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The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael identifies a crucial legal distinction hidden in the commandment "There shall not be unto you other gods." The question is deceptively simple: what ex...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael examines the phrase "before My presence" in the prohibition against idolatry, asking what this seemingly redundant qualifier adds. The answer reveals ...
(Ibid. 4) "You shall not make for yourself an idol (lit., "a carving")": I might think that he may not make one that projects but he may make one that is flat. It is, therefore, wr...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael records a teaching from Rabbi Akiva about just how far the prohibition against making images extends. The verse in (Exodus 20:18) states "which is in ...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael addresses a precise legal question about the commandment in (Exodus 20:5): "You shall not bow down to them and you shall not serve them." The question...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael asks a deceptively simple question: what is the purpose of the commandment "You shall not bow down"? If the Torah already states in (Exodus 22:19) tha...
R. Nathan says: "for My lovers and the keepers of My mitzvot (commandments)h": the Jews who dwell in Eretz Yisrael, and give their lives for the mitzvoth. Why are you going out to ...
(Ibid. 7) "You shall not take the name of the L–rd your G–d in vain": A vain oath, too, was included in (Leviticus 19:12) "You shall not swear falsely in My name," and Scripture re...
Rebbi says: For everything from "You shall not take the name" and down, penitence does atone. From "You shall not take the name" and up, including "You shall not take the name," pe...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael turns to the phrase "and your sojourner in your gates" from the Shabbat (the Sabbath) commandment and asks: which type of sojourner is meant? Jewish l...
"Honor your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12). The fifth of the Ten Commandments seems straightforward enough, but the Mekhilta immediately asks: what does "honor" actually re...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael invites the reader to examine the rewards promised for three different commandments and to see a striking pattern. Each act of honor directed at the p...
The fifth commandment, "Honor your father and your mother," comes with a promise attached: "so that your days be prolonged upon the land." The Mekhilta reads this promise with unfl...
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...
The Torah's treatment of adultery presents a puzzle that the Mekhilta refuses to ignore. In one verse, the commandment thunders from Sinai: "You shall not commit adultery." In anot...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael identifies a critical distinction in the commandment "You shall not steal." The eighth of the Ten Commandments is not about stealing property. It is a...
The Torah commands: "You shall not steal." But the Mekhilta asks a question that might surprise anyone who thinks the meaning is obvious — does this commandment prohibit stealing m...
viz.: Three mitzvot (commandments)h are stated in this context, two ("You shall not kill" and "You shall not commit adultery") and one ("You shall not steal") ambiguous. Just as th...
The ninth commandment — "You shall not testify against your neighbor false testimony" — is more than a prohibition. It is the foundation of an entire legal system built on the reli...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael poses a deceptively simple question: how were the Ten Commandments arranged on the two tablets? The answer reveals a hidden moral architecture within ...
Idolatry and adultery are the same sin. The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, a 3rd-century CE halakhic midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), makes this case by pointing to the stru...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael reveals a hidden connection between two of the Ten Commandments by examining their physical placement on the tablets. The commandment "You shall not t...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael identifies another pairing across the two tablets of the Ten Commandments. "Honor your father and your mother" stood directly opposite "You shall not ...
Rebbi — Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi — noticed that the Torah prohibits coveting in two separate places using two different Hebrew words. (Exodus 20:14) says "You shall not covet," while (...
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house"—general. "and his man-servant, and his maid-servant, and his ox, and his ass—particular. general-particular (The rule is:) There exists ...
Rabbi Yishmael read the commandment against idolatry with a scope that went far beyond golden calves and carved statues. When the Torah says "You shall not make unto Me gods of sil...
Rabbi Nathan interpreted the prohibition against idolatry in (Exodus 20:20) — "You shall not make alongside Me" — with striking directness. God is saying: do not think you can make...
If the prohibition against "gods of gold" addresses making extra cherubs beyond the commanded two, what does the additional prohibition against "gods of silver" teach? After all, t...
The Torah prohibits approaching the altar by steps: "And you shall not go up with steps to My altar, so that your nakedness not be revealed upon it" (Exodus 20:23). From this verse...
Why do the laws of adjudication — civil justice — take precedence over all the other commandments in the Torah? Rabbi Shimon gave a deceptively simple answer: because adjudication ...
"and he shall bring him near to the door or to the door-post": The door is being compared to the door-post, viz.: Just as a door-post stands in its place, so, the door must be stan...
The Torah verse "If another he take for him" (Exodus 21:10) is read by the Mekhilta as the source for a surprising obligation. From this verse, the Sages ruled that a father is obl...
The Torah states: "And if these three he does not do to her, then she shall go out free, without money" (Exodus 21:11). The Mekhilta asks the obvious question: what are "these thre...
But still, let his blood be spilled from other limbs (and not through "the sword" [i.e., decapitation])! It is, therefore, written (in respect to eglah arufah [the "heifer of the b...
The Mekhilta presents a sophisticated chain of legal reasoning about which commandments can override which other commandments. The question at stake is whether the obligation to bu...
One of the disciples of R. Yishmael said: It is written (Exodus 35:3) "You shall not light a fire in all of your dwellings on the Sabbath day." Burning was in the category (of all ...
The Mekhilta continues its analysis of the legal hierarchy between the Sabbath, the sacrificial service, murder, and burial of the dead. The argument now approaches from the opposi...
The Mekhilta records the precise procedure for carrying out the judicial penalty of strangulation — one of the four methods of capital punishment prescribed by Torah law. Far from ...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael presents a classic a fortiori argument, known in rabbinic logic as kal va-chomer, "from the light to the heavy." This particular kal va-chomer address...
"You shall not steal" — this is the eighth of the Ten Commandments. But what kind of stealing does it prohibit? The Mekhilta argues it refers to kidnapping, not theft of property. ...
But perhaps the first is an exhortation against stealing money, and the second an exhortation against stealing souls? Would you say that? Three mitzvot (commandments)h are mentione...
What happens if your father is a judge? The Torah prohibits cursing judges: "Elohim you shall not curse" (Exodus 22:27). It also prohibits cursing leaders: "And a prince in your pe...
Shimon ben Azzai interpreted the phrase "and the owner of the ox is absolved" (Exodus 21:28) as absolution from paying half-kofer — half of the ransom payment owed when an ox kills...
Rabban Gamliel offered a different interpretation of "the owner of the ox is absolved." He argued the tam's owner is absolved from paying the monetary value of a bondservant who is...
The Torah establishes different levels of responsibility for different types of guardians. A hired watcher — someone paid to safeguard another person's property — bears liability i...
The Torah declares in (Exodus 22:17): "A witch you shall not allow to live." The Mekhilta immediately clarifies the scope of this severe commandment. Despite the verse using the fe...
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...
(Exodus 22:20) commands: "And a stranger you shall not afflict and you shall not oppress him." The Mekhilta identifies two distinct prohibitions within this verse. "You shall not a...
