Sruly Schnair – Page 7 – Peninim on the Torah

וידבר ד' אל משה במדבר סיני

Hashem spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai. (1:1)

The Torah is Hashem’s greatest gift to Klal Yisrael. It is more than our guide for living – it is our life. One would think that the giving of the Torah, which was a seminal experience like none other, would have occurred in a thriving metropolis, a cultured capital – not in a desolate wilderness. Everything that Hashem does and how He does it is to teach us lessons for life and living. Obviously, the giving of the Torah in the desert is no different. Chazal teach that it was, indeed, deliberate. Each commentator explores his own approach. Perhaps we…

Home -> Bamidbar -> 5786

ואלה תולדות אהרן ומשה ... ואלה שמות בני אהרן

Sruly Schnair In 5786, Bamidbar

These are the offspring of Aharon and Moshe … These are the names of Aharon’s sons. (3:1,2)

The pasuk commences by stating that the following are the offspring of Aharon and Moshe, but goes on to list only Aharon’s sons. What happened to Moshe’s sons? Is Moshe considered a “father” to Aharon’s sons? Chazal (Sanhedrin 19B) infer from here that, Kol ha’melameid es ben chaveiro Torah maaleh alav ha’kasuv k’ilu yoldo, “Whoever teaches Torah to his friend’s child, the Torah regards it as if he had begotten him.” Thus, Moshe Rabbeinu became Aharon’s sons’ spiritual progenitor, because he taught them Torah. This statement is not poetic embellishment. Chazal do not exaggerate. As such, the commentators offer their…

Home -> Bechukosai -> 5786

אם בחוקתי תלכו ... ואם לא תשמעו לי

Sruly Schnair In 5786, Bechukosai

If you will follow My decrees … But if you will not listen to Me. (26: 3,14)

While Bechukosai is one of the two parshios of the Torah identified with the Tochechah, Rebuke (Ki Savo), it actually begins with the idyllic blessings conferred upon he who follows Hashem’s decrees. The Torah focuses on the Jew who listens, who follows, who acts positively. Sometimes, however, one will veer off the prescribed trajectory. He will, unfortunately, require discipline to help him return and tow the line as everyone else does. The interpretation of teileichu, follow, gives the commentators much food for thought. Rashi interprets the phrase, She’tiheyu ameilim baTorah, to mean by engaging in intense Torah study, with the…

Home -> Bechukosai -> 5786

ורדף אתם קול עלה נדף ונסו מנסת חרב ונפלו ואין רדף

Sruly Schnair In 5786, Bechukosai

The sound of a rustling leaf will pursue them, they will flee as one flees the sword, and they will fall – but without a pursuer. (26:36)

Being that this curse is toward the conclusion of the curses, it is apparent that it is more frightening than its predecessors, such as: hunger, privation, and death. Veritably, this curse may refer to one who is in no danger. There is no enemy – yet his heart is racing, the anxiety is gripping him. There is no threat; yet, he is filled with panic. The curse is not the enemy outside, but the fear from within. Such a person is not afraid of anything, other than fear itself. Once fear becomes the reigning force in one’s mind, he no…

Home -> Behar -> 5786

-כי תבואו אל הארץ אשר אני נותן לכם ושבתה הארץ שבת לד' שש שנים תזרע ... ובשנה השביעית שבת שבתון יהיה - לארץ

Sruly Schnair In 5786, Behar

When you come to the land that I am giving you, and the land shall rest a Shabbos to Hashem. Six years you shall sow your field … and in the seventh year there shall be a Shabbos for the rest of the land. (25:2,4)

At first glance, the sequence of the pesukim appears reversed. One first sows his field, a process that continues for six years. Only afterward, “shall the land rest.” Why introduce the mitzvah of Shemittah prior to mentioning the six years of labor? Horav Yitzchak Rozenthal (Dayan, Yeshivas Midrash Bnei Tzion) distinguishes between chutz la’eretz, diaspora, whose sanctity is largely the result of human endeavor. When a Jew studies Torah, and davens with kavanah, he sanctifies his surroundings. His kiyum ha’mitzvos, fulfillment of Torah precepts, elevates the mundane which envelops him. His avodah, service, ushers in the kedushah. Otherwise, it is…

Home -> Behar -> 5786

וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך

Sruly Schnair In 5786, Behar

If your brother becomes impoverished, and his means falter in your proximity. (25:35)

Noticeably, when our fellow begins to falter, the Torah refers to him as achicha, your brother – not rei’acha, your fellow/friend. A very simple explanation accounts for this textual change. When a friend falters, suddenly our relationship with him takes an inward (toward ourselves) turn. We are no longer friends; we are philosophers (hypothesizing reasons why we need not help). “It is his fault.” “I warned him, but he refused to listen.” “Truthfully, we are not really that close.” “He runs after me. I never sought him out.” Each excuse is carefully presented – not to present reality, but to…

Home -> 5786 -> Emor

ובת איש כהן כי תחל לזנות את אביה היא מחללת באש תשרף

Sruly Schnair In Emor, 5786

The daughter of a Kohen who prepares herself through immorality desecrates her father; she is punished by fire. (21:9)

The above pasuk is chilling –describing tragedy upon tragedy. A young woman ostensibly raised in a refined, hallowed Torah home goes off the derech, acting out her rebellion with acts of moral turpitude. How does such a moral collapse occur – especially in such a family? If I may use my writer’s license, I suggest a homiletic rendering of this pasuk/incident. Several questions surface upon reading the text. First, why does the Torah state that she desecrates her father? It is the sacred institution of Kehunah that she profanes. She is dragging the Priesthood through the mud – not her…

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ולא תחללו את שם קדשי ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל

Sruly Schnair In Emor, 5786

You shall not desecrate My Holy Name, rather I should be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael. (22:32)

A passage in the Talmud (Yoma 86A) illuminates the concept of Kiddush Hashem, but also insinuates that we can view dereliction as a chillul Hashem, desecration of Hashem’s Name. “What do people say about an individual who reads, learns and serves talmidei chachamim, Torah scholars, and handles all his relations (business, etc.) with his fellow man with emunah, faith, and makes sure his manner of speech is b’nachas, soft and pleasant? Fortunate is his father who taught him Torah/Fortunate is his Rebbe who taught him Torah. Look at so and so who studied Torah, and (as a result) his demeanor…

Home -> 5786 -> Emor

בחדש הראשון בארבעה עשר לחדש בין הערבים פסח לד'

Sruly Schnair In Emor, 5786

In the first month, on the fourteenth of the month in the afternoon, is the time of the Pesach offering to Hashem. (23:5)

We have no shortage of enjoinments concerning the Yom Tov of Pesach. We are often reminded to remember the Exodus from Egypt. Indeed, it is a daily part of our Shema Yisrael and a component of our Tefillah. On the night of Pesach, things change when we engage in an exclusive and intensified zeicher l’yetzias Mitzrayim, remembrance of the Exodus. The commentators distinguish between the sippur, relating, the story of yetzias Mitzrayim. On Pesach night, in a family setting, we relate and explain the story, allowing for everyone at the seder table to listen, add and be a part of…

Home -> 5786 -> Acharei Mos

אחרי מות שני בני אהרן בקרבתם לפני ד' וימותו

Sruly Schnair In Acharei Mos, 5786

After the deaths of two of Aharon’s sons, when they drew near before Hashem and died. (16:1)

The tragic deaths of Nadav and Avihu, Aharon HaKohen’s eldest sons, on the day which would have been the most auspicious of their lives, leaves the reader with serious questions. The answers to these questions are elusive. Chazal detail a list of “sins” attributed to these two tzaddikim – infractions which are endemic to the exalted spiritual level which they had achieved. Nonetheless, we seek some kind of explanation. We will focus on one such sin and apply its explanation to their behavior, which will result in enlightening us concerning the rest of the “shortcomings” attributed to them. Chazal…

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וידבר ד' אל משה במדבר סיני

Hashem spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai. (1:1)

ואלה תולדות אהרן ומשה ... ואלה שמות בני אהרן

These are the offspring of Aharon and Moshe … These are the names of Aharon’s sons. (3:1,2)

אם בחוקתי תלכו ... ואם לא תשמעו לי

If you will follow My decrees … But if you will not listen to Me. (26: 3,14)

ורדף אתם קול עלה נדף ונסו מנסת חרב ונפלו ואין רדף

The sound of a rustling leaf will pursue them, they will flee as one flees the sword, and they will fall – but without a pursuer. (26:36)

-כי תבואו אל הארץ אשר אני נותן לכם ושבתה הארץ שבת לד' שש שנים תזרע ... ובשנה השביעית שבת שבתון יהיה - לארץ

When you come to the land that I am giving you, and the land shall rest a Shabbos to Hashem. Six years you shall sow your field … and in the seventh year there shall be a Shabbos for the rest of the land. (25:2,4)

וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך

If your brother becomes impoverished, and his means falter in your proximity. (25:35)

ובת איש כהן כי תחל לזנות את אביה היא מחללת באש תשרף

The daughter of a Kohen who prepares herself through immorality desecrates her father; she is punished by fire. (21:9)

ולא תחללו את שם קדשי ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל

You shall not desecrate My Holy Name, rather I should be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael. (22:32)

בחדש הראשון בארבעה עשר לחדש בין הערבים פסח לד'

In the first month, on the fourteenth of the month in the afternoon, is the time of the Pesach offering to Hashem. (23:5)

אחרי מות שני בני אהרן בקרבתם לפני ד' וימותו

After the deaths of two of Aharon’s sons, when they drew near before Hashem and died. (16:1)

YEARS

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