3,636 related texts · Page 44 of 76
Variantly: "and shalishim": Three (Egyptians) against every one (Israelite). Others say: three hundred against one. And how did Pharaoh know how many Israelites died in the three d...
Variantly: "Stand ready to see the salvation of the L–rd": They: When? Moses: Tomorrow. They: Moses our teacher we do not have the strength to wait. At that time Moses prayed and t...
The Mekhilta weaves together several verses to demonstrate that God guards the faithful and remembers the faithfulness of the ancestors. The opening verse sets the theme: "The Lord...
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...
A king of flesh and blood enters a province, and all praise him as "strong"—when he is weak; as "rich"—when he is poor; as "wise"—when he is foolish; as "merciful"—when he is cruel...
Variantly: Who is like You ("ba'eilim") among those who call themselves gods? Pharaoh called himself a god, viz. (Ezekiel 29:3) "Mine is my river (the Nile), and I have made it." A...
The measure of flesh and blood—A man cannot speak two things at the same time. But the measure of the Holy One Blessed be He—He said (all) of the ten commandments as one, viz. (Exo...
The measure of flesh and blood—When one man works for another—plowing with him, sowing with him, weeding with him, hoeing with him—the other gives him a single coin and he goes on ...
The Mekhilta draws a sharp contrast between human construction and divine creation. When a human being builds, the natural order is bottom-up. You lay the foundation first, then bu...
The Mekhilta draws a profound contrast between human ability and divine power through the act of creation from earth. A human craftsman cannot form a living figure from dirt. He ca...
The Mekhilta draws a sharp contrast between a human artisan and the divine Creator. When a mortal sculptor sets out to make a figure, he must build it piece by piece — starting fro...
"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...
When the Israelites ran out of food in the desert, they did not handle it well. (Exodus 16:2) records that "the entire congregation of the children of Israel caviled against Moses ...
When the Israelites grumbled in the wilderness about food, Moses and Aaron told them (Exodus 16:7): "And in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord." The Mekhilta de-Rabbi I...
"and, behold, the glory of the L–rd appeared in the cloud": R. Yossi Haglili says: So long as Israel railed against Moses and Aaron, at once, "the glory of the L–rd appeared in the...
When the prophet Elijah returns at the end of days, he will not come empty-handed. According to the Mekhilta, he will bring three sacred objects that were hidden away centuries ago...
Three miraculous gifts sustained Israel in the wilderness, and each one was tied to a specific leader. Rabbi Yehoshua teaches that when Miriam died, the well that had followed the ...
When Moses shattered the two tablets of the covenant at the foot of Mount Sinai, something extraordinary happened to the sacred letters engraved upon them. According to the Mekhilt...
The Mekhilta draws a direct parallel between Moses' raised hands and another puzzling episode: the bronze serpent in the wilderness. When poisonous snakes attacked the Israelites, ...
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...
Before Moses died, God showed him the future of every tribe of Israel, a panoramic vision of the land and its leaders stretching across generations. The Mekhilta asks: how do we kn...
When God took Moses to the summit of Mount Pisgah and showed him the entire Promised Land, the vision included far more than hills and valleys. The Mekhilta asks: how do we know th...
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...
R. Yossi says: G–d forbid that tzaddik (a righteous person)im (the righteous) should be lax in circumcision for even a short while, but Moses expounded: Shall he circumcise (his so...
R. Elazar Hamodai says: He sent him with all the honor in the world, as is seen in his (Moses') response to him, as it is written (Numbers 10:30) "I pray you, do not leave us," tel...
The Mekhilta extends its analysis of conditional versus unconditional covenants to two more foundational gifts: the Torah scroll and the priesthood of Aaron. Whence is it derived t...
And the sages say twelve monuments for each tribe. He built an altar, sacrificed thereon a burnt-offering and peace-offerings, took of the blood of the burnt-offering in two recept...
R. Yishmael says: What is written at the beginning, viz. (Leviticus 25:1-3) "And the L–rd spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying … then the land shall rest a Sabbath to the L–rd. Si...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael uses a vivid parable to explain why murder is equated with diminishing the divine image. The teaching compares God to a king of flesh and blood who en...
Rebbi — Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi — asked why the Torah specifically mentions "a rod" in the law about striking a bondservant. He argued that the word "rod" is extra — it is not needed ...
(Exodus, Ibid.) "If he (the thief) has blood, pay shall he pay": R. Eliezer b. Yaakov says: If there were before him (the thief) pitchers of wine and pitchers of oil and he broke t...
"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 Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael presents a step in a larger legal argument about why meat cooked in milk is forbidden to eat. The passage uses a technique called refutation — counter...
And the Torah, in its own way, grapples with this very question. We find ourselves in the Book of Exodus, a pivotal moment in the story of the Israelites. Moses is about to ascend ...
It's a powerful, heartbreaking moment in our history. But what if I told you that in their darkest hour, God chose to share their pain, to literally go into exile with them? There'...
We often picture him as a solitary figure, but some fascinating stories paint a much different picture – a being both male and female. It's a wild idea. But it comes from some surp...
Remember the scene: Moses, up on Mount Sinai, receiving the very word of God, etched onto stone tablets. And then… disaster. The Israelites, impatient and faithless, melt down thei...
We know from Genesis that before he passed, Joseph made his brothers swear a solemn oath: when God finally remembers them, they must carry his bones out of Egypt with them (Gen. 50...
That's a glimpse into the story of Moses and the divine radiance. We find the account in (Exodus 34:29-35), a passage that has captivated and, at times, puzzled readers for centuri...
Now, we all know Joshua as a great leader, a warrior, a successor to Moses. But what if his origins were shrouded in a myth mirroring some of the most famous stories in history? Ac...
Jewish tradition offers some breathtaking glimpses beyond the veil, and one of the most stunning involves God Himself, building a Temple…in Heaven. Imagine Moses, nearing the end o...
Our tradition grapples with this question in fascinating, sometimes unsettling ways. Take the story of Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve. We all know he murdered his brother ...
It's like that guest who overstays their welcome, only on a cosmic scale. But it gets even more interesting. The Midrash Tehillim then pivots to a powerful statement of faith, of u...
The Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, offers a powerful glimpse into David's humility. It tells of David declaring, "I am a stain." A powe...
Midrash Tehillim, in its commentary on Psalm 36, offers a fascinating insight. It all boils down to fear – or rather, the lack of it, in the right place. The psalm begins, "To the ...
to a fascinating passage from Midrash Tehillim, specifically Midrash Tehillim 45, which wrestles with the meaning of the verse, "My heart whispers good things." The rabbis suggest ...
Today, let's look at a passage from Midrash Tehillim, specifically Midrash Tehillim 78, which grapples with one of the most tragic moments in the Book of Leviticus: the death of Na...
And the Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Psalms, really digs into the raw pain and frustration expressed in that particular psalm. It’s a p...
