Vayeilech – Page 9 – Peninim on the Torah

“Assemble the people, the men, and the women, and the little children.” (31:12)

Rashi explains that the purpose of including the little children was to compensate those who had brought them. It seems peculiar that parents should be enjoined to bring little children to this great assemble only for the purpose of receiving reward! We may suggest the following lessons to be derived from this imperative. First, education is not bound by a specific time frame. Parents should seek to educate their children from an early age. Indeed, in this case, infants were being educated subconsciously, since they were too young to understand the words of Torah! The Talmud states that Rabbi…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5752, Vayeilech

“And Hashem said to Moshe, behold your days approach that you must die.” (31:14)

The Midrash mentions a poignant story which can serve as a lesson for us, especially during the current Days of Awe. The great sage, Rabbi Shimon Ben Chalafta, went to a bris milah, at which the child’s father made an impressive feast. In fact, after serving a very old wine to the guests, the father proudly proclaimed that he would age a portion of this wine for the future joyful occasions of his son. Upon leaving this feast, the sage encountered the Angel of Death, who seemed to be in a “happy mood.” he questioned the angel as to…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5752, Vayeilech

“And there shall come upon them many evils and troubles; so that they will say in that day; is it not because our G-d is not among us, that these evils have come upon us?” (31:17)

We may note the contrast in the text between the beginning and the end of this pasuk. While the posuk begins with the phrase many evils and troubles, at the end it only uses the word bad. What stimulated the transition, which has diminished this individual’s troubles? In order to resolve this problem, we must first understand the true meaning of ,urm – troubles. The origin of this word is rm which implies tightness or restriction. This alludes to moments when one is so tormented by troubles that he feels enveloped and unable to maneuver himself out from under the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5752, Vayeilech

“And they will say one day, is it not because our G-d is not among us that these evils have come upon us? And I will surely hide My face in that day. For all the evil which they wrought in that they turned to other gods.” (31:17,18)

Horav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch Z”l emphasizes the speaker’s audacity. The sinned does not say, “I have sinned because Hashem has forsaken me.” Rather, he says, “It is because Hashem is not in my midst that I have sinned.” He does not find fault in his own behavior, so that he accepts responsibility for his own actions. Instead, he finds Hashem’s “behavior” to be the cause of his misfortune! He perceives that Hashem, whom he still refers to as his G-d, has abdicated his promise to protect and support him. If Hashem had only kept His promise, such sufferings would not…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5751, Vayeilech

“Be strong and of good courage, fear not nor be in awe of them. For Hashem your G-d, He is that goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.” (31:6)

Why does the posuk open its statement in the plural voice -uezj umrg, ktu utrh, kt umntu and closes in the singular voice tk lczgh tku lprh ? What reason is there for this change? Perhaps we may suggest the following thought. A leader’s relationship with his congregation is founded to a great extent in the perspective by which he is viewed by them, and in that respect, his demise is noted by them. Individuals of various stations of life will note their mentors’ passing which cause their personal vested interests to be affected. Moshe, as he is taking leave…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5751, Vayeilech

“And Moshe called to Yehoshua and said unto him before the eyes of the Bnei Yisroel – Be strong and of good courage for you shall go with this people into the land… And you shall cause them to inherit it.” (31:7)

Rashi describes an apparent difference between Moshe’s imperative to Yehoshua regarding his leadership over the Bnei Yisroel as being in accordance with the direction and counsel of the elders, as opposed to Hashem’s charge to Yehoshua, as being clearly independent of everyone, relying totally upon his own judgement and understanding. Even though there clearly seems to be a sort of contradiction between Moshe’s words to those of Hashem, we must note that in actuality they complement each other. Yehoshua, upon taking the reins of leadership of Bnei Yisroel should definitely consult with the elders seeking their advice and guidance…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5751, Vayeilech

“And there shall come upon them many evils and troubles and they will say that day, “Is it not because our G-d is not among us that these evils have come upon us?” (31:17)

Rabeinu Yonah in Shaarei Teshuvah (2:2) states that the primary vehicle to awaken an individual to perform teshuvah is his realization that it is his sins and misdeeds that have caused his misfortunes and troubles. This realization brings about his eventual return to Hashem. We may conclude from this that in a situation of “Hashem is in his midst” no evil will befall a person. Rabbi Meir Chadash Z”tl questions this statement. Is not Hashem amongst every Jew? One of the most notable statements of Chazal is on the posuk in Parashas Terumah “And they shall make for Me a…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5751, Vayeilech

“And now write for yourselves this song and teach it to the Bnei Yisroel and put it in their mouths.” (31:19)

The Talmud in Sanhedrin (21b) states: Rava says, even if one were to inherit from his ancestors a Torah scroll it is still incumbent upon him to write a Sefer Torah or have one written for him. The Talmud bases its statement upon the above posuk which mandates the writing of a Sefer Torah. The Rambam and various other codifiers of halacha maintain this statement. There are many reasons given for the imperative to have a personal Torah written. The Sefer Hachinuch states that the reason for this mitzvah is to increase the number of Torah scrolls and, for that…

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ומצאוהו רעות רבות וצרות ואמר ביום ההוא הלא על כי אין אלקי בקרבי מצאוני הרעות האלה... ואנכי הסתר אסתיר פני ביום ההוא

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vayeilech

And many evils and distresses will encounter it, it will say on that day, “Is it not because my G-d is not in my midst that these evils have come upon me?” But I will surely conceal My face on that day. (31:17,18)

Our nation has suffered immensely throughout the millennia. Hounded and persecuted, physically and emotionally, no words can describe the travail that has often been our lot. The secular streams stick to their usual reneging by denouncing these “isolated occurrences” as an anti-Semitic reaction to the Jews’ refusal to assimilate into their host country’s way of life, religion, etc. They posit that, if we would be more like goyim, then they would treat us like goyim – not Jews. Any person with a modicum of intelligence understands the futility of this argument. We, who study Torah as our primer of faith,…

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“Assemble the people, the men, and the women, and the little children.” (31:12)

“And Hashem said to Moshe, behold your days approach that you must die.” (31:14)

“And there shall come upon them many evils and troubles; so that they will say in that day; is it not because our G-d is not among us, that these evils have come upon us?” (31:17)

“And they will say one day, is it not because our G-d is not among us that these evils have come upon us? And I will surely hide My face in that day. For all the evil which they wrought in that they turned to other gods.” (31:17,18)

“Be strong and of good courage, fear not nor be in awe of them. For Hashem your G-d, He is that goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.” (31:6)

“And Moshe called to Yehoshua and said unto him before the eyes of the Bnei Yisroel – Be strong and of good courage for you shall go with this people into the land… And you shall cause them to inherit it.” (31:7)

“And there shall come upon them many evils and troubles and they will say that day, “Is it not because our G-d is not among us that these evils have come upon us?” (31:17)

“And now write for yourselves this song and teach it to the Bnei Yisroel and put it in their mouths.” (31:19)

ומצאוהו רעות רבות וצרות ואמר ביום ההוא הלא על כי אין אלקי בקרבי מצאוני הרעות האלה... ואנכי הסתר אסתיר פני ביום ההוא

And many evils and distresses will encounter it, it will say on that day, “Is it not because my G-d is not in my midst that these evils have come upon me?” But I will surely conceal My face on that day. (31:17,18)

YEARS

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