''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; or מִדְרָשׁוֹת ''midrashot'') is expansive

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Biblical exegesis using a rabbinic mode of interpretation prominent in the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

. The word itself means "textual interpretation", "study", or " exegesis", derived from the root verb (), which means "resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require", forms of which appear frequently in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Wilda Gafney Wilda C. Gafney, also known as Wil Gafney, (born 1966) is an American biblical scholar and Episcopal priest who is the Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. ...

. "They reimagine dominant narratival readings while crafting new ones to stand alongside—not replace—former readings. Midrash also asks questions of the text; sometimes it provides answers, sometimes it leaves the reader to answer the questions". Vanessa Lovelace defines midrash as "a Jewish mode of interpretation that not only engages the words of the text, behind the text, and beyond the text, but also focuses on each letter, and the words left unsaid by each line". The term is also used of a rabbinic work that interprets Scripture in that manner. Such works contain early interpretations and commentaries on the

Written Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

and

Oral Torah According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law ( he, , Tōrā šebbəʿal-pe}) are those purported laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah ( he, , Tōrā šebbīḵ ...

(spoken law and sermons), as well as non-legalistic rabbinic literature () and occasionally Jewish religious laws (), which usually form a running commentary on specific passages in the Hebrew Scripture (

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' CE. According to Gary Porton and

Jacob Neusner Jacob Neusner (July 28, 1932 – October 8, 2016) was an American academic scholar of Judaism. He was named as one of the most published authors in history, having written or edited more than 900 books. Life and career Neusner was born in Hartfor ...

, ''midrash'' has three technical meanings: # Judaic biblical interpretation; # the method used in interpreting; # a collection of such interpretations.

Etymology

The Hebrew word ''midrash'' is derived from the root of the verb (), which means "resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require", forms of which appear frequently in the Bible. The word ''midrash'' occurs twice in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Chronicles Chronicles may refer to: * ''Books of Chronicles'', in the Bible * Chronicle, chronological histories * ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', a novel series by C. S. Lewis * ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', the collected works of Raphael Holinshed * '' The Idh ...

13:22 "in the ''midrash'' of the prophet Iddo", and 24:27 "in the ''midrash'' of the book of the kings". Both the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

(KJV) and English Standard Version (ESV) translate the word as "story" in both instances; the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

translates it as (book) in the first, as (writing) in the second. The meaning of the Hebrew word in these contexts is uncertain: it has been interpreted as referring to "a body of authoritative narratives, or interpretations thereof, concerning historically important figures"''The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion'' (Oxford University Press 2011): "Midrash and midrashic literature"
/ref> and seems to refer to a "book", perhaps even a "book of interpretation", which might make its use a foreshadowing of the technical sense that the rabbis later gave to the word. Since the early Middle Ages the function of much of midrashic interpretation has been distinguished from that of , straight or direct interpretation aiming at the original literal meaning of a scriptural text.

As a genre

A definition of "midrash" repeatedly quoted by other scholarsLieve M. Teugels, ''Bible and Midrash: The Story of "The Wooing of Rebekah" (Gen. 24)'' (Peeters 2004), p. 168
/ref> is that given by Gary G. Porton in 1981: "a type of literature, oral or written, which stands in direct relationship to a fixed, canonical text, considered to be the authoritative and revealed word of God by the midrashist and his audience, and in which this canonical text is explicitly cited or clearly alluded to". Lieve M. Teugels, who would limit midrash to rabbinic literature, offered a definition of midrash as "rabbinic interpretation of Scripture that bears the lemmatic form", a definition that, unlike Porton's, has not been adopted by others. While some scholars agree with the limitation of the term "midrash" to rabbinic writings, others apply it also to certain

Qumran Qumran ( he, קומראן; ar, خربة قمران ') is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli ...

writings, to parts of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

, and of the Hebrew Bible (in particular the superscriptions of the Psalms, Deuteronomy, and Chronicles), and even modern compositions are called midrashim.

As method

Midrash is now viewed more as method than genre, although the rabbinic midrashim do constitute a distinct literary genre. According to the '' Encyclopaedia Britannica'', "Midrash was initially a philological method of interpreting the literal meaning of biblical texts. In time it developed into a sophisticated interpretive system that reconciled apparent biblical contradictions, established the scriptural basis of new laws, and enriched biblical content with new meaning. Midrashic creativity reached its peak in the schools of

Rabbi Ishmael Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha Nachmani (Hebrew: רבי ישמעאל בן אלישע), often known as Rabbi Yishmael and sometimes given the title "Ba'al HaBaraita" (Hebrew: בעל הברייתא), was a rabbi of the 1st and 2nd centuries (third gener ...

and Akiba, where two different hermeneutic methods were applied. The first was primarily logically oriented, making inferences based upon similarity of content and analogy. The second rested largely upon textual scrutiny, assuming that words and letters that seem superfluous teach something not openly stated in the text." Many different exegetical methods are employed to derive deeper meaning from a text. This is not limited to the traditional thirteen textual tools attributed to the Tanna

, which are used in the interpretation of (Jewish law). The presence of words or letters which are seen to be apparently superfluous, and the chronology of events, parallel narratives or what are seen as other textual "anomalies" are often used as a springboard for interpretation of segments of Biblical text. In many cases, a handful of lines in the Biblical narrative may become a long philosophical discussion Jacob Neusner distinguishes three midrash processes: # paraphrase: recounting the content of the biblical text in different language that may change the sense; # prophecy: reading the text as an account of something happening or about to happen in the interpreter's time; # parable or allegory: indicating deeper meanings of the words of the text as speaking of something other than the superficial meaning of the words or of everyday reality, as when the love of man and woman in the Song of Songs is interpreted as referring to the love between God and Israel or the Church as in Isaiah 5 and in the

Jewish midrashic literature

Numerous Jewish midrashim previously preserved in manuscript form have been published in print, including those denominated as smaller or minor midrashim. Bernard H. Mehlman and Seth M. Limmer deprecate this usage claiming that the term "minor" seems judgmental and "small" is inappropriate for midrashim some of which are lengthy. They propose instead the term "medieval midrashim", since the period of their production extended from the twilight of the rabbinic age to the dawn of the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

. Generally speaking, rabbinic midrashim either focus on religious law and practice () or interpret biblical narrative in relation to non-legal ethics or theology, creating homilies and parables based on the text. In the latter case they are described as .

Halakhic midrashim

'' Midrash halakha'' is the name given to a group of tannaitic expositions on the first five books of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

. This work is based on pre-set assumptions about the sacred and divine nature of the text, and the belief in the legitimacy that accords with rabbinic interpretation.ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 14, pg 194 Although this material treats the biblical texts as the authoritative word of God, it is clear that not all of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Masoretic, and accord with the Septuagint, or

Samaritan Torah The Samaritan Torah (Samaritan Hebrew: , ''Tōrāʾ''), also called the Samaritan Pentateuch, is a text of the Torah written in the Samaritan script and used as sacred scripture by the Samaritans. It dates back to one of the ancient versions o ...

instead.

Origins

With the growing canonization of the contents of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Aggadic midrashim

Midrashim that seek to explain the non-legal portions of the Hebrew Bible are sometimes referred to as or . Aggadic discussions of the non-legal parts of Scripture are characterized by a much greater freedom of exposition than the halakhic midrashim (midrashim on Jewish law). Aggadic expositors availed themselves of various techniques, including sayings of prominent rabbis. These aggadic explanations could be philosophical or mystical disquisitions concerning angels, demons,

paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in parad ...

, hell, the messiah, Satan, feasts and fasts, parables, legends, satirical assaults on those who practice idolatry, etc. Some of these midrashim entail mystical teachings. The presentation is such that the midrash is a simple lesson to the uninitiated, and a direct allusion, or analogy, to a mystical teaching for those educated in this area. An example of a midrashic interpretation:

Classical compilations

Tannaitic

* Alphabet of Rabbi Akiva. This book is a midrash on the names of the letters of the

hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet ( he, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewi ...

. * Mekhilta. The Mekhilta essentially functions as a commentary on the

Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from grc, Ἔξοδος, translit=Éxodos; he, שְׁמוֹת ''Šəmōṯ'', "Names") is the second book of the Bible. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through ...

. There are two versions of this midrash collection. One is ''Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael'', the other is ''Mekhilta de Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai''. The former is still studied today, while the latter was used by many medieval Jewish authorities. While the latter (bar Yohai) text was popularly circulated in manuscript form from the 11th to 16th centuries, it was lost for all practical purposes until it was rediscovered and printed in the 19th century. ** Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael. This is a halakhic commentary on Exodus, concentrating on the legal sections, from Exodus 12 to 35. It derives halakha from Biblical verses. This midrash collection was redacted into its final form around the 3rd or 4th century; its contents indicate that its sources are some of the oldest midrashim, dating back possibly to the time of

Rabbi Akiva Akiva ben Yosef (Mishnaic Hebrew: ''ʿĂqīvāʾ ben Yōsēf''; – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a '' tanna'' of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second c ...

. The midrash on Exodus that was known to the Amoraim is not the same as our current mekhilta; their version was only the core of what later grew into the present form. ** Mekhilta of Rabbi Shimon. Based on the same core material as Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael, it followed a second route of commentary and editing, and eventually emerged as a distinct work. The Mekhilta de Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai is an exegetical midrash on Exodus 3 to 35, and is very roughly dated to near the 4th century. * Seder Olam Rabbah (or simply Seder Olam). Traditionally attributed to the Tannaitic Rabbi

Yose ben Halafta Jose ben Halafta or Yose ben Halafta (or Yose ben Halpetha) (Hebrew: רבי יוסי בן חלפתא; IPA: /ʁa'bi 'josi ben xa'lafta/) was a tanna of the fourth generation (2nd century CE). He is the fifth-most-frequently mentioned sage in the M ...

. This work covers topics from the creation of the universe to the construction of the Second

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...

. *

Sifra Sifra ( Aramaic: סִפְרָא) is the Halakhic midrash to the Book of Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim ...

on Leviticus. The Sifra work follows the tradition of Rabbi Akiva with additions from the School of Rabbi Ishmael. References in the

to the Sifra are ambiguous; It is uncertain whether the texts mentioned in the Talmud are to an earlier version of our Sifra, or to the sources that the Sifra also drew upon. References to the Sifra from the time of the early medieval rabbis (and after) are to the text extant today. The core of this text developed in the mid-3rd century as a critique and commentary of the Mishnah, although subsequent additions and editing went on for some time afterwards. * Sifre on

Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

and Deuteronomy, going back mainly to the schools of the same two Rabbis. This work is mainly a halakhic midrash, yet includes a long haggadic piece in sections 78-106. References in the Talmud, and in the later Geonic literature, indicate that the original core of Sifre was on the

Book of Numbers The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and c ...

, Exodus and Deuteronomy. However, transmission of the text was imperfect, and by the Middle Ages, only the commentary on Numbers and Deuteronomy remained. The core material was redacted around the middle of the 3rd century. * Sifre Zutta (The small Sifre). This work is a halakhic commentary on the book of Numbers. The text of this midrash is only partially preserved in medieval works, while other portions were discovered by

Solomon Schechter Solomon Schechter ( he, שניאור זלמן הכהן שכטר‎; 7 December 1847 – 19 November 1915) was a Moldavian-born British-American rabbi, academic scholar and educator, most famous for his roles as founder and President of the ...

in his research in the famed

Cairo Geniza The Cairo Geniza, alternatively spelled Genizah, is a collection of some 400,000 Jewish manuscript fragments and Fatimid administrative documents that were kept in the ''genizah'' or storeroom of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat or Old Cairo, ...

. It seems to be older than most other midrash, coming from the early 3rd century.

Post-Talmudic

* ''Midrash Qohelet'', on Ecclesiastes (probably before middle of 9th century). * '' Midrash Esther'', on

Esther Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...

(940 CE). * The ''Pesikta'', a compilation of homilies on special Pentateuchal and Prophetic lessons (early 8th century), in two versions: ** Pesikta Rabbati **

Pesikta de-Rav Kahana Pesikta de-Rab Kahana (Hebrew: פסיקתא דרב כהנא) is a collection of aggadic midrash which exists in two editions, those of Solomon Buber (Lyck, 1868) and Bernard Mandelbaum (1962). It is cited in the '' Arukh'' and by Rashi. The na ...

* Pirqe Rabbi Eliezer (not before 8th century), a midrashic narrative of the more important events of the Pentateuch. * Tanchuma or

Yelammedenu Midrash Tanhuma ( he, מִדְרָשׁ תַּנְחוּמָא) is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch aggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. These midrashim, although bearing the name of ...

(9th century) on the whole Pentateuch; its homilies often consist of a halakhic introduction, followed by several poems, exposition of the opening verses, and the Messianic conclusion. There are actually a number of different Midrash Tanhuma collections. The two most important are '' Midrash Tanhuma Ha Nidpas'', literally the published text. This is also sometimes referred to as '' Midrash Tanhuma Yelamdenu''. The other is based on a manuscript published by

Solomon Buber Solomon (or Salomon) Buber (2 February 1827 – 28 December 1906) was a Jewish Galician scholar and editor of Hebrew works. He is especially remembered for his editions of Midrash and other medieval Jewish manuscripts, and for the pioneering res ...

and is usually known as '' Midrash Tanhuma Buber'', much to many students' confusion, this too is sometimes referred to as ''Midrash Tanhuma Yelamdenu.'' Although the first is the one most widely distributed today, when the medieval authors refer to Midrash Tanchuma, they usually mean the second. * Midrash Shmuel, on the first two Books of Kings (I, II Samuel). *

Midrash Tehillim Midrash Tehillim (Hebrew: מדרש תהלים), also known as Midrash Shocher Tov or the Midrash to Psalms, is an aggadic midrash to the Psalms. It has been known since the 11th century, when it was quoted by Nathan of Rome, by R. Isaac ben Juda ...

, on the

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

. * Midrash Mishlé, a commentary on the book of Proverbs. * Yalkut Shimoni. A collection of midrash on the entire Hebrew Scriptures (

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' halakhic and

aggadic Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism ...

midrash. It was compiled by Shimon ha-Darshan in the 13th century CE and is collected from over 50 other midrashic works. *

Midrash HaGadol Midrash HaGadol or The Great Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש הגדול) is a work of aggaddic midrash, expanding on the narratives of the Pentateuch, which was written by Rabbi David Adani of Yemen (14th century). Its contents were compiled from the ...

(in English: the great midrash) (in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: מדרש הגדול) was written by Rabbi David Adani of Yemen (14th century). It is a compilation of aggadic midrashim on the Pentateuch taken from the two Talmuds and earlier Midrashim of Yemenite provenance. *

Tanna Devei Eliyahu ''Tanna Devei Eliyahu'' (Hebrew: תנא דבי אליהו; alternate transliterations include ''Tana D'vei Eliyahu'' and ''Tana D'vei Eliahu'') is the composite name of a midrash, consisting of two parts, whose final redaction took place at the e ...

. This work that stresses the reasons underlying the commandments, the importance of knowing Torah, prayer, and repentance, and the ethical and religious values that are learned through the Bible. It consists of two sections, Seder Eliyahu Rabbah and Seder Eliyahu Zuta. It is not a compilation but a uniform work with a single author. * ''

Midrash Tadshe Midrash Tadshe (Hebrew: מדרש תדשא) is a small midrash which begins with an interpretation of Gen. 1:11: The name of the author occurs twice, and the midrash closes with the words "'ad kan me-divrei R. Pinchas ben Yair." No other auth ...

'' (also called Baraita de-Rabbi Pinehas ben Yair):

Midrash Rabbah

Midrash Rabbah Midrash Rabba or Midrash Rabbah can refer to part of or the collective whole of specific aggadic midrashim on the books of the Torah and the Five Megillot, generally having the term "Rabbah" (), meaning "great," as part of their name. These midr ...

— widely studied are the ''Rabboth'' (great commentaries), a collection of ten midrashim on different books of the Bible (namely, the five books of the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

and the

Five Scrolls The Five Scrolls or The Five Megillot ( he, חמש מגילות , ''Hamesh Megillot'' or ''Chomeish Megillos'') are parts of the Ketuvim ("Writings"), the third major section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The Five Scrolls are the Song of Songs, ...

). Although referred to collectively as the Midrash Rabbah, they are not a cohesive work, being written by different authors in different locales in different historical eras. The ones on Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are chiefly made up of homilies on the Scripture sections for the Sabbath or festival, while the others are rather of an exegetical nature. ** ''

Bereshith Rabba Genesis Rabbah (Hebrew: , ''B'reshith Rabba'') is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical inter ...

'', ''Genesis Rabbah''. This text dates from the sixth century. A midrash on Genesis, it offers explanations of words and sentences and haggadic interpretations and expositions, many of which are only loosely tied to the text. It is often interlaced with maxims and parables. Its redactor drew upon earlier rabbinic sources, including the Mishnah, Tosefta, the halakhic midrashim the Targums. It apparently drew upon a version of Talmud Yerushalmi that resembles, yet was not identical to, the text that survived to present times. It was redacted sometime in the early fifth century. ** '' Shemot Rabba'', ''Exodus Rabbah'' (tenth or eleventh and twelfth century) ** '' Vayyiqra Rabba'', ''Leviticus Rabbah'' (middle seventh century) ** '' Bamidbar Rabba'', ''Numbers Rabbah'' (twelfth century) ** '' Devarim Rabba'', ''Deuteronomy Rabbah'' (tenth century) ** '' Shir Hashirim Rabba'', ''Song of Songs Rabbah'' (probably before the middle of ninth century) ** '' Ruth Rabba'', (probably before the middle of ninth century) ** '' Eicha Rabba'', ''Lamentations Rabbah'' (seventh century). ''Lamentations Rabbah'' has been transmitted in two versions. One edition is represented by the first printed edition (at Pesaro in 1519); the other is the Salomon Buber edition, based on manuscript J.I.4 from the Biblioteca Casanatense in Rome. This latter version (Buber's) is quoted by the Shulkhan Arukh, as well as medieval Jewish authorities. It was probably redacted sometime in the fifth century. ** '' Ecclesiastes Rabbah'' ** ''

Esther Rabbah Esther Rabbah (Hebrew: אסתר רבה) is a midrash to the Book of Esther. From its plan and scope, it is apparently an incomplete collection of the rich aggadic material which has been produced on the Book of Esther. Structure Except in the V ...

Contemporary Jewish midrash

A wealth of literature and artwork has been created in the 20th and 21st centuries by people aspiring to create "contemporary midrash". Forms include poetry, prose, Bibliodrama (the acting out of Bible stories), murals, masks, and music, among others. The Institute for Contemporary Midrash was formed to facilitate these reinterpretations of sacred texts. The institute hosted several week-long intensives between 1995 and 2004, and published eight issues of ''Living Text: The Journal of Contemporary Midrash'' from 1997 to 2000.

Contemporary views

According to Carol Bakhos, recent studies that use literary-critical tools to concentrate on the cultural and literary aspects of midrash have led to a rediscovery of the importance of these texts for finding insights into the rabbinic culture that created them. Midrash is increasingly seen as a literary and cultural construction, responsive to literary means of analysis. Frank Kermode has written that midrash is an imaginative way of "updating, enhancing, augmenting, explaining, and justifying the sacred text". Because the Tanakh came to be seen as unintelligible or even offensive, midrash could be used as a means of rewriting it in a way that both makes it more acceptable to later ethical standards and conforms more to later notions of plausibility. James L. Kugel, in ''The Bible as It Was'' (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1997), examines a number of early Jewish and Christian texts that comment on, expand, or re-interpret passages from the first five books of the Tanakh between the third century BCE and the second century CE. Kugel traces how and why biblical interpreters produced new meanings by the use of exegesis on ambiguities, syntactical details, unusual or awkward vocabulary, repetitions, etc. in the text. As an example, Kugel examines the different ways in which the biblical story that God's instructions are not to be found in heaven (Deuteronomy 30:12) has been interpreted. Baruch 3:29-4:1 states that this means that divine wisdom is not available anywhere other than in the Torah. Targum Neophyti (Deuteronomy 30:12) and b. Baba Metzia 59b claim that this text means that Torah is no longer hidden away, but has been given to humans who are then responsible for following it.

References

External links

Midrash Section of Chabad.org
Includes a five-part series on the classic approaches to reading Midrash.

extracted and translated by Samuel Rapaport, 1908.

��entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith * ;Full text resources

(

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Abridged translations of Tanchuma
in English.

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English translation and Hebrew text
{{Authority control Exegesis Religious terminology Ancient Hebrew texts Hebrew words and phrases Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law