Nehorai says — I swear — Not one in five hundred went up

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael Mekhilta Tractate Vayehi Beshalach 1:8

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

R. Nehorai says: I swear: Not one in five hundred went up. For it is written (Ezekiel 16:7) "(In Egypt) I made you as numerous as the plants of the field," and (Exodus 1:7) "And the children of Israel were fruitful, and teemed, and multiplied, and became exceedingly strong, and the land was filled with them"—a woman would bear six in one birth—and you say one in five hundred went up! Not one in five thousand, many of the Jews having died in Egypt. When? In the three days of darkness, of which it is written (Exodus 10:23) "One man did not see another." They (the Jews) were burying their dead, and they gave thanks and praise to the Holy One Blessed be He that their foes did not see and rejoice in their downfall.

Themes

Moses Prophecy Death Holy Land

Biblical References

Continue Reading

Ginzberg Jethro's Transgression He wasn't born a leader, that's for sure. For forty long years, he was a shepherd for his father-in-law, Jethro. And let... Ginzberg Angels Attend to Ezekiel It wasn't just the adults celebrating freedom. According to Legends of the Jews, even babies stopped nursing, compelled ... Ginzberg The Ten Commandments of Israelites According to Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, after hearing those earth-shattering pronouncements, the Israelites thought... Ginzberg Moses — Aaron and the Lawgiver His sons, in a moment of unauthorized zeal, offered "alien fire" before the Lord and were consumed. A devastating blow. ... Ginzberg Three Mountains God Preserved From the Flattening Cloud The ancient Israelites certainly did. And sometimes, loss can make that feeling even more intense. Imagine this: You're ... Ginzberg Moses Continues Serving God in Heaven After Death What happens to a leader when they die? Especially a leader like Moses? We know Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, r... Ginzberg Moses — Elijah at the Dawn of Creation Jewish tradition certainly knows that feeling, and it gives us some incredible stories about how our ancestors faced it.... Midrash Aggadah The Patriarchs Seek To Comfort Jerusalem The story goes that after the Temple was torn down and Jerusalem was ablaze, God, in His infinite compassion, sought to ... Midrash Aggadah Moses Contemplates Why Human Life Is So Fleeting Our Sages grappled with this fleeting nature of existence, too. In Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on ...