The parable and the mashal in rabbinic literature

The mashal (parable or comparison; plural meshalim) is a central literary genre of rabbinic literature, omnipresent in midrash collections. It consists in illuminating a theological, ethical, or exegetical truth through a short story drawn from everyday life — often introduced by the formula 'To what may this be compared?' — frequently built around a king and his subjects, as a figure of the relationship between God and Israel. The mashal is generally accompanied by its explicit application, the nimshal, which draws out its meaning. Heir to biblical parables and related to ancient fables, this device allowed the sages to make the most abstract teachings accessible to all and to fill the silences of the scriptural text. The density and inventiveness of these narratives make them one of the most original forms of Jewish intellectual creativity, whose influence extends into preaching, folk tale, and ethical thought.

Sources & resources

• Sefaria ↗
• Encyclopaedia Judaica — 2e éd., Keter/Macmillan