563 related texts · 17 related myths · Page 8 of 12
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 Egyptians drowned at the Red Sea. But they also received burial. The Mekhilta asks the obvious question: in what merit were the Egyptians granted burial? They had enslaved Isra...
Rabbi Yehudah ben Ilai makes a disturbing claim in the Mekhilta: idolatry crossed the Red Sea with Israel. The very nation that had just witnessed God's greatest miracle, the split...
"All of the illness which I placed in Egypt I will not place upon you", God promised the Israelites immunity from the plagues that devastated their former oppressors. But then the ...
Rabbi Yitzchak posed a deceptively simple question about one of the most famous promises in the Torah. In (Exodus 15:26), God tells the Israelites that if they follow His commandme...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael draws a sweeping conclusion from the verse "and you will know that the L-rd took you out of the land of Egypt" (Exodus 16:6). The teaching here is not...
Ten miraculous objects were created in the final moments before the first Shabbat (the Sabbath), squeezed into existence during the twilight of the sixth day of Creation. The Mekhi...
The Mekhilta identifies a remarkable pattern in the relationship between God and Moses: sometimes God "lowers" Himself while Moses "raises" himself, and other times the dynamic rev...
Israel looked at the staff of Moses and saw only devastation. It had brought ten plagues upon the Egyptians in Egypt, blood, frogs, lice, and all the rest. Then it brought ten more...
How seriously should a student revere a teacher? The Mekhilta answers with a statement that sounds almost blasphemous: the fear of one's teacher is to be equated with the fear of H...
The Mekhilta notices something peculiar about how the Torah identifies Yithro. In the beginning of the story, Moses is the one who boasts about the relationship. When Moses returns...
The Torah states that Yithro "took Tzipporah, Moses' wife, after she had been sent" (Exodus 18:2). The phrase "after she had been sent" is vague, sent where? By whom? Under what ci...
(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 ...
When Pharaoh sent soldiers to hunt down Moses after the slaying of the Egyptian taskmaster, God intervened in a way no one expected. Rather than striking the pursuers dead or sendi...
When Moses sat down with his father-in-law Yithro after the exodus from Egypt, he did not simply give a dry report of events. The Mekhilta explains that Moses "related to his fathe...
R. Pappis made a statement about Yithro's blessing that was, in his reading, deeply unflattering to Israel. When Yithro arrived at the Israelite camp and heard what God had done, h...
The Israelites arrived at the desert of Sinai carrying baggage far heavier than anything on their backs. They carried the weight of recent rebellion. The Mekhilta draws a striking ...
When Moses stood before Israel at Sinai and "took the book of the covenant and read it in the ears of the people" (Exodus 24:7), a question immediately arises: what exactly did he ...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael examines the phrase "before My presence" in the prohibition against idolatry, asking what this seemingly redundant qualifier adds. The answer reveals ...
The story I want to share with you comes from the Talmud and it’s about Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha, the High Priest, and a truly extraordinary encounter. Rabbi Ishmael goes into the ...
The familiar story is this: a baby, hidden in a basket, floating down the river. But have you ever stopped to think about what might have motivated Pharaoh's daughter to defy her o...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a fascinating perspective. It points to the tribe of Levi, specifically those who resisted ...
King David knew that feeling well. Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, dives deep into the context and meaning behind David's songs. A...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, wrestles with this very idea. Specifically, Midrash Tehillim 6, drawing inspiration from the phras...
Rabbi Simon, in the ancient collection of homiletic interpretations known as Midrash Tehillim, illuminates this very idea. He suggests that simply reciting poetry doesn't make one ...
It all starts with a verse from (Psalm 21:2), "You have given him the desire of his heart." But what is the desire of his heart? The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) asks...
The Midrash Tehillim, an ancient collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, grapples with this very question. Specifically, it reflects on (Psalm 26:5), "I hate the congr...
Some prayers aren't polite. Midrash Tehillim 42 preserves one that reads more like a plea, a challenge, almost a demand, directed straight at God. The speaker in this Midrash (rabb...
Midrash Tehillim turns to Korah and Moses and the Wilderness. The verse in question is (Psalm 45:1): "To the conductor over the white lilies, a wise song of friendship." But what d...
A melody, some words, and suddenly…connection. But what if I told you that some songs are so potent, so deeply resonant, that even the greatest figures in history were eager to hea...
The Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, gives us some pretty wild and wonderful glimpses into that future. It all starts with a frust...
Our sages certainly did. The Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, dives deep into this very question. Specifically, it wrestles with (Psalm 78:4...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, dives right into that question when it grapples with the plagues visited upon Egypt. Specifically...
Midrash Tehillim turns to Did Moses Serve as a Priest Before Aaron. It’s a fascinating idea, isn’t it? To picture Moses, not just as the lawgiver and prophet, but also performing t...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. And they found evidence of it woven throughout the stories of our ancestors. to a fascinating little gem from Midrash Tehillim (a collection of ra...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, uses a vivid analogy to explore exactly that feeling, focusing on the Exodus from Egypt. It hangs ...
That feeling…that’s almost the heart of the story of Hallelujah. What is Hallelujah, really? It's more than just a word; it's an expression, a moment in time. Midrash Tehillim, in ...
The familiar story is this: God, in his awesome power, struck down the firstborn of Egypt as the final, devastating blow to convince Pharaoh to release the Israelites from bondage....
Pharaoh, the hard-hearted king of Exodus, receives one of the tradition's strangest endings: a moment of repentance before the sea closes. When we think of Pharaoh, images of the s...
They burst into song! Remember the verse? "Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord..." (Exodus 15:1). Pure, unadulterated joy, expressed in music. Then, fa...
Our source today is Sifrei Bamidbar, and it unveils a remarkable array of gifts bestowed upon the Cohanim – the priests. These include terumah (the priestly offering), terumath ma'...
Sifrei Bamidbar turns to David Discovers Torah Scholars Are More Precious Than Gold. Sifrei Bamidbar, one of the ancient collections of Jewish legal interpretations, explores this ...
Which brings up an interesting comparison: who had the better deal? In Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers, the covenant forged with Aaron...
It might seem like a distant topic, but understanding the underlying principles can offer profound insights into Jewish thought and practice. Our journey begins with (Numbers 18:27...
Sifrei Bamidbar turns to Covenant of Moses of Israelites. Why wasn't Moses allowed to enter? The verse reads, "because of you." Because of the Israelites' actions at the waters of ...
Our source today is Sifrei Devarim 12, a section of the Sifrei Devarim, a collection of legal midrashim (rabbinic interpretive commentary) on the Book of Deuteronomy. It paints a r...
In the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), specifically chapter 3, verse 24, we find Moses pleading with God. He says, "Your greatness (gadlecha).." But what exactly does that gadlecha ...
Isn't it wild to think about peace even in the middle of war? them is often remembered as opposites, but Jewish tradition sees a deep connection, a need for peace that permeates ev...
