Sruly Schnair

בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם

When he zealously avenged Me among them. (25:11)

The zealot acts on behalf of Hashem. After being completely certain that he has expunged every vestige of personal interest and emotion, to the point that he truly feels that he is acting only for Hashem, then he can move forward by acting zealously. The commentators question the meaning of b’socham, among them, and its placement at the end of the pasuk. It is almost as if the Torah is conveying to us the criterion for kanaus, zealousness: it must be b’socham, among them. Simply, this implies that the kanai should view himself as being “among them,” a member of…

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ושם איש ישראל המכה... זמרי בן סלוא נשיא בית אב לשמעוני

Sruly Schnair In Pinchas, 5782

The name of the Yisraeli man who was slain… was Zimri ben Salu, leader of a paternal house of Shimoni. (25:14)

Chazal (Sanhedrin 2a) teach that Zimri was the first Jew to fall prey to the sin of public debauchery. When one is first, he opens the door, releases the floodgates for those who use his example as the green-light for their immoral debasement. His real name was Shlumiel ben Tzurishadai. When he began to sin, he was called Shaul ben HaCanaanis. Only after he had become completely dissolate was he called Zimri ben Salu. In Bereishis 46:10, Rashi explains that Shaul ben HaCannanis was the son of Dinah, Yaakov Avinu’s daughter, who was violated by Shechem. When her brothers, Shimon…

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אשר יצא לפניהם ואשר יבא לפניהם ואשר יוציאם ואשר יביאם ולא תהיה עדת ה' כצאן אשר אין להם רעה

Sruly Schnair In Pinchas, 5782

Who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall take them out and bring them in; and let the assembly of Hashem not be like sheep that have no shepherd. (27:17)

Moshe Rabbeinu asked Hashem to appoint his successor, presenting criteria for an effective leader, a person: who leads from the front; who takes the nation out and brings them in; who does not remain in the background. He then adds, “And let the assembly of Hashem not be like sheep that have no shepherd.” Horav Aryeh Finkel, zl (Rosh Yeshivah Mir/Brachfeld), wonders why Moshe had to supplement his request for a leader with a comparison to a herd of sheep who are shepherdless. Was not his request sufficient in its own right, without the added analogy about sheep? The Rosh…

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ומנחתם ונסכיהם לפרים לאלים ולכבשים במספרם כמשפט

Sruly Schnair In Pinchas, 5782

And their meal-offering and their libations for the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, in their proper numbers, as required. (29:18)

Simply, v’niskeihem, “and their libations,” refers to the libations of the two sheep of the Korban Tamid, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Chazal (Taanis 2b) note the Torah twice departs from the singular form, v’niska, which is used in five pesukim, one time in the above pasuk, where it is spelled v’niskeihem, in the plural (with an added “mem” at the end of the word). Also, in pasuk 31, the Torah writes U’nesachecha with an added yud. To add to the equation, we note the word k’mishpatam (pasuk 33), while it says k’mishpat throughout the pesukim….

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ויגר מואב מפני העם מאד כי רב הוא ויקץ מואב מפני בני ישראל

Sruly Schnair In Balak, 5782

Moav became very frightened of the people, because it was numerous, and Moav was disgusted in the face of Bnei Yisrael. (22:3)

The Torah uses two terms to refer to Klal Yisrael: Am, people/nation, Bnei Yisrael, children of Yisrael. Moav was frightened of the nation due to their numbers, which imply a physical battle, a physical victory for the Jewish nation. Concerning the children of Yisrael, which is the term most often used to describe our People, Moav was disgusted. Fear means that one is afraid, but he still has hope for victory. A change of tactics might be necessary in order to quash the Jewish threat. Disgusted, the term which is used in a confrontation with the children of Yisrael, sounds…

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לא אוכל לעבור את פי ד' אלקי לעשות קטנה או גדולה

Sruly Schnair In Balak, 5782

I cannot transgress the word of Hashem, my G-d, to do anything small or great. (22:18)

In Kuntres Divrei Sofrim (24), Horav Elchanan Wasserman, zl, notes that Bilaam ha’rashah said that he would not transgress Hashem’s word to him – Hashem’s tzivui, command. He did not think that he could act in a manner counter-intuitive to Hashem’s ratzon, will. He was acutely aware that Hashem did not want him to curse Klal Yisrael, but, if Hashem had not expressly said so, Bilaam could have gone along his merry way to carry out his evil intentions. The pasuk (22:22) relates that Hashem’s anger flared because Bilaam was going to Balak. Why was Hashem angry? Did the Almighty…

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ויאמר בלעם אל בלק... היכל אוכל דבר מאמה הדבר אשר אלקים ישים בפי אתו אדבר

Sruly Schnair In Balak, 5782

Bilaam said to Balak… “Am I empowered to say anything? Whatever words G-d puts into my mouth, that shall I speak.” (22:38)

Bilaam is a lesson in stark contrasts. On the one hand, he personifies evil and depravity at their nadir. Arrogant, condescending, avaricious and profligate, he was the consummate symbol of unmitigated evil. Yet, this same person spoke to Hashem and was able to maintain a dialogue on subjects that were of the loftiest esoterical and spiritual nature. How do these two polar opposites exist in one person? Horav Eliezer HaLevi Turk, Shlita, quotes from Horav Chunah Kletzki, zl, a student of the Radin Yeshivah, who, in his old age, made his domicile in Lakewood. He related that there was a…

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מראש צרים אראנו ומגבעות אשורנו

Sruly Schnair In Balak, 5782

From its origins, I see rock-like, and from hills do I see it. (23:9)

Bilaam was looking for every way to render Klal Yisrael a death blow. His power was in his tongue, his ability to deliver a curse that would be effective and lethal. He begins his litany by acknowledging that it is difficult to curse a nation whose origins are likened to craggy rocks (Patriarchs) and hills (Matriarchs). He intimated that when he looked back at the roots of the Jews, he saw them as firmly established as rocks and hills. The loyalty to their forebears is what distinguishes them and makes them that more difficult to curse. I would like to…

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זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל

Sruly Schnair In Chukas, 5782

This is the teaching regarding a man who would die in a tent. (19:14)

Chazal (Shabbos 83b) teach, “One should never refrain from (going to the) Bais ha’Medrash and from studying words of Torah – even during the moments prior to his taking leave of this world.” Torah reigns supreme and, without it, our lives are not the same. We should devote every minute that is available to Torah study – even at the time of death. Furthermore, Ein haTorah miskayemes ela b’mi she’meimis atzmo alehah; “The Torah is not maintained in a person unless he dies for it.” Adam ki yamus b’ohel, “If a man dies in a tent” has become the catch…

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ויפשט משה את אהרן את בגדיו וילבש אתם אלעזר בנו וימת אהרן

Sruly Schnair In Chukas, 5782

Moshe stripped Aharon’s garments from him and dressed Elazar his son in them; then Aharon died. (20:28)

Ramban explains that the garments which Aharon HaKohen wore were the begadim, vestments, of the Kohen Gadol. Elazar, his son, was now being inducted into Kehunah Gedolah, High Priesthood, by wearing these vestments. Apparently, he had just concluded his Priestly service by: offering the Korban Tamid shel bein ha’arbaim, afternoon continued offering; burning the Incense; and kindling the menorah. Moshe brought Aharon up to Har Hohor, while he was still wearing the vestments. He then stripped him of them and dressed Elazar. According to the simple p’shat, plain understanding, Moshe dressed Aharon in tachrichim, burial shrouds. He then removed Elazar’s…

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בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם

When he zealously avenged Me among them. (25:11)

ושם איש ישראל המכה... זמרי בן סלוא נשיא בית אב לשמעוני

The name of the Yisraeli man who was slain… was Zimri ben Salu, leader of a paternal house of Shimoni. (25:14)

אשר יצא לפניהם ואשר יבא לפניהם ואשר יוציאם ואשר יביאם ולא תהיה עדת ה' כצאן אשר אין להם רעה

Who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall take them out and bring them in; and let the assembly of Hashem not be like sheep that have no shepherd. (27:17)

ומנחתם ונסכיהם לפרים לאלים ולכבשים במספרם כמשפט

And their meal-offering and their libations for the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, in their proper numbers, as required. (29:18)

ויגר מואב מפני העם מאד כי רב הוא ויקץ מואב מפני בני ישראל

Moav became very frightened of the people, because it was numerous, and Moav was disgusted in the face of Bnei Yisrael. (22:3)

לא אוכל לעבור את פי ד' אלקי לעשות קטנה או גדולה

I cannot transgress the word of Hashem, my G-d, to do anything small or great. (22:18)

ויאמר בלעם אל בלק... היכל אוכל דבר מאמה הדבר אשר אלקים ישים בפי אתו אדבר

Bilaam said to Balak… “Am I empowered to say anything? Whatever words G-d puts into my mouth, that shall I speak.” (22:38)

מראש צרים אראנו ומגבעות אשורנו

From its origins, I see rock-like, and from hills do I see it. (23:9)

זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל

This is the teaching regarding a man who would die in a tent. (19:14)

ויפשט משה את אהרן את בגדיו וילבש אתם אלעזר בנו וימת אהרן

Moshe stripped Aharon’s garments from him and dressed Elazar his son in them; then Aharon died. (20:28)

YEARS

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