylstok considered him a righteous individual and "a person of standing." Rabbi Zundel composed commentaries on various Midrashic works such as Midrash Rabbah, Midrash Tanchuma, Aggadat Bereshit, Ein Yaakov, and Seder Olam. His commentaries were divided into two: a concise explanation called "Etz Yosef" and an expanded commentary with innovations called "Anaf Yosef." He named his commentaries after his father, Rabbi Yosef. His books consist of a compilation of previous commentaries (such as "Yafeh Toar" by Rabbi Shmuel Yafeh Ashkenazi or commentaries on the Nevi'im and Ketuvim by early commentators) as well as his own original insights. In addition, he authored commentaries of a similar nature on the prayer liturgy. These commentaries were included in the book "Otzar HaTefilot" (Treasury of Prayers). His books received recommendations from Rabbi Yosef Shaul Nathanson, Rabbi Shmuel Avigdor Tosafot, Rabbi Aryeh Leib Katzenellenbogen, and others.

Publications

He is author of the following works: * A threefold commentary on Midrash Rabbah of the

Pentateuch The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () o ...

and five

Megillot The Five Scrolls or the Five Megillot ( , ''Hamesh Megillot'' or ''Chomeish Megillos'') are parts of the Ketuvim ("Writings"), the third major section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The Five Scrolls are the Song of Songs, the Book of Ruth, the Bo ...

, in two parts (Wilna and

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

, 1829–34; 2d ed., Wilna, 1845). It is composed of Etz Yosef ("Tree of Joseph"), which explains it according to the simple explanation of its meaning; Anaf Yosef ("Branch of Joseph"), which explains it homiletically; and Yad Yosef, which cross-references it to other

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

im. He writes in his introduction to the work that he named the work after his father. His commentary received approbations from numerous rabbis, among them Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg, author of ''HaKetav VeHaKabbalah''. * A twofold commentary on

(ib. 1833) * A threefold commentary on Seder 'Olam (ib. 1845) * Commentary on

Midrash Samuel Midrash Samuel (Hebrew: ''מדרש שמואל'') is an aggadic midrash on the books of Samuel. Names It is first quoted by Rashi, who calls it by several names: "Midrash Shmuel", "Aggadat Midrash Shmuel", "Aggadah deShmuel", and "Midrash 'Et l ...

(Stettin, 1860) * ''Mibḥar Mi-Peninim,'' a commentary on the Midrash Rabbah of the

(Warsaw, 1870) *

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