MIDRASH IN THE NOVEL THE RED TENT BY ANITA DIAMANT

The novel The Red Tent, 1997, by Anita Diamant, an American writer with a Jewish origin, explores and presents the life of Dinah in the Bible from a woman’s perspective. In the Bible, Dinah is totally silenced and Diamant in her novel presents her with a voice, in order her story to be heard. The Red Tent presents the rich experience of women and their lives, which when revealed and shown, present and establish the meaning of women in biblical times and encourage within it, recognition and confirmation of the women’s experience and importance. The novel The Red Tent is part of the Midrash phenomenon, which is part of the women’s re-writing and it is a method for interpretation of biblical narratives, which promotes creative writing. Midrash is commonly defined as the process of interpretation by which ”gaps” found in the Torah are filled in. The Midrash is divided into two categories: traditional and modern. The traditional is divided in two categories: Halakhan and Aggadah and The Red Tent belongs in the category of modern Midrash.