Yom Kippur by Rabbi Avi Billet Issue of September 17, 2010/ 9 Tishrei 5771 A very experienced rabbi once told me that for Neilah, the last chapter of Yom Kippur — the final prayer, the … more

One of the fun exercises I like to employ when studying Chumash is to attribute vague or ambiguous statements to the less obvious person. Let us read two familiar verses in Chapter 27. We’ll … more

There is a widespread custom to stay up on Shavuot evening learning Torah. Obvious, you’ll say, but the truth is that the custom is mostly kabbalistic in nature. more

In his “Living Torah,” Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan summarized the many options of what the 4th plague may have been, based on Midrash and commentaries: Flies (Rabbi Nechemiah), wild animals (Rabbi Yehuda) (Sh’moth Rabbah 11:4) (based on a literal reading of Psalms 78:11); dog-flies (Septuagint); blood-suckers (Philo); mixture of insects and snakes (Sefer HaYashar); Beetles (scarab or dung beetle); wolves (Rashbam), panthers, eagles or other birds (Midrash Tehillim 78:45); giant squid (Midrash Aggadah). more

Reading through Chapter 42 from a panoramic perspective of history, one sees a premonition of many things in store for the descendants of Yaakov. The best way to read it is in the original Hebrew, … more

Parshat Beha'alotcha By Rabbi Avi Billet Issue of May 28, 2010/ 15 Sivan 5770 Bamidbar chapter 11 is an example of the aftermath of someone observing that everything is perfect and cannot get … more

Mendele Mokher Seforim, the nineteenth century Yiddish writer, famously wrote, “Among Jews, a birthday is no holiday. But the anniversary of a death; that a Jew remembers.” Last Friday’s (2/11) Hebrew date was the 7th of Adar I, the date of the death of Moshe Rabbeinu, as well as the date of his birth. (Kiddushin 38a) more

The Tower of Babel story teaches many lessons. Arguably the most blatant problem in the story is that the goal of the people involved was to “make for ourselves a name.” (Bereishit 11:4) more

What significant moment from Jewish history is celebrated on Shavuot? The giving of the Torah, right? Wrong. Unlike other holidays such as Pesach and Sukkot, the Torah does not assign a … more

The Mechilta (and many other Midrashic passages) utilize the phrase “Imo Anokhi B’tzara” (Tehillim 91:15) to prove that G-d is not only pained by difficulties which affect the community (based on Yeshayahu 63:9), but is feeling the pain of the individual as well, as he or she is faced with personal trials and difficult times in life. more