Midrash

In Hebrew, the word darash means to seek out or to look further, and it provides the root for the word midrash, which is the premise for Piercy's writing "Apple sauce for Eve." Midrash is commonly a creative attempt to answer questions or fill in the blanks left vacant by traditional, stark biblical text that goes only so far in explaining a historical event. Originally, midrash referred to a specific body of work written before and during the Middle Ages by rabbis who made commentaries on the five books of the Torah. Today, midrash means any imaginative work—such as stories, poems, artwork, or even dance—that tries to round out or give substance to vague or missing explanations in biblical text.

Examples of historical accounts that may elicit midrash are Abraham's journey with his son Isaac up Mount Moriah to where the boy is to be sacrificed...