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"And the voice of the shofar" (Exodus 19:19) — the Mekhilta declares that this is a propitious sign in all of Scripture. Wherever the shofar is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, it si...
Rabbi Yossi raised a fundamental question about the boundary between heaven and earth. He cited (Psalms 115:16), which declares that "the heavens are the heavens of the Lord, and t...
Variantly: "I am the L–rd your G–d": When the Holy One Blessed be He stood and said "I am the L–rd your G–d," the mountains shook and the hills quivered, and Tavor came from Be'er ...
(Ibid. 20:8) "Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it": "Remember" and "Keep" (the Sabbath day to sanctify it [Devarim 5:12]) were both stated in one pronouncement. (Exodus 31:14) ...
"and He rested on the seventh day"? Now is He subject to "weariness"? Is it not written (Isaiah 40:28) "He does not tire and He does not weary," and (Ibid. 29) "He gives strength t...
(Exodus 20:15) describes an extraordinary moment at Sinai: "And all the people saw the sounds and the lightnings." The people did not merely hear the divine voice — they saw it. Ra...
"And all the people saw" — the sounds of sounds and the flames of flames. The Mekhilta asks: how many sounds were there at Sinai, and how many flames? The answer is not a specific ...
R. Nathan says: Whence is it derived that the L–rd showed our father Abraham, Gehennom, the giving of the Torah and the splitting of the Red Sea? From (Genesis 15:17) "And it was, ...
(Ibid.) "And they stood from afar": outside of twelve mil (the distance of the Israelite encampment). We are hereby apprised that Israel receded twelve mil and returned twelve mil ...
R. b. R. Ilai says: Because they were scorched by the sun above them, the Holy One Blessed be He said to the clouds of glory: Drip the dew of life upon My children, etc. (Psalms, I...
(Ibid.) "And Moses entered into the mist": This (his closeness to the L–rd) was a function of his humility, viz. (Numbers 12:3) "And the man Moses was extremely humble, etc." Scrip...
Rabbi Nathan drew a sharp line between what Israel experienced at Sinai and what the rest of the world perceived. The nations heard about the revelation. Israel saw it. That differ...
When God gave the Torah at Mount Sinai, the Torah says He "descended" upon the mountain (Exodus 19:20). But it also says He spoke "from the heavens" (Exodus 20:22). These two state...
R. Akiva says: "You shall not do (i.e., deport yourselves) with Me" as others do with their gods. When good befalls them, they honor their gods, viz. (Habakkuk 1:16) "Therefore, he...
R. Shimon b. Yochai says: Beloved are afflictions, for three goodly gifts were given to Israel and are desired by the nations of the world, and they were given to them only through...
R. Eliezer b. Yaakov says: If you come to My house, I will come to your house. And if you do not come to My house, I will not come to your house. The place that My heart loves, the...
"If you lend money to My people, the poor man with you" (Exodus 22:24). In Hebrew, the verse uses the word "im" — "if" — which normally introduces a conditional statement. If this ...
(Exodus 21:2) "If you buy a Hebrew man-servant": Scripture here speaks of one sold by beth-din (to pay for what he has stolen), in which instance he serves both the father and the ...
When the Torah describes the ear-boring of a Hebrew bondsman who chooses to remain in service, it says "his ear" shall be pierced. But which ear — left or right? The Mekhilta deter...
The Torah lists three things a husband must provide for his wife: "she'eirah, kesuthah, and onathah" (Exodus 21:10). These three Hebrew terms are cryptic, and the Mekhilta preserve...
Issi ben Akiva raises a profound moral question about the scope of the prohibition against murder. Before the Torah was given at Sinai, he argues, humanity was already warned again...
Despite the permanence of Canaanite servitude, there was one path to freedom that did not require the master's consent: suffering. If a master persecuted his Canaanite bondservant ...
R. Yishmael says: Come and see the mercies of the One who spoke and brought the world into being, for flesh and blood. For a man acquires himself with money from the hands of Heave...
The Mekhilta explores a fascinating taxonomy of what can and cannot be redeemed in Jewish law. Certain consecrated objects can be redeemed — returned to ordinary status through a m...
And thus do we find with our fathers, that when they stood on Mount Sinai, they sought to steal the Higher Mind, as it is written (Exodus 24:7) "Everything that the L–rd has spoken...
But if one steals away from his friend, (who asks to be paid for teaching him), and goes (and hides behind a fence) to learn Torah (i.e., to overhear the lesson that he is teaching...
"if the thief is found, he pays double": A thief (one who steals by stealth) pays kefel, but not a robber (one who steals openly). Why did Scripture see fit to be more severe with ...
"Who is not betrothed" — the Torah specifies that the seduction law applies to a virgin who has not been betrothed. The Mekhilta records a disagreement about the scope of this excl...
"Covenant" is written of Israel, viz. (Genesis 17:13) "And My covenant (i.e., circumcision) shall be in your flesh." And it is also written of strangers, viz. (Isaiah 56:4) "and th...
Abraham called himself a stranger. (Genesis 23:4): "A stranger and a sojourner am I with you." David called himself a stranger. (Psalms 119:19): "I am a stranger in the land." And ...
(Exodus 22:21) commands: "Every widow and orphan you shall not afflict." The Mekhilta immediately pushes beyond the literal categories. This verse mentions only widows and orphans....
"For if cry out, shall he cry out to Me, hear will I hear his outcry" (Exodus 22:22). The Torah is speaking about the treatment of widows and orphans — the most vulnerable people i...
The Torah says, "When you lend money to My people" (Exodus 22:24), using the Hebrew word "im," which normally means "if." This would seem to make lending optional, a generous act y...
"My people": If an Israelite and a gentile stand before you to borrow, "My people" take precedence. A poor man and a rich man—the poor man takes precedence. Your poor (i.e., the po...
(Exodus 23:3) commands: "Do not honor a poor man in his quarrel." The Mekhilta asks why this verse is needed when (Leviticus 19:15) already says: "You shall not favor a poor man an...
Abba Chanan said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: "Do not honor a poor man in his quarrel" actually refers to the agricultural gifts owed to the poor — leket (gleanings), shikchah (for...
(Exodus 23:6) commands: "You shall not incline the judgment of your needy one in his quarrel." The Mekhilta asks why this verse is necessary when (Exodus 23:3) already says: "You s...
"And the seventh year you shall leave it" — the Torah commands that the land be left fallow during the shemitah year. But the Mekhilta anticipates a well-intentioned objection. Som...
"And the poor of your people shall eat it" — during the shemitah year, the produce that grows on its own is available to the poor. But (Leviticus 25:6) says something different: "f...
The Mekhilta catalogs the names used to describe idolatry and contrasts them with the names used to describe God. The contrast is devastating. Idolatry is mentioned only in derogat...
The Mekhilta cites (Psalms 50:7-8) to illustrate God's unique relationship with Israel: "Hear, My people, and I will speak; Israel, and I will exhort you. I am God, your God. I wil...
The Mekhilta raises a fascinating question about the relationship between laws that existed before the giving of the Torah at Sinai and those that were introduced at Sinai itself. ...
"That I, the Lord, sanctify you" — the Mekhilta interprets this as referring to the world to come. The sanctity that God bestows upon Israel through Sabbath observance is a foretas...
"He rested and was restored" — the Torah says God rested on the seventh day. But from what did He rest? From labor, or from judgment? The Mekhilta uses the word "restored" to deter...
The verse declares, "For the poor shall not always be forgotten; the hope of the poor shall not perish forever." But what does that really mean? Rabbi Yudan, in Midrash Tehillim, a...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Psalms, uses a beautiful parable to illustrate this very idea. It centers around the verse: "The Lord is my stre...
The book of Psalms, Tehillim in Hebrew, is just overflowing with questions like these. And the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), those beautiful, imaginative interpretati...
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, a fascinating early medieval Jewish text, offers us a peek. It paints a vivid picture, drawing on biblical verses to flesh out the scene. The text brings us...
