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Home -> Behar -> 5779

וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך והחזקת בו

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Behar

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

Strengthening a Jew who is confronted with economic challenges is a practical mitzvah. After all, if we ignore our brother’s plight, what good is our personal frumkeit, religious observance? A Jew whose observance is predicated upon his relationship with Hashem, while he simultaneously ignores the challenges that his brother must confront, is deluding himself. We are all one family. One cannot expect his brother to derive satisfaction from one son, when that very same son ignores the adversity suffered by his own brother. There is yet a deeper understanding of the mitzvah of supporting a fellow Jew who has come…

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Home -> 5779 -> Emor

ולא תהללו את שם קדשי ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל אני ד' מקדשכם

Sruly Schnair
In Emor, 5779

You shall not desecrate My holy Name, rather I should be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael; I am Hashem Who sanctifies you. (22:32)

The Torah exhorts us to strive to be holy. Some make it – others do not. Some make the attempt – others do not even bother. One might think that the barrier to achieving success in ruchniyos, spirituality, is a lack of aptitude, a deficiency of talent, or whatever excuses we might advance to justify our own lack of trying. In an inspiring exposition on the Midrash related to this pasuk, Horav Tzvi Kushelevsky, Shlita, explains the real reason that many fail to achieve the mark of greatness. The Tanchuma (Emor 2) relates that, in desperation, Shaul Hamelech went to…

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Home -> 5779 -> Emor

ובחמשה עשר יום לחדש הזה חג המצות לד'

Sruly Schnair
In Emor, 5779

And on the fifteenth day of this month is the Festival of Matzos to Hashem. (23:6)

One year, Horav Tzvi Hirsch Levin, zl, had occasion to invite the mayor of Berlin (a gentile, but one that was quite respectful and friendly to the members of the Jewish community) for the first Seder. The mayor entered the home to observe the rich finery of the tablecloth and napkins on a table bedecked with the finest china and silver flatware. The mayor had a superficial knowledge of Jewish traditions and customs. He was, thus, taken aback that Pesach, when we sit as kings, the young child traditionally asks the Four Questions, which begin, “Why is this night different?”…

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Home -> 5779 -> Emor

וספרתם לכם ממחחרת שבת

Sruly Schnair
In Emor, 5779

You shall count for yourselves – from the morrow. (23:15)

The halachah, as recorded in Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 493:1, states that the prevalent custom is not to make weddings between Pesach and Shavuos (during a specific thirty-three day period), because it was during this time that the students of Rabbi Akiva (twenty-four thousand) died. The Talmud (Menachos 29b) states: “Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav, when Moshe Rabbeinu ascended Har Sinai to receive the Torah, he found Hashem attaching crowns to some of the letters of the Torah. Moshe asked, ‘Hashem, who is holding You back (preventing you from making the Torah larger)?’ Hashem replied, ‘One day, there…

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Home -> 5779 -> Emor

ויציאו אתו כל העדה אל מחוץ למחנה וירגמו אתו באבנים ...ויוציאו את המקלל מחוץ למחנה וירגמו אתו אבן

Sruly Schnair
In Emor, 5779

And they took the blasphemer to the outside of the camp, and stoned him to death. (24:23) The entire assembly removed him to the outside of the camp, they pelted him with stones and he died. (Bamidbar 15:36)

The Torah is teaching us about the punishment meted out to the mekallel, blasphemer. In Sefer Bamidbar, the Torah relates the punishment which the mechallel Shabbos, desecrator of Shabbos, received. The mekoshesh eitzim, the individual who gathered twigs on Shabbos, was stoned, as was the blasphemer. While their punishments were similar, the Torah’s description of the actual execution is textually different. With regard to the mekallel, the Torah writes, Vayirgemu oso even, “They stoned him with even,” which means one stone. Concerning the meksohesh, however, the Torah writes, Vayirgemu oso b’avanim, “They stoned him with stones.” Why is the blasphemer stoned…

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Home -> 5779 -> Kedoshim

קדשים תהיו כי קדוש אני

Sruly Schnair
In Kedoshim, 5779

You shall be holy, for holy am I. (19:2)

For a Jew, being “good” is insufficient. We are to be a holy people, holy to Hashem, because He is the Source of holiness.  It would make sense that His nation is expected to strive to be G-d-like. The choice of words, ki kadosh Ani, “For holy am I,” begs elucidation. No human being, regardless of his spiritual stature, can aspire to achieve such holiness. In the sefer Sifsei Tzaddikim, the author offers an insightful exposition based on an incident that he heard from Horav Aharon Klivaner, zl (a maggid). When Rav Aharon was a youth studying in the yeshivah…

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Home -> 5779 -> Kedoshim

איש אמו ואביו תיראו

Sruly Schnair
In Kedoshim, 5779

Every man: Your mother and father shall you revere. (19:3)

Reverence and fear (which is the literal translation of tirah) are closely related. I think fear born of reverence is unlike fear which is the result of retribution. Thus, one is to fear his/her parents through the lens of reverence and esteem in which he holds them. This mitzvah prohibits anything negative, such as sitting in a parents’ seat, contradicting or interrupting them. One should act toward a parent in much the same manner in which he respects a monarch. The Torah should have simply written: Your father and mother shall you revere. Why does the Torah add ish, every…

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Home -> 5779 -> Kedoshim

ולא תשבען בשמי לשקר

Sruly Schnair
In Kedoshim, 5779

Do not swear falsely by My Name. (19:12)

Swearing falsely occurs in one of four formats: two referencing the past; either falsely confirming that something occurred, or denying its occurrence; or two referencing the future, either by promising that he will carry out a specific activity, or affirming that he will not. In any event, swearing falsely, using Hashem’s Name to validate the oath is a grievous sin from which any decent, G-d-fearing Jew should be repulsed. Having said this, a story which Horav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Shlita, heard from Horav Chaim Kanievsky, Shlita, which occurred concerning the holy Maharsha, comes to mind. A widow came before the Maharsha,…

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Home -> 5779 -> Kedoshim

והייתם לי קדשים כי קדוש אני ה' ואבדיל אתכם מן העמים להיות לי

Sruly Schnair
In Kedoshim, 5779

You shall be holy for Me, for I Hashem am holy; and I have separated you from the peoples to be Mine. (20:26)

There has to be a separation between the Jew and the gentile. This does not mean that we should not act properly. On the contrary, by acting with dignity and mentchlichkeit, we earn their respect and admiration. This also does not suggest adopting their culture and lifestyle. We are distinct, and our distinctiveness is an inherent part of our essence. Rabbeinu Bachya writes that we are separated as a result of the chochmas haTorah, wisdom acquired through the Torah, which impels us to distinguish ourselves in what we eat, the manner that we eat, our mode of dress (and our…

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Home -> 5779 -> Acharei Mos

ונתן אהרן על שני השעירים גרלות גורל אחד לד' וגורל אחד לעזאזל

Sruly Schnair
In Acharei Mos, 5779

Aharon shall place lots upon the two he-goats: one lot “for Hashem”; and one lot “for Azazel.” (16:8)

The two goats are identical in every way; yet, one becomes a korban, sacrifice, to Hashem, while the other is sent to Azazel. Apparently, the goats had no say in the matter. We assume that this also happens to people. Two people both do all of the right things (or at least they thought so), but one makes it, while the other does not fare as well. What happened? What about bechirah chafshis, freedom of choice? It almost seems that regardless of past choices, one’s future is determined for him. Clearly, this is not true. If we are taught that…

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