Dr. Yoav Barzily
The commentaries first printed in this edition were written at the beginning of the sixteenth century in Italy, by an anonymous author. The extensive vocabulary of commentaries allows for a thorough acquaintance with the commentator and his unique way of interpreting, which combines a declared peshat interpretation with philosophical influences and with philosophical and educational trends. The commentaries are a small part of a comprehensive essay written on the order of this week’s Torah portions. Most of the passages in the work are interpreted with the help of Midrash Bereishit Rabba and the complete halakhic midrashim, which the author copied almost as they were written (and for this reason the manuscript was called Midrash Chachamim). The commentaries, on the other hand, are an independent creation of the author of the essay, and in them his language, his orientation, and his personality are evident. The commentaries were written mainly on the passages that are missing from the halakhic midrashim, and therefore they are found in only three books (Shemot, Bamidbar and Deuteronomy), and not in all the parashot either. Despite this limitation, these commentaries are spread over twenty-seven parashot and over one hundred and sixty pages in the manuscript.
In this edition, the commentaries of the rabbinic midrash were collected from the various passages in the work and adde
d to a single sequence that presents the author’s unique exegetical approach. Attached to the edition is an extensive introduction that presents the background to the writing of the commentaries and discusses the author’s methods of writing and the characteristics of the author’s interpretation. The edition restores forgotten interpretations to their rightful place, presents a new way of interpreting the plain sense in late medieval Italy, and adds another layer to the study of Jewish biblical exegesis.
