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Midrash

Translations

PaRDeS

COMING UP WITH ANSWERS

Thanks to Rabbi Elyse Goldstein of Kolel for her notes on this topic


We have learned how to ask questions. Now what? Ask 2 Jews, get 3 opinions, right? I hope that it is clear by now that there will not be one 'right' answer to these 'Parshanut' questions. By definition, the questions that we have learned to ask in Module 3 do not have answers in the text. If they did, it would be a simple matter to research the answers. The whole point of these questions, is that no one (except Moses, perhaps) can claim that they have the correct interpretation.

The process of answering these questions is called 'Midrash.'

In this module, we are going to look at how Midrash works, how using translations can help/hinder us, and the four levels of PaRDeS.

Which approach - pshat or drash - do you prefer? or does it depend?

What do you think the relationship is/should be between Midrash and the Biblical text?

How 'far-fetched' do you think Midrash should be, or should it only resolve difficulties ?

Midrash

What is it?

A Short History

A Gallery of Midrashic Styles

    What is Midrash?
    The word midrash, comes from the root which means to seek out, or examine. It is found in the Bible with this meaning: (Seek Adonai...Isa. 55:6) The word 'midrash' is found twice in II Chronicles, and the Septuagint translates it as book, account. The word 'Bet Midrash' means House of Study.

    Midrash is an answer to a question of Parshanut. Midrashim resolve difficulties in the biblical text. In other words, a midrash is an interpretation. The word midrash can refer to an explanation, a collection of explanations, or to the process itself.

    Midrash is also a collective name given to midrashim, although there is actually no one book with the name 'The Midrash,' like there is the Talmud, even though people often say, 'The Midrash says...'. (Part of the confusion may come from Soncino Publisher's popular collection of Midrashim by the name of Midrash Rabba called in English 'The Midrash.' Other books also use the word 'The Midrash.') There are many different collections of midrashim, anthologies which were put together by different editors at different times. Some of these collections are: Mekhilta, Sifra, Midrash Rabba, Tanhuma, and many others. Many midrashim are from the sixth - tenth centuries. Today, there are contemporary attempts to create 'midrash' such as 'Does God Have a Big Toe?'

    Midrash can be divided into two broad categories:

    • Midrash Halachah
    • Midrash Aggadah

    To be able to follow the Torah, its rules need to be interpreted. What are the kinds of 'work' prohibited on Shabbat. What are the four species for Sukkot? This is Midrash Halachah. Midrash Halachah has a set of principles it uses to derive its interpretations. Much of the Talmud contains Midrash Halachah.

There is also a freer kind of Midrash, a kind of 'imaginitive literature' that uses the text as a springboard for homilies, ethical teachings and stories. This is Midrash Aggadah. (Needless to say, these two types are interwoven in the Jewish classics, and much Midrash Aggadah is found in the Talmud as well).
 
The earliest Midrashim began as oral (what we would call) 'sermons.' These midrashim had a special form called in Hebrew 'Petichta' and in English 'Proem.' (Yes, that is spelled correctly). Midrash that is sermon-like, a literary unity that hangs together on one topic, is called a homily. Midrash that provides a running commentary, verse by verse is called exegesis.
 
To summarize: a midrash always starts with a (textual, usually) problem. Each midrash has an answer, and uses one of several methods (see Styles) and often a proof-text.
One last note: most Midrashim begin with a textual problem, such as we saw in Module 3. The Rabbis don't see them as a problem, they see them as an opportunity! A textual problem is the grain of sand in the oyster whose irritation creates the pearl. Sometimes, though, the Darshan, (midrash maker) has a non-textual issue/agenda and that he wants to say, and is simply looking for a textual hook to hang his teaching on. Reading a midrash is not always clear which it is.