—to exclude the blind

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael Mekhilta Tractate Kaspa 4:8

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 22, 2025

The Torah commands that three times a year, "all your males shall be seen" before God. The Mekhilta systematically identifies who is excluded from this obligation through a series of verse-by-verse derivations.

"Shall be seen" — can also be read "shall see," and this double meaning excludes the blind. A person who cannot see cannot fulfill the "seeing" component of the pilgrimage obligation.

"Your males" — excludes women. The pilgrimage is obligatory only for men.

"All your males" — the word "all" might seem to broaden the scope, but the Mekhilta reads it as excluding a tumtum (one of indeterminate sex) and a hermaphrodite, who are not clearly "males."

(Deuteronomy 31:11): "You shall read this Torah in the presence of all of Israel in their ears" — the requirement to hear the Torah reading excludes the deaf.

(Deuteronomy 16:11): "And you shall rejoice" — the obligation of rejoicing excludes anyone who cannot rejoice: the sick and the minor, who lack the capacity for full festival celebration.

"Before the Lord your God" — excludes anyone who is ritually impure and therefore cannot enter the Temple precincts.

Through this systematic exclusion process, the Mekhilta defines the pilgrimage obligation with precision: adult, male, sighted, hearing, healthy, ritually pure Israelites. Everyone else is exempt — not punished, but released from a commandment they cannot meaningfully fulfill.

Themes

Torah Holy Land Commandments Joy Healing

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