Midrash and Aggadah

Abstract

Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש) is ancient rabbinic interpretation of scripture. Aggadah (Hebrew: אגדה) is rabbinic narrative. The two terms are, however, often used interchangeably to refer to those many aspects of rabbinic literature that are not related to Jewish behavior or law (Hebrew: הלכה). Rabbinic literature here refers to works composed by the rabbis in Late Antiquity, from approximately 70 ce (Common Era) up to 1000 ce (an arbitrary end point). From the time that Y. L. Zunz addressed the literature in 1832, academic study of Midrash and Aggadah has been ongoing. In the earliest years it was part of the great project of Wissenschaft des Judentums (Scientific study of Judaism), and it included historical-critical studies, philological inquiries, anthologies, translations, and critical editions of texts. More recently, scholars have compared midrashic and aggadic methods of interpretation and narration with those of religious and cultural groups contemporary with the rabbis: Hellenism and Roman paganism, patristic and Syriac Christianity, and early Islam. Throughout the study of Midrash and Aggadah, scholars have written on the theological significance of the field. Current scholarship focuses on literary interpretation of Midrash and Aggadah and the implications of their oral performance and on sensitivity to the discursive structures of rabbinic narrative, as well as the very methodologies used to study the field. Feminist and gender criticism, particularly focused on placing rabbinic narrative within the values and culture of the rabbis and their contemporaries, has also been applied to the study of these literatures, and the growth of such criticism has expanded scholarship to include work in disability studies and queer studies. The mid-20th century to date, in particular, has been a time of ferment and, since the 1970s, the study of Midrash and Aggadah has expanded broadly.