BEUREI HA-AGGADA

  BEUREI HA-AGGADA

 We have all read literary, historical descriptions of Jews of generations gone by, of the warm Batei Midrash of the storekeepers or the blacksmiths, the klois and the shteibel.  In almost every one of these descriptions one can also read of the chevras Ein Yaakov which existed in every synagogue.  There, around the glowing coals of the stove, steaming pots of tea at their elbows, sat a group of Jews after a hard day’s labor in the marketplace or from peddling their wares from door to door, their eyes sparkling as they listened intently to the shiur on Ein Yaakov focusing on the aggadic part of the Talmud.

Over the generations there have been many commentaries written on the aggadic portion of the Gemara.  HaRav Yaakov Ibn Chaviv, who was expelled from Spain during the Inquisition, authored the Ein Yaakov, a monumental work on aggada.  His son, the Maharalbach zt”l, head of the Jerusalem Counsel of Sages, completed his father’s work and added his own beautiful commentary.

With the passage of time, R’ Yehuda Aryeh of Modena added his own commentary to the aggada known as “HaBoneh”, “The Builder”.  He was joined by many other Torah giants who embellished the aggada of our Sages with their explanations.

Even with all these commentaries available, the needs of the generation and the time are such that many people felt the need for a new work encompassing and elucidating the aggadot of the Talmud.  Not everyone can delve and uncover the depths of the Gemara on their own and they have difficulty understanding Ein Yaakov and the other commentaries.  Such people are in need of a shiur to explicate the aggadot as was customary throughout the generations.

B’UREI HA-AGGADA

It is not only the “simple Jew” who needs a comprehensive elucidation of the aggadot.  Even top-notch scholars feel the need to understand the material on a deeper level – occasion a scholar might come across an Aramic word that in all his years of Gemara learning he has never met.  Sometimes the aggada seems to esoteric and one senses that there is another, deeper level of understanding.  Even a person who can grasp all the intricacies of the aggada wants to add another facet – by way of a good question posed by the Rishonim, a beautiful answer offered by the Achronim, or simply a nice thought or anecdote to accompany the words of the Gemara.
 
This was precisely the purpose behind the creation of Beurei Ha-aggada – to make a significant breakthrough in understanding the holy writings of Chazal.  The explanations are written in a clear and flowing style where alongside B’urei Ha-aggada one can find commentaries, ideas, and anecdotes.