Textual Witnesses of Midrash Deuteronomy Rabbah (Printed Edition) -- Determination of the Base Text for a Critical Edition (Hebrew)

• In Event: Deuteronomy Rabbah Critical Edition

Abstract

The Aggadic Midrashim to the Book of Deuteronomy – Deuteronomy Rabbah (Printed Edition) and Deuteronomy Rabbah (Liebermann Edition) -- belong to the midrashic genre known as the Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Midrashim, based on the compositional structure, literary style and content of these interrelated works. Deuteronomy Rabbah (Printed Edition) is the earlier of the two versions of Deuteronomy Rabbah, apparently having been compiled in the sixth century in the Land of Israel under Byzantine Christian rule. In comparison, Deuteronomy Rabbah Liebermann was reedited later in Spain. There are currently no critical editions of either of these two Aggadic-Midrashic works on the Book of Deuteronomy, as indeed there are yet no complete critical editions of any of the various Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Midrashim. Deuteronomy Rabbah (Printed Version), first printed in Constantinople in 1512, provided the basis for all subsequent printings of this work. Deuteronomy Rabbah Liebermann, first published in Jerusalem in 1940, is based exclusively on MS Oxford 147. It differs from Deuteronomy Rabbah (Printed Edition) in its first and last sections. However, its extensive middle section, Parashat Eqev to Parashat Nitzavim, are textually parallel to the same midrashic material found in Devarim Rabbah (Printed Edition). Since the initial publication of Deuteronomy Rabbah Liebermann, additional textual witnesses of this work have been identified and partially described. Since this additional manuscript material is partially parallel to sections of Deuteronomy Rabbah (Printed Edition), it can provide additional textual witnesses for a critical edition of Deuteronomy Rabbah (Printed Edition).
I and my colleague, Prof. Marc Bregman, have chosen to prepare a critical edition of Deuteronomy Rabbah (Printed Edition) because of its compositional consistency and relatively early date. Our critical edition will make use of the most up-to-date methodology currently employed in the academic editing of Rabbinic texts.
My proposed AJS presentation will include a survey of all available textual witnesses of Deuteronomy Rabbah (Printed Edition) and the considerations for selecting MS Parma 1240 as the base text for our critical edition.
It would be preferable for my proposed presentation in Hebrew to be scheduled in the same session as the clearly related presentation in English by my co-editor, Marc Bregman.

Author

• Ezra Kahalani, עזרא קהלני