Midrash

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 shap...

Biblical exegesis, or the interpretation (Drash) of the Torah, was part of the rabbinic tradition since the earliest literary period. What makes certain interpretations valid and others not? Why is interpretation needed altogether?

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.

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.

Which world is more real? The world of action, or the world where we perceive the effects of our actions?

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.

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.

The rabbinic endeavor of mining the text of Tanach (the Hebrew Bible) to extract nuggets of hidden wisdom from its subterranean layers.

A clear explanation of what our Torah’s sacred stories, known as Midrash, are and aren't. This brief overview of the origin and development of Judaism's oral traditions provide clarity on shadowy drama and colorful narratives whose messages are largely mi...

Which is more true, the world of the adult, or the world of the child?