By Zvi Ron …not all midrashim have the same status. R. Hai Gaon explains that midrashim that are found in the Talmud are considered to be superior to those found only in midrash collections.
By Rabbi David Fohrman originally posted on Aleph Beta – When legal matters – halachah – is not at stake, Jewish tradition has always recognized the right of all readers, in every generation, to look at the text themselves and to try to decide, to the best of their abilities, what it is that they think the text means. It is always up to individuals to read “pshat”, to try to discern for themselves what they think the simplest, most true meaning of any text is.