The Midrash: An Introduction

The Midrash: An Introduction sets forth the way in which Judaism reads the Hebrew Bible. In this masterful presentation, the reader is introduced to the classics of Jewish Bible interpretation, with special attention to the way in which the ribbis of Talmudic times read the Pentateuch, the Book of Ruth, and Song of Songs. The seven Midrash compilations are introduced with a lucid account of their main points, accompanied by selections that give the reader a direct encounter, in English, with the Bible as Judaism understands it. The word midrash, based on the Hebrew root DaRaSH (“search”), means “interpretation” or “exegesis.” Midrash also more formally refers to the compilations of such interpretations of Scripture. As Dr. Jacob Neusner explains, these  compilations “reached closure and conclusion in the formative stage of Judaism, that is, the first seven centuries of the Common Era, the time in which the Mishnah (ca. 200), Talmud of the Land of Israel (ca. 400), and Talmud of Babylonia (ca. 600) were written.” Midrash is not so much about Scripture as it is a subordinate part of Scripture: “They did not write about Scripture,” Dr. Neusner says. “They wrote with Scripture … much as painters paint with a palette of colors.” The Midrash: An Introduction is the second volume in Dr. Jacob Neusner’s series of introductory volumes on classical rabbinic literature. As with the first volume – The Mishnah: An Introduction – this book offers the layperson a concise description of the religious literature and, drawing on Dr. Neusner’s own translations of the texts, walks readers through the selections, providing them with firsthand experience with the document itself. As Dr. Neusner says in his preface to The Midrash: An Introduction, “In these pages I mean to make it possible for readers to know one such compilation from the other and so to begin studying their own.”

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Prefaceix Prologue1 PART 1 The Second and Third-Century Compilations The Tannaite Midrashim 1. Exodus and Mekhilta Attributed to R. Ishmael31 2. Leviticus and Sifra56 3. Numbers and Sifré to Numbers76 4. Deuteronomy and Sifré to Deuteronomy107 PART II The Fourth and Fifth-Century Compilations The Earlier Rabbah Midrashim 5. Genesis and Genesis Rabbah141 PART III The Sixth and Seventh-Century Compilations The Later Rabbah Midrashim 6. Ruth and Ruth Rabbah173 7. Song of Songs and Song of Songs Rabbah197 Bibliography of Midrash Studies by Jacob Neusner 221 Index231

About the Author :
About the Author: Dr. Jacob Neusner is Graduate Research Professor of Religious Studies at the University of South Florida and is the Martin Buber Professor of Judiac Studies at the University of Frankfort. The author and editor of 300 books, Dr. Neusner holds ten honorary degrees and has lectures throughout the world. He has recently been named Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge University, England.