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Home -> Vayikra -> 5786

ויקרא אל משה

Sruly Schnair
In 5786, Vayikra

Hashem called to Moshe. (1:1)

The Midrash underscores the fact that Moshe Rabbeinu had ten names.  Hashem called to Moshe, summoning him by the name which Bisyah bas Pharaoh had given to him.  This is not the first time that the Torah mentions his name.  Why does the Midrash choose Vayikra el Moshe as the place for commenting about Moshe’s name?  Perhaps it is the textual relationship – Vayikra, He called, with the naming of Moshe by Bisyah, Vatikra shemo Moshe (Shemos 2:10).  The kriah, calling out by Hashem, could be viewed as official confirmation of Bisyah’s kriah in naming him. In any event, the…

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Home -> Vayikra -> 5786

אשר נשיא יחטא

Sruly Schnair
In 5786, Vayikra

When a ruler sins. (4:22)

Asher is translated as “when,” alluding to the fact that it happens that even the high and mighty leader sins.  Chazal further translate it as being connected to ashrei, fortunate. This motivates Chazal to assert that a generation whose leader seeks atonement for his unintentional sins is fortunate, because this means that he will surely repent his intentional sins.  Chazal underscore the good fortune of a nation whose leader concedes and seeks atonement for his fallibility.  On the one hand, this is an enviable character trait – one to which more leaders should ascribe – but, at the end of…

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Home -> Vayakhel -> 5786

ששת ימים תעשה מלאכה וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש שבת שבתון לד'

Sruly Schnair
In 5786, Vayakhel

On six days, work may be done, but the seventh day shall be holy for you, a day of complete rest for Hashem. (35:2)

Noticeably, Hashem first issued the command to build the Mishkan in Parshios Terumah and Tetzaveh. In Parashas Ki Sissa, He reiterated the laws of Shabbos.  Moshe Rabbeinu, on the other hand, begins Parshas Vayakhel with the laws of Shabbos. Afterwards, he gives a recounting of the construction of the Mishkan.  Why did Moshe alter from Hashem’s derech, way?  Gur Aryeh explains that Moshe did not relate all the laws of the Mishkan at one time, but rather, over a few days.  He feared that, if he did not complete delivering the laws before Shabbos, they – not knowing that the…

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Home -> Vayakhel -> 5786

ויבאו האנשים על הנשים כל נדיב לב

Sruly Schnair
In 5786, Vayakhel

The men came with the women, everyone whose heart motivated him. (35:22)

The outpouring of financial support for the Mishkan was overwhelming.  They could not stop the people from donating.  This is an anomaly in the world of fundraising.  Anyone who has ever attempted to raise funds for a worthy cause will agree that it is often like pulling teeth.  Some give more readily than others, but, for most people, separating themselves from the contents of their wallets requires real effort.  Yet this reality did not play itself out during the appeal for the Mishkan.  Then, everyone came forward immediately.  Not only did they give willingly, they gave to the point that…

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Home -> Pekudei -> 5786

These are the reckonings of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of Testimony. (38:21)

Sruly Schnair
In 5786, Pekudei

אלה פקודי המשכן, משכן העדת

Rashi notes the redundancy of the word Mishkan.  He explains that the two words allude to the Mishkanos, which were taken from us.  In a play on words, the letters of mishkan can also be read as mashkon, collateral.  Chazal intimate that the two Batei Mikdash are collateral for the sins committed by the nation, and Hashem took them from us until that time that we repent and deserve its return.  The obvious question is: It was the Bais HaMikdash that was destroyed, not the Mishkan.  It is related that Horav A. Mishkovsky, zl, explained that, in the Bais HaMikdash,…

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Home -> Pekudei -> 5786

אלה פקודי המשכן, משכן העדות

Sruly Schnair
In 5786, Pekudei

These are the reckonings of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of Testimony. (38:21)

We were blessed with the presence of a Sanctuary in our midst during three periods in Jewish history.  The period of the Mishkan lasted until the first Bais HaMikdash.  The first Bais HaMikdash was followed seventy years later by the second Bais HaMikdash.  While the two Batei Mikdash were eventually destroyed, the Mishkan remained eternal. Just because it is not in our immediate environs does not mean it is not secure in a Heavenly sphere.  Furthermore, as noted by Chazal (Shabbos 21B), it is prohibited to derive pleasure from the neiros, lights.  In his commentary to the Gemora, the Rav…

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Home -> Pekudei -> 5786

Moshe saw the entire work, and Moshe blessed them. (39:43)

Sruly Schnair
In 5786, Pekudei

וירא משה את כל המלאכה … ויברך אתם משה

What did Moshe Rabbeinu say to them?  What b’rachah, blessing, did he give them?  Yehi ratzon she’tishreh Shechinah, b’maaseh ye’deichem;  “May it be the will of Hashem that the Shechinah rest upon your handiwork.”  This blessing begs elucidation.  A blessing adds benefit; it elevates; it aspires for more.  The Mishkan was built already, the work of Bnei Yisrael complete.  Its entire purpose was for the Shechinah to rest on it.  What is the purpose of the b’rachah? Horav Boruch Dov Povarsky, Shlita, explains that the Mishkan was a spiritual edifice.  It manifested itself in material/physical components, but its essence was…

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Home -> Ki Sisa -> 5786

כי תשא את ראש בני ישראל

Sruly Schnair
In 5786, Ki Sisa

When you take a census of Bnei Yisrael. (30:12)

Midrash Tanchuma (Parshas Ki Sissa) sets forth the notion that the machatzis ha’shekel, coin which every Jew had to donate, was to atone for the sin of the Golden Calf.  The Midrash says that the nations of the world declared, “A nation that heard at Sinai: A) I am Hashem, your G-d, followed by B) You shall not recognize the gods of others.” In spite of this, after only forty days, the people created the Golden Calf.  How could Hashem welcome them back?  This was no ordinary sin, but a grievous, flagrant act of unfaithfulness.  Chazal liken this to a…

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Home -> Ki Sisa -> 5786

ומשרתו יהושע בן נון, נער, לא ימיש מתוך האהל

Sruly Schnair
In 5786, Ki Sisa

His servant, Yehoshua Bin Nun, a lad, would not depart from within the tent. (33:11)

Yehoshua gave everything up in order to be in the tent of Torah.  As a result, he earned the position as Moshe Rabbeinu’s primary disciple and eventual successor. Many believe that leadership is simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time.  In Torah, however, leadership goes far deeper.  Torah leaders are those who have proven themselves worthy of such responsibility – a position that can only be earned through dedication to, and toil in, Torah.  It is cultivated in the bais hamedrash, through long hours of study, presence, and commitment, not by worldly acumen or…

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Home -> Ki Sisa -> 5786

הודיעני נא את דרכך

Sruly Schnair
In 5786, Ki Sisa

Make Your ways known to me. (33:13)

Moshe Rabbeinu requested that the ways in which Hashem conducts the world be revealed to him.  Chazal (Berachos 7A) explain that he had a specific question which was pressing him, a question that has stumped every human: “Why is it that the righteous (will at times) suffer and the wicked (will at times) prosper?”  Veritably, this is a question that only plagues mortals.  Those whose neshamos have departed this world are privy to a supernal light which illuminates all that troubles us in this world.  Thus, they have no questions.  Hashem replied to Moshe, Lo Yiraani adam v’chai, “No human…

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