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Learning to Read Midrash

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One who reads Learning to Read Midrash expecting to find interesting midrashim with insightful analyses will not be disappointed. This, however, is only an added bonus for readers of this book. The primary goal of the work is to provide a method for independent study of midrash. Simi Peters achieves this goal very well by detailing a systematic process for uncovering additional layers of meaning in midrashim that may seem simplistic or may be difficult to comprehend. The methodology focuses on a close reading of the midrashic text and a careful comparison to the Biblical text on which it is based. The book focuses on two particular genres in midrashic literature - the mashal (parable) and the narrative expansion. Through the application of her methodology, the author raises midrash to a sophisticated level of Biblical exegesis. As we revisit the stories of our childhood, such as the story of Avraham breaking his father's idols, we discover a complex and insightful narrative and understand its connection to the Biblical text. More importantly, after reading this book, we feel empowered to study midrash on our own and to gain a greater understanding of both the midrashim and the Biblical passages on which they are based.

Learning to Read Midrash is very clearly written, and is appropriate for readers with varied background in Jewish study. It includes, as well, interesting background material on midrashic literature, its place in the literature of the tannaim, and its place in the tradition of Biblical exegesis. It is recommended for teachers of classical Jewish texts, as well as those who wish to enhance their own learning.
-Shmuel Peerless
Lookstein Education Digest

This is a very impressive introduction to agaddic midrash. All examples are analyzed in English translation, so you don't need to be able to read Hebrew or Aramaic to follow all the discussion. (Pertinent excerpts in the original language are included as an appendix.) The author's tone is very down-to-earth and helpful throughout. The methodology she introduces isn't so much an algorithm for interpreting the midrash, as an algorithm for finding the most important questions that should be asked when interpreting it. While this may empower one to read midrash on one's own, as one reviewer says below, I think it will take many years of experience and learning to match the author's interpretations for imagination and insight. The examples of midrashim she has chosen do more than just illustrate her methodology, they're also of great spiritual interest. An extremely worthwhile book.

I read this work slowly , studying each portion of the work carefully. I felt that by doing so I was adding both to my knowledge and to my skill of how to read Midrash. This work shows how varied and rich and contradictory Midrashic readings can be . It comes from an author who has studied and taught this material for years and is able to provide skilled insights that can be of great use to readers and learners at all levels.

This is an important work , and should have a place in the library of anyone who wishes to deepen in their study of Midrash.

I'm writing to recommend a unique book from one of my teachers that has just been published. It is called "Learning to Read Midrash," and helps provide you with a basic methodology for accessing midrashic literature. The author, Simi Peters, is a gifted teacher and writer who draws on traditional and academic sources to really bring the material alive. Her class at my yeshiva last year, Nishmat, first thing on Sunday mornings (!!??) has been one of the highlights of my learning here in Israel.

This is an important book.

Unfortunately Jews sit in synagogues today and hear sermons filled with Midrash and haven't the slightest idea what parts of the rabbi's talk is really in the Bible, what parts are Midrash, and whether the rabbi's view is based on the Torah, the Midrash or the rabbi's own opinion. This is tragic since the sermon is supposed to instruct not confuse.

Simi Peters explains what Midrash is, why it was developed, what it intends to accomplish and what are its methods and styles. She writes that Midrash may be an interpretation of a biblical word, a sentence or episode. It may be a sermon invented to teach a lesson, a parable related or unrelated to a biblical text. It could also be a combination of intentions.

Peters devotes the first seven chapters of her book to an explanation of the midrashic parables and gives six examples in six chapters. She shows how the Midrash may use one biblical verse to interpret another obscure one, how the Midrash frequently uses a scriptural passage as a springboard for its message, and how the Midrash engages its readers in a delightful dialogue.

She writes clearly and carries her readers step by step in a logical fashion. For example, in chapter 4, she quotes a verse from Lamentations 1:1, offers the midrashic commentary by breaking it up into twelve understandable parts, shows that the Midrash is composed of four sections, and identifies the problem faced by the Midrash. She then continues with eight more brief sections, which make the midrashic story clear, interesting and relevant.

Describing her method in this fashion may make readers feel that Simi Peters' method is complicated, actually the reverse is true. Her method of studying each element separately enhances clarity and heightens the enjoyment and understanding of the Midrash.

Mrs. Peters uses the same tactics in her last nine chapters where she explains how the Midrash expands upon biblical narratives. An example is the well-known tale of Abraham breaking his father's idols, an adventure that is not in the Torah, only the Midrash. Another example is how the Midrash rewrites the story of the birth of Samuel, which is only presented briefly in Samuel 1-2.

In short, readers of this volume will find fascinating midrashic tales that Peters analyses in an enjoyable manner. Readers will learn how to differentiate a Midrash from the Torah original and the eye-opening ways to decipher the rabbi's sermon. And, what is most important, they will become aware of what is Torah and what is Midrash.