Ki Savo – Page 10 – Peninim on the Torah

“Your sons and daughters will be given to another people – and your eyes will see and pine in vain for them… You will bear sons and daughters, but they will not be yours, for they will go into captivity.” (28:32,41)

There seems to be a redundancy in these two tragic curses. We suggest that, unfortunately, they are two distinct curses, each one focusing on a different type of loss. In the former, the children are given over to another people. They might be living under the same roof as their parents, but their values are different. They are alienated from their people and instead are enchanted by the culture of another nation. In the latter curse, the children are no longer home; they have been taken captive by another nation. They are slaves to another people. In the first curse, the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5762

“Because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, amid gladness and goodness of heart.” (28:47)

Joy in mitzvah performance, aside from being an essential prerequisite to the actual fulfillment of the mitzvah, also has a very practical application. Horav Moshe Feinstein, z.l., explains why so many children of European immigrants who came to America after World War I did not remain observant. Their parents were deeply committed to Yiddishkeit. They slaved long hours, performing all kinds of backbreaking labor to eke out a meager living. They would never compromise their observance of Torah and mitzvos. Shabbos was paramount, and Kashrus was a standard in their homes. So, what went wrong? Why did so many Jews who…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5761

“I declare today to Hashem, your G-d…” (26:3)

The parsha of Bikurim teaches us the significance of hakoras ha’tov, gratitude. We must learn to recognize the good that others do for us and remember the overriding importance of showing appreciation to our benefactors. This will serve as a vehicle for understanding the overwhelming debt of gratitude that we owe to our primary Benefactor, Hashem, without whose beneficence we would be, and have, nothing. We may fail to recognize another element of hakoras ha’tov. We know we must be grateful to Hashem for the good that He has sent our way. What about the evil about which we are…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5761

“The Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us… Then we cried out to Hashem, the G-d of our forefathers… And (He) saw our affliction, our travail, and our oppression.” (26:6-7)

Chazal teach us that each of the above mentioned terms refers to another form of persecution. “Onyeinu,” our affliction, refers to the disruption of family life; “Amoleinu,” our travail, refers to the children being thrown into the river; and “Lachatzeinu,” our oppression, refers to the extreme pressure the Egyptians exerted upon us. If this is the case, why are the persecutions not mentioned at the beginning of the pasuk, immediately following the phrase, “The Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us”? Why are these terms mentioned only after Hashem has listened to our pleas? In a homily delivered before Rosh Hashanah…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5761

“You shall be only above and you shall not be below.” (28:13)

The Kotzker Rebbe, z.l., adds a new twist to the meaning of this blessing. He explains that Hashem created a ladder upon which the neshamos, souls, from the olam ha’elyon, upper/eternal world, descend to This World into the body of a human being. It is similar to the sulam mutzav artzah, v’rosho magia shomaymah, “ladder standing (with its legs) on this earth and its head/summit reaches Heavenward” (Bereishis 28:12) that Yaakov Avinu visualized in his dream. As soon as the neshamah descends, the ladder is removed. From Heaven, the call goes out to the neshamah, “Return! Return!” The neshamah, of…

Home -> 5761 -> Ki Savo

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5761

“Because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, amid gladness and goodness of heart.” (28:47)

Another year has gone by, and Rosh Hashanah is a few weeks away. Chazal delve into the reason that Parashas Ki Savo, with its ninety-eight curses, is read shortly before the New Year. We suggest that it is a wake-up call, a reminder that whatever has transpired during the course of the past year, whether it was good or bad, happened by design and for a reason. It did not just occur. Retribution and accountability – two concepts that we often tend to ignore – play important roles. We rarely understand the things that happen to us as being directly…

Home -> 5760 -> Ki Savo

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5760

“I declare today to Hashem, your G-d…” (26:3)

The parsha of Bikurim teaches us the significance of hakoras ha’tov, gratitude. We must learn to recognize the good that others do for us and remember the overriding importance of showing appreciation to our benefactors. This will serve as a vehicle for understanding the overwhelming debt of gratitude that we owe to our primary Benefactor, Hashem, without whose beneficence we would be, and have, nothing. We may fail to recognize another element of hakoras ha’tov. We know we must be grateful to Hashem for the good that He has sent our way. What about the evil about which we are…

Home -> 5760 -> Ki Savo

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5760

“The Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us… Then we cried out to Hashem, the G-d of our forefathers… And (He) saw our affliction, our travail, and our oppression.” (26:6-7)

Chazal teach us that each of the above mentioned terms refers to another form of persecution. “Onyeinu,” our affliction, refers to the disruption of family life; “Amoleinu,” our travail, refers to the children being thrown into the river; and “Lachatzeinu,” our oppression, refers to the extreme pressure the Egyptians exerted upon us. If this is the case, why are the persecutions not mentioned at the beginning of the pasuk, immediately following the phrase, “The Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us”? Why are these terms mentioned only after Hashem has listened to our pleas? In a homily delivered before Rosh Hashanah…

Home -> 5760 -> Ki Savo

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5760

“You shall be only above and you shall not be below.” (28:13)

The Kotzker Rebbe, z.l., adds a new twist to the meaning of this blessing. He explains that Hashem created a ladder upon which the neshamos, souls, from the olam ha’elyon, upper/eternal world, descend to This World into the body of a human being. It is similar to the sulam mutzav artzah, v’rosho magia shomaymah, “ladder standing (with its legs) on this earth and its head/summit reaches Heavenward” (Bereishis 28:12) that Yaakov Avinu visualized in his dream. As soon as the neshamah descends, the ladder is removed. From Heaven, the call goes out to the neshamah, “Return! Return!” The neshamah, of…

Home -> 5760 -> Ki Savo

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5760

“Because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, amid gladness and goodness of heart.” (28:47)

Another year has gone by, and Rosh Hashanah is a few weeks away. Chazal delve into the reason that Parashas Ki Savo, with its ninety-eight curses, is read shortly before the New Year. We suggest that it is a wake-up call, a reminder that whatever has transpired during the course of the past year, whether it was good or bad, happened by design and for a reason. It did not just occur. Retribution and accountability – two concepts that we often tend to ignore – play important roles. We rarely understand the things that happen to us as being directly…

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“Your sons and daughters will be given to another people – and your eyes will see and pine in vain for them… You will bear sons and daughters, but they will not be yours, for they will go into captivity.” (28:32,41)

“Because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, amid gladness and goodness of heart.” (28:47)

“I declare today to Hashem, your G-d…” (26:3)

“The Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us… Then we cried out to Hashem, the G-d of our forefathers… And (He) saw our affliction, our travail, and our oppression.” (26:6-7)

“You shall be only above and you shall not be below.” (28:13)

“Because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, amid gladness and goodness of heart.” (28:47)

“I declare today to Hashem, your G-d…” (26:3)

“The Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us… Then we cried out to Hashem, the G-d of our forefathers… And (He) saw our affliction, our travail, and our oppression.” (26:6-7)

“You shall be only above and you shall not be below.” (28:13)

“Because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, amid gladness and goodness of heart.” (28:47)

YEARS

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