Mashal (allegory)

A mashal (Hebrew: משל) is a short parable with a moral lesson or religious allegory, called a nimshal. Mashal is used also to designate other forms in rhetoric, such as the fable and apothegm. Talmud Scholar Daniel Boyarin has recently defined משל as a process of "exemplification," seeing it as the sine qua non of Talmudic hermeneutics.^[1] He quotes Song of Songs Rabba: "until Solomon invented the משל, no one could understand Torah at all." The phenomenon has been compared to the more recent phenomenon of sampling in modern popular music, especially hip-hop.^[2]

^ Boyarin, Daniel (2003-01-01), "Take the Bible for Example: Midrash as Literary Theory", Sparks of the Logos, Brill, pp. 89–113, doi:10.1163/9789047401636_006, ISBN 978-90-474-0163-6, retrieved 2024-05-26
^ Levy, Gabriel (2010-01-01). "Rabbinic Philosophy of Language: Not in Heaven". The Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy. 18 (2): 167–202. doi:10.1163/147728510X529036. ISSN 1053-699X.

[1] Boyarin, Daniel (2003-01-01), "Take the Bible for Example: Midrash as Literary Theory", Sparks of the Logos, Brill, pp. 89–113, doi:10.1163/9789047401636_006, ISBN 978-90-474-0163-6, retrieved 2024-05-26

[2] Levy, Gabriel (2010-01-01). "Rabbinic Philosophy of Language: Not in Heaven". The Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy. 18 (2): 167–202. doi:10.1163/147728510X529036. ISSN 1053-699X.

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