While the term midrash--from the Hebrew darash, searched or interpreted--can refer to both legal and extralegal scriptural exegesis, it most commonly refers to symbolic legends, stories, and parables used to make moral or ethical concepts accessible to the layman

While the term midrash from the Hebrew darash, searched or interpreted can refer to both legal and extralegal scriptural exegesis, it most commonly refers to symbolic legends, stories, and parables used to make moral or ethical concepts accessible to the layman. As such, midrash encompasses an open-ended method of exposition that often allows for the coexistence of seemingly contradictory interpretations of holy writ in a kind of dialogue with each other. In Rewriting the Self, Mordechai Rotenberg illustrates how midrashic dialogue between a persons past and present may assist in the reorganiation of ostensibly contrasting conditions or positions, so that by reinterpreting a failing past according to future aspirations, cognitive discord may be reduced and one may begin to rehabilitate and enhance ones life. The new title given this edition is intended to clarify the authors intent.