Midrash

From a Hebrew word 'darash,' meaning 'to seek out'.

1. A term referring to the comparative (homiletic) method of exegesis (hermeneutic) of Biblical texts, which is one of four methods cumulatively called Pardes.

2. The term can also refer to a compilation of homiletic teachings (commentaries) on the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), in the form of legal and ritual (Halakha) and legendary, moralising, folkloristic, and anecdotal (Aggadah) parts.