aggadah

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Pronunciations

aggadah (ah-gah-DAH) listen
aggadah (uh-GUH-duh) listen

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Definitions

  • n. Parts of the Talmud and Midrash that do not deal with law, including stories, fables, and sayings.

  • n. Talmudic stories or philosophical material.

Example Sentences

  • "The aggadah comprehends a great variety of forms and content." (source)

    Listen to recordings of this sentence: ( Recording 1)

  • "We studied an interesting aggada about the shofar." (Glinert).

    Listen to recordings of this sentence: ( Recording 1)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • אגדה aggadah 'narrative'

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

      Alternative Spellings

      agadah, agada, aggada, agode, aggode, agoda, aggoda, agodeh, aggodeh, agodah, aggodah

Notes

  • Plural 'aggadot'. "Aggadot are Jewish stories that are presented in the Talmud along with halakhah, the body of Jewish law. Unlike halakhah, these legends, historical stories, jokes, ethical tales, and sermons are not legally binding; their purpose is to explain and elaborate on Jewish law and customs" (JPS).

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