What is Midrash?

[Hrvatski Noahid]

I had a discussion with a fellow Noahide who implied he would leave the Torah because he either disliked or misunderstood what he read. I find it worthwhile to explain a few things:

Midrash are homiletic stories within the Torah tradition. As such, Midrashic stories themselves are never to be used as sources from which it is correct to derive decisions for what should or should not be done in practice. Certainly, established / accepted Torah Laws for practical observance (halacha) can never be overturned by a homiletic story that's found in Midrash. That is because the earlier Sages who ruled on and accepted the halacha certainly also knew the Midrash stories, and in fact understood them much more correctly and deeply than we imagine to understand them in our small way. Therefore we are obligated (and held accountable in G-d's judgment) to practice what halacha requires, and not what we imagine that a Midrashic story implies. https://www.asknoah.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=145&pid=4487&highlight=Midrash#pid4487

It's very important to understand that Midrash is NOT Torah Law. The Midrash is telling you about a *moral* equivalency, not a Torah-Law equivalency. https://www.asknoah.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=21&pid=4102&highlight=Midrash#pid4102

Many statements in the Midrash are actually metaphorical, for the purpose of teaching some lesson, and are not meant to be taken literally. https://www.asknoah.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=414&pid=1537&highlight=Midrash#pid1537