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Home -> 5786 -> Ki Savo

תחת אשר לא עבדת את ד' אלקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב מרוב כל

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Savo, 5786

Because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, amid gladness of heart, when everything was abundant. (28:47)

We often understood this pasuk as an exhortation to serve Hashem with simchah and joy.  Yet, the Torah appears to add another criterion: “when everything was abundant.”  Why does abundance matter?  If one were to ask the average person, “How are you doing?” the response would likely be, “Baruch Hashem, I am blessed. I have what I need. Of course, I could always use more, but I am managing with what I have.”  Implicit in this answer, however, lies a subtle deficiency.  “I could always use more” often translates into “Something is still missing.  I am not fully satisfied.  There…

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Home -> 5786 -> Ki Savo

תחת אשר לא עבדת את ד' אלקיך בשמחה

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Savo, 5786

Because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, amid joy. (28:47)

We often search for profound philosophical explanations to questions which trouble us.  We plumb the depths and probe for complex answers, when all that is required is a small dose of common sense.  Not every challenge demands an intricate analysis.  Indeed, at times, the most straightforward explanation is the correct one.  Thus, many of the questions that plague us and whose answers appear elusive are easily explained when we open our minds and think common-sensibly. The Torah expects us to serve Hashem amid joy.  Is that too much to ask for?  Certainly not, but, unfortunately, we do see G-d-fearing, fully…

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Home -> 5786 -> Ki Seitzei

כי יהיה לאיש בן סורר ומורה

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Seitzei, 5786

If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son. (21:18)

The Torah does not hide circumstances in Klal Yisrael’s history (especially in the Midbar) that portray human vulnerability and moral and spiritual weakness.  Some may shock the reader; others may provoke anger, but I think no narrative is as tragic as the story of the ben sorer u‘moreh, the boy who rebels against his parents.  What makes the tragedy even more painful is the realization that it was preventable.  Chazal teach that the origin of the boy’s spiritual collapse had its roots long before his rebellion surfaced.  The sequence of the parshios— yefas to’ar, attractive gentile captive, followed by the…

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Home -> 5786 -> Ki Seitzei

ויהפוך ד' אלקיך לך את הקללה לברכה

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Seitzei, 5786

And Hashem, your G-d, reversed the curse to a blessing for you. (23:6)

Hashem transformed what had been intended to be a curse into a blessing. Veritably, differentiating between curse and blessing is a matter of perception. When we refer to something as a curse or adversity, this means that — according to our mortal, limited vision — we are able to see what appears to be a curse.  L’Hisadein B’Ahavasecha notes that the words tzarah, troubles, and tzohar, window/bright light, contain the same three letters: tzadi, hay, reish, only each with a different configuration.  This intimates that what we perceive as tzarah, through the medium of tzohar, may have a much brighter…

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Home -> 5786 -> Ki Seitzei

כי יקח איש אשה חדשה לא יצא בצבא

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Seitzei, 5786

When a man marries a new wife, he shall not go out to the army. (24:5)

The Torah understands that the battlefield is not a place for everyone.  A newly-wed should remain home with his new wife.  This applies during their first year of marriage.  In the previous parsha (20:6,7), the Torah addresses he who has betrothed a woman and has not yet had nessuin, which is the second phase of the marriage ceremony.  The Torah underscores the reason for his return from the battlefield: he will be overly concerned that upon his death, his wife will marry someone else.  In any event, the Jewish soldier appears to be preoccupied more with himself than with his…

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Home -> 5786 -> Shoftim

שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך בכל שעריך

Sruly Schnair
In Shoftim, 5786

Judges and officers shall you appoint in all your cities. (16:18)

Sefer HaChinuch explains that these judges and officers are responsible for maintaining discipline among the people. Their job is to see to it that everyone adheres to the mitzvos, and assure that those who do not, receive their due punishment.  These judges represent the highest echelon of Torah erudition, ethical and moral character refinement.  It goes without saying that they are G-d-fearing and represent the spiritual elite of the nation. The root of the mitzvah is obvious.  A nation that witnesses its leadership reflecting the highest standards of service to Hashem will themselves be inspired to follow suit.  This will…

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Home -> 5786 -> Shoftim

והורידו זקני העיר ההיא את העגלה אל נחל איתן ... וערפו שם את העגלה בנחל

Sruly Schnair
In Shoftim, 5786

The elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a harsh valley … and they ax the back of its neck in the valley. (21:4)

The halachah of oso v’es b’no lo sischatu b’yom echad, “You shall not slaughter a mother (ox or sheep) and its offspring on the same day,” applies to kosher, domesticated animals, such as cows, sheep, and goats, and it refers to both the mother and its child.  Chazal (Yoma 64A) discuss a situation in which the shliach bais din, agent of bais din, who performs the se’ir l’azazel, rite in which he pushes the goat over a cliff, is permitted to slaughter the mother that day (although it was Yom Kippur, for it was necessary for a critically ill person). …

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Home -> 5786 -> Shoftim

ולא ימס את לבב אחיו כלבבו

Sruly Schnair
In Shoftim, 5786

And let him not melt the heart of his fellows. (20:8)

The Torah instructs someone who is fearful or faint-hearted to remain at home.  He should not go to battle, because his fear (regardless of the reason, real, or because he feels himself not spiritually worthy of surviving) would have a negative impact on the others. The Imrei Emes notes that if one “weak” heart can negatively destroy the positive feelings of a multitude of soldiers, how much more so can one who possesses a powerful good heart, who is himself inspired to serve Hashem under all circumstances?  When we act with enthusiasm, our feelings are infectious; when we daven properly,…

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Home -> 5786 -> Re'eh

ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה

Sruly Schnair
In Re'eh, 5786

See, I present before you today a blessing and a curse. (11:26)

The era of Moshe Rabbeinu’s leadership is coming to an end.  Klal Yisrael stands poised to enter the Promised Land.  Our quintessential leader and Rebbe delivers his final messages, mussar and guidance.  This parsha begins with a message for life that is both timeless and deeply profound.  He declares: “See, I present before you a blessing and a curse.”  The text itself begs elucidation.  If Moshe intended to present two entirely separate paths, he should have stated the words brachah or klalah, blessing or curse.  Why does he say blessing and curse, almost as if the two are intertwined? Perhaps…

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Home -> 5786 -> Re'eh

ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה

Sruly Schnair
In Re'eh, 5786

See, I present before you today a blessing and a curse. (11:26)

What comes across as a simple statement – almost a mission statement for the Jew — is the basis for much penetrating insight into the quality and nature of life. When one peruses Chazal and the accompanying commentaries, he develops a perspective on life that explains how we have survived throughout the millennia, despite the many physical and spiritual challenges that have played a critical role in our connection to Hashem. I found one Chazal and a comment by the Alter, zl, m’Kelm, which are inspiring. Devarim Rabbah (4:2), Ha’sayaf v’ha’sefer yardu k’ruchim m’ha’Shomayim… “The scroll and the sword descended…

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