What is Midrash?מדרש
Midrash is the body of rabbinic literature that expounds the biblical text, drawing out legal and homiletical meaning beyond the plain reading.
Also written: Midrashim, Medrash, Medrashim
The best known collections are Midrash Rabbah, arranged to follow the Torah and the five megillos, and Midrash Tanchuma. The material ranges from legal derivation to narrative expansion, and it is the source of a great many of the stories and explanations that appear in commentaries and in derashos.
Midrash sets are frequently bought by people preparing to teach or speak, since the material is organised by the weekly portion and is a standard source for parsha content. Translated editions have widened the market considerably.
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Related terms
- Parsha — The parsha is the weekly Torah portion, one of fifty-four sections read in sequence over the course of the annual Torah reading cycle.
- Meforshim — Meforshim are the classical commentaries on Jewish texts and the commentators behind them — individual authors such as Rashi, Ramban, and Ibn Ezra, and collective works such as Tosafos.
- Chumash — A Chumash is a printed volume of the Five Books of Moses, named from the Hebrew word for five, usually including commentary and the haftaros read on Shabbos and festivals.