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 Levi ibn Habib.
A Yiddish translation was first printed in Warsaw, 1886, although the Ein Yaakov was a source for the Mayse-Bukh (1602).[4] Three separate English translations were composed between 1916 and 2024. A Russian-language translation was completed by Rabbi Boruch Gorin in 2016,[5] and published by LeChaim.
Dozens of commentaries on the Ein Yaakov have been composed, and some editions contain 20 or more. The following is a list of the most notable commentaries:
HaKotev (before 1516): Ibn Habib's own commentary. In the edition princeps his comments are marked by א"ה, "so says the author," and later editions call it HaKotev, "the author".
Hiddushei Aggadot (before 1631): A work by Samuel Eidels which is often treated as a commentary to the Talmud, but Eidels writes in the introduction that his aim is "to compose a commentary to all the tales in the Ein Yaakov".
Beit Yehuda (before 1648): Leon da Modena's commentary, which appeared in all editions between 1684 and 1916.[1] Later editions call it HaBoneh. Da Modena also compiled an index to the Ein Yaakov, titled Beit Lehem Yehuda.
Asaf HaMazkir (before 1672): A bibliographic work by Zechariah ben Ephraim Porto of Urbino. Included in back of Amsterdam, 1724.
En Jacob: Agada of the Babylonian Talmud (1916-1921): A bilingual edition in 5 volumes (I,II,III,IV,V) edited and translated by Samuel Hirsch Glick (c. 1884-8 September, 1929).[7][8] It does not include any of the classic commentaries, relying instead on Glick's translation and footnotes.
Ein Yaakov: The Ethical and Inspirational Teachings of the Talmud (1999): A one-volume English translation by Avraham Yaakov Finkel.
Schottenstein Edition Ein Yaakov (2019-): A bilingual edition published by ArtScroll, of which 15 volumes have so far been released. A Tisha B'Av miscellany was also released in 2022.
