The midrash is a repository of rabbinic wisdom, storytelling, and tradition—often couched within the verses of scripture, which the rabbis mine for layer upon layer of hidden meaning.
The term can sometimes refer to specific works, most of which took shape around the same time as the Talmud. But it can also refer to a genre: the rabbinic teachings that are not related to Jewish law per se. These two definitions often (but not always) overlap.
What Is Midrash? The rabbinic endeavor of mining the text of Tanach (the Hebrew Bible) to extract nuggets of hidden wisdom from its subterranean layers.
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My Kid Thinks Moses Was Ten Feet Tall! Midrashic tales and the small child
Which is more true, the world of the adult, or the world of the child?
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Is Midrash for Real? Part 1 in a series on the truth behind Talmudic tales
Torah, like any wisdom, has departments. You can’t study literature the same way you study biology, and you can’t critique poetry as you would journalism. So too, you can’t study one department of Torah the same as you study another.
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Midrash Is for Lovers Part 2 of “Is Midrash For Real?”
The Zohar tells a parable of a beautiful woman who peeks out to her beloved through a small window. Those who love her, find her. Those who don’t, must have patience.
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Midrash and Reality Part 3 of “Is Midrash For Real?”
Which world is more real? The world of action, or the world where we perceive the effects of our actions?
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Limitless Truth for the Limited Mind Part 4 of “Is Midrash For Real?”
That which is absolute truth in the world of the child, in your world is an absurd lie. But don’t imagine your world is any closer to the truth than that of the child.
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Death by Secrets Part 5 of “Is Midrash For Real?”
Let’s take a story, a really strange one. One that can’t mean what it says, but nevertheless is screaming that it must. Let’s apply what we’ve learned, and see how this one works out.
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Stories from the Midrash Translations and renditions of stories from the Midrash and the Talmud
Translations and renditions of stories from the Midrash and the Talmud
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