Thursday, March 05, 2015

Review of Tabory and Atzmon, Midrash Esther Rabbah

THE TALMUD BLOG: Review of Tabory and Atzmon, ‘Midrash Esther Rabbah’ (Shai Secunda).
Overall, this new edition is a great pleasure to work with – and to learn from, beginning to end. No doubt it will be the fountainhead from where all future research on the literary history of Esther midrashim begin. When read on its own, this midrash will ever-beguile you with its playful hermeneutics (another valuable introductory chapter outlines Esther Rabbah’s many different interpretive strategies) and surprising traditions.