It is, therefore, written (Devarim 16 — 6) "There shall you

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael Mekhilta Tractate Pischa 5:21

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 17, 2025

The Mekhilta uncovers a contradiction in the Torah's timeline that forces a radical rethinking of when the Passover sacrifice actually happened. Deuteronomy commands, "There shall you slaughter the Pesach (Passover) in the evening" (Deuteronomy 16:6). Evening. That seems clear enough.

But the same verse continues: "at the time that you departed from Egypt." And when exactly did the Israelites depart? The Torah answers that question explicitly: "And it was in the middle of the day… that they left Egypt" (Exodus 12:41). Midday. Not evening.

So which is it? Did the Passover happen in the evening or at midday? The Mekhilta does not shy away from the tension. If you read "in the evening" literally, you get one answer. But the Torah itself qualifies that phrase with "at the time that you departed," which points to noon. The rabbis conclude that the timing reference cannot be taken at face value — it must be understood in light of the departure narrative.

This is a window into how the rabbis read Scripture. Two verses that seem to contradict each other are not a problem to be eliminated but a signal to be investigated. The Torah does not make mistakes. When it says "evening" in one breath and "midday" in the next, it is encoding a legal or theological truth that only careful analysis can unlock. The Mekhilta treats every apparent inconsistency as a doorway, not a dead end — and what lies on the other side is always a deeper understanding of what God actually intended.

Themes

Moses Egypt Kabbalah Exodus Passover

Biblical References

Exodus 12:41

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