The discussion of midrash includes several examples of how it may be applied. See also Aggadah.

Jacob Neusner, Rabbi Scheinerman, Jo Milgrim, Rabbi Burton Visotzky, and Rabbi Donna Berman, give their views of midrash.

The principal story examined here, which tells of how Esau's younger brother Jacob tricked him out of the most important of blessings, is used by David Richter to illustrate the use of midrash, a method for drawing new meanings from the Biblical text.

Midrash is explained as a means of interpreting the Biblical text according to certain hermeneutic principles. It is also noted, however, that "…'Modern Midrash' has nothing to do with the classical modes of literary exegesis that guided the rabbis." A useful introduction to a complex subject.