Non Trivial Pronunciation (Encouragement for Reading Properly!)

Parshat Bo

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Nowadays, with the right computer program, one can easily search the name משה to answer the question “how many times does Moshe’s name appear in the Torah?” The problem with a computer program is that it will give you every time the combination of משה appears, such as in the word חמשה (which means “5”). And while you can search specifically for those letters standing alone, should you choose to do so, all the times Moshe appears with a prefix למשה, ומשה, and ובמשה (etc) will not appear.

A popular story is told of a great rabbi who was asked this question, and gave a number that was two fewer than the number the computer churned out. When challenged by the computer’s results, he noted that the computer likely picked upi the words in the following verses that are spelled with the same letters but are pronounced differently (Shmos 12:4 and Devarim 15:2). In our parsha, the word is mi-seh, if a home is without a lamb (וְאִם־יִמְעַ֣ט הַבַּיִת֘ מִהְיוֹ֣ת מִשֶּׂה֒ וְלָקַ֣ח ה֗וּא וּשְׁכֵנ֛וֹ הַקָּרֹ֥ב אֶל־בֵּית֖וֹ בְּמִכְסַ֣ת נְפָשֹׁ֑ת), and in Re’eh, the word is ma’shay, to release the hand of every creditor from what he lent his friend (שָׁמ֗וֹט כָּל־בַּ֙עַל֙ מַשֵּׁ֣ה יָד֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַשֶּׁ֖ה בְּרֵעֵ֑הוּ).

In the larger scheme of things, the trivia question of how many times Moshe’s name appears in the Torah is certainly not important. [It is certainly interesting that the letters משה alone, without a prefix, appear 616 times. Take away the two exceptions noted above, and we have 614, which is pretty close to a magical Jewish number!] What is important is that we read words correctly and, ideally, know or have a basic understanding of what we are saying when we are reading.

 While I don’t suppose anyone would read the word משה in any way other than “Moshe” (two exceptions noted above notwithstanding), if a reader were to read the name in the manner we often speak it in English, with the accent on the MO, we would have to correct him. One of the Roshei Yeshiva at Yeshivat Har Etzion is Rav Mosheh Lichtenstein (he is the son of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein ZT”L), and it is clear that the Lichtensteins chose to put an “h” at the end of the English spelling of his name in order to emphasize that it should be pronounced mo-SHEH. 

In the rules of Kriat HaTorah (Torah Reading) the Shulchan Arukh says the following:

 שולחן ערוך אורח חיים הלכות קריאת ספר תורה סימן קמב:א

 א') א] קרא וטעה, (א) אפילו א) בדקדוק אות אחת, * (ב) מחזירין אותו. הגה: ב) וכן דין (ג) החזן הקורא; ג) ודוקא בשינוי שמשתנה ע"י זה הענין, * (ד) אבל אם טעה בנגינת הטעם א א'} או בניקוד, * (ה) אין מחזירין אותו, אבל גוערין (ו) בו (ב"י ופסקי מהרא"י סימן קפ"א). 

 “If one read and erred (i.e. the person who got the Aliyah), even a mistake in one letter, we have him go back (and read it again correctly). RAM”A: The same rule applies to an appointed reader. But this refers specifically to a change (e.g. error) that changes the meaning of the subject. But if he made a mistake in the cantillation or in the vowelization, we don’t have him go back (and read it again), but we do rebuke him!”

 In one of his comments in the Biur Halakha, Rabbi YM Kagan (aka the Chofetz Chaim) quotes the Vilna Gaon who would be careful that even the difference between מצרים and מצריים be noted properly, even though it doesn’t change the meaning of the subject as context will demonstrate that it is referring either to Egypt or to Egyptians. 

 The last comment of the Mishneh Brurah (letter ו above) reads as follows: 

   וכתב בתשובת מהר"מ מינץ החזן צריך לחזור מתחלה הסדרא שתהא שגורה בפיו כל הדקדוקים במתגין לעיל ומלרע ימין ושמאל ויקרא במתון ולא במהירות ואולי יבליע שום אות או תיבה והביאו הא"ר:

 “In the Responsa of MhR”M Mintz, the Chazzan should review the entire parsha over and over so he is well familiar with all of the precise components (of reading such as) all the מתגs, when the word is pronounced on the second-to-last or the last syllable… and he should read it slower than faster, lest he swallow a letter or a word (see Eliyahu Rabba).” 

 This set of rules is also applicable to everyone in our davening, most notably with the precision required when reading the paragraphs of Shema (See Shulchan Arukh OC 61 + 64). When I worked with children on Hebrew reading (a specialty in schools), I discovered that 90% of kids were making the same errors, primarily because they had learned to “read” the Shema from hearing it and weren’t actually paying attention to the reading element. It is unfortunately also the case that some teachers never learned to read properly themselves, and teach their own mistakes to their students. The two most common errors I heard from kids were in the first paragraph of the Shema (3 words are in bold – we’ll get back to the first one there in a moment):

 (ז) וְשִׁנַּנְתָּ֣ם לְבָנֶ֔יךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ֖ בָּ֑ם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤ בְּבֵיתֶ֙ךָ֙ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ֣ בַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וּֽבְשָׁכְבְּךָ֖ וּבְקוּמֶֽךָ: (ח) וּקְשַׁרְתָּ֥ם לְא֖וֹת עַל־יָדֶ֑ךָ וְהָי֥וּ לְטֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֥ין עֵינֶֽיךָ: (ט) וּכְתַבְתָּ֛ם עַל־מְזֻז֥וֹת בֵּיתֶ֖ךָ וּבִשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ: ס 

 90% of the kids I worked with read וּֽבְשָׁכְבְּךָ֖ as “Uv’shov’t’kha” – most likely because 4 words earlier is בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤. Please note that the word should be read “Uv’shokh’b’kha.” They also read the first word of the last verse וּכְתַבְתָּ֛ם as “Uk’shartam” – most likely because it sounds like the first word of the previous verse. Except that this word should be pronounced “ukh’tavtam” or “ukh’savtam” (depending on your pronunciation).

 Another pair of common errors is on the word וְדִבַּרְתָּ֖ as well as the opening word of the paragraph, וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔. Both of those words have in common that their accent is on the last syllable: v’di’bar’TA and v’a’hav’TA. Translated, those words mean “and you shall speak” and “and you shall love.” If the accent is placed earlier in the word (v’di’BAR’ta and v’a’HAV’ta), the meaning of the word changes to past tense: “and you spoke” and “and you loved.”

 While it doesn’t sound like it should be a big deal, once translated one can easily see how the meaning of the verses changes significantly due to the difference in tense. So significant is this set of rules in Shema, there is a debate as to whether a person has fulfilled one’s obligation if one reads incorrectly! 

I have heard it said, interestingly in the name of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, that there are only two arenas in Halakha for which the halakhist (or rabbi) needs to be able to answer clearly right away. They are questions of pikuach nefesh, of dealing with someone whose life is in danger, and if an error is made in the Torah reading (this may have also been intended to imply what constitutes an actual error in the Torah’s writing when discovered during Torah reading). One needs to know in the moment, and there is no time to waste! Hopefully we can process whether a change means the same thing when it is read in a very quick way. Otherwise, we run the risk of not fulfilling our obligations.

 May we be blessed to want to be as proficient in these arenas as possible, and to make the efforts necessary to have proper reading come as naturally as possible to us.

The Word of God – a Priority for All!

Parshat Va'era

by Rabbi Avi Billet

There’s a phrase which appears in our parsha. דבר ה'. Dvar Hashem. 

 That formulation appears only 5 times in the Torah. Perhaps it can be translated as “The word of God.” The first two times it appears is in Parshas Lekh Lekha, in a conversation between Avraham and God that precedes the Covenant Between the Pieces (Bereshit 15:1,4). בראשית פרק טו

 (א) אַחַ֣ר׀ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה הָיָ֤ה דְבַר־יְקֹוָק֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם בַּֽמַּחֲזֶ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר אַל־תִּירָ֣א אַבְרָ֗ם אָנֹכִי֙ מָגֵ֣ן לָ֔ךְ שְׂכָרְךָ֖ הַרְבֵּ֥ה מְאֹֽד: 

(ב) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְרָ֗ם אֲדֹנָ֤י יֱקֹוִק֙ מַה־תִּתֶּן־לִ֔י וְאָנֹכִ֖י הוֹלֵ֣ךְ עֲרִירִ֑י וּבֶן־מֶ֣שֶׁק בֵּיתִ֔י ה֖וּא דַּמֶּ֥שֶׂק אֱלִיעֶֽזֶר:

(ג) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְרָ֔ם הֵ֣ן לִ֔י לֹ֥א נָתַ֖תָּה זָ֑רַע וְהִנֵּ֥ה בֶן־בֵּיתִ֖י יוֹרֵ֥שׁ אֹתִֽי:

 (ד) וְהִנֵּ֨ה דְבַר־יְקֹוָ֤ק אֵלָיו֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לֹ֥א יִֽירָשְׁךָ֖ זֶ֑ה כִּי־אִם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֵצֵ֣א מִמֵּעֶ֔יךָ ה֖וּא יִֽירָשֶֽׁךָ: 

What is the Dvar Hashem? On the surface it seems to mean the words God was speaking to Avraham. The first time God is saying: Don’t worry, you have more merits. The second time: the guy you think will be inheriting will not, you will have a son who will inherit. 

It could be that the “Dvar Hashem” is the promise of having children, and that the goal of having children, certainly for Avraham, was the goal. This relates to a recent message I shared with my congregation, of sensitivity to those who do not have any children, or who might very well be struggling to have another child. I received an email from someone who was present, which included these three sentences: “I wanted to thank you for your speech on Saturday. My wife has had health issues that has prevented us from having a second child up to this point [note – he told me how many years, but I have removed that detail – AB]. This has led to such rude and appalling comments from friends and family members and community members…” That note alone should be a reminder that unless we know what someone is going through (and more often we do not) we should be very careful about what we say. Certainly when we know, we are very careful… kal va’chomer when we do not know! 

 That conversation with Avraham continues with God challenging Avraham to count the stars to see to what his descendants will be compared. And the interpretations go from a simple comparison of numbers to all kinds of metaphors surrounding how long the light of stars exist for, what a star’s role is in the cosmos. 

 The next two times we hear the phrase Dvar Hashem are in the buildup to the last plague in our Parsha, the plague of ברד, hail. (9:20-21) 

שמות פרק ט 

(כ) הַיָּרֵא֙ אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר יְקֹוָ֔ק מֵֽעַבְדֵ֖י פַּרְעֹ֑ה הֵנִ֛יס אֶת־עֲבָדָ֥יו וְאֶת־מִקְנֵ֖הוּ אֶל־הַבָּתִּֽים: 

(כא) וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־שָׂ֛ם לִבּ֖וֹ אֶל־דְּבַ֣ר יְקֹוָ֑ק וַֽיַּעֲזֹ֛ב אֶת־עֲבָדָ֥יו וְאֶת־מִקְנֵ֖הוּ בַּשָּׂדֶֽה: פ 

We have to remember that in Parshas Shmos, when Moshe first came before Pharaoh saying Hashem said Let My People Go, they were only planning for a 3-day “Shabbaton” in the wilderness. When Pharaoh said מי ה'? Who is Hashem? Who is this God of yours? That was a game-changer. And it is so clear.

Pharaoh could have said “Go for your Shabbaton. And come back.” But when he challenged God’s existence, the purpose of the plagues became למען תדע, למען תדעון, וידעו מצרים… what will they know? KI ANI HASHEM! KI AIN KaHASHEM ELOKAINU, Ki EIN KAMONI B’CHOL HAARETZ!I am God! There is no one like God at all! And none like Him in all of the world. 

And the lesson is quickly picked up! But it is not internalized by all, especially the king. His magicians quickly figure out what they’re up against. And Pharaoh gives in several times to let them go - 5 times before the 6th and final time. After Frogs, after beasts, after hail, before locusts and after locusts. Then after the final plague. Each time with a condition! Only the men! No children! No animals! 

Dvar Hashem is the word of God. Those who feared the word of God, in the Egyptian population, heeded the warnings and brought their servants and animals inside. (Though I wonder, were they Egyptian slaves? Israelite slaves? Unclear!) 

The final time the phrase דבר ה' appears in the Torah is in Parshas Shlach, in the context of describing someone who is to be punished for denigrating the דבר ה'. What is the דבר ה'? Rabbenu Bachaye says it is all of the Torah(!) because the person in question has turned to idolatry and a denial of God! 

What does this say about Avraham? Perhaps it is a support for the idea that Avraham was aware of and practiced all (or most) of the mitzvos of the Torah. After all, he received the Dvar Hashem! Perhaps, from a different vantage point, Dvar Hashem is simply a reminder to Avraham that if you do right by Me, God says, I promise I will do right for you. You will have children. You will become a nation. 

This would also indicate that the Egyptians who were spared in the plague of hail had come around to the reality that there is a God in the world. And if He warns us how to avoid trouble and injury, we should heed that warning. 

Of course, the only way to hear that word of God is from a prophet such as Moshe Rabbenu. In our times we may tend to avoid many risky behaviors that may lead to injury, and we follow advice from people we respect and admire when it comes to taking care of ourselves (Maimonideans look to Hilkhot De’ot chapter 4!). No matter what, in the end, as none of us are God, we do our best to take responsibility for our own well-being, and hopefully God will carry us the rest of the way.

Remember, the people in Egypt had every opportunity! Those who feared God were saved. Because they understood God’s ways. Those who felt they knew better than God suffered the consequences. 

 Prioritizing children, warnings of God to take care of yourselves, or being concerned with fulfilling all of the Torah – these are the Torah’s definitions of the דבר ה'. 

 May we be blessed to hear and experience the word of Hashem, and raise the bar on these priorities – for our own sake, and for the sake of the future of our people.

You People

Parshat Shemot 

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Someone recently brought to my attention that there is a movie coming out entitled “You People,” about “a new couple and their families who find themselves examining modern love and family dynamics amidst clashing cultures, societal expectations and generational differences.” (IMDb) An interracial and interreligious couple (the former shouldn’t be problematic, the latter should be much more concerning) find themselves with their families utilizing the ubiquitous phrase “You people” to introduce their basic ignorance of the others’ culture. 

Many of us are familiar with the term “You people” which is unfortunately used in a context which should not be so familiar as it is often used by Jews who are unaffiliated when talking about Jews who are observant. 

This week in Boca Raton, a protest was held against an HOA that was looking to limit access to a walking gate that would save the Shomer Shabbos residents from having to walk 2 miles to get to the closest shul by cutting the walk to .7 miles. Those looking to limit access to this gate are clearly guided by viewing their observant neighbors as “You people” rather than as citizens of this country who are entitled to not be discriminated against for their religious beliefs. As Rabbi Blumenthal of BRS West put it, no other religious group or creed would be treated this way. Only because it is Orthodox Jews is this kind of treatment “OK” in the eyes of those who seek to limit access to a Shabbos gate. 

This is nothing new. “You people” was utilized by the Egyptians at the beginning of our Parsha. We know from the tale of Yaakov in Lavan’s house that being a shepherd could be a financial windfall. Yaakov amassed a tremendous amount of wealth in his final six years in Lavan’s house, all from being a successful shepherd. 

The fact that Bnei Yisrael came to Egypt and declared to Pharaoh “we are shepherds” served to put them in a position where they’d be separated from general Egyptian culture, where they’d be able to do their shepherding uninhibited by Egyptians, and where they’d essentially amass great wealth. 

After Yosef and his generation died, we are told that the Bnei Yisrael were fruitful and multiplied and filled the land. This likely means that their inhabitance expanded beyond the borders of Goshen. People needed to move to the suburbs because Goshen could simply not hold everyone. 

What happens when wealthy and successful members of an-until-recently-royal-family move to live among everyone else? The new neighbors see people they haven’t been exposed to before, they note their wealth, their high class of living, their large families, and they react. Perhaps some say “how beautiful!” In all likelihood others say, “Who are these people? Who do they think they are? Where did they get their money and possessions?” הנה עם בני ישראל רב ועצום ממנו – the nation of Israel is great and mighty from us. The source of their wealth is what they sucked out of our nation and economy! (Bina L’Itim) 

In the case of Egypt, there were downsides from their living among the Egyptians. Eventually those living in closer proximity to their Egyptian neighbors were largely indistinguishable. They stopped circumcising, they lived like Egyptians, they embraced idolatry and Egyptian culture. Our sages teach us that a few things saved the Israelites from complete assimilation – not changing their names, their manner of dress, not speaking Lashon Hora, and holding on to certain secrets (this list is not exhaustive). In other words, no matter what happened, they were always viewed as “you people” in a way, a reality that saved them from complete assimilation. 

Which leaves us with a question. Is isolating a group that wants to maintain its identity, by calling them “you people” as if to distinguish from “the rest of us normal people” a good thing or a bad thing? Meaning, if through saying “you people” the targets of that term are being identified as distinct, who have different practices than others, is this a bad thing? 

Obviously the answer depends on much context that is missing in the question. 

If there is no disdain in “you people” and no intent to discriminate against the “you people” then to be called “you people” in a manner which is admiring and which is accepting should not be viewed as a problem. 

The problem, however, is that the term “you people” is often preceded by “the problem with…” and is therefore not usually coming from a good place. 

History has proven time and time again that referring to any group as “you people” (with whatever phraseology might be employed to make the distinction) nearly always ends in travesty. “You people” leads to treating other people as being sub-human, thereby allowing some humans to treat other humans in a way which is inhumane. 

In our own communities we must respectfully call out the usage of the term “you people” when it is used in a way that is condescending and unkind, and when it comes from a place that indicates that any group, which may have different preferences and modes of practice, whether culturally, food-wise, or of course when motivated by certain halakhic dictates, is being discriminated against. And while some forms of communal practice seem innocuous and reasonable standards to bear, the reality is that that is not always the case. 

This is not to suggest that all things have to be, for example, to our liking only. We must also be tolerant of others and we must avoid being judgmental of a different set of standards that may not be our preference. 

What we learn from a comment God makes to Moshe “בני בכורי ישראל” is that all of humanity are God’s children. We may have a special place in the tapestry of being the children of God, but this does not allow us or anyone else from thinking that anyone is “better” than anyone else, or that anyone has more of a mandate on determining what is right for all. 

There is certainly a delicate balance that must be walked when dealing with other people and with their sensitivities. But “you people” should ideally be a phrase everyone agrees to table, as it is unproductive and only serves to alienate and isolate people who have a legitimate claim – to be treated as a human being who may have different needs and different struggles. 

May this balance be achieved, and may all neighbors find peace with one another.

Yaakov Prepares – Even Before His Final Illness?

Parshat Vaychi 

by Rabbi Avi Billet 

The Torah tells us that Yaakov lived in Egypt for 17 years, and when it came close to the time for Yisrael to die, he called Yosef in and asked him to swear that he’d oversee that burial will take place in Canaan. Yosef says “I will do as you say.” “Swear to me!” So Yosef swore, and Yisrael bowed on the bed. 

Some time passes (the text isn’t clear on how much time) and Yosef is told “Your father is sick,” which prompts him to bring his sons, Menashe and Efraim, to get a blessing from their grandfather. In that conversation, in an effort to clarify past events, Yaakov recalls how he had to bury Rachel on the side of the road, and had no choice about it. [There is surely significance to the Torah’s switching from “Yisrael” to “Yaakov” in the narrative – but that is beyond the scope of this essay.] 

As Yosef is bringing his sons closer to Saba Yaakov, we are told that “Yisrael’s eyes were heavy from old-age,” an indicator of why one might imagine he doesn’t seem to recognize Yosef’s sons, and why he chooses to put his right hand on the younger son (Efraim) in the coming verses. 

 Which leads to this question? When was he sick? In the opening verses of the parsha? Or not yet at that point, but only when the verse tells us (48:1) “Your father is sick?” 

Rabbi Baruch Epstein suggested that when Kevurah (burial) is on the mind of an individual, it is often when the person is sick, and death is on the mind. But in the opening verses of the parsha, there is no indication given that he was sick “yet.” In fact, we have seen that a health issue can be a prompt for action prior to this! “When Yitzchak’s eyes weakened, he called Eisav…” to have Eisav prepare food for him. But there is no such prompt here –he simply calls Yosef and has him swear regarding burial without telling Yosef anything other than that he needs Yosef to swear as noted above. 

 Rabbi Epstein surmises that Yaakov was already sick, as indicated by the verse “And the days of Yisrael came closer to death.” There is a known statement in the Talmud that prior to Yaakov, no one really got sick before dying. Death was sudden, without warning, and therefore without an opportunity to prepare, put things in order, say good bye to family members, etc. Yaakov requested that pre-death illness be a part of the world (Bava Metzia 87a). When he knew something was awry, he hid this reality from Yosef intentionally, for had Yosef known his father was at death’s door, Yosef might not have been obligated to follow through with whatever promise. After all, as is known, people make all kinds of commitments to the dying in order not to upset them, or in order to put their heart and mind at ease when they are close to the end. These kinds of commitments are called נדרי אונסין, and are not binding (See Yoreh Deah 228). 

 Therefore Yaakov did not reveal anything about his illness at the time he was asking Yosef to swear to bury him in Canaan because he did not want Yosef to feel as if the vow was forced or coerced or being taken in order to placate a dying man. Yaakov wanted it to be done as part of a normal conversation unaffected by Yosef’s concerns for his father’s mental health. 

 Once that was past, and once Yosef had returned home, word came back to him that “Your father is sick.” Whatever conversations happen now can fall under the category of נדרי אונסין, because the main vow Yaakov needed had been undertaken with an assumption of health all around due to Yaakov giving such an appearance to Yosef at the time. 

 This interpretation of this narrative just goes to demonstrate that some conversations are harder to open, and are uncomfortable to have. No one wants to talk about death and what will happen after one’s life on this earth has come to its end. We hope we will not be a burden to our family, but inevitably, the arrangements, the funeral, the burial will all be something that will happen and will be dealt with. 

As much as we are able to put things in order in our lifetimes, the easier it will be for family when the time comes. 

 Yaakov had a burial plot, but he did not have the means to get there. Yosef had the means, so Yaakov arranged that with him. 

Many people have burial plots. Others have paid for “everything” pre-need. It’s a good conversation to have either directly with a Chevra Kadisha, or with the family members most likely to be tasked with dealing with the final passage, whenever it comes, hopefully to 120 in good health. 

 The advantage of talking to a Chevra Kadisha, rather than a funeral home, is that the Chevra Kadisha knows what you want, they will remind you of all the things that religious Jews do, and they won’t try to sell you a fancier coffin or shrouds that are untraditional. In the event of a need for transport, they have so much experience, that having everything arranged simply requires a loved one to make one phone call, and so much discussion, decision making, crunching numbers over financing, arranging travel for family (another thing worth setting aside money for should one want family to be able to come without hesitation) will all or mostly be taken care of through that phone call. 

Yaakov Avinu wanted to make sure that the process was as easy as possible. Many commentaries note his genius in making Yosef swear, so that even Pharaoh, who may have had other ideas, could not in good conscience subvert Yosef’s oath to his father. Pharaoh could say to Yosef “You must swear to return” but he could not say “You are sworn never to leave Egypt.” So in more than one way, Yaakov demonstrated that even if he were ill in the initial conversation with Yosef in the parsha, his mind was clear, and he knew exactly what he was doing. [A fascinating thought to ponder is that Yosef also made his brothers swear to take him out of Egypt at the time of Exodus. That should have been honored by the Pharaoh of the Exodus, based on the precedent set at this time!]

Hopefully we too can get the proper guidance and advice, have the difficult conversations, and make sure our final transitions will be as easy for our families as possible, aside from the undeniable difficulty and pain that accompanies the end of life – which is a part of life. 

If we take care of these things in advance, while we are alive, then even in death we can still be giving to our family peace of mind through the harrowing ordeal they will inevitably experience. 

May we be blessed to not have to use our pre arrangements for many years.