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ואם לא יחפץ האיש לקחת את יבמתו... ואמרה מאן יבמי להקים לאחיו שם בישראל

But if the man shall not wish to marry his sister-in-law… and she shall say, “My brother-in-law refuses to establish a name for his brother in Yisrael.” (25:7)

For whatever reason, the surviving brother refuses to perform yibum, levirate marriage with his sister-in-law. The woman comes before bais din and declares, Me’ein yevami l’hakim shem b’Yisrael, “My brother-in-law refuses to establish a name for his brother.” It seems from the text that no more is said, other than that he simply refuses to perform the mitzvah. Reasons are not discussed. We find another instance of miyun, refusal, in the Torah, when Yosef refused to succumb to the advances made by Potifar’s wife: Va’yimaen, vayomer, “He refused and he said” (Berachos 39:8). In this case, however, Yosef seems to…

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כי יקח איש אשה חדשה... ושמח את אשתו אשר לקח

When a man marries a new wife… he shall gladden his wife whom he has married. (24:5)

During the first year of marriage man is exempt from being drafted into the army, because he is supposed to stay home to “gladden his wife.” The Torah writes, V’seemach es ishto, “He shall gladden his wife.” Rashi comments, “This pasuk is interpreted by Targum Onkelos as, v’yachdei yas itsei, “he shall gladden his wife,” but one who translates the pasuk as, v’yechdai im itsei, “he shall gladden with his wife,” is in error because this is not the translation of v’seemach, but rather, of v’samach.” In Rabbi Sholom Smith’s, A Vort From Rav Pam, he quotes the Rosh Yeshivah,…

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כי ד' אלקיך מתהלך בקרב מחנך... והיה מחנך קדוש ולא יראה בך ערות דבר ושב מאחריך

For Hashem, your G-d, walks in the midst of your camp… so your camp shall be holy, so that He will not see a shameful thing among you and turn away from behind you. (23:15)

Dressing and acting appropriately are prerequisites for Torah-oriented behavior. “Your camp shall be holy” applies not only to the “camp” in the wilderness; it also applies to our homes, schools, shuls – wherever observant Jews congregate. One’s personal camp should not be ignored either. This means that, although one may be respectful of the laws of tznius, modesty/chastity, upon entering a holy edifice, he should not forget that he is himself a holy camp. Thus, how one dresses represents his attitude with regard to Hashem. To dress in an immodest manner is to put G-d to shame and cause Him…

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לא יבוא עמוני ומואבי בקהל ד'...על דבר אשר לא קדמו אתכם בלחם ובמים... לא תתעב מצרי כי גר היית בארצו

An Ammoni or Moavi shall not enter the congregation of Hashem… because of the fact that they did not greet you with bread and water… You shall not reject an Egyptian for you were a sojourner in their land. (23:4, 5, 8)

Gratitude plays an important role in Judaism. The Torah does not countenance ingratitude. It is considered an indication of selfishness and mean-spiritedness – character deficiencies which do not integrate well into the Jewish nation. Thus, members of the nations of Ammon and Moav, both descendants of Lot, whose lives were spared as a result of our Patriarch’s actions, are not accepted by members of the Jewish nation for marriage. They may convert, but their genes are unacceptable, due to their character flaw of ingratitude. The Egyptian, however, upon conversion, is accepted. Although we suffered greatly at the hands of the…

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