Ein Ayah

Ein Ayah (Hebrew: עין איה‎) is a commentary on Ein Yaakov - a compilation of all the Aggadic material in the Talmud - by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, [1] the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine and founder of Yeshiva Mercaz HaRav Kook.

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 Yohai 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 AD Genesis Rabbah Lamentations Rabbah Pesikta de-Rav Kahana Esther Rabbah Midrash Iyyob Leviticus Rabbah Seder Olam Zutta Tanhuma Megillat Antiochus 650–900 AD Avot of Rabbi Natan Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer Tanna Devei Eliyahu Alphabet of Sirach Ecclesiastes Rabbah Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah Deuteronomy Rabbah Devarim Zutta Pesikta Rabbati Midrash Shmuel Midrash Proverbs Ruth Rabbah Baraita of Samuel Targum Sheni 900–1000 AD Ruth Zuta Eichah Zuta Midrash Tehillim Midrash Hashkem Exodus Rabbah Shir ha-Shirim Zutta Iggeret of Rabbi Sherira Gaon 1000–1200 AD 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

The source of the name Ein Ayah ("Eye of Ayah") is found in the verse in the Book of Job (28:7): "Nativ did not know an eagle and did not pin an eye on Ayah." Ayah is a bird with a sharp vision. The name implies that the author here is paving a new way to study a legend. The name also hints at the name of the author (Ayah evokes HaRaAYaH, the acronym for the rabbi's Hebrew name) and the name of Ein Ya'akov.

In his introduction, "Rav Kook" writes that he came to write it because of the paucity (in quality and quantity) of "easy to read" Jewish books in his time. The commentary is presented in numbered paragraphs corresponding to the Talmudic text, and it expands upon many diverse subjects in an allegorical style. The book's introduction is considered significant in its own right. Among other things, Rav Kook presents a historical and philosophical view of the Second Temple period, during which rabbis and Talmudic scholars faced significant persecution from Roman authorities.

Rav Kook began writing the book at the age of 18. It appears that his original intention was to write a comprehensive commentary on all the legends of the Talmud. Completion of the book was delayed for many reasons over the years, however, and as a result, there are significant differences in the style and character of writing throughout it. Much of the book was written during Rav Kook's rabbinical period in Latvia, [2] and the minority after his immigration to the Land of Israel. The print edition of the book comprises four volumes, which speaks to the large amount of content in Ein Yaakov. The manuscript of the book was edited multiple times for publication: once in Eastern Europe and the other in Jaffa (the Jaffa edition was published in full by the Hartzia Institute). At the end of his life, Rav Kook began to write another edition of the book, which included an interpretation of three pages of the Gemara. This last addition is presented in the new prints at the end of the first and fourth volumes.

Rav Kook's writings are extensive, and he is considered one of the most celebrated and influential rabbis of the 20th century. Some rabbis recommend that students of his begin studying his writings with Ein Ayah.[3]