Midrashim play a central role in the way in which we learn ḥumash and tanakh. Unfortunately, many modern Jews have never learned midrash in a serious fashion and this has given rise to people either dismissing midrashim or confusing, even conflating, midrashim with the actual text of the tanakh. We sat down with two experts on the world of midrash, Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot (Mikra and Meaning: Studies in Bible and its Interpretation) and Simi Peters (Learning to Read Midrash) to talk about what midrash is, why it is so important, the modern/centrist orthodox approaches to midrash, and how we can teach it better. This week's podcast is dedicated to the memory of the 45 men tragically killed in Meron on Lag B'Omer and to the speedy recovery of all of those injured in the disaster. The Koren Podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Aryeh Grossman and Alex Drucker and is edited by Alex Drucker. The Koren Podcast is a part of the Koren Podcast Network, a division of Koren Publishers Jerusalem.  Get 10% off your next order at www.korenpub.com with code PODCAST at checkout. Useful links: Full text and translation of Simi Peters' favorite Midrashim Mikra and Meaning by Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot Learning to Read Midrash www.korenpub.com