I’ve taught a weekly parsha class using “Ha’ktav V’hakabbalah,” the commentary of Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenberg. As it doesn’t appear in a typical Chumash, it is …
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
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11/6/24
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The verse in Yeshayahu 54:9 twice contains this curious phrase: “For this is to Me [as] the waters of Noah, as I swore that the waters of Noah shall never again pass over the earth, so have I …
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
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10/30/24
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In describing the Yom Kippur service, the Torah tells us that “with this shall Aharon enter the Holy, with a bull that is ben bakar as a sin offering, and a ram as a burnt offering.”
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
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10/9/24
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The Torah reading on the first day of Rosh Hashana begins at the point when Sarah is remembered. The Talmud tells us in several places that Sarah and Rachel and Chana were all remembered on Rosh …
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
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9/30/24
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I n our efforts to get closer to G-d in the days leading up to Rosh Hashana, every person employs a different strategy.
Some learn the laws of Rosh Hashana, some give more charity, some pray …
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
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9/25/24
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Nechama Leibowitz was fond of teaching her students to find the milah mancha , a shoresh (root noun or verb), word or phrase that appears numerous times in a given section.
In Parshat Ki Savo, a …
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
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9/18/24
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In this week’s parsha, Ki Seitzei, the last two verses of Chapter 21 describe a clear case. The corpse of a person executed by the court is to be hanged from a tree for a short period of …
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
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9/11/24
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There’s an old saying, “Seeing is Believing.” But while many idioms have truth, this one is factually inaccurate. I’ve watched many a magic trick, both live and recorded. I …
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
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8/28/24
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This week in Parshat Eikev we read of Moshe telling the people of what’s to come when they cross the Jordan River and enter the land inhabited by populations much larger and stronger than them: …
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
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8/21/24
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A major ill of our times is our inability to accept people for who they are. We often judge people based on exteriors or a one-time encounter.
In describing the first of the two commandments …
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
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8/7/24
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