Welcome
Welcome to Midrash on the Exodus!
Our class is four classes and each will focus on a different theme. We’ll be studying Midrashim mainly from the Mechilta of Rabbi Yishmael, the earliest Midrash on Exodus, and from Shmot Rabbah, a later collection. We’ll also look at some Midrash that is found in the Talmud, as well as at least one outside source (a Jewish text written in Greek, the Wisdom of Solomon, which is part of the Apocrypha).
To begin your studies, please read the first 15 chapters of the book of Exodus (Shmot). You can read in English, Hebrew, or another language if you prefer! This will help you be familiar with all the material we study. Our learning will focus mainly on three Torah portions: Shmot, Bo, and Beshalach. So don’t skip Parshat Vaera in your reading, but don’t get too focused on it or its difficulties!
As with most Midrash, there is a ton of material we could look at in Midrash on the Exodus. I’ve chosen material that fascinates me – I still have much to learn in the sea of Midrash.
We are not going in order, but rather learning topically. The first two sections focus heavily on the learning about G-d that we can take from the Exodus texts and story (as brought out in Midrash). The next two sections deal with the way Midrash sometimes understands the Exodus as a cosmic battle between good and evil or order and chaos, and at other points takes an entirely different tack.
Links To More Information On Midrash
- See the introduction to reading Midrash and Three Steps to Midrash by Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein.
- Wikipedia on Midrash
- Wikipedia on Mechilta
- Overview of Midrash Raba