Vayishlach Sermon: Litman Wedding and A Response to Terror

Vayishlach – An Affair To Remember

            On Thursday I had the very special privilege, along with many other Jews, to attend a wedding. Amazingly, it was held in my living room – which certainly made attending it very easy. My wife was there too, as were some of my kids. I didn’t shower or dress up special for this wedding. I had the audacity to bring a computer and do work during the wedding. But of course it was the computer that allowed us to attend, because the wedding was brought into our home via livestream. Maybe some of you were there too.

            I wasn’t sure if I should go. It was a last minute invitation. I don’t really know the families. But I am glad that I went. Because this was indeed a very special wedding.

            Yaakov and Netanel Litman, father and son, were murderedin Israel a little over two weeks ago, on their way to the Aufruf Shabbos of their daughter and sister Sarah Tehiya’s fiancée, Ariel Beigel.

            The wedding was pushed off on account of shiva, and the couple decided to invite all of Am Yisrael to come, to dance, to rejoice, to be משמח חתן וכלה.

            The venue changed. Now to Binyanei Ha’Umah. The guest list ended up including both Chief Rabbis and many other noted rabbinic figures in Israel, Sara Netanyahuwas in attendance, some celebrity Jewish singers came and offered their voices to enhance the festivities.

            The bereaved bride and her family pulled all the stops on their sorrow, and were so beautifully distracted from the pain in their life, on this evening.

Vayishakehu - What Happened When Eisav Encountered Yaakov?

Parshat Vayishlach 

 by Rabbi Avi Billet 

 After not having seen each other for 36 years, Yaakov returns to the Land of his fathers, to be confronted by Eisav.

 After all of Yaakov’s hysterics as to how Eisav will relate to him, their encounter does not seem all that exciting. “Eisav ran to meet them. He hugged [Yaakov], and throwing himself on his shoulders, kissed him. They [both] wept.” This seems to be a favorable exchange of love and familial affection.

 The odd part of the verse, however, is that the Hebrew word which means “And he kissed him” has dots over each of its letters in the Torah.

Lavan's Daughters (and Sons) - and Their Ages

Parshat Vayetze

by Rabbi Avi Billet

One of the more challenging fact-finding questions we encounter year after year is “how old are the Biblical heroes in the tales which are shared with us?” In some cases the Torah tells us, removing all doubt. We know Avraham was 75 at when he came to Canaan, 86 when Yishmael was born, 99 when he had his bris, 100 when Yitzchak was born and 175 at his death. There are many Midrashic viewpoints as to how old Avraham was when he discovered God. I’ve seen 20-days, 3, 13, 40, 48, 50, 52 years – all as legitimate options. Clearly only one of these can be correct.

This Land is NOT your Land, This Land is MY Land

Parshat Toldot 

 by Rabbi Avi Billet 

 There are a number of three-word verses in the Torah. Some of them would seem to require no commentary, as only names are mentioned. See, for example, 25:14, when three of Yishmael’s children are listed, “Mishma, Duma, Masa.” 35:24 – “Rachel’s children: Yosef and Binyamin” (four Hebrew words). See also Shmot 1:2-4, when the 11 tribes who descended to Egypt are simply listed.

 Fascinatingly, some of the commentaries go off on lengthy expositions of either what to take from the verse or how to understand the three-word verse.

 Bereshit 46:23 is a great example: “And the children of Dan: Chushim.”

 Another classic is in Yaakov’s blessing to his sons, when he cries out, “I pray that God will help you” – “lishu’atkha kiviti Hashem” (49:18).

 In our parsha, we have a seemingly inconsequential verse alerting us to Yitzchak’s settling in the city of Gerar – “Vayeshev Yitzchak B’Gerar.” (26:6) The background to the verse is that Yitzchak seemed to follow his father’s footsteps in settling in Gerar on account of a famine. God affirmed for Yitzchak that the blessing bestowed upon Avraham would be transferred to Yitzchak in his father’s merit. And now he is settling in Gerar, about to use the same rouse that his parents used, declaring himself and his wife to be siblings in order to avoid being killed in anticipation of his wife being taken to King Avimelekh’s harem.

Establishing a Rebirth in the Land

Parshat Chayei Sarah 

 by Rabbi Avi Billet 

 Every year, Shabbos Chayei Sarah is accompanied by a special Jewish gathering in Hevron, the “City of the Patriarchs.” The source for this epithet is our parsha, in which we find Avraham purchasing the “field, and the cave which is in it” to serve as an “acquisition” and a burial plot for his family.

 There is a strange verse which begs for explanation that describes the moment after the purchase is finalized. “Ephron's field in Makhpelah adjoining Mamre arose. [This included] the field, its cave, and every tree in the field, within its entire circumference.” (23:17)

 The word which is odd is “arose” – in Hebrew, “Vayakam” – and it appears again in 23:20.

 The Midrash Aggadah takes a very literal angle, claiming the land was literally elevated ½ a cubit so it would be recognizably distinguished from the other fields.

 One can argue that this is the most plausible explanation. After all, every time the word “Vayakam” appears in the Torah, it means “And he got up.” Usually the person described is going somewhere or heading to do something.

 However, since we are talking about a piece of land that is not moving, and despite the Midrash’s creative solution, as there is no indication of an earthquake happening in the Torah at this moment, we have to try to find a more suitable way to explain this word.