Midrash in Historical Context: Rome

There are many ways to explain a text, yet Midrash remains one of the most important. Today, Rabbi Rocklin will walk us through the following questions:

1. What exactly is Midrash, and why is it important to Judaism?
2. Why are the midrashic texts of the fourth and fifth centuries considered the most authoritative?
3. How do we reconcile midrashic interpretations of the text with the simple understanding of the text that does not include the midrash?