Q&A: Derash as an expression of inquiry and investigation?
Derash as an expression of inquiry and investigation?
Question
What does the term “derash” mean, and why does it apply both to the formalistic hermeneutical rules of interpretation and to aggadic preaching? Does derash involve a stronger kind of searching and probing than the plain wording of the verse would seem to warrant—something more precise and sophisticated? Or is the point that one expounds and seeks additional meanings beyond the plain sense? Seemingly, derash is characterized by artistic freedom from the technical constraints of wording, preserving contextual sequence, and the like.
Answer
Derash is not an art form but an additional mode of interpretation, parallel to peshat, the plain sense (and its basis goes back to the giving of the Torah at Sinai). Aggadic derash is something else. There, these are usually vague tools whose main purpose is to plant the preacher’s ideas into the text. Clever homiletic quips.
Discussion on Answer
To “doresh” means to search. In halakhic derash, one searches for the parallel interpretation according to the system of tools used in halakhic derash. In aggadic derash, one looks to anchor in the text an idea one wants to convey (aggadic derash is always in the category of “supporting,” meaning that it comes after the idea and message).
And why is it called derash—like “Moses diligently inquired about the goat of the sin offering,” and “you shall inquire, investigate, and question thoroughly”?