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R. Yonathan says: This (derivation) is not necessary. If labor is forbidden on the first and last days, which are neither preceded nor followed by holiness, then how much more so c...
The Mekhilta addresses a gap in the Torah's instructions about eating matzah during Passover. The verse states, "Seven days shall you eat matzot" (Exodus 12:18). This clearly estab...
The Mekhilta, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus, discovers a hidden connection between two events separated by centuries — the plague of the firstborn in Egypt and Abraham's nighttim...
When the Israelites finally left Egypt, they did not leave empty-handed. The Torah describes them departing with "flocks and herds, a great crush of cattle" — a staggering processi...
"And the habitation of the children of Israel in Egypt and in other lands was four hundred and thirty years." This is one of the verses that they (the seventy-two elders changed) i...
(Exodus 12:43) "And the L–rd said to Moses and Aaron": There are some sections (in the Torah) which are generic in the beginning and specific after, and some which are specific in ...
The Mekhilta presents a teaching that reaches back before the creation of the world itself. The names of the righteous — and their deeds — are known to God before they are ever bor...
The Torah records a remarkable exchange in (Genesis 10:15): "And Canaan begot Tziddon, his first-born, and Cheth." Generations later, the sons of Cheth — the Hittites — encountered...
Rabbi Eliezer HaModai preserved one of the most extraordinary statements God ever made about the people of Israel. When Moses cried out at the Red Sea, God responded: "Why do you c...
After the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and watched the waters crash over the Egyptian army, they burst into song. But how exactly did they sing? The Torah says (Exodus 15:1) "And...
The builders of the Tower of Babel were punished with the exact same thing they feared most. The Mekhilta highlights the devastating irony embedded in the biblical narrative. The m...
The Mekhilta highlights Samson as another example of the principle that a person's punishment mirrors their sin. Whatever someone boasts about or indulges in becomes the exact inst...
"the L–rd is a man of war': What is the intent of this? Because He revealed Himself at the sea as a hero waging war—"The L–rd is a man of war"—and He revealed Himself at Sinai as a...
The Mekhilta presents yet another parable about human warriors, this time addressing the most dangerous flaw of all: uncontrolled rage. A warrior in a province, it says, may become...
(Exodus 15:9) "The foe said: I shall pursue, etc.": This appertains (chronologically) to the beginning of the parshah. Why is it written here? For "there is no before and after in ...
The Mekhilta draws a sharp contrast between human construction and divine creation. When a human being builds, the natural order is bottom-up. You lay the foundation first, then bu...
The Mekhilta draws a stark contrast between the creative power of God and the limitations of human beings. The measure of flesh and blood — meaning any mortal craftsman — cannot ev...
The Mekhilta interprets the verse "You have led forth in lovingkindness" (Exodus 15:13) as a startling admission: Israel had no merit of their own when they were redeemed from Egyp...
Four are called "acquisitions": Israel—viz. "this people whom You have acquired." Heaven and earth—viz. (Genesis 14:22) "Acquirer of heaven and earth." The Temple—viz. (Psalms 78:5...
The Mekhilta makes a striking observation about the phrase "in the mountain of Your inheritance." The Temple is beloved by God in a way that surpasses even creation itself. How? Th...
The Mekhilta deepens its meditation on the Temple with a remarkable claim about divine craftsmanship. "The sanctuary, O Lord, did Your hands establish" — note the plural. Hands, no...
"and he cast it into the waters": Others say: Israel were (hereby) imploring (mercy) and praying before their Father in heaven. As a son implores and guards himself before his fath...
A small detail in (Exodus 16:1) caught the attention of the rabbis of the Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael. The verse states that the Israelites journeyed from Eilim and arrived in the Wi...
"from the heavens": from the goodly treasure trove of the heavens, viz. (Devarim 28:12) "The L–rd will open for you His goodly treasure trove, the heavens, etc." R. Shimon b. Gamli...
Ten miraculous objects were created in the final moments before the first Shabbat (the Sabbath), squeezed into existence during the twilight of the sixth day of Creation. The Mekhi...
When the Torah says that Israel "encamped in Refidim" (Exodus 17:1), the Mekhilta hears more than a place name. The rabbis break the word apart: "rafu yadam" — "their hands weakene...
R. Chanina b. Akiva says: "More beloved" was the seeing of our father Abraham than that of Moses. For Abraham was not caused to exert himself whereas Moses was. What is stated of A...
Jacob was one of the four righteous people whom God gave a hint about the future. But Jacob, the Mekhilta says, failed to take the hint — and the consequences reveal something prof...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael preserves a fascinating tradition about the name of Jethro, Moses's father-in-law. His name was not always Jethro. In the beginning, the Torah calls h...
The Mekhilta teaches that there are people in the Torah whose very names were diminished — literally shrunk — because of their actions. The prime example is Efron the Hittite, the ...
The Mekhilta offers another example of a name diminished by moral failure: Yonadav, originally called Yehonadav. The difference is a single element — the divine syllable "Yeho," de...
The Mekhilta notices something peculiar about how the Torah identifies Yithro. In the beginning of the story, Moses is the one who boasts about the relationship. When Moses returns...
Yithro's declaration "Now I know that greater is the Lord than all the gods" (Exodus 18:11) is more remarkable than it first appears. The Mekhilta points out a critical detail: the...
The verse says that Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law "before God." But the Mekhilta raises an obvious question: where was Moses himsel...
(Exodus 18:13) "And it was on the morrow that Moses sat to judge the people.": on the morrow of Yom Kippur (after Moses had descended with the second tablets.) "from morning to eve...
R. Yossi says: It is written (Isaiah 45:19) "Not in secrecy did I speak, in a place of darkness, etc." In the very beginning, when I gave it, I did not give it in secret or in a da...
God tells Israel at Sinai, "And now, if you hearken to My voice" (Exodus 19:5). The Mekhilta highlights the word "now" — take it upon yourselves now, because all beginnings are dif...
When Moses stood before Israel at Sinai and "took the book of the covenant and read it in the ears of the people" (Exodus 24:7), a question immediately arises: what exactly did he ...
R. Yishmael says: What is written at the beginning, viz. (Leviticus 25:1-3) "And the L–rd spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying … then the land shall rest a Sabbath to the L–rd. Si...
"And the sound of the shofar, very strong" (Exodus 19:16) — the Mekhilta connects this to a later verse (Exodus 19:19): "And the sound of the shofar grew exceedingly strong." Toget...
The Mekhilta extends its principle about biblical language by examining another verse: (Amos 3:8) says, "The lion has roared. Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken. Who will n...
The Mekhilta brings one more example to illustrate its principle about biblical language. (Ezekiel 43:2) describes the return of God's glory to the Temple: "And the glory of the Go...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael presents a striking teaching about the value of a single human life. The text interprets the phrase "and there fall of them many" to mean that if even...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael asks a deceptively simple question: why were the Ten Commandments not placed at the very beginning of the Torah? If they are the foundation of the cov...
"I am the L–rd your G–d who took you out of the land of Egypt." What is the intent of this? Because He appeared at the Red Sea as a hero waging war, viz. (Exodus 15:3) "The L–rd is...
After being rejected by the sons of Esau, God turned to the sons of Ammon and Moab and made the same offer: "Will you accept the Torah?" The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael records their...
"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...
"For this the L–rd blessed the Sabbath day and He sanctified it": He blessed it with the manna (by providing a double portion on the sixth day), and he sanctified it with the manna...
