The Four Levels of Torah

[Lubab]

According to the Talmud the ENTIRE Torah can be understood on 4 levels (Called the PaRDeS): 1. Literal 2. allegorical 3. moral lessons 4. mystical secrets.

Then there is an even deeper axiomatic level of understanding which includes and sheds light on all the other four. And when you have this essential understanding you see how even the literal level carries with it tremendous depth and meaning and in the end is all you really needed in the first place.  But you need to go through the other levels to really appreciate it.

So according to this... EVERYBODY'S RIGHT!

[Lubab]

Is that Remez? Which level is The Talmud? I thought the 4 levels were The Written Torah, The Oral Torah (The Talmud), The Aggadah (Allegories), and Kabbalah (Mystical).

Remez is the 2nd one which is the allegory. Kabbalah is the 4th one. The Aggada has the moral lessons which apply for all times that's the thrid one, and I believe Talmud contains explanations at all those levels.

[Lubab]

I thought Remez was an acronym. But I guess it was Pardes that is the acronym. I also thought that Aggadah is allegory. Are all The Aggadot true stories? Is Aggadot the same thing as The Midrash?

Pardes=Pshat, Remez, Drush, Sod.

I think all the Aggadot are true they just sometimes use analogies and many people have lost the art of knowing when it's using an analogy and when it's telling you something that actually happened.

I think Midrash=Agada.

[Dominater96]

Some Rabbis say that most midrashim are metaphors.

[Lubab]

What is Rashi's parshanut?

I believe Rashi himself says something along the lines of that "his commentary is appropriate for a 5 year old, but even the greatest scholars can learn much from it." So you probably have all the 4 levels there depending on how much you're able to read into what he's saying.