This article refers to the Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael. There is a separate article on the Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon

Mekhilta or Mekilta (Aramaic: מכילתא, a collection of rules of interpretation) is a halakhic midrash to the Book of Exodus. The name "Mekhilta", corresponds to the Hebrew "middah" (= "measure," "rule"), and is used to denote a compilation of Scriptural exegesis ("middot"; comp. Talmudical Hermeneutics).

Neither the Babylonian Talmud nor the Jerusalem Talmud mentions this work under the name "Mekhilta," nor does the word occur in any of the passages of the Talmud in which the other halakhic midrashim, Sifra and Sifre, are named (Ḥag. 3a; Ḳid. 49b; Ber. 47b; etc.). It seems to be intended, however, in one passage (Yer. Ab. Zarah iv. 8), which runs as follows: "R. Josiah showed a Mekhilta from which he cited and explained a sentence." His quotation actually occurs in the Mekhilta, "Mishpaṭim" (ed. I.H. Weiss, p. 106b). It is not certain, however, whether the word "Mekhilta" here refers to the work under consideration; for it possibly alludes to a baraita collection—which might also be designated a "Mekhilta" (comp. Pes. 48a; Tem. 33a; Giṭ. 44a)—containing the sentence in question.

Sandra Day O'Connor (born March 26, 1930) is a retired United States Supreme Court justice. She served as an Associate Justice from her appointment in 1981 by Ronald Reagan until her retirement from the Court in 2006. She was the first woman to be appointed to the court.

Prior to O'Connor's appointment to the Court, she was an elected official and judge in Arizona. On July 1, 2005, she announced her intention to retire effective upon the confirmation of a successor.Samuel Alito was nominated to take her seat in October 2005, and joined the Court on January 31, 2006.

O'Connor tended to approach each case narrowly without arguing for sweeping precedents. She most frequently sided with the court's conservative bloc. In the latter years of her tenure, she was regarded as having the swing vote in many cases as the court grew more conservative.

O'Connor was Chancellor of The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and currently serves on the board of trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Several publications have named O'Connor among the most powerful women in the world. On August 12, 2009, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor of the United States, by President Barack Obama.