Midrash Vayosha (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: מדרש ויושע) is an 11th-century CE

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

, one of the

smaller midrashim A number of midrashim exist which are smaller in size, and generally later in date, than those dealt with in the articles Midrash Haggadah and Midrash Halakah. Despite their late date, some of these works preserve material from the Apocrypha and P ...

. It is based on

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Exo ...

14:30-15:18. It is an exposition in the style of the later

aggadah Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...

, and seems to have been intended for

Shabbat Shirah Special Shabbatot are Jewish Shabbat days on which special events are commemorated. Variations in the liturgy and special customs differentiate them from the regular Sabbaths and each one is referred to by a special name; many communities also a ...

or for the seventh day of

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

Sources

Entire sections of ''Midrash Vayosha'' are taken verbatim from the

Tanhuma Midrash Tanhuma ( he, מִדְרָשׁ תַּנְחוּמָא) is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch aggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. These midrashim, although bearing the name of ...

, such as the passage on

15:3 and on 15:5. The story in the exposition of Exodus 14:30, concerning

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...

, who appeared before

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the Covenant (biblical), special ...

and

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

as they went to the sacrifice, may be compared with similar stories in several other works of midrash. The midrash on Exodus 15:2,7 also contains extracts from the ''

Chronicle of Moses The ''Chronicle of Moses'' (Hebrew: דברי הימים של משה, ''Dibre ha-Yamim shel Mosheh'') is one of the smaller midrashim. Written in Hebrew in a close imitation of Biblical style, it presents a history of the life of Moses embellished ...

''; the passage on Usa, the genius of Egypt, agreeing word for word with the excerpt in

Yalkut Shimoni The ''Yalkut Shimoni'' ( he, ילקוט שמעוני), or simply ''Yalkut'', is an aggadic compilation on the books of the Hebrew Bible. It is a compilation of older interpretations and explanations of Biblical passages, arranged according to the ...

§ 241. Here the first edition has merely "Midrash," while other editions give the ''

Midrash Abkir Midrash Abkir (Hebrew: מדרש אבכיר) is one of the smaller midrashim, the extant remains of which consist of more than 50 excerpts contained in the Yalkut Shimoni and a number of citations in other works. It dealt, according to all accessib ...

'' as the source, although it is doubtful whether this aggadah ever occurred in that work.

The sections begin for the most part with the words "ameru hachamim," though Rabbi

Joshua ben Levi Joshua ben Levi (Yehoshua ben Levi) was an amora, a scholar of the Talmud, who lived in the Land of Israel in the first half of the third century. He lived and taught in the city of Lod. He was an elder contemporary of Johanan bar Nappaha and ...

and Rabbi Samuel b. Naḥmani are occasionally given as the authors. In the exposition of Exodus 15:18 on the sorrows and the redemption in the Messianic time, the terrible figure of

King Armilus Armilus ( he, ארמילוס) (also spelled Armilos and Armilius) is an anti-messiah figure in medieval Jewish eschatology who will conquer the whole Earth, centralizing in Jerusalem and persecuting the Jewish believers until his final defeat at th ...

is described, and it is said that he will slay the Messiah son of Joseph, but will himself be slain by the Messiah who is the son of David; God will then gather together the scattered remnant of Israel and hold the final judgment; and the wonderful beauty of a new world full of joy and happiness is revealed.

Editions

The midrash was first published at Constantinople in 1519, and has been reprinted by

A. Jellinek Adolf Jellinek ( he, אהרן ילינק ''Aharon Jelinek''; 26 June 1821 in Drslavice, Moravia – 28 December 1893 in Vienna) was an Austrian rabbi and scholar. After filling clerical posts in Leipzig (1845–1856), he became a preacher at t ...

.''Bet. Ha.Midrash'' i. 35-57, Jerusalem 1967, 3rd Ed.

References

Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography

Zunz Zunz ( he, צוּנְץ, yi, צונץ) is a Yiddish surname: * (1874–1939), Belgian pharmacologist * Sir Gerhard Jack Zunz (1923–2018), British civil engineer * Leopold Zunz (Yom Tov Lipmann Tzuntz) (1794–1886), German Reform rabbi and ...

, G. V. p. 282 * Rab Pe'alim, p. 55 *

, Bet. Ha.Midrasch Band I., IV, Einl. p. xvii. p. 35-57; German Transl. A. Wünsche, I, S.93 *

Benjacob Isaac ben Jacob Benjacob (January 10, 1801, Ramygala – July 2, 1863, Vilnius) was a Lithuanian Jewish Maskil, best known as a bibliographer, author, and publisher. His 17-volume Hebrew Bible included Rashi, Mendelssohn, as well as his own '' ...

, Oẓar ha-Sefarim, p. 299 {{Authority control Smaller midrashim

Sources

Contents

Editions

References

Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography