Sarai's Treatment of Hagar

Please note that there are varying opinions on the propriety of using the names Avram and Sarai (their names before Bris Milah) versus using their names as we know them now. While in this piece they are referred to as Avraham and Sarah, the events described take place before their names are changed, when they are still Avram and Sarai. 

Parshat Lekh Lekha 

by Rabbi Avi Billet 

 One of the more incongruous moments in the tales of our righteous forefathers is the reality of Hagar seeming to be kicked out of the house of Avraham and Sarah, not once, but twice. This seems particularly strange considering her introduction to us includes Rashi’s comment “She was Pharaoh’s daughter. When he saw the miracles that happened to Sarah he said ‘It’ll be better for my daughter to be a maid in this house (of Avraham and Sarah) than to be the mistress (as in ‘wife of the master’) in a different house.’” 

This tradition suggests her father wanted her to be in the house of Avraham. Other presentations of the notion suggest it was Hagar herself who wanted to be close to Avraham’s household [e.g. Midrash Sechel Tov]. 

The Repetition in The Flood Narrative - An Exploration

Parshat Noach 

by Rabbi Avi Billet 

 When reading through the narrative leading into the flood, and the depiction of the flood itself, one comes away quite confused. Why all the repetition? God tells Noach and family to come into the Ark (7:1), and he does so (7:5), and yet we see he doesn’t come into the Ark until 7:7, on account of the waters of the flood. Yet the flood hasn’t really started yet, because there is rain for seven days, and then a flood (7:10). And yet, the flood truly begins in 7:11. Except the animals haven’t come yet – which they do after the people enter the Ark in 7:13. Then the animals and birds come in (7:14-16). However, it seems they already came in in 7:8-9.

 Rabbi Mordechai Breuer noticed this series of discrepancies and repetitions, and presented this section as one of many examples in the Torah that fall under the rubric of his Shitat HaBechinot. In simple terms, Rav Breuer was of the view that the questions raised by the Wellhausen school of Biblical Criticism couldn’t simply be ignored, but that there had to be a view espoused by Jews who believed the Torah was given at Sinai, and that it was all authored by One God, which took into account the concerns raised by Bible Critics. Rav Breuer had a very simple solution. The Torah sometimes presents ONE NARRATIVE as a combination of TWO WAYS in which God relates to the world and what is going on. One approach utilizes the Tetragrammaton, God’s holy 4-letter name (שם הוי׳ה) which is often seen as a depiction of God’s mercy. The other approach uses the name Elokim (א-לקים), which is often seen as a depiction of God’s judgment. 

Noach’s Name and What it Means

 Parshat Bereshis

by Rabbi Avi Billet 

The last 12 verses of the parsha seem to have nothing to do with whatever came before it. Most of the parsha deals with Creation, Garden of Eden, Adam, Chava, Kayin & Hevel. We are introduced to ten generations, and then the introduction of Noach has a different style. At the very least, we can learn from what we are about to explore that God's vision for humanity changes per the personalities of those on the ground, and that those on the ground have tremendous potential for good, or to choose a different direction.

Leading into the birth of Noach, instead of being told that the previous man lived “such number of years and begat so-and-so (a child who is mentioned by name)” (see 5:6,9,12,15,18,21,25), we are instead told that Lemekh lived 182 years - ויולד בן - “and begat a son” (5:28).

Eilah HaDevarim and HaDevarim HaEilah

Parshat Nitzavim Vayelekh

by Rabbi Avi Billet

With two exceptions, the phrases in the title – which are comprised of the same two words just inverted (though a letter Heh (ה) is added to Eileh when it is the second word) – refer throughout the experience of Moshe Rabbenu to the Torah/ Ten Commandments or simply the word of God that is to be followed. The two exceptions are when Moshe conveys to the people the fallout and repercussion for the incident of the spies, and when he finished explaining what is about to happen to Dasan and Aviram just before the ground opened up to the destroy them. In those two cases Moshe finished speaking HaDevarim HaEileh (these words/things) and the repercussion followed. 

 In the following chart I present the context (in Hebrew) and a brief summary (in English) of how the phrase is utilized 

Bringing Joy To Life

Parshat Ki Tavo

 by Rabbi Avi Billet 

Some people enjoy Yom Tov. Some people find it challenging to be b’Simcha on Yom Tov. Some people love the preparation and lead-in to Yom Tov. For some it is a tremendous burden. How could we be so clearly different when it comes to celebrating our special calendar days? 

We all know the answer: every person’s life journey is filled with ups and downs, low points and high points. And if Yom Tov comes along during a low point, or if life in general is in a low point and one is not content in other areas of life, Yom Tov isn’t a distraction from life, but a burden that gets in the way of “all the things that need to get done.” 

 Some people find Yom Tov to be a challenge if they either live alone all the time or will be alone for Yom Tov. Some might visit family and still feel alone! Someone in a failing marriage might feel this way, as might an adult single visiting parents of whatever age, as well as the more obvious divorced or widowed who find themselves in a life experience they did not anticipate, even if it has been many years since the end of the marriage. 

 In the United States, every year around Thanksgiving and the end of December, people write similar sentiments about going home for the holidays. Especially single people in their 30s, 40s and older. 

Keeping the Camp Holy

Parshat Ki Tetze 

by Rabbi Avi Billet

The Torah speaks of the military encampment, and a level of purity, holiness, and even cleanliness which is meant to be maintained while out in the field. One aspect, the covering of human waste, can verily be understood to be the Torah’s way of also protecting from filth and disease which can easily be spread in a military space, when people do not properly tend to hygiene. [Incidentally, until the 20th century, in just about every military conflict in history, more soldiers died from disease, starvation and the elements than from combat. Even some fronts in WWI and WWII are disputed about these outcomes, but after the World Wars, this has certainly been the case – now, in general, there are far more casualties from combat than from those other factors.]

 

From Devarim Chapter 23:

Tamim Tihyeh = A Dose of Humility (Baal Tefillah and Lashon Hora)

Parshat Shoftim

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Rav Shimshon Rafael Hirsch writes on the verse “Tamim Tihyeh Im Hashem Elokekha” (“You shall be whole/complete with the Lord your God”) (18:13):

“Temimus required for the offerings, and for the offerers symbolizes the requirement of our wholehearted devotion to God – the devotion of the whole person, including all his relationships, to God. This wholeness is the direct result of our awareness of God’s unity. It is the realization of our vocation as עם סגולה, a nation belonging exclusively to God. 

“Here, this wholeness is described in its concrete sense. Not even the smallest fiber of our lives shall be detached from God; we must be with God in our entirety. Consequently, all the heathen ways described in the preceding verses are banned from the Jewish sphere. God alone is the director of our fate and the guide of our actions; He alone decides our future, and His will is the sole criterion by which we are to decide what to do and what to refrain from doing… Only from God would we seek instruction regarding what we should or should not do, if God had not already given us such instruction in his Torah. Actually, one who is Tamim is so completely engrossed in God that he thinks only of the duties he must perform at the present moment, and as for his success and his whole future – he puts all his trust in God. By fulfilling his duty, he has already attained the supreme goal of his doing and not doing. He has paid God the tribute of duty faithfully fulfilled, and he is impervious to anything beyond that.”

While I removed from his comment several sentences related to not seeking divination to know the future, his point that we don’t need to know the future, but it is necessary for us to have a hand in writing our own future. It is through being attached to God, and most specifically through Godly living, which means living a life focused on Mitzvah Fulfillment and doing Chesed, imitating the ways of God, and upping our game in our own Middos – through this we have a hand in our destiny.