Searching for Meaning in Midrash: Lessons for Everyday Living

The Oral Torah was handed down for generations from Moses. It is the complement to the Written Torah. Keep in mind that the original Torah was written without vowels or punctuation; the implication being that there had to be an oral Torah to understand the written one. Midrash refers to stories and details from the Oral Torah that clarify and add to stories in the Torah. The Oral Torah wasn't codified in the Talmud until about a millennium ago when anti-Semitism was so intense it appeared that the Oral Torah would be lost to posterity. This book is presented in an easy concise format. The authors explain all of the Hebrew words that are used. The actual Biblical texts are juxtaposed with the Midrashic texts for easy comparison. Then each is followed by a D'rash, a short commentary. The root word of d'rash means to investigate. A lot of Christians tend to shy away from Jewish commentaries and such books are rarely sold in Christian books stores, even though Christians believe in the Hebrew Bible, the so called Old Testament. This is unfortunate because they are really missing out on a lot. Very few Christian ministers were able to answer my questions pertaining to the Hebrew Bible. A couple of ministers I consulted had never even heard of the story of Tamar and Judah in Genesis 38. The Jewish people are named for Judah/Yehuda.