Author:
Dr. Benjamin Ze’ev (Wilhelm) Bacher (ד"ר בנימין זאב בכר)
Notable Connection:
This series was a flagship project of the Dvir (דביר) Publishing House, co-founded by the national poet Chaim Nachman Bialik. Bialik sought to "gather the sparks" of Jewish scholarship from the Diaspora and translate them into Hebrew to build a modern national library. By publishing Agadot HaTannaim (אגדות התנאים) in Hebrew, Bialik helped preserve and modernize the vast heritage of Rabbinic thought for a new generation.
Description:
This lot features a significant scholarly volume containing two primary parts of Wilhelm Bacher’s monumental work, Agadot HaTannaim (אגדות התנאים), bound together in a single edition. Each part retains its own internal title page as shown in the images.
- Volume 1, Part 1: Focuses on the "Early Tannaim" (תנאים ראשונים), including Hillel the Elder (הלל הזקן), Shammai (שמאי), and the era of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai (ר’ יוחנן בן זכאי). It was published in Jaffa in 1920 (תר"פ).
- Volume 2, Part 1: Focuses on the "Disciples of Rabbi Akiva, " covering the lives and teachings of sages such as Rabbi Meir (ר’ מאיר), Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (ר’ שמעון בן יוחאי), Rabbi Yose ben Chalafta (ר’ יוסי בן חלפתא), Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai (ר’ יהודה בר אלעאי), and Rabbi Nechemia (ר’ נחמיה). This part was published in Tel Aviv in 1922 (תרפ"ב) by the Dvir (דביר) Publishing House.
About the Author: Dr. Benjamin Ze’ev (Wilhelm) Bacher
Dr. Benjamin Ze’ev Bacher (1850–1913) was one of the most distinguished Jewish scholars of the 19th century. A rabbi and the rector of the Budapest Rabbinical Seminary, he was a pioneer of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement. He is best known for his unparalleled ability to organize the vast world of Midrash and Aggadah into a systematic, historical framework, making the wisdom of the Sages accessible to the modern world.
