3,200 related texts · Page 37 of 67
Rabbi Yishmael confronted a puzzle in (Deuteronomy 16:2), which says: "And you shall slaughter the Passover to your God — sheep and cattle." But the Passover offering is supposed t...
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...
Rabbi Yishmael cuts through the debate about burning Passover leftovers with a characteristically logical argument. The other sages needed the repeated phrase "until morning" to es...
Would you say that? There is a difference (between neveilah, [from which benefit may be derived] and chametz, [from which benefit may not be derived,], so that the resultant equati...
The Mekhilta continues its relentless cross-examination of Rabbi Yehudah's position that chametz must be destroyed specifically by burning. A new argument emerges — and a new count...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, addresses a question that cuts to the heart of the Passover story: who actually killed the firstborn of Egypt? The verse states simpl...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, preserves a question from Rabbi Nathan that captures the emotional texture of the Exodus. The Torah describes the Israelites carrying...
Two verses in the Torah appear to contradict each other about how long the Israelites were connected to Egypt. One verse states: "And the habitation of the children of Israel in th...
Rebbi (Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi) noticed the same numerical tension between two biblical verses about the duration of Israel's time in Egypt. One says "they shall serve them and they s...
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...
And the children of Israel journeyed from Ramses to Succoth, and from Succoth to Eitam, and from Eitam to Pi Hachiroth. On the fifth day (of the week) they journeyed from Egypt, an...
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...
When the Israelites saw the Egyptian army bearing down on them and the Red Sea blocking their escape, the Torah says they "were exceedingly afraid." But what did they do with that ...
What is written of Moses? (Numbers 20:14-16) "And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom … And our fathers went down to Egypt … and He hearkened to our voice." He (t...
The Mekhilta notices a subtle but important contradiction in the Song of the Sea and resolves it with a vivid image of what actually happened to the Egyptian soldiers in the Red Se...
The Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael continues its portrait of the extraordinary dialogue between Israel and the Holy Spirit with another matched pair of verses. When Israel proclaims (De...
The Mekhilta asks another of its characteristically sharp questions about the Red Sea crossing. The verse says the Egyptians "descended into the metzulot" — the whirlpools or churn...
The Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael continues its catalog of enemies who rose against Israel and were struck down by heaven, turning now to one of the most dramatic military disasters in...
"The foe said, etc.": How did Israel know what Pharaoh thought of them in Egypt? The Holy Spirit reposed upon them and they knew it. Pharaoh said: It really does not befit us to pu...
The Mekhilta takes the worldwide rejection of idolatry at the Red Sea and projects it forward into the future. What happened momentarily at the sea — when all nations opened their ...
The Mekhilta lifts the declaration "Who is like You among the mighty" out of the earthly realm and directs it upward — toward the angelic hosts who minister before God on high. "Wh...
The Mekhilta decodes every word of Moses' declaration before the battle with Amalek. "The top of the hill" is not just a geographic feature — it is a spiritual map. "Top" represent...
Three men climbed to the top of the hill before the battle against Amalek: Moses, Aaron, and Chur (Exodus 17:10). The Mekhilta explains that their ascent was not a military decisio...
The Mekhilta continues cataloguing everything God showed Moses from Mount Pisgah. The question this time: how do we know that God showed him even the graves of the forefathers? The...
They said: Rachav the harlot was ten years old when Israel left Egypt, and all forty years that Israel was in the desert, she plied her trade. At the end of fifty years, she conver...
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 Torah states that "when the ram's horn sounds" the people may ascend Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:13). The Mekhilta reads this literally: when the shofar "draws out" its sound — when...
Before giving the Torah to Israel, God first offered it to every other nation on earth. The Mekhilta records one of the most dramatic of these encounters — the moment God approache...
He came and revealed Himself to the sons of Ishmael and asked them: Will you accept the Torah? They: What is written in it? He: "You shall not steal." They: But this is the blessin...
The fifth commandment — "Honor your father and your mother" — comes with a promise attached: "so that your days be prolonged upon the earth" (Exodus 20:12). Most commandments in th...
Rabbi Yishmael examined the Torah's commandment to build "an altar of earth" (Exodus 20:21) and derived from it a precise architectural requirement: the altar must be "fixed upon t...
(Ibid.) "If you buy (lit.,) a servant Hebrew": Is Scripture speaking of a servant who is a Hebrew, or the servant of a Hebrew? And how am I to understand (Leviticus 25:46) "And you...
R. Yonathan says: "she'erah" is her clothing, i.e., clothing that is adapted to her flesh ("she'er"). If she were young, he should not give her (the clothing) of an elderly woman. ...
Rabbi Yishmael taught a sobering principle about Canaanite bondservants: a Canaanite bondservant can never be redeemed by an outside party. The only path to freedom is the master's...
Rabbi Yishmael addressed a possible misreading of the burglar law. The Torah seems to distinguish between day and night: (Exodus 22:1) discusses the thief "breaking in" (at night),...
Would you say that? There is a crucial difference (between a paid and an unpaid watcher), viz.: Since a paid watcher both derives benefit and gives benefit, and a hirer derives ben...
Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Yossi Haglili debated the method of executing a witch, as prescribed by (Exodus 22:17): "A witch you shall not allow to live." Rabbi Yishmael objected to a...
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...
Rabbi Nathan interpreted the verse "and perverts the words of the righteous" (Exodus 23:8) as referring to something far more severe than ordinary judicial corruption. The one who ...
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...
This is the story we're diving into today: the mourning over the Shekhinah, the divine feminine presence, after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. It’s a powerful myth, on...
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’re talking about the hayyot (חַיּוֹת), the “living creatures,” also sometimes called the heavenly creatures. These aren't your average angels. According to the lore, they're som...
Jewish tradition offers a beautiful, mystical answer: the Guf, the Treasury of Souls. Also known as the Chamber of Creation, it’s the ultimate waiting room. Imagine a place brimmin...
We often imagine them rising up, floating on wings of hope and sincerity. But what if something—or someone—tried to block them? That’s precisely what happened, according to a fasci...
Jewish tradition has a lot to say on the matter, and some of it is Let's talk about the fate of the soul, particularly what happens to those who, well, weren't so righteous in life...
Ever stumble across a name in the Bible and wonder, "Who was that person?" The Torah is full of these little mysteries! Let's talk about one that always gets my attention: Iscah. Y...
The story of Jacob and Esau, found in (Genesis 25:21-26), really makes you wonder about that. It's a tale filled with sibling rivalry, destiny, and some serious prenatal drama. The...
