Midrash Quiz

Midrash Aggadah and Midrash Halakhah are rabbinic tools for interpreting the Bible. How much do you know about the origins and methods of these exegetical traditions?

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Question 1. The oldest existing aggadic midrashim are
 Bereshit Rabbah and Vayikra Rabbah
 Shemot Rabbah and Devarim Rabbah
 Ruth Rabbah and Esther Rabbah
 Shir HaShirim Rabbah and Eikha Rabbah

 

Question 2. Which is the largest collection of midrash aggadah?
 Midrash Rabbah
 Midrash Tanhuma
 The Mekhilta
 Sifre

 

Question 3. Serah has no part in any narrative in the Torah, but there are many midrashic traditions about her, including:
 That she was Moses' mother
 That she married Pharaoh in order to save Moses
 That she identified Moses as the redeemer who would deliver the Israelites from Egypt
 That she taught Moses how to perform miracles in front of Pharaoh, because he was initially too scared

 

Question 4. Who said that "the Torah speaks in the language of human beings"?
 Rabbi Akiva
 Rabbi Yishmael
 Rabbi Yohanan
 Reish Lakish
 Hillel

 

Question 5. True or false: Classical works of midrash sometimes contain polemics against Christianity or Islam.
 True
 False

 

Question 6. Which of the following are examples of contemporary midrash?
 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I See the Promised Land" speech
 Passover Haggadahs
 "Turn, Turn, Turn," sung by the Byrds, written by Pete Seeger
 All of the above

 

Question 7. In one midrashic story, who of the following is in Rabbi Akiba’s classroom?
 Abraham
 Moses
 Adam
 God

 

Question 8. Were midrashic texts discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls?
 Yes
 No

 

Question 9. According to midrash, which of Judaism's forefathers once worked in a store that sold idols?
 Abraham
 Isaac
 Jacob
 Moses

 

Question 10. What are the two main categories of midrash?
 Yerushalmi and Bavli
 Ashkenazic and Sephardic
 Halakhah and Aggadah
 Aseh and Lo Ta’aseh

 

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