10,602 related texts · Page 72 of 221
God tells Israel at Sinai, "And now, if you hearken to My voice" (Exodus 19:5). The Mekhilta highlights the word "now" — take it upon yourselves now, because all beginnings are dif...
"And the sound of the shofar, very strong" (Exodus 19:16) — the Mekhilta connects this to a later verse (Exodus 19:19): "And the sound of the shofar grew exceedingly strong." Toget...
The Mekhilta extends its principle about biblical language by examining another verse: (Amos 3:8) says, "The lion has roared. Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken. Who will n...
R. Shimon b. Elazar said: If the sons of Noach could not abide by the seven mitzvot (commandments)h commanded them, how much more so (could they not abide) by all the mitzvoth of t...
Rabbi Chanina ben Antignos offered one of the sharpest anti-idolatry arguments in the entire Mekhilta, and he did it with a single devastating observation about language. The Torah...
Rebbi says: For everything from "You shall not take the name" and down, penitence does atone. From "You shall not take the name" and up, including "You shall not take the name," pe...
(Exodus, Ibid. 10) "And the seventh day is Sabbath to the L–rd your G–d. You shall not perform any labor." What is the intent of this? (Exodus 31:15) "Everyone who does labor on th...
"and He rested on the seventh day"? Now is He subject to "weariness"? Is it not written (Isaiah 40:28) "He does not tire and He does not weary," and (Ibid. 29) "He gives strength t...
R. Eliezer says; It is revealed and known to Him who spoke and brought the world into being that a man honors his mother more than he does his father because she cajoles him with w...
The Torah states, "Wherever I shall mention My name, I will come to you and bless you" (Exodus 20:21). The Mekhilta interprets this verse with a startling specificity: "where I am ...
"Do that your nakedness not be revealed upon it": Upon it (the altar) you may not take broad strides, but you may in the sanctuary and in the holy of holies. For it would follow (o...
The Torah states that a Hebrew bondsman "shall go out free" on "the seventh" year. But the seventh year of what? The Mekhilta identified two possible readings and used a careful te...
When a Hebrew bondsman is released after six years, the Torah says "he shall go out to freedom." The Mekhilta asks: what does this phrase add? If the bondsman's term is over, he is...
"and he shall serve him forever": until the Jubilee year (Yovel). For it would follow otherwise, viz.: If money, whose "power" is formidable, and which acquires everything, acquire...
Rebbi, the great Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, offered a precise definition of a word that usually sounds limitless. When the Torah says a Hebrew servant "shall serve him forever" (Exodus ...
The Torah promises that God will provide "a place where he shall flee" for a person who kills accidentally (Exodus 21:13). This is the institution of the city of refuge, where an u...
The Torah commands, "And if one curses his father and his mother" he is liable for a grave sin (Exodus 21:17). The Mekhilta noticed that the verse as written only clearly applies w...
R. Yitzchak says: Even a man who intends to smite one and smites another is not liable—until he makes it clear that it is this man that he wishes to smite, as it is written (Devari...
I might think (that he goes free) even if he knocked out a milk tooth, (which grows back); it is, therefore, written "eye." Just as an eye does not grow back, so the tooth (in ques...
Rabbi Yishmael taught a sobering principle about Canaanite bondservants: a Canaanite bondservant can never be redeemed by an outside party. The only path to freedom is the master's...
The Mekhilta presents a logical reversal. It initially attempted to compare a stoned ox to an eglah arufah — the heifer whose neck is broken in the ceremony for an unsolved murder ...
"For every matter of offense"—general. "for an ox, for an ass, for a lamb, for a garment"—particular. General-particular (The rule is:) There is subsumed in the general only what o...
The Mekhilta explains how a capital case is decided by a court of twenty-three judges. If twelve judges vote to acquit and eleven to convict, the defendant is acquitted — the major...
The Mekhilta confronts one of the hardest questions in any legal system: what happens when you know the defendant is guilty — not of this particular charge, but in general? The ver...
"and you shall gather in its produce (11) and the seventh year, etc.": to include (as forbidden) the fruits of the sixth year which enter the seventh year. This tells me only of th...
The Torah says, "Six days shall you do your work" (Exodus 23:12), a commandment to labor for six days and rest on the seventh, the Shabbat (the Sabbath). But the Mekhilta noticed s...
(Exodus 23:13) says: "And everything that I have spoken of to you, you shall observe." The Mekhilta asks what this general command adds to the specific Sabbath prohibition of (Exod...
The Shabbat (the Sabbath) carries a responsibility that extends beyond rest. According to the Mekhilta, every person who observes the Sabbath becomes a witness. And the testimony t...
"For whoever does work upon it, that soul shall be cut off" — the Mekhilta specifies that this refers to "a complete work." The full prohibition applies only when a person complete...
Jewish tradition, especially in the mystical and rabbinic realms, actually gives us some fascinating imagery about this. It suggests that God didn't just speak the world into exist...
It wasn't always this way, you know. Jewish tradition offers some pretty amazing stories about the creation of the heavens, stories filled with divine power and a touch of… well, c...
We find this incredible scene in the Book of Job (38:1, 38:4-7): God speaks from a whirlwind, a tempest, and essentially asks Job, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundatio...
Some traditions say it was all water. Just a vast, unending universe of water. But how did we get from that to the world we know? Well, according to one beautiful myth, God took sn...
The Torah tells us about a man named Enoch who did just that. And his story, though brief in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 5:21-24), has blossomed into a rich and fascinating tradit...
We often think of it as a place of eternal rest, but Jewish tradition paints a far more dynamic picture, especially when it comes to the Celestial Academy. Imagine a place where Go...
Maybe it was just your imagination... or maybe, just maybe, it was Lilith. The Zohar, that foundational text of Kabbalah, tells us of a terrifying figure born not of dust like Adam...
Tonight, we're diving into the shadowy world of Lilith, the night demoness, a figure both terrifying and… strangely compelling. The folklore surrounding Lilith paints a vivid pictu...
A place of purification, and for some, punishment. Now, even in this fiery realm, the Sabbath casts its protective light. It's a concept that speaks volumes about the power and san...
According to some fascinating strands of Jewish tradition, that's exactly the case. We’re talking about God’s original plan, a blueprint for creation that, well, got a bit… revised...
Jewish tradition teaches that the world's very existence is conditional. According to Tree of Souls, God, in a moment of cosmic suspense, declared, "If Israel accepts the Torah whe...
They weren't just any ordinary slabs of rock. According to Jewish tradition, they were something truly extraordinary, imbued with a divine spark. The Zohar, that foundational text ...
We all know the story, but sometimes the ancient texts give us glimpses into the behind-the-scenes moments, the cosmic stage whispers, that make the event even more awe-inspiring. ...
According to tradition, it's a pretty busy time in the heavenly court! The idea is that on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), everyone is judged. Then, on Yom Kippur (the Day of ...
We often think about them as a time for personal reflection, a chance to atone for our mistakes. But the tradition paints a far grander picture, one involving cosmic judgment and t...
Turns out, according to some fascinating Jewish traditions, even God feels that way sometimes! This idea comes up in connection with Rosh Chodesh, the celebration of the new moon. ...
It’s more than just a metaphor, actually. According to Jewish mystical tradition, we’re all limbs of the same body, intrinsically linked. That’s why, as the Yesod (Foundation) ha-T...
According to some fascinating old stories, Abraham wore a glowing stone around his neck. What was it? A pearl, some say. Others claim it was a magnificent jewel. But whatever its c...
That’s hardcore. What's the secret? Well, Jewish tradition offers a fascinating explanation. It wasn’t just about toughing it out. It goes much deeper. The Makhon Siftei Tzaddik (a...
