Everything you ever wanted to know about midrash ... and less

I have come to using the term "midrash" to describe the "more reading" pages that explain, often with spoilers, our puzzles—on both the cosmic level and/or in terms of the minutiae of individual clues.

A "dictionary definition" of "midrash" reads: the body of homiletic stories told by Jewish rabbinic sages to explain passages in the Hebrew Bible, including Torah (adapted from the start of a wikipedia page, which contains much more information).

A much more nuanced description appears here, in my view almost a midrash for a midrash.

For additional definitions and commentary, click here and here.

I myself was asked to deliver the midrash at my daughter's bat mitzvah, which was held on June 1, 2002.  Click here for a video (9 minutes).  Some day, I will create an annotated transcript, but don't hold your breath.