How does Judaism read scripture? -- An overview of the rabbinic midrash-compilations -- Genesis in Genesis Rabbah : recasting the patriarchs into the models for Israelite conduct -- Exodus in Mekhilta attributed to R. Ishmael : reorganizing the facts of scripture into coherent expositions on important topics -- Leviticus in Sifra : mediating between the two Torahs, oral and written -- Leviticus in Leviticus Rabbah : turning scripture's laws into the design of holy Israel's social order -- Numbers in Sifré to Numbers : systematically reading and expounding scripture's narratives in accord with the rabbinic model -- Deuteronomy in Sifré to Deuteronomy : turning scripture's cases into laws, and laws into an entire social system -- Esther in Esther Rabbah I : a woman saves Israel -- Ruth in Ruth Rabbah : a gentile woman saves Israel through the Torah -- Song of Songs in Song of Songs Rabbah : reading holy Israel's relationship to God within the symbols of a love-song -- Lamentations in Lamentations Rabbah : updating scripture's response to the First Temple's destruction by showing how an event defines a pattern -- The calendar of Judaism in Pesiqta deRab Kahana : telling time by Judaism's clock -- The sages in the Fathers according to Rabbi Nathan -- The theology of rabbinic midrash.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.