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Midrash (ˈmɪdrɑːʃ; מִדְרָשׁ; () מִדְרָשִׁים or מִדְרָשׁוֹת midrashot) is expansive Jewish Biblical exegesis using a rabbinic mode of interpretation prominent in the Talmud. The word itself means "textual interpretation", "study", or "exegesis", derived from the root verb (דָּרַשׁ‎), which means "resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require", forms of which appear frequently in the Hebrew Bible. Midrash and rabbinic readings "discern value in texts, words, and letters, as potential revelatory spaces", writes the Hebrew scholar Wilda Gafney. "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 and Oral Torah (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 word Midrash, especially if capitalized, can refer to a specific compilation of these rabbinic writings composed between 400 and 1200 CE. According to Gary Porton and Jacob Neusner, midrash has three technical meanings: Judaic biblical interpretation; the method used in interpreting; a collection of such interpretations. The Hebrew word midrash is derived from the root of the verb (דָּרַשׁ), 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: 2 Chronicles 13:22 "in the midrash of the prophet Iddo", and 24:27 "in the midrash of the book of the kings".

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Related concepts (101)

Midrash

Talmud

The Talmud (ˈtɑ:lmʊd,_-məd,_ˈtæl-; 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 centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and was foundational to "all Jewish thought and aspirations", serving also as "the guide for the daily life" of Jews. The term Talmud normally refers to the collection of writings named specifically the Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli), although there is also an earlier collection known as the Jerusalem Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi).

Torah

The Torah (ˈtɔːrə,_ˈtoʊrə; , "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. It is known as the Pentateuch (ˈpɛntətjuːk) or the Five Books of Moses by Christians. It is also known as the Written Torah (תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב, ) in Jewish tradition. If meant for liturgic purposes, it takes the form of a Torah scroll (Sefer Torah). If in bound book form, it is called Chumash, and is usually printed with the rabbinic commentaries ().