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Home -> 5781 -> Korach

ויקהל עליהם קרח את כל העדה

Sruly Schnair
In Korach, 5781

Korach gathered the entire assembly. (16:19)

Without a doubt, Korach was as powerful as he was charismatic. Nonetheless, he was going up against Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen, Klal Yisrael’s leaders, who certainly were greater than he. He succeeded in gathering a group of distinguished followers, heads of the Sanhedrin, men of erudition and discernment. He did not go to a bar and preach to ne’er-do-wells. He went to the elite of Klal Yisrael and succeeded in swaying them to support him. For this, they paid dearly. How did Korach pull this off? Leitzanus, cynicism, sarcasm, scorn, whatever name we call it; the result is the…

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Home -> 5781 -> Korach

אם כמות כל האדם ימתן אלה ופקודת כל האדם יפקד עליהם

Sruly Schnair
In Korach, 5781

If these die like the death of all men, and the destiny of all men is visited upon them. (16:29)

This was not the first time that someone usurped the authority of Moshe Rabbeinu. His reaction this time was atypical. He asked Hashem that this group be meted with a punishment which was both unusual and stark. It was important for all the people to know that Moshe was Hashem’s chosen leader and that he made every decision under His direction. The heresy expounded by Korach must be put to rest in a manner such that it would be recorded in the hearts and minds of Klal Yisrael that Moshe’s prophecy may not be denied. Chazal (Nedarim 39b) derive from…

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Home -> 5781 -> Shelach

שלח לך אנשים ויתרו את ארץ כנען

Sruly Schnair
In Shelach, 5781

Send forth men, if you please, and let them spy out the Land of Canaan. (13:2)

The parsha begins with the acquiescence of Moshe Rabbeinu to the Jewish People’s request to send a reconnaissance mission comprised of twelve representatives – one from each tribe — to gather information concerning the land. We all know that this mission ended in disaster — for which we still pay to this very day. The spies returned, and all but two slandered the land and incited the people to severe hopelessness, culminating in unwarranted weeping. That night was Tishah B’Av, which, as a result of their weeping, became our day of national mourning, a day of warranted weeping over the…

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Home -> 5781 -> Shelach

שלח לך אנשים ויתורו את ארץ כנען

Sruly Schnair
In Shelach, 5781

Send forth men, if you please, and let them spy out the land of Canaan. (13:2)

In a shmuess, ethical discourse, he gave in memory of his father, Horav Eliyahu Svei, zl, attempts to show how generations decline spiritually. His father survived World War I, during which Jewish life drastically changed. Entire communities were obliterated. Extreme hunger became a way of life. People were compelled to eat grass just to have some nutrients in their bodies. He studied in Kollel Slabodka until the material pressures were too much to handle. The next step was to move to America, which in and of itself was a spiritual challenge of immense proportion. Nonetheless, he lived in this country…

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Home -> 5781 -> Shelach

. ויהס כלב את העם

Sruly Schnair
In Shelach, 5781

And Kalev silenced the people. (13:30)

Some of the greatest tragedies result from petty jealousy. At times, one misplaced word purposely rendered to cast aspersion on someone can have deleterious ramifications – for the slanderer. The spies returned with their slanderous report concerning Eretz Yisrael. Yehoshua and Kalev knew these were lies. They attempted to quiet the nation, to get them to listen to reason. Kalev succeeded in getting their attention. The Talmud (Sotah 35a) posits that Yehoshua made a futile attempt, but the people refused to listen to him. They said, Dein rosh ktiya yimallel, “he whose head is cut off is speaking.” This is…

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Home -> 5781 -> Shelach

ויבכו העם בלילה ההוא

Sruly Schnair
In Shelach, 5781

The people wept that night. (14:1)

Klal Yisrael wept bitterly on that fateful night. The meraglim incited their fears, and their emotions broke through in profuse weeping. Unfortunately, their weeping was unwarranted, since the spies were spewing nothing but lies which were meant to inject fear in the hearts of the people. Had their faith and trust in Hashem been realized, their reaction would have been completely different. Hashem promised to transform their unwarranted weeping into warranted weeping, and we now commemorate Tishah B’Av, our day of national mourning. It is incredible that all of this tragedy was the result of baseless weeping. Understandably, one should…

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Home -> 5781 -> Shelach

ויאמרו איש אל אחיו נתנה ראש ונשובה מצרימה

Sruly Schnair
In Shelach, 5781

So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader, and let us return to Egypt.” (14:4)

The chet meraglim, sin of the spies, was the transgression that put an end to the possibility that the Jews of that generation would settle in Eretz Yisrael. This was a generation that had survived the Egyptian bondage, were privy to the miracles of the Ten Plagues, were liberated from Egypt and experienced the Splitting of the Red Sea; later, they stood at Har Sinai and witnessed the greatest Revelation in history, as they received the Torah. Yet, this generation was barred from entering Eretz Yisrael. It would be their children, instead, who would enter and settle in the land….

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Home -> 5781 -> Beha'alosecha

בהעלתך את הנרות

Sruly Schnair
In Beha'alosecha, 5781

When you kindle the lamps. (8:2)

Rashi addresses the juxtaposition of the parshah of the Menorah upon the conclusion of the previous parsha, which details the korbanos, offerings, of the Nesiim for the chanukas ha’Mizbayach. When Aharon took note of the involvement of the Nesiim in the dedication of the Mizbayach, he became chagrined that neither he nor any members of his tribe, Shevet Levi, had been included. We must remember that envy is not  a word that could ever apply to someone of the caliber of Aharon HaKohen. His spiritual stature obviated any possibility of attributing such a  term to him. He was not jealous;…

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Home -> 5781 -> Beha'alosecha

בהעלתך את הנרות

Sruly Schnair
In Beha'alosecha, 5781

When you kindle the lamps. (8:2)

Rashi explains the term, be’haalosecha, in its literal sense: “When you raise up (the lamps).” The Torah should have used the word b’hadlikcha, which means when you kindle. Rashi offers two explanations which, on the surface, appear unrelated to one another: A) You should light the lamps until the flame rises up by itself (she’t’hei shalheves oleh mei’eileha); B) You should stand on a step (footstool) situated in front of the Menorah. Therefore, “raise up” either means to cause the flame to ascend, or to raise himself up to stand over the Menorah. The Mizrachi (quoted by Sifsei Chachamim) says…

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Home -> 5781 -> Beha'alosecha

ומבן חמשים שנה ישוב מצבא העבודה... ושרת את אחיו... לשמור משמרת.

Sruly Schnair
In Beha'alosecha, 5781

From fifty years of age, he shall withdraw from the legion of work… He shall minister with his brethren… to safeguard the charge. (8:25,26).

The Levi “retires” at age fifty from bearing the holy vessels on his shoulders. He continues to function in all their Levite services, such as singing, closing the Temple gates and loading the wagons. The Torah writes: V’sheireis es echav, “He shall minister with his brethren”. This refers to giving them wise counsel. The Mishnah in Pirkei Avos (5:24) teaches Ben chamishim l’eitzah, “The man of fifty is capable for counsel.” Rav Ovadiah Bartenura explains that this (fifty-year function) is derived from the Leviim who no longer did any “heavy” labor once they reached fifty years of age. They ministered…

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