Free Will to Recognize God’s Hand in Our Lives

Parshat Ki Tavo

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Towards the end of the Torah portion, Moshe reflects on the experience of 40 years, noting, among other things, that during this time the people didn’t eat real bread, drink wine or other alcohol, and didn’t experience the deterioration of their clothing and shoes. This led into the readiness to fight against Sichon and Og, and to be able to trust that God would be with the Bnei Yisrael through their travails. 

Before going into those details and specifics, however, Moshe tells the people, “God has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear, until this day.” (29:3) 

Meshekh Hokhma explains, 

“The children of Israel had often made the mistake of contributing divine powers to Moses, whereas he was merely a mortal messenger of God, through whom He communicated on matters respecting the Jewish people. When were they finally cured of this delusion? On the day that Moses died. Then they realized he was but mortal like themselves, and all the miracles and wonders were directly derived from the Divine will. Now our Sages observed that Moses uttered this discourse on the day of his death, as his final testament. For this reason, it is stated that, ‘God hath not given you a heart to know… unto this day’ – the day Moses died. Only then could they realize that God was behind every step and turn.” (translation taken from Nechama Leibowitz, Studies in Devarim (English Edition), page 292) 

This interpretation comes in the wake of others who either blame God for their inability to see, etc. or their own inability to grow due to rote or, as Nechama Leibowitz puts it, “the deadening effect of familiarity and habit.” 

Sept 10 and Sept 11 - Charlie Kirk and the 24th Anniversary of 9/11

This past Shabbos, the Torah reading ended with the “Parsha of Amalek” reminding us to “remember” the evil that is Amalek, and “not to forget” the evil that is Amalek.  One is a positive commandment to recall, and the other is a call to never forget even when being passive.  Amalek, after all, is the embodiment of evil. And evil has but one goal - to destroy that which is good in this world, to destroy the ideology (i.e. goodness and decency) that is stronger and more powerful than the cowardice of Amalek, who attacks from behind, who attacks the stragglers, the weak ones, and those who are unarmed and defenseless. 

How appropriate. And how ironic. Jewish people are once again reeling from a terrorist attack in Israel that took at least six holy and precious lives, injuring more people as well. 

And here we are, a few days later, on the anniversary of one of the darkest days in the story of the United States of America, September 11, 2001, when close to 3,000 Americans died at the hands of evil monsters looking to destroy the way of life that represents liberty and many freedoms that are the envy of most of the world, finding ourselves shaking our heads in disbelief that evil has risen its head to take out a champion of those freedoms.

Those who were adults, and probably even teenagers, remember where they were and what they were doing when the news started getting around that one plane, then another, had hit the World Trade Center towers. And then more news about the Pentagon and a plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.

I recall watching the towers fall through a television I had managed to connect through the old-school antenna it had in the school I was working in at the time, and thinking that likely tens of thousands of people would be lost in the rubble. I didn't think about how those below the planes would have gotten out, or those on the other side of the buildings, who weren't trapped, even managed to get down from higher floors. There was some time between the impact and the collapse. 

Some Thoughts on Divorce, and the Get

Parshat Ki Tetze

by Rabbi Avi Billet 

Divorce is not a funny subject. Jokes about divorce, on the other hand, could be funny. 

Many years ago, I attended a lecture given by a Dayan from England, on the topic of divorce – the talk was a serious one, and the messages he shared about working on a marriage and doing whatever possible to save a marriage were quite valuable – while he also acknowledged that some divorces (though possibly not all proposed divorces) need to take place. 

 Before he began his lecture, he said, in an unmistakable British accent, “Before I begin, I may as well get the old joke out of the way,” and he began to tell of a loving husband who was asking his wife what she wanted for her birthday… each offer was summarily rejected. 

We Did Not Spill the Blood

Parshat Shoftim 

by Rabbi Avi Billet 

The Torah presents a kind of unsolved murder. A person is found murdered outside a city. The elders of the city come out and they measure whether the corpse is closer to their city or a nearby city, and whichever city is closest is deemed responsible for the death has its elders bring a calf to a riverbed (there’s a debate whether it is dry or has a river come through it or near it), where they kill the calf, wash their hands over the calf, and make the following declaration. 7And they shall announce and say,

7And they shall announce and say, "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see [this crime]." 8"Atone for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, O Lord, and lay not [the guilt of] innocent blood among your people Israel." And [so] the blood shall be atoned for them.		זוְעָנ֖וּ וְאָֽמְר֑וּ יָדֵ֗ינוּ לֹ֤א שָֽׁפְכוּ֙ (כתיב שפכה֙) אֶת־הַדָּ֣ם הַזֶּ֔ה וְעֵינֵ֖ינוּ לֹ֥א רָאֽוּ: חכַּפֵּר֩ לְעַמְּךָ֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֤ל אֲשֶׁר־פָּדִ֨יתָ֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה וְאַל־תִּתֵּן֙ דָּ֣ם נָקִ֔י בְּקֶ֖רֶב עַמְּךָ֣ יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל

Remembering the Levi in Your Celebrations

Parshat Re'eh

by Rabbi Avi Billet

In chapter 12 we are introduced to the idea of celebrating with God in the holy place He will choose – which we identify as Jerusalem – through bringing sacrifices and offerings to Him. The first time we are told of this, the celebration is to include “you and your households” (12:7). 

Every other time after that, the instruction gets far more specific as to who is to rejoice, you (plural - which could mean the parents of a household, or all of the adults in the nation), as well your sons, daughters, male servants and female servants… and THE LEVI (12:12). Chizkuni notes that the Levi isn’t mentioned in 12:7 because that instruction precedes the people being informed that they will cross the Jordan, settle the land, and thus celebrate in that holy place. It is only once the settling takes place that it will be discovered that the Levi does not have a portion in the land, and therefore his joy and the need to include him in your celebration becomes incumbent upon you only after you will have settled the land.

A Favorite Pasuk: Brook From Har Sinai

Parshat Eikev

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Note: The title does not say “my” favorite Pasuk, because I don’t have one. There are many pesukim that make it to the “top” list. The title says “a” favorite because there are different ways to define favorite. It is a favorite because it has information that I believe not a lot of people pay attention to, and therefore miss a couple of important components of the wilderness narrative that is not spelled out clearly in the book of Shemos.

And so, to the verse: Devarim Chapter 9, verse 21.

21And I took your sin the calf, which you had made, and I burned it with fire, and I crushed it, grinding it well, until it was fine dust, and I cast its dust into the brook that descends from the mountain.

כאוְאֶת־חַטַּאתְכֶ֞ם אֲשֶׁר־עֲשִׂיתֶ֣ם אֶת־הָעֵ֗גֶל לָקַ֘חְתִּי֘ וָֽאֶשְׂרֹ֣ף אֹת֣וֹ | בָּאֵשׁ֒ וָֽאֶכֹּ֨ת אֹת֤וֹ טָחוֹן֙ הֵיטֵ֔ב עַ֥ד אֲשֶׁר־דַּ֖ק לְעָפָ֑ר וָֽאַשְׁלִךְ֙ אֶת־עֲפָר֔וֹ אֶל־הַנַּ֖חַל הַיֹּרֵ֥ד מִן־הָהָֽר:

This comes in the context of Moshe’s retelling the tale of the Golden Calf, and how he took the initiative to destroy it, while making the perpetrators essentially drink the dust of their provocation.

Enjoy, Enjoy

 I wrote this many years ago, and since I was on vacation the week of Va'eschanan and didn't have the time to write something new, I present this from waaaaay back.

Parshat Va'etchanan

by Rabbi Avi Billet

The Talmud (Taanit 30b) quotes the mishnah when it says there were no holidays (literally "good days") on the Jewish calendar as great as the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur. The Talmud delves into the greatness of the 15th of Av (which falls this year on Shabbat), famously describing how single girls would dance in the fields and single men would meet them in the greatest singles events of all times. 

 It's a strange turnaround from Tisha B'Av, the saddest day on the calendar, which we observed 6 days ago. How could we have such a drastic change? 

 We can look to the haftarah – Nachamu Ami – "be comforted, My people" because things will change. Things will get better. 

 But perhaps we can find even greater inspiration from the parsha itself.