By Rabbi Avi Billet Issue of Oct. 31, 2008 / 2 Cheshvan 5769 Reading the story of the dispersion at the beginning of chapter 11, it is hard to see where the people went wrong. In the words … more

Sukkot/Shmini Atzeret/Simchat Torah 5769 By Rabbi Avi Billet Issue of Oct. 17, 2008 There are few things in life that can elicit a collective gasp from everyone in a room. A real … more

Resolutions for remarkable Jews By Rabbi Avi Billet Issue of Oct. 10, 2008 It is a bit of a challenge to reflect on Yom Kippur before it happens. This issue of The Jewish Star went to … more

G-d’s clear indirect message By Rabbi Avi Billet Issue of Oct. 3, 2008 For the parsha with the fewest number of verses in the Torah, Vayelech is quite busy. (Nitzavim has 10 more … more

Good old-fashioned pessimism? Not exactly. By Rabbi Avi Billet Issue of Sept. 26, 2008 Devarim 30:1 states: “And it will be when all these things come upon you, namely the blessing … more

Heads we win, tails we lose By Rabbi Avi Billet Issue of Sept. 19, 2008 When my oldest child began to talk, she was two months shy of her second birthday. It occurred to me that I could … more

Not being ‘cross’ By Rabbi Avi Billet Issue of Sept. 12, 2008 Chapter 22 has a unique list of seemingly random commandments: You may not forego returning a lost object you come … more

Loving the ‘ger’ By Rabbi Avi Billet Issue of August 22, 2008 The Torah commands us to love three entities: G-d, our neighbor, and the “ger.” The term “ger” is usually … more

Enjoy, enjoy! By Rabbi Avi Billet Issue of August 15, 2008 The Talmud (Taanit 30b) quotes the Mishnah when it says there were no holidays (literally "good days") on the Jewish calendar … more

By Rabbi Avi Billet Issue of August 8, 2008 This optimistic/pessimistic outlook is an embodiment of what Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik would call a “dialectic.” Tisha B’Av is the … more