3,813 related texts · Page 16 of 80
You know the story. Moses, raised in Pharaoh's household, leads the Israelites out of slavery, and Egypt suffers ten terrible plagues. But have you ever stopped to consider the per...
Why "My Miracle?" Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) tells us it’s because the miracle God wrought against Amalek wasn't just for Israel, but, in a way, for God too. The Sa...
We all know the story: The Israelites, fresh out of Egypt, get impatient waiting for Moses on Mount Sinai. They demand a god they can see, and Aaron, in a moment of weakness, fashi...
We often picture a triumphant march, but the reality, according to Jewish tradition, was far more complicated. It's easy to imagine them yearning for the "good old days" – even tho...
Jewish tradition certainly hints at that possibility! Take Balaam, for example. You know, the one hired to curse the Israelites? The Moabites and Midianites thought he was Moses' e...
Jewish tradition paints a vivid picture of his ascent to Mount Nebo, a place shrouded in significance. But here's a curious detail: this single mountain, according to some accounts...
And the blessings he bestowed were powerful indeed. Think about Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob. Moses declared, "Benjamin is the beloved of the Lord, whom he will always shiel...
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...
R. Yochanan said: Jonah went (on that voyage) only to cast himself into the sea, as it is written (Jonah 1:12) "And he said to them: Lift me up and cast me into the sea." All this ...
(Exodus 12:2) records God's instruction to Moses: "This month shall be to you the beginning of months." It is the very first commandment given to Israel as a nation, even before th...
The Torah introduces a practical problem in the laws of the Passover sacrifice. What happens when a household is too small to consume an entire lamb? (Exodus 12:4) addresses this d...
"And thus shall you eat it" (Exodus 12:11) — the Torah prescribes not just what to eat on Passover night, but how to eat it. Loins girded. Sandals on your feet. Staff in hand. Eat ...
And thus do you find with the forefathers, that they deported themselves with circumspection (in this regard), viz.: (Genesis 22:3) "And Abraham arose early in the morning," (Ibid....
The Mekhilta, compiled around the 2nd century CE as a halakhic commentary on Exodus, addresses a critical question about when the Passover laws took effect. The verse states plainl...
The Mekhilta, the halakhic midrash on Exodus from the tannaitic period, continues its investigation of a recurring biblical formula: when Scripture says God "has spoken," where exa...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus compiled in the 2nd century CE, traces another instance of the Bible's "as He spoke" formula — a device the rabbis use to link later p...
When God instructed Israel about the Passover observance, He included a forward-looking phrase: "And it shall be, when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as He has s...
And we are hereby apprised that the captives rejoiced in all the decrees inflicted by Pharaoh upon Israel, (for which they were punished) in keeping with (Mishlei 17:5) "He who rej...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, captures the moment when Pharaoh finally broke. After the tenth plague — the death of every firstborn in Egypt — Pharaoh summoned Mos...
"And the habitation of the children of Israel in Egypt and in other lands was four hundred and thirty years." This is one of the verses that they (the seventy-two elders changed) i...
Rabbi Nathan noticed something striking in the Torah's language about the Exodus. The text uses two verbs — "who brought up" and "who brought" — when describing God's act of taking...
(Exodus 13:3) records Moses telling the people, "This day you go out, in the month of Aviv." The Hebrew word Aviv means spring. But the verse seems redundant — everyone present alr...
"by way of the land of the Philistines, for it was near": Near (i.e., "close") is the thing of which the Holy One Blessed be He spoke to Moses (Exodus 2:12): "When you take the peo...
In what lies in the other ark it is written (Exodus 20) "I am the L–rd your G–d," and of Joseph it is written (Genesis 50:19) "Am I in the place of G–d?" In what lies in this ark i...
What is written of the fourth kingdom (Aram)? (Ibid. 23) "This is what he said: The fourth beast: There will be a fourth kingdom upon the earth which will be different from all the...
Four "harnessed" with joy: Abraham—(Genesis 22:3) "And Abraham rose early in the morning (for the binding of Isaac), and he saddled his ass." Now did he not have many servants?—(He...
(Exodus 14:7) "And he took six hundred choice chariots": Whence came the horses required for the chariots? If you would say, from Egypt, is it not written (re the plague of pestile...
The Torah describes Pharaoh's pursuit force with the word "shalishim" — a term the Mekhilta unpacks through three different interpretations, each revealing a different dimension of...
(Exodus, Ibid.) "Stand ready (hithyatzvu) to see the salvation of the L–rd": Moses said to them: Today the Shechinah will repose the Holy Spirit upon you; for "yetzivah" in all pla...
When the Israelites stood trapped between the sea ahead and Pharaoh's army behind, a single verse describes the moment the divine rescue began (Exodus 14:19): "And the angel of God...
(Exodus 14:22) "And the children of Israel came in the midst of the sea on the dry land": R. Meir perceives it one way; R. Yehudah, another. R. Meir: When the tribes were standing ...
R. Yehudah perceives it thus: "And the children of Israel came in the midst of the sea": When the tribes were standing at the sea, each of them said: I will not go down first into ...
The "morning" of Jacob—(Ibid. 28:18) "and Jacob rose early in the morning, etc." The "morning" of Moses—Exodus 34:4) "and Moses rose early in the morning, etc." The "morning" of Jo...
Rabbi Yehudah interprets the verse "And He removed their chariot wheels" (Exodus 14:25) as describing a scene far more spectacular than a simple mechanical failure. According to hi...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael draws a pointed contrast between two moments of song in Israelite history, and the difference reveals something fundamental about the nature of the So...
"I shall sing to the Lord," for He is merciful. The Mekhilta turns from God's power and wisdom to the attribute that defines the Jewish understanding of the divine character more t...
The Song of the Sea declares: "A horse and its rider He has cast into the sea" (Exodus 15:1). But this statement raises an immediate question. Was there really only one horse? The ...
The Mekhilta presents yet another parable about human warriors, this time addressing the most dangerous flaw of all: uncontrolled rage. A warrior in a province, it says, may become...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael draws attention to a single word in the Song at the Sea that transforms the entire verse from a description of the past into a prophecy of the future....
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael interprets one of the most powerful lines in the Song at the Sea: "And in the greatness of Your grandeur You break those who rise up against You" (Exo...
The Mekhilta reads (Exodus 15:8) — "And with the breath of Your nostrils, the waters ne'ermu" — as another demonstration of God's measure-for-measure justice. The Hebrew word "ne'e...
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...
(Exodus 15:14) "Peoples heard—they quaked": When the peoples heard that Pharaoh and his hosts were lost in the sea, that the rule of Egypt had ended, and that their idolatry had be...
When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, the news sent shockwaves through the ancient world. The Mekhilta examines the verse "Then the chiefs of Edom were confounded" (Exodus 15:15...
(Exodus 15:18) "You will bring them and You will plant them": The fathers prophesied without knowing what (they were prophesying). It is not written "You will bring us and You will...
(Exodus 15:22) "And they went out to the desert of Shur": This is the desert of Kazav. They said about the desert of Kazav that it was nine hundred parasangs by nine hundred parasa...
(Exodus 16:35) "And the children of Israel ate the manna for forty years": R. Yehoshua says: for forty days they ate the manna after the death of Moses. How so? Moses died on the s...
R. Eliezer says: The L–rd swears by His throne of glory: If there comes a man of all the nations to be proselytized, he will be accepted; but Amalek and his household will not be a...
