1,517 passages in Rabbinic Midrash
Individual passages from Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, shown in source order. Page 8 of 32.
The Mekhilta draws a precise limit from two small words in the law of the Hebrew bondsman. Of the servant who chooses to remain with his master, Scripture says "and he shall serve ...
Four "harnessed" with joy: Abraham, (Genesis 22:3) "And Abraham rose early in the morning (for the binding of Isaac), and he saddled his ass." Now did he not have many servants?, (...
This teaching from the Mekhilta applies a classic interpretive tool, the gezerah shavah, a verbal analogy that links two verses sharing a common word so that what is detailed in on...
This midrash from the Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael dwells on a single word in the account of Pharaoh's pursuit at the sea: "and he took his people with him" (Exodus 14:6). Why say tha...
The Mekhilta continues cataloguing everything God showed Moses from Mount Pisgah. The question this time: how do we know that God showed him even the graves of the forefathers? The...
Rebbi (Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi) raises a fascinating question about the communication chain at Sinai. What exactly did God tell Moses to relay to Israel, and what did Israel say to Mo...
This teaching of the Mekhilta works closely through the duty to return a lost object, derived from the doubled expression "return shall you return it to him" (Deuteronomy 22:2). Th...
(Exodus 14:7) "And he took six hundred choice chariots": Whence came the horses required for the chariots? If you would say, from Egypt, is it not written (re the plague of pestile...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael explores a tradition about what God revealed to Moses at the end of his life. Among the many visions granted to Moses before his death, the rabbis ask...
When God prepared to give the Torah at Sinai, Moses served as the intermediary, carrying messages between heaven and the people camped at the foot of the mountain. But according to...
"And it shall be with you", the Mekhilta interprets this as meaning "in your domain." When you find a lost animal, it must be kept in your care, under your control, until its owner...
Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel drew a startling comparison between two empires. Egypt after the Exodus and Rome in its prime, to illustrate how completely the departure of Israel had gut...
Before Moses died, God took him to the summit of Mount Nebo and showed him the entirety of the Promised Land, every region, every valley, every corner of the territory his people w...
The Torah describes Pharaoh's pursuit force with the word "shalishim", a term the Mekhilta unpacks through three different interpretations, each revealing a different dimension of ...
Moses stood on the summit of Mount Nebo, and God showed him the entire Land of Israel. The Torah specifies that he saw "the valley of Jericho" (Deuteronomy 34:3). The Mekhilta find...
Variantly: "and shalishim": Three (Egyptians) against every one (Israelite). Others say: three hundred against one. And how did Pharaoh know how many Israelites died in the three d...
(Exodus 23:5) addresses the obligation to help an enemy's animal that is struggling under its burden: "If you see the donkey of your enemy lying under its burden." The Mekhilta par...
Jacob was one of the four righteous people whom God gave a hint about the future. But Jacob, the Mekhilta says, failed to take the hint. And the consequences reveal something profo...
The Mekhilta presents a striking conflict between two obligations. A Kohen, a priest, encounters a lost or struggling animal in a cemetery. Jewish law prohibits a Kohen from enteri...
This teaching from the Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael belongs to Tractate Vayehi Beshalach and expounds the verse describing Israel's departure, "And the children of Israel went out wit...
David was one of the four righteous people given a divine hint. And unlike Jacob and Moses, David recognized his and acted on it with confidence. The hint came disguised as a pair ...
Mordechai was the fourth of the righteous people given a divine hint. And like David, he recognized it immediately. The Mekhilta finds his hint in a single verse from the Book of E...
The passage from the Mekhilta on the laws of the Covenant Code examines the duty to assist a neighbor whose animal has collapsed under its load. The Torah commands, regarding the b...
God declared in (Exodus 17:14): "For erase shall I erase the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." The sages of the Mekhilta noticed something peculiar about this verse. Why do...
"Help shall you help with him", the Torah commands assisting someone whose animal is struggling. But the Mekhilta distinguishes between two different types of assistance: unloading...
The Torah's commandment to erase the memory of Amalek reaches to the farthest limit of destruction. The Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael explains the phrase (Exodus 17:14) "from under the...
When Amalek attacked Israel in the wilderness, Moses did not simply organize a military response. He turned to God with an argument that struck at the heart of the divine project i...
Rabbi Elazar Hamodai offered his own version of Moses' prayer during the battle with Amalek, and it carried an even more cosmic weight than Rabbi Yehoshua's teaching. Moses said be...
Rabbi Elazar Hamodai posed a question that pointed toward the end of history itself: When will the name of Amalek finally be erased from the earth? The answer was not tied to any b...
After Israel's victory over Amalek at Rephidim, Moses built an altar and gave it a striking name. The verse records: "And Moses built an altar and he called its name 'the L-rd is m...
The Mekhilta reveals one of the most intimate teachings about the relationship between God and Israel: whenever a miracle is performed for the Jewish people, that miracle is not ju...
(Exodus 17:16) preserves a cryptic declaration: "For the hand is by the throne of Kah: the L-rd is at war with Amalek from generation to generation." The Mekhilta, through Rabbi Ye...
Rabbi Elazar Hamodai taught that God did not merely command the destruction of Amalek. He swore it. And the oath was no ordinary vow. God swore by His throne of glory, the highest ...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, commenting on the command to blot out the memory of Amalek (Exodus 17:14-16), records a teaching of Rabbi Eliezer about the limits of conversion. He ...
This midrash from the Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael appears in Tractate Amalek, the section expounding the war against Amalek at Rephidim. The verse under discussion is the divine oath...
The Song of the Sea declares: "The Lord is my strength and my song" (Exodus 15:2). The Mekhilta explores what "my strength" actually means, and discovers that this single phrase ca...
When God responded to the Israelites' hunger in the wilderness, He used a single Hebrew word that two rabbis read in completely different ways. (Exodus 16:4) records God telling Mo...
(Exodus 18:1) "And Yithro heard": What did he hear that caused him to come (and join Israel)? The war with Amalek, which is juxtaposed with this section. These are the words of R. ...
(Exodus 19:10) "And the L–rd said to Moses: Go to the people and make them ready today": the Mekhilta builds a precise calendar of the days leading to the giving of the Torah. "tod...
(Exodus 21:7) "And if a man sells his daughter": Scripture speaks of a minor (under twelve). You say that it speaks of a minor, but perhaps it speaks of an adult!. Would you say th...
(Exodus 23:6) commands: "You shall not incline the judgment of your needy one in his quarrel." The Mekhilta asks why this verse is necessary when (Exodus 23:3) already says: "You s...
The Mekhilta observes that the nations surrounding Israel relied on one consistent tool to guide their decisions: divination. The evidence runs through multiple books of the Torah ...
The Song of the Sea, sung by Israel after crossing the Red Sea, contains the phrase "my strength." The Mekhilta offers an alternative reading that deepens the meaning considerably....
The Torah opens the portion of Yithro by saying, "And Yithro, the priest of Midian, the father-in-law of Moses, heard all that God had done" (Exodus 18:1), and the Mekhilta records...
This teaching of the Mekhilta reconstructs the ceremony at Sinai by which Israel entered into the covenant, described tersely in the Torah (Exodus 24:4-8). The verse says that Mose...
"And if a man sells his daughter" (Exodus 21:7), the Torah permits a father to sell his daughter as a maidservant. The Mekhilta immediately asks: can a mother do the same? The answ...
The Mekhilta reveals a darkly ironic scene at the shore of the Red Sea. Pharaoh caught up with the Israelites camped by the water, and the Torah says he "pressed ahead." But the Me...
The Mekhilta preserves a beautiful declaration attributed to King David, addressed directly to God: "You are a trust, a help, and a support to all who enter the world. But to me mo...
