4,670 related texts · Page 43 of 98
Gechazi, the servant of the prophet Elisha, provides a vivid example of how a student's reverence for his teacher can border on the absolute. When Elisha dispatched him on an urgen...
Before the battle against Amalek, Moses made a declaration: "Tomorrow I shall stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand" (Exodus 17:9). But what did he mean by "tom...
After Joshua's defeat of Amalek at Rephidim, the Mekhilta records an interpretation that turns the battle into a fulfillment of one of the most chilling prophecies in Scripture. Th...
R. Eliezer took the debate in yet another direction. When Yithro rejoiced "over all the good," he was not celebrating manna or water. He was rejoicing over the promise of Eretz Yis...
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...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael identifies a crucial legal distinction hidden in the commandment "There shall not be unto you other gods." The question is deceptively simple: what ex...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael examines the Shabbat (the Sabbath) commandment's reference to "your man-servant and your maid-servant," asking a pointed question: which servants does...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael turns to the phrase "and your sojourner in your gates" from the Shabbat (the Sabbath) commandment and asks: which type of sojourner is meant? Jewish l...
Idolatry and adultery are the same sin. The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, a 3rd-century CE halakhic midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), makes this case by pointing to the stru...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael reveals a hidden connection between two of the Ten Commandments by examining their physical placement on the tablets. The commandment "You shall not t...
(Ibid.) "And they stood from afar": outside of twelve mil (the distance of the Israelite encampment). We are hereby apprised that Israel receded twelve mil and returned twelve mil ...
Rabbi Yishmael read the commandment against idolatry with a scope that went far beyond golden calves and carved statues. When the Torah says "You shall not make unto Me gods of sil...
R. Akiva says: "You shall not do (i.e., deport yourselves) with Me" as others do with their gods. When good befalls them, they honor their gods, viz. (Habakkuk 1:16) "Therefore, he...
The Torah prohibits "gods of silver and gods of gold" (Exodus 20:20). But what exactly do these phrases add to the prohibition against idolatry? After all, the commandment against ...
Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai says: it is said (Devarim 27:6) "Of whole (shleimoth) stones shall you build the altar of the L–rd"—stones which repose peace ("shalom"). Now does this no...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael cites a verse from (I Samuel 24:19) that contains one of the most intriguing phrases in all of Scripture: "As stated in the apothegm of the Primal One...
The Torah's command in (Exodus 21:14), "From My very altar shall you take him to die," addresses a chilling scenario: a priest, a Kohen (a priest), who has committed murder. The Me...
When a man strikes another and the victim recovers — "if he arise and walk outside upon his staff" — the Torah says "the striker shall be absolved" (Exodus 21:19). Absolved of what...
The Torah prescribes that when one person injures another, the attacker must pay for the victim's lost wages: "his sheveth shall he give" (Exodus 21:19). The Hebrew word sheveth me...
"the eye of his man-servant": I might think (that he goes free) even if it developed a leucoma; it is, therefore, written "and he destroy it." Only a blow that causes destruction (...
The Torah specifies that a goring ox is put to death by stoning. But what about an ox that kills by biting, kicking, or trampling rather than goring? Are all forms of animal-inflic...
The Mekhilta records the same logical challenge yet again, applying it to a slightly different aspect of the tam-mued comparison. The mued's owner pays kofer — ransom money. This i...
And thus do you find (the L–rd's esteem for the stranger-proselyte) in the four classes who respond before Him who spoke and brought the world into being, (Isaiah 44:5) "One shall ...
The Mekhilta constructs a powerful a fortiori argument about God's mercy. Within the framework of God's lesser measure — the measure of punishment — even a single individual who cr...
The Mekhilta offers a powerful interpretation of the verse "and a clean one and a righteous one you shall not kill," revealing it as a cornerstone of Jewish criminal justice — a pr...
Rabbi Akiva, one of the greatest sages of the Talmudic era, offered a distinctive legal ruling about when non-Jewish residents in the Land of Israel render wine forbidden to Jews. ...
The Mekhilta catalogs the names used to describe idolatry and contrasts them with the names used to describe God. The contrast is devastating. Idolatry is mentioned only in derogat...
(Exodus 31:13) says: "For it is a sign between Me and you." The Mekhilta reads "between Me and you" — between God and Israel — to the exclusion of the other nations. The Sabbath is...
(Exodus 31:15) says: "Six days will work be done." But another verse (Exodus 20:9) says: "Six days shall you work, and you shall do all of your work." One verse is passive — "work ...
"He rested and was restored" — the Torah says God rested on the seventh day. But from what did He rest? From labor, or from judgment? The Mekhilta uses the word "restored" to deter...
Jewish mystical tradition offers us some pretty imagery. We're talking about God's Throne of Glory – not just any chair, but a cosmic command center. A vision of ultimate authority...
There's this fascinating, almost hushed tradition about five heavenly things, each brimming with immense power, currently...asleep. Imagine that – cosmic forces of unimaginable mag...
Jewish tradition offers some fascinating, and at times unsettling, explanations. One story, found scattered in sources like Pesikta Rabbati and Yalkut Re'uveni, centers around a fi...
Jewish tradition offers a beautiful and powerful image: they're gathered by an angel named Sandalphon and transformed into crowns for God. Every word, every intention, every heartf...
Maybe it's not just the challah talking. Jewish tradition whispers of a secret gift bestowed upon us every Shabbat (the Sabbath): a second soul. Imagine it: As Shabbat descends, as...
Jewish tradition has some pretty profound, even answers. One of the most powerful is this idea: the entire universe, everything in it, was created for the sake of Israel. All the g...
Jewish tradition certainly hints at it, especially when we talk about the Temple. We all know about the Temple in Jerusalem. But did you know there’s a celestial version, a Beit Ha...
That's the story of two yeshiva students, eighty years ago, burning with a desire for redemption. Their hearts yearned for Jerusalem, for the chance to stand at the tomb of King Da...
Even King Solomon, the wisest of all men, felt that way. to Midrash Mishlei – a collection of stories and interpretations that unpack the Book of Proverbs. And right at the beginni...
It tells us, "Go and observe the ant, lazybones!" (Proverbs 6:6). But what does that really mean? According to a beautiful teaching in Midrash Mishlei, this little verse packs a po...
This idea comes to us from Midrash Mishlei, a collection of insightful interpretations of the Book of Proverbs. It's in this text that we find a Rabbi Huna making a pretty astoundi...
Instead, it sees these tiny creatures as symbols – powerful metaphors for…empires. Yes, empires! Buckle up. First, we have the ant: "Ants are a folk without power, and yet they pre...
The story of King Solomon and the Daughter of Pharaoh, as told in Midrash Mishlei, is a potent reminder. It's a tale of celebration, misdirection, and a temple almost lost. Rabbi I...
The verse that kicks off this particular exploration comes from (Psalm 1:6): "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." But what does tha...
It’s a question that's tickled the minds of theologians and storytellers for centuries. We often picture the Divine as serious, judging, maybe even a little stern. But laughter? Th...
Sometimes, it takes a seemingly simple story to peel back the layers of ancient wisdom. Our tale begins with a shofar blower from the tribe of Barzel. Now, the shofar, a ram's horn...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, dives right into this with the verse, "Be angry, but do not sin" (Psalm 4:5). It’s a provocative idea, isn’...
That feeling, that raw emotion, is at the heart of a powerful story preserved in Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms. It's a story about faith, ...
