Ishmael (Moby-Dick) Ishmael (Moby-Dick) Ishmael is a fictional character in Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick" (1851). Ishmael, the only surviving crewmember of the "Pequod", is the narrator of the book. His importance relies on his role as narrator; as a character, he is only a minor participant in the action and the main protagonist is Captain Ahab. The Biblical name has come to symbolize orphans, exiles, and social outcasts. Because he was the first person narrator, most of the criticism of "Moby-Dick" either confused Ishmael with the author himself or overlooked him. From the mid-twentieth century onward, critics distinguished Ishmael from Melville, establishing the
Baraita of Rabbi Ishmael Baraita of Rabbi Ishmael The Baraita of Rabbi Ishmael () is a baraita which explains the 13 rules of R. Ishmael, and their application, by means of illustrations from the Torah. The name is inaccurately given also to the first part of the Baraita, which only enumerates the thirteen rules. The Baraita constitutes the introduction to the Sifra, and precedes it in all editions, containing principles which in the Sifra are given their application. The "Hekalot" are also called by some the "Baraita of R. Ishmael." The thirteen rules were compiled by Rabbi Ishmael b. Elisha for the elucidation of