Midrash Esfah (
Hebrew: מדרש אספה) is one of the
smaller midrashim, which as yet is known only from a few excerpts in ''
Yalkut Shimoni'' and two citations in ''
Sefer Raziel
''Sefer Raziel HaMalakh'', (Hebrew:, "the book of Raziel the angel''"''), is a grimoire of Practical Kabbalah from the Middle Ages written primarily in Hebrew and Aramaic. ''Liber Razielis Archangeli'', its 13th-century Latin translation produce ...
'' and ''
Ha-Roḳeaḥ
Eleazar of Worms (אלעזר מוורמייזא - also מגרמייזא of Garmiza or Garmisa) (c. 1176–1238), or Eleazar ben Judah ben Kalonymus, also sometimes known today as Eleazar Rokeach ("Eleazar the Perfumer" אלעזר רקח) from t ...
''.
It receives its name from
Numbers 11:16: "Gather unto me
Esfah-li"seventy men of the elders of Israel." In
Yalkut Shimoni §736 appears a citation relating to this verse, which cannot be traced to any other midrash and is undoubtedly taken from Midrash Esfah.
To this midrash may possibly be referred a passage in the ''Halakot Gedolot'' and a fragment on Numbers 17:14, 20:1-3, which agrees in its concluding words with the excerpt in Yalkut Shimoni Numbers §763 on Numbers 20:3 (found also §262, on
Exodus 17:2, which begins with the same words). The name of the midrash shows that it must have begun with Numbers 11:16. The other excerpts in Yalkut Shimoni from Midrash Esfah - §§ 737, 739, 742, 764, 773, and 845 - are based on Numbers 11:24, 12:3-7, 12:12, 21:9, 26:2 (found also at §684, on Numbers 1:2, which begins with the same words), and
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...
6:16. However, the extent of the midrash cannot be determined.
The interesting extract in Yalkut Shimoni Numbers on Numbers 11:16 names the seventy elders in two of its recensions (a third recension of this passage is furnished by a
Vatican library manuscript); and one of these versions concludes with a noteworthy statement which justifies the inference that the midrash was taught in the academy of
Ḥanina Gaon
Hanina ben Pappa ( he, חנינה בר פפא) was a Jewish Talmudist living in the Land of Israel, halakhist, and aggadist who flourished in the 3rd and 4th centuries (third generation of amoraim).
His name is variously written "Ḥanina", "Han ...
by
Rabbi Samuel
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
, brother of
Rabbi Phinehas
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
. It would seem, therefore, that the midrash was composed in
Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
in the first half of the 9th century.
According to modern scholar Anat Raizel, the work is a ninth century Italian collection.
Midrashim Avudim: Midrash Esfah
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References
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
* Zunz, G. V. pp. 279 et seq.;
*Chones, Rab Pe'alim, pp. 36 et seq.;
* J.L. Rapoport, Kerem Ḥemed, vi.;
* Weiss, Dor, iv. 41, 216;
* S. Buber, in Keneset Yisrael, i.;
*Müller, Einleitung in die Responsa, 1891, p. 73;
**Wertheimer, Batte Midrashot, Introduction, pp. 5 et seq. The excerpts from the Midrash Esfah have been collected by Buber (l.c.) and by Chones (l.c. pp. 147–153; comp. Buber, Yeri'ot Shelomoh, pp. 13 et seq.).
{{Authority control
Smaller midrashim
Lost Jewish texts