Mystical Midrash

Abstract

This article conceives of mystical midrash as the act of interpreting the details of a Torah verse with the purpose of entering a meditative or ecstatic state of union with God, in which the mystic by drawing down God’s insights can explain how the Torah verse mediates the micro-macrocosmic relation between God’s will and the course of history. However, since mystical midrash is such a rare phenomenon in Judaism, I have chosen to highlight the various approaches to the Torah in Jewish mysticism as a background for understanding why only one of these approaches qualifies for the epithet ‘mystical midrash’.

Keywords

• Experience (Religion) -- Judaism
• Midrash
• Mysticism -- Judaism
• Ecstasy
• Torah
• Bible, Old Testament