Language:
Hebrew
Year of publication:
2013
Titel der Quelle:
מכלול; עיונים ביהדות, בחינוך ובמדע
Angaben zur Quelle:
כט (תשעג) 161-182
Keywords:
יוסף חיים בן אליהו,
;
Midrash Philosophy
;
Aggada Philosophy
Abstract:
R. Yosef Hayyim ("Ben Ish Hai") devoted two major works to commentary on the aggadic material of the Talmud: Ben Yehoyada (1898-1904, five volumes) and Benayahu (1905/1990). Both works employ a variety of hermeneutical methods. At times, his approach is realistic and straightforward, focusing on the plain meaning of the text with attention to linguistic details, adding occasional stories or anecdotes to elucidate the message of the aggadah at hand. In other instances, he offers an allegorical interpretation based on combinations of letters or gematria. Many of his readings are esoteric, touching on the mystical significance of the Talmudic source text. All of these approaches are often combined in his commentary on a single aggadah. While the heterogeneity of the aggadic material itself may have influenced his choice of tactics, other factors more likely engendered the multi-faceted nature of R. Yosef Hayyim's commentary. As a compendium of ideas and innovations developed over thirty-five years of his life, Ben Yehoyada reflects the author's desire to communicate with an audience of disparate intellectual abilities and educational needs. Perhaps even more cogently, it embodies the fundamental kabbalistic notion of the Torah's polysemous essence as a text charged with multiple, simultaneous and varied meanings. In terms of composition, his commentary is unsystematic; hermeneutical methods are combined in a variety of ways, at times compelling the reader to shift repeatedly from one level to another. R. Yosef Hayyim did not reveal the considerations that guided him in organizing his material. Nonetheless, we can assume he sought to convince his variegated listening and reading audience of the eternal relevance of aggadah.
URL:
אתר את הפרסום בקטלוג המאוחד של ספריות ישראל
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