Mikraot G'dolot
Background: Although most individual Rabbinic commentaries exist as separate
volumes, there is also a special large format edition of the Bible
with selected commentaries known as the Mikra'ot G'dolot or Great
[Rabbinic] Bible. The first editions were in the early 1500s.
(Similar smaller editions of the Torah are often inaccurately
referrred to as Mikra'ot G'dolot.)
These special editions have the Biblical text in large print letters,
surrounded by Aramaic translations, and rabbinic commentary, in
smaller, cursive letters (often called 'Rashi' letters). Editions
vary, but usually include the commentaries of Rashi, Ramban, Ibn
Ezra, Rashbam and Sforno and others depending on space, availability
and the editorial preferences of the publisher. An edition may
include as many as 10 different commentators. Most of the commentators
are from the 11th to 17th centuries. Some commentators, due to
their length and style are not included, such as Abravanel and
Kimchi. By its inclusion or exclusion, each Mikra'ot G'dolot is
also an editorial statement.
A typical page of a Mikra't G'dolot
Who's Who: The geography of the page and the background of each commentator
can be found on a wonderful page created by Prof. Eliezer Segal of University of Calgary. He has
graciously allowed us to link his material from our course. Thank
you.
Unfortunately, no one has yet created an English version of the
traditional Mikra'ot G'dolot. Most of the commentators do exist
in English translations, so it means having about half a dozen
different books open (being an octopus would be handy too, especially
since you also probably have half a dozen different translations
open, too, remember). Some English anthologies of commentaries
exist but they do not capture the diversity of opinions and the
range of discussion on the traditional page.
One good volume is Fields, A Torah Commentary of our Times. It
has lots of background material (some included in your packets)
and goes beyond the traditional Mikra'ot G'dolot including a range
of contemporary scholars such as Speiser, Sarna, Leibowitz and
Cassuto. However, Fields only picks and chooses individual stories,
so if the verse you are interested in wasn't one of the ones he
included, you're out of luck. Another fascinating book is 'Sparks
Beneath the Surface,' (Kerry Olitzky and Lawrence Kushner). The
authors have retained the traditional format of the Mikra'ot G'dolot
or Talmud page, putting a text from each Parasha in the centre
of the page, and including insights from (mostly) Hasidic sources
(Itturei Torah) and their own teaching around it.
What's next:
To see a modern 'sampler' of commentary, click on the pointer
below.
(In a way, we are actually creating a kind of contemporary, virtual
'Mikra'ot G'dolot' through the format of this very course.)
Forum
Mikra'ot G'dolot