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He revealed Himself to them as a rider, viz. (Ibid. 18:11) "And He mounted a cherub and flew, etc." He revealed Himself to them in mail and helmet, viz. (Isaiah 59:17) "He donned r...
The redemption of Israel was not a private event. According to the Mekhilta, the entire natural world erupted in celebration. Not the heavens alone rejoiced — the mountains and all...
R. Yehoshua says: He said to Israel: If you keep this Sabbath the Holy One Blessed be He is destined to give you three festivals: the festival of Nissan (Pesach), the festival of S...
Rabbi Chaninah once brought a question to Rabbi Elazar in the Great College: how should we understand the word "Refidim" in the verse "and warred with Israel in Refidim"? Should it...
Mordechai was the fourth of the righteous people given a divine hint — and like David, he recognized it immediately. The Mekhilta finds his hint in a single verse from the Book of ...
The Mekhilta reveals one of the most intimate teachings about the relationship between God and Israel: whenever a miracle is performed for the Jewish people, that miracle is not ju...
Variantly: "from generation to generation": R. Yehoshua says: "from generation"—the life of this world: "to generation"—the life of the world to come. R. Eliezer Hamodai says: from...
Similarly, R. Eliezer b. Yossi expounded (Isaiah 63:9) "In all of their afflictions, He was afflicted," (Ibid. 8) "And He said: 'Surely, they are My people, children who will not l...
Rabbi Eliezer offers a breathtaking interpretation of (Song of Songs 2:14), reading each phrase as a reference to the events at the Red Sea. The verse reads: "Show me your face, le...
"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...
The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael pauses on a single phrase from the Ten Commandments to ask a question about dignity. When God declared "who took you out from the land of Egypt," what...
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...
Rabbi Eliezer offered an additional proof that "eye for an eye" means monetary compensation. His argument is an a fortiori — a kal va-chomer — that he considered logically airtight...
Rabbi Yishmael taught a sobering principle about Canaanite bondservants: a Canaanite bondservant can never be redeemed by an outside party. The only path to freedom is the master's...
"And its owner, too, shall die" — the Torah pronounces a death sentence on the owner of a mued ox that kills a person. But the Mekhilta specifies: this death is "at the hands of He...
Rabbi Akiva specified that when the Torah requires the mued's owner to pay kofer — ransom — the amount is calculated based on the value of the ox owner, not the value of the victim...
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...
The laws of theft in the Torah are not one-size-fits-all. Different stolen objects carry different penalties, and the Mekhilta works through a particularly tricky case: what happen...
"and your wives will be widows, and your children, orphans": From "and I shall kill you by the sword," do I not know that your wives will be widows, and your children, orphans? Why...
Is there a way to redeem it?" The Torah, in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 12, verse 3, gives us some very specific instructions regarding idolatry. But within those instructions...
It might surprise you. to a seemingly obscure passage and see what we uncover about purity, impurity, and who gets a seat at the table – or, in this case, at the plate. Our journey...
We're talking about disqualified offerings. Specifically, offerings that were originally meant for the Temple but, for whatever reason, couldn't be used and were then redeemed – me...
That’s exactly what the rabbis in Sifrei Devarim are wrestling with as they unpack (Deuteronomy 14:24-25). The verses deal with bringing your tithes to Jerusalem, but what if the j...
Jewish law, particularly when it comes to tithes and offerings, can sometimes feel that way. Let’s untangle a little thread today, focusing on a specific phrase and what it reveals...
Leviticus 25 introduces the sabbatical year and the Jubilee. The Targum Jonathan addresses the most obvious objection: if the land rests every seventh year, what will people eat? G...
Leviticus 27 closes the book with a system for redeeming vows—and the Targum Jonathan stays remarkably close to the Hebrew, adding only small but telling details. When someone dedi...
"She weeps bitterly in the night" (Lamentations 1:2). The rabbis asked: who weeps? Jerusalem weeps for her slain, and she weeps for the famine — the horror of mothers who boiled th...
Another Explanation "And first born of your children you shall redeem" (Exodus 13:13) Where [is this law sourced:] If his father did not redeem him, he should redeem himself. [We a...
When will the Messiah come? According to Sanhedrin 97a, the Talmud presents a seven-year countdown—and then immediately undermines it. The Sages taught: in the Sabbatical cycle dur...
The Talmud in Sanhedrin 97b presents a grand timeline for human history—and then admits no one truly knows when it ends. The Sages taught: the world is destined to exist for six th...
Where is the Messiah right now? According to Sanhedrin 98a, he is sitting at the gates of Rome among the lepers. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asked Elijah the prophet: when will the Mes...
The Talmud in Sanhedrin 98b records a startling range of opinions about the suffering that will precede the Messiah—and whether it can be avoided. Rabbi Elazar's students asked him...
How long will the Messianic era last? The Talmud in Sanhedrin 99a records a staggering range of opinions—from forty years to eternity. Rabbi Eliezer said forty years, based on (Psa...
... Another reading: “Comfort, oh comfort My people” (Isaiah 40:1) Said the Holy Blessed One: Who needs to be comforted? For one whose wife died, not the husband? Thus was Zion ana...
Rise! Shine! For your light has come. Rebe Yochanan said: this can be compared to one who was going on his way in the evening. One comes along and kindles a candle for him, and it ...
Our Rabbis taught: At the time that the anointed king comes, he [will] stand on the roof of the temple and announce to Israel and say "Humble ones! The time of your redemption has ...
3 The Staff of Your Strength G-d shall send forth from Zion. Which staff is this? This is the staff of Jacob about which it is said: "Because with my staff I crossed this Jordan." ...
[1] "And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, etc." (Exodus 20:1-2) Blessed is the Place, blessed is He, who chose Israel from all His handiwork and acquired ...
Of all the questions that have haunted the Jewish people across the centuries, none has burned hotter than this one: when will the Messiah come? The Talmud in tractate Sanhedrin (3...
He says that God declares "I am the Lord your God" precisely because He took us out of Egypt. It's the foundation. He freed us so that we would, in turn, accept His divinity upon o...
An Athenian came to Jerusalem and found a discarded mortar. He took it and brought it to a tailor. He said to him: ‘Sew this broken mortar for me.’ [The tailor] took out a handful ...
“I remember my song in the night; I meditate with my heart, and my spirit searches” (Psalms 77:7). Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon and Rabbi Aivu.58The text of the midrash (rabbinic i...
“She has no comforter.” Rabbi Levi said: Any place that it is stated: “Has no [ein],” [ultimately] she will have. “Sarai was barren, she had no [ein] child” (Genesis 11:30), but [u...
“Gone from the daughter of Zion is all her splendor. Her princes are like deer that have not found pasture; they went powerless before the pursuer” (Lamentations 1:6)“Gone from the...
“From on high He sent fire into my bones, and He crushed them; He spread a net for my feet, He turned me back. He rendered me desolate, suffering all day” (Lamentations 1:13).“From...
There was an incident involving Miriam bat Baitus, the baker, who was taken captive and redeemed in Akko. They purchased a mantle for her.180The local Jewish community ransomed her...
There was an incident involving Doeg ben Yosef who died and left a young son to his mother. She would measure him in handbreadths and donate his weight in gold to the Temple182Lite...
“Zion spread her hands, there was no comforter for her; the Lord has commanded for Jacob that her adversaries surround her. Jerusalem has become like a pariah among them” (Lamentat...
