What Is Midrash Aggadah? — The Sages' Storytelling Tradition | Foundations of Kabbalah #12

Описание: What is Midrash Aggadah and why does it matter for studying Kabbalah? In this twelfth video of the Foundations of Kabbalah series, we explore the vast storytelling tradition of the sages — the Aggadic layer of Torah interpretation that forms the foundation the Zohar was built upon. We cover the difference between Midrash Halakhah and Midrash Aggadah, the character of Aggadah (God wearing tefillin, angels given inner monologues, sages who disagree side by side), the major collections including Bereshit Rabbah, Midrash Tanchuma, Pesikta DeRav Kahana, and Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, the Rambam's three types of readers, the Zohar's teaching on the garments of Torah from Parashat Beha'alotcha, and a practical recommendation for the Kleinman Edition of Midrash Rabbah as the best English-language gateway into this tradition.

This is Part 12 of the "Start Here — Foundations of Kabbalah" playlist. Watch Part 11 (How to Study Zohar) first for full context.

Timestamps:
0:00 — The Mountain Range the Zohar Stands On
1:00 — What Is Midrash? Darash — To Seek, to Press In
2:30 — The Gaps and Silences in Torah
3:30 — Midrash Halakhah vs Midrash Aggadah
4:30 — The Character of Aggadah: Intimacy, Not Blasphemy
6:00 — God's Tefillin and the Sages Who Disagree
7:30 — The Major Collections: Bereshit Rabbah Through Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer
9:30 — Seven Centuries of Active Composition
10:30 — The Rambam's Three Types of Readers
12:00 — The Zohar's Garments of Torah: Beha'alotcha
13:30 — Aggadah and Zohar as Two Layers of One Tradition
14:00 — The Kleinman Edition of Midrash Rabbah