Parshat Bereishit
By Rabbi Avi Billet
Issue of October 16 2009/ 29 Tishrei 5770
Chava bears two children, Kayin (Cain) and Hevel, and each one takes on a profession. Time passes, Kayin …
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10/13/09
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The Torah commands us twice to rejoice on Sukkot. For Shavuot it only says to rejoice one time. For Pesach “joy” is not mentioned at all: it’s hard to rejoice when you’re thinking about the …
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9/30/09
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There are a number of verses in Tanach that call upon the heavens and the earth to bear witness, or to at least lend an ear to the proceedings. In the Torah, they are all in Devarim: 4:26, 30:19, …
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9/23/09
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
Issue of September 18, 2009/ 29 Elul 5769
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik recounted a personal episode that took place shortly after his wife passed away.
As the rain …
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9/16/09
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt”l was a “one-of-a-kind” leader. With his complete mastery of the Talmud and rabbinic literature, the late Gadol Hador used his brilliant mind …
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9/9/09
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In the context of thoughts on why “Tisha B’Av precedes Va’etchanan,” I raised the halakhic discussion point that Nitzavim is always read before Rosh Hashana (Shulchan Arukh 428). The Pri …
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9/9/09
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
The imaginative among us will conjure up a scene of the curse that appears in 27:14: “‘Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ All the people shall say, …
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9/2/09
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
Issue of August 28, 2009 / 8 Elul 5769
Here is a contradiction for you. The Torah commands that if a person happens to come across a bird nest with a mother bird sitting …
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8/26/09
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
Issue of August 21, 2009 / 1 Elul 5769
There are many behaviors which the Torah describes as to’evot, translated as abominations or perversions. Other than in Acharei …
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8/18/09
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
Issue of August 14, 2009 / 24 Av 5769
With all the discussion about healthcare in this country, we can make the argument that Jews have valued human life more than anyone …
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8/12/09
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