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The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, asks a devastating question about the plague of the firstborn. The verse says God struck down "until the captive firstborn" — includi...
And we are hereby apprised that the captives rejoiced in all the decrees inflicted by Pharaoh upon Israel, (for which they were punished) in keeping with (Mishlei 17:5) "He who rej...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, extends its devastating logic about the plague of the firstborn to the animal kingdom. The verse states that God struck "every firstb...
"for there was no house where no one had died": R. Nathan said: Now were there not houses without first-born?—(The resolution:) If one lost a first-born, he would make an image of ...
Variantly: "And he called to Moses and to Aaron": What is the intent of this? Pharaoh had said to him (Ibid. 10:28) "Go from me." (29) "And Moses said: "True have you spoken" (and ...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, illustrates a remarkable principle about obedience to authority through the story of Chananiah, Mishael, and Azariah — three Jewish m...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, captures the moment when Pharaoh finally broke. After the tenth plague — the death of every firstborn in Egypt — Pharaoh summoned Mos...
"for they said: We are all dying": They said: It is not as Moses said (11:5) "and every first-born in the land of Egypt will die." They had thought that if one had four or five son...
(Ibid. 34) "And the people took their dough before it leavened": We are hereby apprised that they kneaded the dough, which had not risen to (become) chametz before they were redeem...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, turns its attention to a small but revealing detail about the night of the Exodus. The Torah states that the Israelites carried "thei...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, preserves a question from Rabbi Nathan that captures the emotional texture of the Exodus. The Torah describes the Israelites carrying...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, examines a verse that seems to state the obvious: "And the children of Israel did as Moses had bid them" (Exodus 12:35). The rabbis a...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, pauses on a detail in the Exodus narrative that seems redundant: "And they asked of Egypt vessels of silver and vessels of gold and r...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, preserves a teaching from Rabbi Yossi HaGlili that explains why the Egyptians willingly handed over their treasures to the departing ...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, records a teaching from Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov about how the Israelites knew exactly what to ask from the Egyptians — and how the E...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, records Rabbi Nathan's interpretation of one of the most loaded words in the Exodus narrative. The Torah says the Egyptians "vayashil...
"and they emptied out Egypt": We are hereby apprised that their idols melted and returned to their former state, (so that they were now permitted to take them.) And whence is it de...
(Exodus 12:37) "And the children of Israel journeyed from Ramses to Succoth": From Ramses to Succoth was a distance of forty parasangs, and the voice of Moses traveled (the distanc...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, takes up a question about the Israelites' first stop after leaving Egypt: a place called Succoth. "And they traveled from Rameses to ...
R. Akiva says: "succoth" refers to the clouds of glory, as in (Isaiah 4:5) "And the L–rd will create on the entire base of Mount Zion and on all of its branchings a cloud by day an...
(Exodus 12:3)7) "six hundred thousand men": sixty ten thousands, as in (Song of Songs 3:7) "Behold, the couch of Shlomoh, (acronymically, 'He who spoke and brought the world into b...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, records a debate among three sages about the size of the "great multitude" (erev rav) that accompanied the Israelites out of Egypt. T...
When the Israelites finally left Egypt, they did not leave empty-handed. The Torah describes them departing with "flocks and herds, a great crush of cattle" — a staggering processi...
The word ugoth in the phrase "ugoth matzoth" (Exodus 12:39) refers to thin wafers — flat cakes of unleavened dough. The Mekhilta establishes this meaning by cross-referencing two o...
The Torah records a striking detail about the Israelites' departure from Egypt: "and provisions, too, they could not make for themselves." The Mekhilta reads this not as a statemen...
Two verses in the Torah appear to contradict each other about how long the Israelites were connected to Egypt. One verse states: "And the habitation of the children of Israel in th...
Rebbi (Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi) noticed the same numerical tension between two biblical verses about the duration of Israel's time in Egypt. One says "they shall serve them and they s...
"And the habitation of the children of Israel in Egypt and in other lands was four hundred and thirty years." This is one of the verses that they (the seventy-two elders changed) i...
(Exodus 12:41) "and it was at the end of four hundred and thirty years": We are hereby apprised that when the time arrived, the L–rd did not delay them for one moment. On the fifte...
And thus do you find, that whenever Israel is in bondage, the Shechinah is with them, viz. (Exodus 24:10) "And they saw the G��d of Israel, and under His feet, as the work of a sap...
God never let Israel go into exile alone. The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, a halakhic midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) from approximately the 3rd century CE, tracks the She...
God did not simply send Israel home from exile — He walked back with them. The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, a 3rd-century CE halakhic midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), make...
R. Eliezer says: On it they were redeemed; but they are destined to be redeemed only on Tishrei, as it is written (Psalms 81:4) "Blow the shofar (of redemption) on the month (of Ti...
(Exodus 12:43) "And the L–rd said to Moses and Aaron": There are some sections (in the Torah) which are generic in the beginning and specific after, and some which are specific in ...
"This is the statute of the Paschal offering." Scripture speaks of (both) the Pesach (Passover) of Egypt and the Pesach for all the generations. These are the words of R. Oshiyah. ...
The Torah states a blunt exclusion about the Paschal lamb: "No stranger may eat of it." The Mekhilta explains who "stranger" includes, and the answer is broader than it first appea...
"and you shall circumcise him; then shall he eat of it": his master. We are hereby apprised that (non-) circumcision of his servants prevents him from eating the Pesach (Passover) ...
R. Eliezer says: The (non-) circumcision of one's servants does not prevent him from eating the Pesach (Passover). And what is the intent of "and you shall circumcise him, etc."? I...
Rabbi Akiva ruled that a Jewish master may not keep uncircumcised male servants in his household. Circumcision — the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham — was required of ...
The Torah states "and you shall circumcise him; then he shall eat of it," establishing circumcision as a prerequisite for eating the Passover sacrifice. The Mekhilta uses this vers...
R. Eliezer says: What is the intent of "toshav and sachir"? (i.e., Is it not already written [(Exodus 12:43)] "No stranger may eat of it"?) To reason from Pesach (Passover) to teru...
Rabbi Yitzchak posed a sharp question about what appeared to be a redundant verse. The Torah states that a toshav (resident alien) and a sachir (hired worker) may not eat of the Pa...
Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai tackled a puzzle in the laws of the Passover sacrifice. The Torah states: "In one house shall it be eaten" (Exodus 12:46). Does this mean literally one phys...
Having established that the Pesach (Passover) sacrifice could be eaten "in two places" by a single group, Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai was asked the obvious follow-up question: how exac...
(Ibid. 46) "Do not take from the house outside": outside of the group. But perhaps (the intent is) outside of the house? It is, therefore, written (Ibid. "of the flesh) outside"—ou...
The Torah commands regarding the Passover sacrifice: "you shall not take out of the house." But take what out of the house? The Mekhilta clarifies that Scripture is speaking specif...
The Torah issues a distinctive command about the Passover sacrifice: "And a bone shall you not break in it" (Exodus 12:46). The Mekhilta asks a deceptively simple question — does t...
The prohibition against breaking the bones of the Pesach (Passover) sacrifice includes two seemingly small words that carry enormous legal weight: "in it." The Mekhilta zeroes in o...
