24
CHRISTIANITY IN TALMUD
Talmud. That is to say, there can be Midrash
whose chief purpose is to connect Halachah with
Scripture, and again Midrash which chiefly aims at
connecting Haggadah with Scripture. Of these two
classes, the Halachic Midrashim are the more
ancient, the Haggadic by far the more numerous.
Of the Halachic Midrashim, the chief works are
Siphra,
on the book of Leviticus ;
Siphri,
on
Numbers and Deuteronomy ; and
Mechilta,
upon
parts of Exodus. These were compiled, according
to Zunz, at a later
date than the Mishnah, but
contain in part older material. And while they do
not exclude Haggadah, where the text suggests it,
they are prevailingly Halachic, since a great part
of the text dealt with is concerned with the cere-
monial law.
Siphra
and
Siphri
are frequently made
use of in the Talmud.'
The Haggadic Midrashim are very numerous, and
the period of their production covers several cen-
turies. Even the earliest of them is much later
as regards date of compilation than the earliest
Halachic Midrash. There is more need, on this
account, of caution in using their statements as
historical evidence. Yet, since those statements rest
on tradition, and refer to many well-known names,
there seems no reason why they should-other
reasons apart-be denied all historical value. I have
therefore made use of what the Midrash offered for
my purpose, with, I trust, due critical caution. Of the
Haggadic Midrashim, the most important in point
of extent is the so-called Midrash Rabbah (or M.
Rabboth), a collection of expositions upon the
'
See Zunz, " Gotteed. Vortr. d. Juden," pp. 46-48.
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