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The Song of the Sea declares: "A horse and its rider He has cast into the sea" (Exodus 15:1). But this statement raises an immediate question. Was there really only one horse? The ...
(Exodus 15:4) "the chariots of Pharaoh and his host": "As one measures, so is it meted out to him." They (the Egyptians [i.e., Pharaoh]) said (Ibid. 5:2) "Who is the L–rd that I sh...
The Song of the Sea declares: "The depths covered them" (Exodus 15:5). The Mekhilta asks an obvious but brilliant question: are there really depths at the bottom of the sea? The Is...
The Mekhilta draws a striking comparison between the experience of the prophet Jonah in the belly of the great fish and the fate of the Egyptian army at the Red Sea — and the Egypt...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael states a foundational principle of divine justice: "As one metes it out, so is it meted out to him." God's punishments are not random. They mirror the...
The Mekhilta unpacks the declaration from (Exodus 15:6): "Your right hand, O Lord, is grand in power." The Hebrew phrase "nedari bakeach" is read as a compound — "na'eh" (comely) a...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael draws attention to a single word in the Song at the Sea that transforms the entire verse from a description of the past into a prophecy of the future....
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael interprets one of the most powerful lines in the Song at the Sea: "And in the greatness of Your grandeur You break those who rise up against You" (Exo...
The Mekhilta continues its grammatical investigation of the Song at the Sea and finds yet another future-tense verb. (Exodus 15:7) does not say "He has consumed them as stubble" — ...
The Mekhilta reads (Exodus 15:8) — "And with the breath of Your nostrils, the waters ne'ermu" — as another demonstration of God's measure-for-measure justice. The Hebrew word "ne'e...
(Exodus 15:12) declares: "You inclined Your right hand — the earth swallowed them up." The Mekhilta reads this verse not primarily as a description of the Egyptians' death, but as ...
When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, the news sent shockwaves through the ancient world. The Mekhilta examines the verse "Then the chiefs of Edom were confounded" (Exodus 15:15...
The Mekhilta makes a careful distinction in the verse "There fell upon them dread and terror" (Exodus 15:16). "Dread" fell upon the distant nations. "Terror" fell upon the near one...
The Mekhilta examines the verse "And they went in the desert for three days without finding any water" (Exodus 15:22) and presents two conflicting interpretations. Rabbi Yehoshua t...
The Mekhilta records a disagreement between two sages about the verse "And they came to Marah" (Exodus 15:23). Rabbi Yehoshua says that Israel came to three places at that time. Ra...
When the Israelites arrived at Eilim after their grueling desert journey, they found an oasis that defied all natural proportion. Twelve springs of water bubbled up from the earth,...
When God responded to the Israelites' hunger in the wilderness, He used a single Hebrew word that two rabbis read in completely different ways. (Exodus 16:4) records God telling Mo...
A seemingly technical legal teaching in the Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael reveals a deep argument about what made the manna special. The verse in (Exodus 16:5) states that on the sixth...
When the Israelites grumbled in the wilderness about food, Moses and Aaron told them (Exodus 16:7): "And in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord." The Mekhilta de-Rabbi I...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael reveals a remarkable exchange between God and Moses concerning the Israelites' complaints in the wilderness. The verse states: "I have heard the cavil...
(Exodus 16:13) says simply that "in the morning there was a layer of dew." But the Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael saw in this plain statement a description of one of the most elaborate ...
When the manna first appeared in the wilderness, the Israelites had never seen anything like it. (Exodus 16:15) records their reaction: "And the children of Israel saw it, and each...
(Exodus 16:16) "This is the thing that the L–rd has commanded. Gather of it, each man, etc.": They said: Now Nachshon ben Aminadav and his household will go out and will gather a l...
Moses gave the Israelites a simple instruction in (Exodus 16:19): do not leave any manna over until morning. What happened next exposed a fault line running through the entire nati...
On the sixth day of the week, something unprecedented happened with the manna. (Exodus 16:22) records that the Israelites gathered a double portion, two omers instead of the usual ...
(Exodus 16:26) "Six days shall you gather it, etc.": We are hereby apprised that the manna does not descend on Sabbath. Whence do we derive (the same for) a festival? From (the sup...
The Israelites called it manna. It fell from heaven every morning, and the Torah describes it with a comparison that immediately puzzles the Mekhilta's rabbis: "And it was like cor...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael preserves two interpretations of the manna's name, both attributed to tannaitic authorities, and both reveal how the rabbis found layers of meaning in...
Moses told Aaron to take a "tzintzeneth" and fill it with manna to preserve for future generations (Exodus 16:33). But what exactly was a tzintzeneth? The word appears nowhere else...
(Exodus 17:4) "and Moses cried out to the L–rd": We are hereby apprised of the eminence of Moses. He did not say: Since they are quarreling with me I will not implore mercy for the...
When God told Moses, "Pass over before the people" (Exodus 17:5), the instruction sounds like a simple command to walk ahead of the crowd. But the Mekhilta hears at least three dif...
After the crisis at the rock, the place received two names: Massah, meaning "testing," and Merivah, meaning "quarreling" (Exodus 17:7). But who gave it those names? The Mekhilta re...
The verse is stark: "And Amalek came" (Exodus 17:8). No warning, no buildup — just the enemy arriving. But the Mekhilta insists the verse is "recondite," meaning it hides a deeper ...
God declared in (Exodus 17:14): "For erase shall I erase the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." The sages of the Mekhilta noticed something peculiar about this verse. Why do...
(Exodus 17:16) preserves a cryptic declaration: "For the hand is by the throne of Kah: the L-rd is at war with Amalek from generation to generation." The Mekhilta, through Rabbi Ye...
What was Yithro's role in Midian before he joined Moses and the people of Israel? The verse calls him "the Cohein of Midian" (Exodus 18:1), and two rabbis disagreed about what "Coh...
(Exodus 18:4) "and the name of the second, 'Eliezer,' for (Moses said: 'The G–d of (Elokei) my father was my help (ezri), and He saved me from the 'sword of Pharaoh.'" R. Yehoshua ...
A small textual puzzle in the book of Exodus reveals something important about Moses' family. The verse states (Exodus 18:5): "And Yithro, Moses' father-in-law, and his sons and hi...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael describes the extraordinary reception that Jethro received when he arrived at the Israelite camp in the wilderness. The verse states simply: "And Mose...
Jethro arrived at the Israelite camp and immediately noticed something troubling. His son-in-law Moses sat from morning until evening while the entire nation stood in a line before...
Yithro warned Moses with a vivid and frightening prophecy (Exodus 18:18): "You will languish." The Hebrew word used here prompted two different interpretations from the rabbis, and...
The Torah records the arrival at Sinai with a precise phrase (Exodus 19:1): "On this day they came to the desert of Sinai." The Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael identifies the exact date ...
R. Yehudah ben Lakish offered a poignant interpretation of the verse (Exodus 2:25): "And God saw the children of Israel, and God knew." The verse seems simple enough — God observed...
Throughout the book of Exodus, whenever the Israelites traveled, the Torah uses the plural form — "they journeyed," "they encamped" — because the people moved in discord and settle...
On the second day after the Israelites arrived at Sinai, Moses ascended the mountain to meet God (Exodus 19:3). The Mekhilta notes a crucial detail: God called out to Moses before ...
(Exodus 19:22) "And also the Cohanim, who draw near to the L–rd": We are hereby apprised that the Cohanim are not included in "the people" (above, 21). And thus is it written (Levi...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael examines the Shabbat (the Sabbath) commandment's reference to "your man-servant and your maid-servant," asking a pointed question: which servants does...
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...
