Rabbi Avi Billet
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O ur parasha begins with Moshe Rabbeinu gathering the entire Jewish people before him, at which point we would expect some sort of listing of “the things that Hashem commanded to make.” … more
T he Yalkut Shimoni’s opening comment in his Midrashic exposition on Parshas Vayakhel is translated as follows: Vayakhel Moshe, and Moshe gathered: Our Rabbis, the master Aggadists, said … more
In one of the opening statements of his essay “The Lonely Man of Faith,” Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik writes, “The nature of the dilemma can be stated in a three-word sentence. I am … more
Though this week’s parsha begins with a story of Yitro, its chronological relationship with the rest of the Exodus narrative is debated by the commentaries. If we ignore this story for a … more
O ne of the most revealing moments in the beginning of Parshat Bo comes when Pharaoh’s officials say to him, in advance of the pending plague of locusts, “How long will this [man] … more
One of the more mysterious narratives in the Torah concerns what is likely the final trip back to Egypt after the Burning Bush (the midrash suggests Moshe went back and forth a number of times, and … more
Why is Chanukah an eight-day holiday? With respect to the eight days being contingent on a miracle of a small amount of oil lasting eight days, there are many answers for the question. But in truth, … more
One of the more fascinating family relationships in the Torah surrounds that of Yaakov with his wives, and that of the wives themselves with one another. The following discussion of parsha Vayetze is … more
In this week parsha, Lech Lecha, we read about how when Avraham and Sarah embarked on their journey to the Land G-d would show them, they brought with them the “souls they made in … more
Jewish people who have traversed the Orthodox experience may have followed any number of paths. The most common are those who were born into Orthodoxy and never left, those who converted or became … more
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