Stories of the Sages, vol.2: Bookof the Month, Nisan 5786

Stories of the Sages: From Sefer Ha-Aggadah is a popular read that dates back to 1991, when it was first published, The text consists of selected and translated passages from the awesome classic, the Sefer HaAggadah, that was so elegantly crafted by Chaim Bialik and Yehoshua Hana Ravnitzky as an encyclopaedic collection of aggadic passages drawn principally from the Babylonian Talmud. Our little library has recently acquired the second volume, thanks to a donation of several English-language books from our members Rubén and Deborah Lamdany.

For those who were not brought up on this unusually readable and user-friendly tome, this volume focuses on the teachings and the personalities of some 50 of the greatest teachers of the Talmudic era.  Mega-scholars and miracle-workers featured in this list include Choni the Circle-Maker, Bruriah (for the ladies), the blind but perceptive seer Rav Sheshet and our shul President’s all-time favorite Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi.

Please feel free to borrow this book and to enjoy it for its accessible and lucid English as well as its deceptively simple but profound and provocative content.