1,517 passages in Rabbinic Midrash
Individual passages from Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, shown in source order. Page 32 of 32.
Shimon b. Azzai asks what the Torah intends by the word "Veha'avarta," "and you shall pass over" or "set apart," used of the firstborn (Exodus 13:12). The question opens a careful ...
Abraham called himself a stranger. (Genesis 23:4): "A stranger and a sojourner am I with you." David called himself a stranger. (Psalms 119:19): "I am a stranger in the land." And ...
This midrash from the Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael shows the rabbis working out a point of law about the firstborn of animals when pure reasoning falls short. The teacher admits frank...
Beloved are the converts, and the Mekhilta offers a stunning proof: God delayed Abraham's circumcision until the age of ninety-nine specifically to keep the door open for future co...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael turns to a verse from the prophet (Isaiah 44:5) to show the L-rd's esteem for the convert, the stranger who joins Israel of his own free will. The pro...
The Torah commands that firstborn animals must be consecrated to God. But what happens when the ownership of the animal is complicated? The Mekhilta parses the language of the vers...
(Exodus 22:21) commands: "Every widow and orphan you shall not afflict." The Mekhilta immediately pushes beyond the literal categories. This verse mentions only widows and orphans....
What happens when a sheep that has never given birth delivers twin males at the exact same moment? Rabbi Yossi HaGlili tackled this unusual scenario head-on, and his ruling surpris...
The Torah is specific about how to redeem the firstborn of a donkey: "And every firstling of an ass shall you redeem with a lamb" (Exodus 13:13). The Mekhilta takes this precision ...
The Torah mentions redeeming "the first-born of the unclean beast" in (Numbers 18:15), which could suggest that every unclean animal's firstborn must be redeemed. Camels, horses, d...
Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Shimon were being led out to their execution. Rabbi Shimon turned to Rabbi Yishmael and said: "Rebbi, my heart is faint, for I do not know why I am going t...
If only a donkey's firstborn is redeemed, what does the Torah mean when it says in (Numbers 18:15), "but redeem shall you redeem the first-born of the unclean beast"? The Mekhilta ...
When R. Shimon and R. Yishmael were executed, R. Akiva said to his disciples: Prepare yourselves for calamity. For if good were destined to come in our generation, only R. Shimon a...
"For if cry out, shall he cry out to Me, hear will I hear his outcry" (Exodus 22:22). The Torah is speaking about the treatment of widows and orphans, the most vulnerable people in...
The Torah delivers a stark consequence for neglecting the firstborn donkey: "If you do not redeem it, you shall break its neck." The Mekhilta unpacks both the punishment and its un...
"among your sons shall you redeem": What is the intent of this? It is written (Numbers 18:16) "And redemption from one month", general. "according to the monetary valuation, five s...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael addresses a practical legal question arising from (Exodus 13:13): "Every human first-born among your sons shall you redeem." The commandment to redeem...
(Exodus 13:15) records a foundational obligation: "and every firstling of my sons I shall redeem." The redemption of the firstborn, known as pidyon haben, is one of the Torah's mos...
The Mekhilta constructs a powerful a fortiori argument about God's mercy. Within the framework of God's lesser measure, the measure of punishment, even a single individual who crie...
R. Yossi Haglili says: Since the Torah commands you both to redeem your son and to teach him Torah, then just as if one's father has not taught him, he must teach himself, so, if h...
"And my wrath shall burn", Rabbi Yishmael connected this phrase to a parallel verse in Deuteronomy through a gezeirah shavah, drawing devastating consequences for the affliction of...
The Mekhilta preserves one of the most comprehensive lists of a father's obligations to his son in all of rabbinic literature. By Torah mandate, a man must do the following for his...
"and your wives will be widows, and your children, orphans": From "and I shall kill you by the sword," do I not know that your wives will be widows, and your children, orphans? Why...
When the Torah says "tomorrow," does it mean the next day or some distant point in the future? The Mekhilta demonstrates that the word carries both meanings, depending on context. ...
There are four sons: a wise son, a wicked son, a simple son, and one who does not know how to ask. What does the wise son say? "What are the testimonies and the statutes and the ju...
Rabbi Eliezer posed a question that shaped Passover observance for all generations: How do we know that a gathering of sages or students must occupy themselves with the laws of Pes...
The Torah draws a direct line between the tenth plague and a permanent commandment: "And the Lord killed every first-born.. therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord every male first-born...
(Ibid. 16) "And it shall be as a sign upon your hand, etc.": The Mekhilta, a halakhic midrash from the school of Rabbi Yishmael, reads this verse from the account of the Exodus as ...
I mean, everything! In some of our ancient sources, God's mind held within it all that ever was, is, or will be. It wasn't just a blank slate waiting to be filled. It already held ...
