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Home -> Behar -> 5762

וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך והחזקת בו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5762, Behar

“If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter in your proximity, you shall strengthen him.” (25:35)

The responsibility to help a Jew in financial need is a serious one.  We live in a time when financial struggling has, regrettably, become a way of life for many. Throughout Jewish history, there have always been those who give and those who take. Due to circumstances beyond our control, today’s times are creating more who are relegated to take and fewer who are able to give. Yet, the Jewish people have always risen to their appellation of being rachamanim bnei rachamanim, compassionate sons of compassionate ones. We help, many doing so beyond their means. Let us peruse some of the…

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Home -> Behar -> 5762

ואיש כי לא יהיה לו גאל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5762, Behar

“If a man will have no redeemer.” (25:26)

What a terrible feeling – not to have anyone. It is our obligation  to see to it that no Jew is alone or feels alone. Some individuals make  it  their  business  to  see  to  the  physical  and emotional needs of their brethren, realizing how important this is. One individual who was a towering example of chesed at its zenith was the Skverer Rebbe, Horav Yaakov Yosef Twersky, z.l. After World War II, he took a small apartment in Bucharest, Romania. During the three years that he spent there, this tiny apartment served the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of thousands…

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Home -> Behar -> 5762

ואכלתם לשבע וישבתם לבטח עליה. וכי תאמרו מה נאכל בשנה השביעת... וצויתי את ברכתי לכם בשנה הששית

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5762, Behar

“And you will eat your fill; and you will dwell securely upon it. If you will say: ‘What will we eat in the seventh year?’ …I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year.” (25:19-21)

Klal Yisrael is assured that, in return for observing the Shemittah laws and allowing the land to rest during the seventh year, they would  not  be  exiled.  Furthermore,  to  those  of  little  faith, who question how only one crop can sustain them for more than one year,  Hashem promises that the prosperity will be to such an extent that their questions will be without basis. Yet, the Torah felt that the question of Mah nochal, “What will we eat?” was of such significance, that it was eternalized in the Torah. This question, however, should have been asked only once. After their…

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Home -> Behar -> 5762

ולא תונו איש את עמיתו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5762, Behar

“Each one of you shall not aggrieve his fellow.” (25:17)

The Sefer Yereim contends that just as there is an admonition against onaas devarim, hurting a person with words, saying something to him  that  disconcerts  and  makes  him  feel  bad,  there  is  also  an enjoinment against looking at someone with a bad/evil look. The way we look at someone – be it with disdain, scorn, or hatred – can and does hurt. Onaas mamone is the prohibition against cheating someone financially. It is a surreptitious form of stealing. In truth, one only fools himself. Horav Menachem Mendel, z.l., m’Varko, said, “According to Halachah, one should not cheat another Jew. Lifnim meshuras…

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Home -> Behar -> 5762

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5762, Behar

“When you come into the land… the land shall observe a Shabbos rest to Hashem.” (25:2)

The pasuk seems to imply that Shemittah is to commence immediately upon the arrival of Klal Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael. The Torah, however, continues, “Six  years you  may  sow  your  field,” indicating that Shemittah does not begin right away. Why is the Torah so ambiguous in conveying to us when the laws of Shemittah are to take effect? The Meshech Chochmah explains that while Hashem gave us Eretz Yisrael as a gift, certain criteria that are critical to the land’s maintenance must be met in order for the gift to endure. M’zekeinim Esbonan gives the following analogy to elucidate this idea….

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