This course will explore not just the biblical text and interpretations, but the methods of various interpreters and the messages they extract from the text.
In this first of two parts, we will delve into midrashic analysis of the complainers. What tools do the scholars of midrash use to unpack each textual detail? What do their interpretations suggest about the state of the Jewish people in the desert, and perhaps about the nature of complaints – or, quasi-complaints – in general?