Hammer on the Rock

This slim volume is the perfect introduction to Midrash; it's material is drawn from the Talmud and midrashic writings i.e. first five centuries of the common era. The introduction is very brief; the editor allows the selected passages to speak for themselves which they do beautifully. Some of the material is very specifically Jewish in the sense of relating directly to Jewish history; but most of it speaks to religious truth in the sense found in most religions.An example: "Someone came before Rabab and said: 'The mayor of my town has told me: Go and kill so and so; it you do not, I will have you killed.' The Raba said to him: 'Let him kill you, but you must not fill. What do you think, your blood is redder thananother man's? Perhaps his blood is redder than yours.'"