An {Amateur} Midrash Primer
About a year ago I was introduced to midrash through several different media sources I follow and respect, coincidentally all within the span of a couple of weeks.
On first hearing the word, I had no context for it. My curiosity ignited, I went into Whack-a-Mole mode, scanning the horizon for another sign and jumping on it when it emerged.
Being who I am, I immediately hit the books. I have a deep need to know in a thriving, active, swelling kind of way. I was not able to find much information about midrash in the context of modern Bible study, but I did learn a whole lot about the rich, dynamic history of rabbinical midrash. I’d like to share some of what I learned in the form of a very brief, get-the-basics primer. I’d also like to share how I have been practicing my own version of midrash as a means of imaginative scriptural study.
What is midrash?
Midrash, when translated from Hebrew, simply means “study” or “textual interpretation”. It is an interactive interpretation of scripture, often resulting in narrative or imaginative writing. The word midrash can be used in three ways:
As a genre of writing (usually specific to exegesis by ancient Judaic authorities).
In reference to a specific set of Hebrew texts containing rabbinic writings that interpret and supplement the Hebrew Bible. When referring to this specific set of texts, midrash usually becomes Midrash, used as a proper noun.
As a method of scriptural interpretation.
“Midrash was initially a philological method of interpreting the literal meaning of biblical texts. In time, it developed into a sophisticated interpretive system that reconciled apparent biblical contradictions, established the scriptural basis of new laws, and enriched biblical content with new meaning.” (source)
The original authorities on the Hebrew Bible interpreted and wrote about scripture in a vastly different way than many modern Christians read scripture.
Wilda C. Gafney, a scholar of the Hebrew Bible, writes this about midrash as a method of reading and interpreting scripture:
“(Midrash readings) discern value in texts, words, and letters, as potential revelatory spaces. 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 question.” (source)
Midrash as a method is relational rather than transactional.
It is imaginative rather than flatly literal.
It is interactive rather than passive.
It is descriptive rather than prescriptive.
It is searching rather than blind.
It is connected rather than remote.
I think it’s necessary to clarify here that I am by no means an authority on midrash. I am, however, someone who has experienced a deeper level of connection and meaning-making with scripture through consistent practice.
To me, midrash is an invitation to engage the imagination and intellect through the power of the Spirit to create revealing, timely, and compelling scriptural exegesis that “stand(s) alongside” other interpretations.
Midrash as personal study.
This is the part of the post that will be very, very personal. I am going to share the practice I have cultivated over the past ten months to develop my capacity for midrash and begin to use this method of study as a means of interpretation. This practice may strike you as odd, unconventional, non-specific, or even dubious. However, I can genuinely say that it has breathed a new vivacity into my study of the Bible. It is more nuanced and dynamic than ever. I find myself thinking about the passages I study for far longer, and organically weaving the impact of study into the actual living of my day.
Choose or make a schedule of passages.
I refer to the schedule in The Daily Office devotions of The Book of Common Prayer. I don’t go through each devotion-I normally read what is on the schedule for the morning. So far I’ve chosen to focus my midrash study on the New Testament reading. The Daily Office Express is a no-frills way of following the daily devotions.
I have loved using The Book of Common Prayer for this purpose. Being part of a non-denominational church, we are not typically attuned to liturgical seasons. I find it restful to orient the passage of time around the wisdom of this tradition. Having said that, this is only one method of choosing a reading plan.
Start with quiet.
So, if you read my previous post, you already know that prayer is not a natural gift of mine. To begin my time, I just sit in quiet for a few minutes, in a kind of preparatory meditation, but without the pressure or timers or posture. It is a simple emptying.
Read.
I read through the passage slowly. Sometimes I read it more than once. I try not to overthink it, because I ALWAYS overthink it. I don’t get out a concordance or look up words, I just read it as a story, just a brief narrative. I find it incredibly refreshing to read it this way-with some levity and whimsy.
Choose a word, a phrase a character…and write it.
When I first began this practice, this was so, so awkward. I asked myself so many times “why am I doing this again?!?” The fact that I stuck with it points to a power of will beyond just my own. But I did stick with it.
I typically allow another minute or so of quiet, waiting for someone, a word, or a phrase, perhaps even a concept, to jump out at me. There is no wrong way to do this, honestly! At the very least, some detail about where you are on this particular day will be revealed to you.
At times, I have re-written the passage from the perspective of a specific character involved. Jesus heals the paralyzed man, and I want to know the story from the perspective of a bystander in the home when the roof broke open, so I write that imaginative narrative. I want to know what the buried talents would have said while their counterparts were out in the world doing work, so I write it “Everything Is Alive” style…you get the idea. This is a form taken by much of what is considered modern midrash.
More often, my own midrash practice has taken the form of poetry.
I have a prediction: upon reading the word “poetry” you either seriously considered scrolling to another page, or you immediately stopped to bookmark this one.
Poetry is a very divisive form of writing. It is difficult to be ambivalent about a poem.
Take a deep breath…it doesn’t have to rhyme, you don’t have to be alliterative, and, the best part is, you don’t have to share it with a single person if you don’t want to! Permission for privacy granted.
A poem is simply a piece of writing in which form and content both express meaning. It stirs emotion and imagination…even if it is strictly for your own precious emotion and imagination. Amy Bornman has been a huge inspiration to me in taking a risk on poetry. How she has shared her own midrash is brave and real.
When I first began using midrash as a study method, my writing, my poetry, was not good…I guess that implies it’s better now, and I’m not at all sure that’s true! It does not matter. I walk away nearly every time with a new imagining of scripture, which often illuminates orthodoxy rather than contradicting it.
I think part of the reason this practice has been so pivotal for me is how it has freed me from my tendency to over-analyze everything to death. There is something gut-level about interacting imaginatively with scripture-anything that helps me connect at a gut level is a really positive discipline for me.
The writing part of my own midrash is the bulk of the practice. Protecting time and space for that writing transforms it from a creative quick write into a kind of wholehearted, scripturally bound prayer.
In the next few weeks, I’ll be continuing a brief series about my own particular way of practicing midrash by sharing some examples of my own. If you’re intrigued by this, I’d love to have you as part of the conversation!
Note: There is so much about midrash that I don’t know. It is not a part of my cultural heritage, but God has used it to ignite my love of His word anew. I have researched the historical context of midrash to gain the most accurate understanding I can, but if I’ve misunderstood or misrepresented something about it from a historical point of view, let me know! As always, your comments are highly valued. Please take a peek at the Community Respect Statement if you haven’t already.
