Dr. Anat Reizel
Midrash Icha Zuta is a midrash of agdah with a unique structure, reflecting its being a composition created by combining two different midrashim – an exegetical midrash that includes sermons on the first three verses of the Boo
k of Lamentations, and a sermonic midrash that includes sermons on verses from the prophets and scriptures. In addition to sermons, the midrash also contains stories, parables, and a narrative unit that describes the lamentation of the patriarchs over the destruction. The midrash deals with the destruction from various perspectives – its causes, scope, description, as well as themes of redemption and consolation, and it is characterized by a unique approach to describing God during and after the destruction.
The book contains a detailed introduction that deals with central questions in the study of the midrash, such as: the name of the midrash, a description of the textual witnesses, its distribution, structure, sources, language, the work of editing, and a discussion of literary and conceptual issues. The second part of the book includes a critical edition of the midrash based on the direct textual witnesses and the Geniza fragments. Each section opens with an introduction that describes the structure of the section, its sources, and its contents, followed by explanatory notes.
Dr. Anat Reisel Necker is the author of the book “Introduction to the Midrashim” and teaches in the Department of Humanistic Studies at the Technion.
