Draining Egypt of Its Wealth? Honest, Dishonest, or God's Plan?

 Parshat Bo

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Many years ago I read an article (perhaps Ynet? Perhaps Times of Israel?) that had me wondering if it was satire or real. While I can’t find it online, the headline said something like “Egyptian politician claims Israel owes Egypt money for what the Israelites stole from Egypt at the time of the Exodus.” 

Many things are ludicrous about this claim, particularly in light of a number of anti-Semitic tropes which include:

  • The people of modern Israel aren’t “real Jews.” They are descendants of Khazars.

 • The people of modern Israel aren’t “real Jews” indigenous to this land, as they are European colonialists

  • The Bible is a myth. None of its stories ever happened. 

 Leaving aside the irony of people claiming the Exodus never happened then claiming that those who participated in it (but I thought it never happened!?) owe reparations for money they never took because it didn’t happen…. no one could claim that the citizens of modern Egypt are descendants of ancient Egypt. Ancient Egypt and its imprint on history is only that… history… and the Arabs who are now the stewards of that land have ZERO connection to events of 3,000+ years ago. 

Did Moshe Have a Speech Impediment?

Parshat Va'era

by Rabbi Avi Billet

There is no question that the person who does the most talking in all of the Torah is Moshe Rabbenu. The Book of Devarim alone comprises 3 large and several smaller speeches delivered by Moshe to the people. Combine that with all the things he says throughout the Torah, and the things we are told that he told and taught the people (all of the Mitzvot, all of his teachings, all of his presiding over court cases), and we have quite the loquacious individual. 

 And yet, because of 3 comments he makes (2 of which are essentially the same comment twice), people assume he had a speech impediment or even a physical deformity. Aside from the argument presented above, consider two more points. When Moshe is born the Torah informs us ותרא אותו כי טוב הוא – “it was seen about him that he was good.” This is hardly a description of someone born with a physical defect. Secondly, at the Burning Bush, while Moshe has many objections to why he doesn’t want to be God’s messenger, basically the last one he brings up is that he is a כבד פה וכבד לשון – that he has a “heavy mouth and a heavy tongue.” (4:10) If I had an inability to speak, and I was being tasked with being a representative whose main job was to use language of persuasion before a king, that would be my FIRST excuse for my being unfit for the job. 

נקרה v נקרא - Subtle Text Changes Teach Far More Than Subtle Behavior Changes

Parshat Shemot

by Rabbi Avi Billet 

One aspect of the Torah that requires attention is when something is repeated, and yet subtly changed in the way either a narrative is presented, or in how a mitzvah is re-presented, or in how a text appears that second time. What is the reason for the changes? What are we to learn from the changes? 

A few simple examples for your own homework (if you are interested) include:

 •  The way Avraham’s servant meets Rivkah v. how he tells over the story to her family

 •  Pharaoh’s dreams as they happen v. how Pharaoh relates his dreams to Yosef

 •  Aseres HaDibros in Shmos 20 v. Aseres HaDibros in Devarim 5

 • The way the event of the spies transpires in Bamidbar 13-14 v. how Moshe revisits that tale in Devarim 1 

How Many Times Was Yaakov Buried?

Parshat Vaychi

by Rabbi Avi Billet 

It seems like a silly question. Obviously he was buried once – Me’arat HaMachpela. Right? 

Not so fast. We have a tradition that mourning doesn’t precede burial; it follows burial. Since there are two mourning periods following Yaakov’s death – one in Egypt and one at Goren Ha'Atad – perhaps Yaakov was buried in those places, albeit temporarily, before being brought to his next destination. 

How OLD are you? Or just how ARE you?

Parshat VaYigash 

by Rabbi Avi Billet

 I recall reading an article about centenarians, several of whom were asked “What is your secret to longevity?” 

One of them spoke about having a routine. One of them spoke of exercise and diet. One of them, fond of Dr. Pepper, said “Drink a Dr. Pepper a day!” I suppose if we had asked George Burns, he might have said, “Smoke cigars!” Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman, who lived to 102 might have said, eat a minimal amount of food, and engage in Torah study as much as you can. 

Obviously there isn’t a “secret.” Some of it is genes. Certainly a healthy diet, having a routine which includes physical movement are all good ideas. Some people do everything right, and then an unexpected illness overtakes all the right moves a person seems to have made. Or a fall, or an injury. And so maybe much of it is “luck” or “the hand God gives you.” At the very least we should make the right effort and should be blessed with good health. 

 But always remember, everything is about context. In the first parsha in the Torah we read of all the people living to their 800s and 900s. Chanokh is the exception, who lived to be 365. You know what they said at his funeral? “Nebich, such a young man!” 

All of this begs a simple question. Pharaoh meets Yaakov Avinu for the first time, and he asks him כמה ימי שני חייך? Literal translation: How many are the days of the years of your life. Loose translation: How old are you? 

Hail Yosef, the Chief... Crier?

Parshat Miketz

by Rabbi Avi Billet 

Of all the people we meet in the Torah, Yosef is credited with crying the most times. In one form or another, he cries at least 8 times, and one of those times he is crying on each of his brothers (which might count as 10 additional cries). See 42:23-24, 43:30, 45:2-3, 45:14-15, 46:29, 50:1, 50:17. 

In Miketz he cries twice when seeing his brothers; first when he hears of how his brothers saw his disappearance and absence, and their remorse (or lack of it) over how that panned out, second when he initially sets his eyes on Binyamin. 

What Was Yosef Telling Yaakov About His Brothers?

Parshat Vayeshev

by Rabbi Avi Billet 

It’s a famous story. Yosef’s brothers didn’t like him. 

But why? Because of the coat? Because his father liked him more? Could they not see that Rachel had died, and Yaakov, traumatized, is turning to Yosef as the replacement for Yosef’s dead mother upon whom he could shower his love? 

It is most likely that what the brothers found most objectionable about Yosef is that he seems to be a snitch. He tells on them to their father. (37:2) What does he tell their father? The Torah does not say, but nonetheless there is much speculation in the world of Rabbinic Text and commentary. 

 Note that Rabbenu Bachaye distinguishes between one who is מביא דבה (brings accusations) and a מוציא דבה (brings out accusations) in that the former is telling truths, while the latter is making everything up and lying. The Torah describes that which Yosef is “telling” as מביא דבה – whatever he was saying was thus the truth. The questions we then have include – was there more context to whatever he was saying? What was his intention in telling over the דבה – was he looking to get them in trouble, or was he looking to help them? Was he in the right or in the wrong in being the tattletale? Is whatever he did considered tattling?