About This Text
Composed: Talmudic Babylon/Italy/Israel, c.968 – c.984 CE
Tanna d’Vei Eliyahu (“Teachings of the School of Elijah,” also referred to as “Seder Eliyahu”) is the composite name of a midrash that consists of two parts: the larger Tanna d’Vei Eliyahu Rabbah and the smaller Tanna d’Vei Eliyahu Zuṭa. The midrash reworks earlier midrashim, using them to highlight ideas like the importance of prayer and Torah study. The Talmud attributes a midrash of the same name to Elijah the Prophet (Eliyahu in Hebrew), though whether the existing midrash is the one referred to in the Talmud has long been a subject of debate. Some date the work as early as the third century CE, while others date it as later as the 10th century. Parts of Tanna d’Vei Eliyahu have been incorporated into Jewish liturgy and laws presented in it have been codified in the classic legal work, the Shulchan Arukh.