Midrash
How Does Midrash Work?
Midrash is commonly defined as the process of interpretation by which the rabbis filled in "gaps" found in the Torah. It is a literature that seeks to ask the questions that lie on the tips of our tongues, and to answer them even before we have posed them.
Read moreWhat Is It?
Midrash 101
Brush up on the basics of midrash.
Midrash Aggadah
Exploring ethical ideas, biblical characters, and narrative moments.
How Midrash Functions
The rabbis explain and expand on the Torah--and in doing so, reveal much about themselves.
Abraham & Sarah in Midrash
The midrash rounds out what we know about these biblical figures.
Methods
Midrash gleans deep meaning from the Torah's text.
Central Texts
Midrash Rabbah
One name, many books.
Midrash Tanhuma
A compilation of narrative and legal midrash.
Mekhilta
Legal midrash on the Book of Exodus.
Sifra-Sifre
Legal midrash on Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Midrash Halakhah
Clarifying legal passages in the Torah beyond their obvious reference points.
Stories in Midrash
Exodus Rabbah: A Text Study
Exploring Moses and Aaron's confrontation with Pharaoh.
Serah - Asher's Daughter
How the Midrash interprets Serah's role in Israelite history.
Moses' Death: A Text Study
Midrash explains how Moses could be happy with dying.
Modern Midrash
Contemporary artists expand the Jewish bookshelf.
Midrash Today
Finding midrash in your local synagogue and your local movie theater.
Books
The Classic Midrash: Tannaitic Commentaries on the Bible
By Reuven Hammer
Legends of the Jews
By Louis Ginzberg
A Midrash and a Maaseh
By Hanoch Teller
Reimagining the Bible: The Storytelling of the Rabbis
By Howard Schwartz
The Book of Legends (Sefer Ha-Aggadah)
By Hayim N. Bialik and Yehoshua H. Ravnitzky