Why Rephidim Means Slackened Hands Before Sinai

Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Yitro 10:2

Curated by Arthur·Translated by Maggid (Beta)·

Another interpretation (of Ecclesiastes 10:18): "Through slothfulness the beam sinks down," etc. It speaks of Israel at the time they came to Rephidim. Why was it called Rephidim? Because there their hands grew slack from the transgressions. What is written? "The earth trembled, the heavens also dripped," etc. (Judges 5:4). When did all these things take place? On the day of the giving of the Torah.

Themes

SinaiPovertySinMosesExodus

Biblical References

Continue Reading

Midrash Tanchuma Buber, BamidbarLifting the Head of Israel and the Census in the Sinai WildernessWhen the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, He gave a command that sounds, on its surface, like a simple matter of counting: lift the head of the wAntiquities of the Jews (Josephus)Israel Reaches Sinai and Drinks Bitter WaterMoses struck a rock and a river came pouring out. Not a trickle, not a seep, a full river, bursting from dry stone in the middle of the desert, clear and sweet Mekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelWhen God Offered the Torah to the Israelites at Mount SinaiWhen God offered the Torah to the Israelites at Mount Sinai, the entire nation responded with one of the most remarkable declarations in all of Scripture. As thMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelWho Is Beyond All Spatial CategoriesGod told Moses to have the people ready "for the third day" (Exodus 19:11), and the Mekhilta identifies this as the sixth day of the month of Sivan, the day on Mekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelLightnings One Different from the OtherWhen God descended upon Mount Sinai to give the Torah, the mountain erupted with phenomena that defied nature. The Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael pauses on the word Mekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelWith Torah One Must Heat Himself Only by Its LightThe Mekhilta reads the description of Sinai at the moment of revelation with great care. "And the whole of Mount Sinai smoked" (Exodus 19:18). One might have su