Midrash:

Midrash Rabbah - Torah 

Parsha:

Beshalach,  Korach,  Shemot 

Description

The leaders of (part of) the rebellion against Moshe, Datan and Aviram, first mentioned in the context of the Korahide rebellion, are pictured by the Midrash as being a thorn in Moshe's side (to put it lightly) from the beginning of his career. We explore the methodology of Midrash on two planes - both the textual associations that lead to this history as well as the general Midrashic approach in presenting characters in Tanakh, both virtuous as well as vile, in a less nuanced but more accessible light and the homiletic-educational goals of Midrash as a general oeuvre.