Ein Yaakov

Ein Yaakov (Hebrew: עין יעקב, "Jacob's Well") is a 16th-century compilation of all the Aggadic material in the Talmud together with commentaries.[1][2][3] Its introduction contains an account of the history of Talmudic censorship and the term Gemara. It was compiled by Jacob ibn Habib and (after his death) by his son Rabbi Levi ibn Habib.

Rabbinic literature
Talmud Readers by Adolf Behrman
Talmudic literature
Tannaitic Mishnah Tosefta Amoraic (Gemara) Jerusalem Talmud Babylonian Talmud Later Minor Tractates
Halakhic Midrash
Exodus Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael Mekhilta of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai Leviticus Sifra (Torat Kohanim) Numbers and Deuteronomy Sifre Sifrei Zutta on Numbers (Mekhilta le-Sefer Devarim)
Aggadic Midrash
Tannaitic Seder Olam Rabbah Alphabet of Rabbi Akiva Baraita of the Forty-nine Rules Baraita on the Thirty-two Rules Baraita on the Erection of the Tabernacle 400–600 CE Genesis Rabbah Lamentations Rabbah Pesikta de-Rav Kahana Esther Rabbah Midrash Iyyob Leviticus Rabbah Seder Olam Zutta Tanhuma Megillat Antiochus 650–900 CE Avot of Rabbi Natan Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer Tanna Devei Eliyahu Alphabet of Sirach Ecclesiastes Rabbah Shir HaShirim Rabbah Deuteronomy Rabbah Devarim Zutta Pesikta Rabbati Midrash Shmuel Midrash Proverbs Ruth Rabbah Baraita of Samuel Targum Sheni 900–1000 CE Ruth Zuta Eichah Zuta Midrash Tehillim Midrash Hashkem Exodus Rabbah Shir ha-Shirim Zutta Iggeret of Rabbi Sherira Gaon 1000–1200 CE Midrash Tadshe Sefer haYashar Later Yalkut Shimoni Yalkut haMachiri Midrash Jonah Ein Yaakov Midrash HaGadol Numbers Rabbah Smaller midrashim
Targum
Torah Targum Onkelos Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Fragment Targum Targum Neofiti Nevi'im Targum Jonathan Ketuvim Targum Tehillim Targum Mishlei Targum Iyyov Targum to the Five Megillot Targum Sheni to Esther Targum to Chronicles

Ein Yaakov was "especially treasured by laborers and others" who lacked the schooling to learn the more difficult parts of the Talmud. Synagogues commonly hold daily Ein Yaakov classes.[2][3] With its commentaries, it is also a work of serious scholarship.[2]

Many prints of Ein Yaakov include commentaries that illuminate the simple meaning of the text and provide additional insight,[2] including the author's own, "Ha-Kotev". The most important commentary is that of Leo di Modena, under the title "Ha-Boneh", which has appeared in all editions since 1684.[1] The Vilna edition (1883) contains twenty commentaries,[1] mainly reproducing other works on Midrash and Aggadah, esp. those by Zundel ben Joseph and Maharsha. Hayyim Abulafia's "Shebut Ya'akob" was written in 1733. The more recent Ein Ayah is a separate four-volume work by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, begun in 1883.

Older prints of the work often include a Yiddish translation.[2]

An English translation in 5 volumes appeared in 1921, prepared by Rabbi Shmuel Tzvi Hirsch Glick of Chicago. It presents the original text on the right column of each page, with the corresponding English version to its left. It does not include any of the commentaries that appear in the classic version, but Rabbi Glick's translation and accompanying footnotes suffice for comprehension.[4] Another English translation, by Avraham Yaakov Finkel, titled Ein Yaakov: The Ethical and Inspirational Teachings of the Talmud, was compiled in one volume.[5] Beginning in 2019, Mesorah Publications has begun releasing its translation.

A Russian-language translation was completed by Rabbi Boruch Gorin in 2016,[6] and published by LeChaim.