Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael Reader

"Help shall you help with him": What is the intent of this? From (Devarim 24:4) "Lift up shall you lift up with him," I would know only of unloading and loading (the load itself). Whence do I derive (the same for lifting) the animal itself? From "lift up shall you lift up with him." — when you are like him (i.e., when he also does his part).

"from under the heavens": that there be no son or grandson of Amalek under the heavens.

R. Yehoshua says: "a remembrance in the book": When Amalek came to harm Israel under the wings of their Father in heaven, Moses said before the Holy One Blessed be He: L–rd of the universe, this wicked one is coming to destroy Your children under Your wings. The book of Torah that You gave them — who will read it?

R. Elazar Hamodai says: When Amalek came to harm Israel under the wings of their Father in heaven, Moses said before the Holy One Blessed be He: L–rd of the universe, Your children, who You are destined to scatter under the winds of heaven, viz. (Zechariah 2:10) "for as the four winds of heaven have I scattered you, etc." — this wicked one is coming to destroy them under Your wings. The book of Torah that You gave them — who will read it?

R. Elazar Hamodai says: When will the name of these go lost? When idolatry will be uprooted, it and its servants, and the L–rd will be One in the world, and His kingdom will endure forever and ever — at that time (Ibid. 14:3) "The L–rd will go out and He will war against those nations, etc." (Ibid. 9) "And the L–rd will be King over all the land, etc."

(Exodus 17:15) "And Moses built an altar and he called its name 'the L–rd is my miracle.'" Moses (hereby) said: The miracle that the L–rd wrought (for me) — He wrought it for Himself (i.e., for the sanctification of His name.)

And thus do you find: Whenever a miracle is performed for Israel, that miracle, as it were, is before Him — "The L–rd is my miracle." (Isaiah 63:9) "In all of their afflictions, He was afflicted." Joy to Israel — Joy to Him. (I Samuel 2:1) "I rejoice in Your salvation!"

(Exodus 17:16) "And he said: For (the) hand by the throne of Kah: The L–rd is at war with Amalek, etc.": R. Yehoshua says: When the Holy One Blessed be He sits on the throne of His kingdom, at that time "The L–rd is at war with Amalek."

R. Elazar Hamodai says: The Holy One Blessed be He swears by His throne of glory: I shall not leave child or grandchild of Amalek under the heavens,

R. Eliezer says: The L–rd swears by His throne of glory: If there comes a man of all the nations to be proselytized, he will be accepted; but Amalek and his household will not be accepted, viz. (II Samuel 1:13) "And David asked the youth who told him: Where are you from? And he said: I am the son of an Amalekite convert." David remembered at that time what had been told to Moses our teacher, that if there comes a man of all the nations of the world to be proselytized, he should be accepted, but if he is of the house of Amalek, he should not be accepted, whereupon (II Samuel, Ibid.) "David said to him: Your blood is on your own head, for your mouth testified against you." This is the intent of (Exodus 17:17) "from generation to generation."

Variantly: "from generation to generation": R. Yehoshua says: "from generation" — the life of this world: "to generation" — the life of the world to come. R. Eliezer Hamodai says: from the generation of Moses and from the generation of Samuel, (who commanded that revenge be taken of Amalek.) R. Eliezer says: "from the generation of the Messiah" — two generations. And whence is it derived that the generation of the Messiah is two generations? From (Psalms 72:5) "They will fear You (in the time of the Messiah) with the sun and before the moon, generation, generations."

(Exodus 15:2) "The L–rd is my strength and my song": "My strength" is Torah, viz. (Psalms 29:11) "The L–rd will give strength to His people," and it is written (Ibid. 99:4) "And (they will praise) the strength of the King, who loves (the Torah of) justice." Variantly: "My strength" is kingship, viz. (Ibid. 21:2) "O L–rd, in Your strength the king rejoices," and (I Samuel 2:10) "And He will give strength to His king."

(Exodus 16:4) "And the L–rd said to Moses: Behold, ("Hineni") I shall rain down bread for you from the heavens": R. Yehoshua says: The Holy One Blessed be He (hereby) said to Moses: I shall reveal Myself at once and not delay. R. Eliezer Hamodai says: He said "Hineni" only in the merit of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, (who acted in kind).

(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. Yehoshua. He heard of the (prospective) giving of the Torah and he came.

For when the Torah was to be given to Israel, all the kings of the earth shook in their palaces, viz. (Psalms 29:9) "and (each king) in his palace accorded glory" (to the L–rd). At that time, all the kings of the nations convened with the wicked Bilam and said to him: Is it possible that He is going to do to us as He did to the generation of the flood? He replied: Fools that you are! The Holy One Blessed be He already swore to Noach that he would not bring (another) flood to the world, viz. (Isaiah 54:9) "For this to Me is like the waters of Noach, of which I swore that the waters of Noach would no more pass over the earth."

They: Perhaps he will not bring a flood of water, but He will bring a flood of fire? Bilam: He will bring neither a flood of fire nor a flood of water, but the Holy One Blessed be He is giving Torah to His people and to His loved ones, viz. (Psalms, Ibid. 10) "the L–rd will give strength ("oz" = Torah) to His people." When all of them heard this from his mouth, they all responded (Ibid.) "May the L–rd bless His people with peace," and they turned and went, each to his place.

(Exodus 19:10) "And the L–rd said to Moses: Go to the people and make them ready today" — the fourth day — "and tomorrow" — the fifth day. (Ibid. 11) "And have them be ready for the third day": the sixth (of Sivan) when the Torah was given. And what did Moses do on the fifth day? He rose early in the morning and built an altar, viz. (Ibid. 24:4) "and he rose early in the morning and he built an altar at the foot of the mountain." He set up twelve monuments for the twelve tribes of Israel. These are the words of R. Yehudah.

(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 that? (The rationale for his selling is) Since he is permitted to annul her vows, he is permitted to sell her. Just as he may annul the vows of a minor but not of an adult, so, he can sell a minor but not an adult. But (reason from) the "place" you are coming from (i.e., from vows).

Just as there, (he may annul her vows) when she is a na'arah, (a maiden), (from twelve years and a day until twelve and a half years, viz. [Numbers 30:17]) here, too, (he should be able to sell her) when she is a na'arah! — Would you say that? if (pubertal) signs remove her from servitude, how much more so (may he not sell her [a na'arah]) when she has not yet been sold!

(Exodus 23:6) "You shall not incline the judgment of your needy one in his quarrel": What is the intent of this? From (Ibid. 3) "You shall not honor a poor man in his quarrel," I would know only of a poor man. Whence do I derive (the same for) a needy pauper? (i.e., one who fell from his estate of wealth and now is in dire need [of almost everything])? From "You shall not incline the judgment of your needy one."

For thus do we find, that these nations resorted to divination, viz. (Devarim 18:14) "For these nations that you are to inherit resort to soothsayers and diviners, etc.", and (Numbers 22:7) "And the elders of Moav and the elders of Midian went, with (instruments of) divination in their hands," and (Joshua 13:22) "And Bilaam the son of Beor the augur they slew by the sword," and the elders of Midian divined and turned back.

Variantly: "My strength" is "My stronghold," as it is written (Jeremiah 16:19) "The L–rd is my strength and my stronghold." And (Psalms 28:7) "The L–rd is my strength and my shield. In Him does my heart trust, and I was helped, etc."

R. Eliezer says: Yithro heard the splitting of the sea and came (to join Israel). For the splitting of the sea was heard from one end of the world to the other, viz. (Joshua 5:1) "And it was, when all the kings of the Emori heard, etc." And thus did Rachav the harlot say to the messengers of Joshua (Ibid. 2:10-11) "For we heard how the L–rd dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you went out of Egypt … and when we heard, our hearts melted, and no spirit was left in a man before you."

And the sages say twelve monuments for each tribe. He built an altar, sacrificed thereon a burnt-offering and peace-offerings, took of the blood of the burnt-offering in two receptacles, part for the L–rd, part for the congregation; he took of the blood of the peace-offerings in two receptacles, part for the L–rd, part for the congregation, as it is written (Ibid. 6) "And Moses took half the blood" — the part for the congregation — "and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar" — the part for the L–rd.

"And if a man sells his daughter": A man may sell his daughter, but a woman may not sell her daughter. For it would follow (otherwise), viz.: If a man, who is not permitted to sell his son, is permitted to sell his daughter, should a woman not be permitted to sell her daughter? It is, therefore, written "And if a man sells his daughter." A man may sell his daughter, but a woman may not sell her daughter.

"and they overtook them camping by the sea … (Ibid. 10) And Pharaoh pressed ahead": He "pressed" the disaster to come upon him. When Pharaoh saw that (the idol) Ba'al Tzefon had remained, he said: Ba'al Tzefon has concurred with my decree. I thought to destroy them by water, and Ba'al Tzefon has concurred — whereupon he began slaughtering, offering incense, and bowing down to his idol. Thus, "and Pharaoh drew near" — to slaughter and to offer incense.

You are a trust, a help, and a support to all who enter the world — but to me (David) more than to all. He made me distinct and I made Him distinct. He made me distinct — (Devarim 26:18) "And the L–rd made you distinct unto Him this day) to be unto Him His chosen people.") And I, likewise, made Him distinct — (Ibid. 17) "You have made the L–rd distinct this day to be unto you a G–d."

"from the heavens": from the goodly treasure trove of the heavens, viz. (Devarim 28:12) "The L–rd will open for you His goodly treasure trove, the heavens, etc." R. Shimon b. Gamliel says: Come and see how beloved are Israel before the L–rd. And because they are thus beloved before Him, He changed for them the order of creation. He converted for them the terrestrial to the celestial, and the celestial to the terrestrial.

In the past (before the giving of the manna), bread would rise from the earth and dew would fall from the heavens, viz. (Devarim 33:28) "… a land of corn and wine. His heavens, too, shall drip dew," and now (with the manna) the order has been reversed. Bread has begun to fall from heaven, and dew to rise from the earth, viz.: "Behold, I shall rain down bread for you from the heavens," and (Ibid. 14) "And, behold, the dew layer ascended, etc." (Ibid. 4) "and the people shall go out and gather": They did not gather it in the courtyards, but they went out to the wilderness and gathered it there.

They said: Rachav the harlot was ten years old when Israel left Egypt, and all forty years that Israel was in the desert, she plied her trade. At the end of fifty years, she converted, saying: L–rd of the universe, I have sinned in three areas: niddah, challah, and candle lighting. Forgive me by virtue of three things: the rope, the window, and the wall, viz. (Ibid. 15) "And she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the side of the wall, and she lived within the wall."...

(Ibid. 7) "And he took the book of the covenant and he read (it) in the ears of the people.": But we do not know from where (he read it). R. Yishmael b. R. Yossi says: From the beginning of the creation until here.

"And if a man sells his daughter": A man may sell his daughter, but not his son. For it would follow (otherwise), viz.: If a father may sell his daughter, who (as an adult) is not sold (by beth-din) for stealing, how much more so may he sell his son, who (as an adult) is sold by beth-din for stealing! It is, therefore, written "And if a man sells his daughter." A man may sell his daughter, but not his son.

Do not say: Since he is an evildoer I will incline the judgment against him. This is the intent of "You shall not incline the judgment of your needy one in his quarrel" — one who is "needy" in mitzvoth.

"Speak to the whole congregation of Israel": The speaking was on Rosh Chodesh; the taking (of the lamb), on the tenth; and the slaughtering, on the fourteenth. You say this, but perhaps the speaking and the taking were on the tenth and the slaughtering on the fourteenth? It is, therefore, written "This month is for you. Speak, etc." When was the speaking? On Rosh Chodesh. You must revert, then, to the first formulation. The speaking was on Rosh Chodesh, the taking on the tenth, and the slaughtering on the fourteenth.

Variantly: "and Pharaoh pressed ahead": He pressed himself forward to pursue them. The distance that Israel covered in three days, his emissaries covered in a day and a half. And what they covered in a day and a half Pharaoh covered in one day. Thus, "and Pharaoh pressed ahead."

All the peoples of the world declare the praises of the Holy One Blessed be He, but mine are more pleasing before Him than theirs. As it is written (II Samuel 23:1) "And these are the last words of David: The utterance of David, the son of Yishai, and the utterance of the man set on high, the anointed of the G–d of Yaakov, the fairest of the songs of Israel":

"each day's ration in its day": for the day and the morrow, e.g., on Friday, for Friday and Sabbath. R. Eliezer Hamodai says: So that one not gather for the day and the morrow, e.g., on Friday for Sabbath. "each day's ration in its day": He who created the day created its sustenance — whence R. Eliezer Hamodai was wont to say: Whoever has what to eat today and says "What will I eat tomorrow?" is lacking in faith. (Ibid. 4) "so that I may try them, whether or not they will walk in My law": From here R. Shimon b. Yochai was wont to say: Torah was given to be expounded only by the eaters of manna, as with one who sits and expounds without knowing whence he will eat and drink and whence he will clothe and cover himself.

Torah was given to be expounded only by the eaters of manna, and, second to them, the eaters of terumah (i.e., Cohanim).

"And Yithro heard": Yithro had seven names: Yether, Yithro, Chovav, Reuel, Chever, Putiel, Keni. Yether — he added (yiter) a section in the Torah; Yithro — he was "abundant" (yiter) in good deeds. Chovav — he was beloved (chovev) by the L–rd. Reuel — he was a "friend" (rea) to the L–rd. Chever — he was a "companion" (chaver) to the L–rd. Putiel — he "weaned himself" (niftar) from idolatry. Keni — he was zealous (kinei) for Heaven and he acquired (kanah) Torah.

"And if a man sells his daughter": He sells her, but she does not sell herself. For it would follow (otherwise), viz.: If a son, whose father is not permitted to sell him, sells himself, then a daughter, whose father is permitted to sell her, how much more so should she (be permitted to) sell herself! — No, this may be true of a son, who is sold for his theft, as opposed to a daughter, who is not sold for her theft.

R. Acha b. R. Oshiyah says: The speaking was on Rosh Chodesh, the taking on the tenth, and the slaughtering on the fourteenth. You say this, but perhaps the speaking and the taking were on the tenth, and the slaughtering on the fourteenth? It is, therefore, written "Speak to the whole congregation of Israel, saying." Let "saying" not be written. Why is it written? To separate (between the speaking and the taking). You must posit the first formulation, then, and not the second.

Israel says (Devarim 6:4) "Hear, O Israel, the L–rd our G–d, the L–rd is one," and the Holy Spirit cries out and says (Ibid. 33:29) "Happy are you, Israel! Who is like you, etc.?"

"and it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they shall bring": From here it is derived that one makes an eruv on the eve of a festival for the Sabbath. (Exodus 16:5) "and it shall be mem-shin-nun-heh": bread that is "meshuneh" (different). You say, bread that is different, but perhaps (the intent is) bread that is double (mishneh)? (this is not so, for) (Ibid. 22) "two omers for each one" (on the sixth day) already speaks of bread that is double.

Variantly: "And Yithro heard": In the beginning, he was called "Yether," viz. (Exodus 4:18) "And Moses went and he returned to Yether, his father-in-law," and when he "added" good deeds (to himself), a letter (vav) was added to his name.

R. Yishmael says: What is written at the beginning, viz. (Leviticus 25:1-3) "And the L–rd spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying … then the land shall rest a Sabbath to the L–rd. Six years shall you sow your field, etc.", sabbatical years, Jubilee years, blessings and curses. What is written at the end? (Ibid. 26:46) "These are the statutes and the ordinances and the Toroth that the L–rd gave between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses." (At this,) they said: We take it upon ourselves.

When Moses saw this, he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, viz. (Exodus 24:8) "And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people," saying to them: You are (hereby) tied and bound and committed. Tomorrow come and take upon yourselves all of the mitzvoth. R. Yossi b. R. Yehudah says: On that day all of the acts (of their induction into the covenant) were performed....