I will open my mouth in parables,
Psalm 78:2
I will utter hidden things, things from of old
The sages in Jesus’ day used two basic teaching methods: aggadah and halachah. Aggadah involves using stories and parables to convey a message. Halachah is a more direct approach, diving directly into the legal details. Both methods are important. Parables make complex ideas easier to understand but can lose some of the details. Halachah can communicate the raw, technical details, but it can lose anyone who doesn’t have enough knowledge. Jesus used both approaches, depending on his audience. He was in good company in respect to how he taught.
Rabbi Nachman compared [the use of a parable] to a thicket of reeds which no one could get through until a wise man took a scythe and cut some of the reeds down, and then everyone began to go through the path he had cut.
Rabbi Shila said, “Imagine a large jar filled with hot water but without any handles so that it cannot be carried until someone comes and makes a handle for it. After that, in can be carried by its handle.”
Our Rabbis say, “Do not discount the value of a parable! By means of the parable a man can master the words of Torah. If a man loses gold in his house or a fine pearl, does he not use a lamp-wick worth only a penny to find it? In the same way, do not discount the value of a parable! By means of the parable a man finds the true meaning of the words of the Torah.”
Song of Songs Rabbah 1:8
Rabbi Abbahu and Rabbi Chiyya bar Abba once came to a certain place. Rabbi Abbahu taught aggadah while Rabbi Chiyya bar Abba taught halachah. All the people abandoned Rabbi Chiyya bar Abba and went to listen to Rabbi Abbahu. This troubled Rabbi Chiyya. [Rabbi Abbahu] said to him, “Let me explain it in a parable. To what can this matter be compared? It is like two merchants, one of whom sold rare, precious gems and the other sold various kinds of inexpensive items. To whom did the people hurry? Was it not to the one who sold the inexpensive items?”
b. Sotah 40a
(Taken from Torah Club Volume 4: Chronicles of Messiah, p. 486, 502)