2,086 related texts · Page 6 of 44
In the mystical heart of Jewish tradition, the concept of the Shekhinah, the divine feminine presence, offers a way to understand that longing – and perhaps even bridge the gap. No...
When God told Moses in (Exodus 7:1), "See, I have made you an overlord to Pharaoh," a question immediately arose in the minds of the ancient rabbis. The verse seems to single out M...
The debate over where the Israelites placed the Passover blood continues in the Mekhilta, and Rabbi Nathan and Rabbi Yitzchak stake out dramatically different positions — each reve...
The tenth plague killed every firstborn in Egypt. But the Mekhilta asks a question that pushes the scope of the devastation further than most readers imagine: what about the firstb...
(Exodus 14:1-2) "And the L–rd said to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel that they return and encamp": R. Shimon b. Yochai says: Wherever it is written "saying and tell...
(Exodus 14:4) "And I shall strengthen Pharaoh's heart": for it was divided, whether to pursue or not to pursue. "and I will be honored through (the downfall of) Pharaoh and all of ...
The Torah says simply that Pharaoh "harnessed his chariot" (Exodus 14:6). The Mekhilta reads those four words as a revelation of just how consumed Pharaoh was by his obsession to r...
With the Egyptian army bearing down and the Red Sea blocking their path, the Israelites succumbed to terror. It was Moses who stepped forward and spoke the words that steadied an e...
(Exodus 14:21) "And Moses stretched his hand over the sea": and the sea resisted—whereupon Moses commanded it to split in the name of the Holy One Blessed be He; but it continued t...
When Yithro, the father-in-law of Moses, heard about everything that had happened at the Red Sea, he made a remarkable declaration: "Now I know that greater is the Lord than all th...
Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the Torah says "the sea returned towards morning to its eithano" (Exodus 14:27). That final word — eithano — becomes the subject of...
(Exodus 14:28) "And the waters returned and covered the chariot, etc.": even that of Pharaoh. These are the words of R. Yehudah, it being written (Ibid. 15:4) "the chariots of Phar...
The Torah records a transformation at the Red Sea: "And the people feared the Lord" (Exodus 14:31). The Mekhilta notes the significance of the word "feared." In the past, the Israe...
(Exodus 15:1) "Az yashir Mosheh": Az ("then") sometimes signals the past and sometimes signals the future. The past: (Genesis 4:26) "Az men began", (Exodus 4:26) "Az she said", (Ex...
(Exodus 15:4) "the chariots of Pharaoh and his host": "As one measures, so is it meted out to him." They (the Egyptians [i.e., Pharaoh]) said (Ibid. 5:2) "Who is the L–rd that I sh...
The Mekhilta pinpoints the exact moment when Israel first declared (Exodus 15:11): "Who is like You among the mighty, O Lord?" It was not during the plagues. It was not at the mome...
The Mekhilta makes a careful distinction in the verse "There fell upon them dread and terror" (Exodus 15:16). "Dread" fell upon the distant nations. "Terror" fell upon the near one...
(Exodus 15:20) introduces Miriam with a curious title: "the prophetess, the sister of Aaron." The Mekhilta immediately spots the problem. Miriam was the sister of both Aaron and Mo...
The Mekhilta notices something unusual about the verse "And Moses made Israel journey from the Red Sea" (Exodus 15:22). Rabbi Yehoshua points out that this particular journey was i...
(Exodus 15:26) "And He said: If pay heed, you shall pay heed": From here it was derived: If a man paid heed to one mitzvah, he is caused to pay heed to many mitzvot (commandments)h...
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...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael reveals a remarkable exchange between God and Moses concerning the Israelites' complaints in the wilderness. The verse states: "I have heard the cavil...
Moses gave the Israelites a simple instruction in (Exodus 16:19): do not leave any manna over until morning. What happened next exposed a fault line running through the entire nati...
Moses told Aaron to take a "tzintzeneth" and fill it with manna to preserve for future generations (Exodus 16:33). But what exactly was a tzintzeneth? The word appears nowhere else...
(Exodus 17:4) "and Moses cried out to the L–rd": We are hereby apprised of the eminence of Moses. He did not say: Since they are quarreling with me I will not implore mercy for the...
When God told Moses, "Pass over before the people" (Exodus 17:5), the instruction sounds like a simple command to walk ahead of the crowd. But the Mekhilta hears at least three dif...
After the crisis at the rock, the place received two names: Massah, meaning "testing," and Merivah, meaning "quarreling" (Exodus 17:7). But who gave it those names? The Mekhilta re...
(Exodus 17:14) "And the L–rd said to Moses: Write this as a remembrance in the book and place it in the ears of Joshua": The early elders said: So is it with all the generations. T...
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...
When Jethro heard "that the Lord had taken Israel out of Egypt," the Mekhilta draws a remarkable conclusion: the Exodus is not just one miracle among many. It is the miracle agains...
(Exodus 18:4) "and the name of the second, 'Eliezer,' for (Moses said: 'The G–d of (Elokei) my father was my help (ezri), and He saved me from the 'sword of Pharaoh.'" R. Yehoshua ...
A small textual puzzle in the book of Exodus reveals something important about Moses' family. The verse states (Exodus 18:5): "And Yithro, Moses' father-in-law, and his sons and hi...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael describes the extraordinary reception that Jethro received when he arrived at the Israelite camp in the wilderness. The verse states simply: "And Mose...
The verse records a startling act (Exodus 18:12): "Yithro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt-offering and peace-offerings for sacrifice to God." The Mekhilta says that Scripture d...
Jethro arrived at the Israelite camp and immediately noticed something troubling. His son-in-law Moses sat from morning until evening while the entire nation stood in a line before...
Yithro warned Moses with a vivid and frightening prophecy (Exodus 18:18): "You will languish." The Hebrew word used here prompted two different interpretations from the rabbis, and...
The Torah records the arrival at Sinai with a precise phrase (Exodus 19:1): "On this day they came to the desert of Sinai." The Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael identifies the exact date ...
Throughout the book of Exodus, whenever the Israelites traveled, the Torah uses the plural form — "they journeyed," "they encamped" — because the people moved in discord and settle...
On the second day after the Israelites arrived at Sinai, Moses ascended the mountain to meet God (Exodus 19:3). The Mekhilta notes a crucial detail: God called out to Moses before ...
(Exodus 19:18) "And the whole of Mount Sinai smoked": I might think the place of the divine Presence alone; it is, therefore, written "the whole." "for the L–rd had come down upon ...
(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 tha...
(Exodus 22:20) commands: "And a stranger you shall not afflict and you shall not oppress him." The Mekhilta identifies two distinct prohibitions within this verse. "You shall not a...
The opening of Mekhilta Tractate Shabbata draws attention to the singular way God communicated with Moses. The verse states (Exodus 30:11): "And the Lord spoke to Moses." The Mekhi...
Ever find yourself reading the Psalms and wondering, "What's really going on here?" We do too! to a fascinating passage from Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretati...
And it's one the ancient rabbis explored deeply through their interpretations of the Book of Psalms, or Tehillim. to a fascinating passage from Midrash Tehillim, specifically on Ps...
No clocks, no sunrise, no sunset as we know it. So, how did he know when it was day and when it was night? The Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psal...
We all do, from time to time. But what if I told you there's a map, a guide, a presence that can illuminate even the deepest valleys? The mystics of old certainly believed it. They...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. In fact, they put those feelings right into the mouth of the people of Israel, in a powerful passage from Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbin...
