Peninim on the Torah – Page 106 – Hebrew Academy of Cleveland

כל הבן הילד היארה תשליכהו

Every son that will be born – into the River shall you throw him. (1:22)

At first glance, we view Pharaoh’s evil decree to drown the Jewish male infants as his way of protecting himself and his people from the presaged birth of the Jewish redeemer. How foolish he was to even dream that he could stand up to Hashem. Ironically, it was Pharaoh’s own daughter who rescued Moshe Rabbeinu, and the future Jewish leader and redeemer grew up and was raised in Pharaoh’s palace. This is the accepted reason the commentators give. In his paranoia and narcissism, Pharaoh thought that he could prevent the inevitable. Alternatively, we might suggest another reason for murdering the…

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הלהרגני אתה אומר כאשר הרגת את המצרי

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Shemos

Do you propose to murder me, as you murdered the Egyptian? (2:14)

Moshe Rabbeinu’s conversation with Dassan and Aviram, his two nemeses, appears superfluous. Do we really need to know about their dialogue to the extent that it is recorded in the Torah? While it is true that Chazal derive from the word omer, say/propose, that Moshe killed the Egyptian with his power of speech, by using the Shem ha’Meforash, Ineffable Name, this exposition could have been written in its proper place when he actually intervened and killed him. It seems as if the entire dialogue is unnecessary. Horav Arye Leib Heyman, zl, posits that Dassan and Aviram’s statement was about themselves…

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קחם נא אלי ואברכם

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Vayechi

Bring them to me, if you please, and I will bless them. (48:9)

Yaakov Avinu wanted to bless Yosef’s sons. We do not find him blessing any of his other grandchildren. Perhaps, since it was his plan to grant Menashe and Ephraim Shevet/Tribe status, it was necessary to meet in order to bless them. Chazal give many explanations for Yaakov’s decision to make Menashe and Ephraim the paradigms of Jewish blessing: “Yesimcha Elokim k’Ephraim v’k’Menashe. Something was special about these two young men and the manner in which they were raised, special enough that Yaakov wanted every Jewish father throughout the millennia to bless his children in a similar manner. Why? The continuity…

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יששכר חמר גרם ... וירא מנוחה כי טוב ואת הארץ כי נעמה ויט שכמו לסבול

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Vayechi

Yissachar is a strong-boned donkey… He saw tranquility that it was good, and the land that it was pleasant, yet he bent his shoulder to bear and he became an indentured servant. (49:14,15)

Rashi interprets the metaphor of a strong-boned donkey and the reference to the land as alluding to Yissachar’s relationship with the Torah. Yaakov Avinu points out Yissachar’s spiritual role as bearer of the yoke of Torah and cultivator of the spiritual treasures of our people. Why does the blessing include “his seeing tranquility and it was good”? The significance of the blessing is Yissachar’s relentless commitment to bearing the yoke of Torah, even if it might be a challenging task at times. His ability to rest while standing up, without having to remove his parcels, demonstrates that regardless of the…

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בן פרת יוסף בן פרת עלי עין

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Vayechi

A charming son is Yosef, a charming son to the eye. (49:22)

Chazal (Berachos 20a) teach that the progeny of Yosef, like Yosef HaTzaddik, were not affected by the power of ayin hora, evil eye. This is in connection with the above pasuk, “A charming son is Yosef, a charming son to the eye.” Yosef never sought to enjoy that which was not his (such as Potifar’s wife, who made every attempt to seduce him), thus, the evil eye affected neither him nor his descendants. Why should one suffer because another person is envious of what he possesses? Should one conceal himself and his good fortune from the public eye, just because…

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ויעברו ימי בכיתו

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Vayechi

When his bewailing period passed. (50:4)

The Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 100:4) distinguishes between the mourning /weeping for Yaakov Avinu and the mourning for Moshe Rabbeinu. Concerning Yaakov, the Torah writes: “When his bewailing period passed,” while, regarding Moshe, it writes: Vayitmu yemei bechi eival Moshe, “Then the days of the tearful mourning or Moshe ended” (Devarim 34:8). The Midrash comments: Yaakov had those who mourned and bewailed him; therefore, it says that the bewailing period passed (not ended, simply passed). Moshe did not leave a grief-stricken following; therefore, it says that his mourning period came to an end. Clearly, this statement requires elucidation. Moshe was the…

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ויראו אחי יוסף כי מת אביהם

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Vayechi

Yosef’s brothers perceived that their father was dead… (50:15)

Yosef’s brothers felt that now that their saintly father, Yaakov Avinu, was gone, their protection from what they felt would be Yosef’s wrath had also come to an end. It seemed to them that Yosef’s attitude toward them had abruptly changed. No longer were they the beloved family whom he invited to dine with him in the palace. They feared that it was all because their father had been alive. Now that he was gone, Yosef’s lingering animosity toward them was becoming apparent. (This was in their perception. It was not true.) Indeed, Yosef had a reason for everything he…

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ויתן את קלו בבכי וישמעו מצרים וישמע בית פרעה

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Vayigash

He cried in a loud voice. Egypt heard and Pharaoh’s household heard. (45:2)

When Yosef wept, the entire country heard; so respected was he in Egypt. Word quickly spread throughout the palace and then throughout the country: Yosef was weeping! Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah) state that Yosef’s cries were conciliatory in nature, meant to assuage his brothers’ feelings of guilt and shame. Why was he appeasing them? He was the victim. They were the “aggressors.” It should be the other way around. Horav Yeruchem Levovitz, zl (cited by Bad Kodesh), posits that herein lies an important concept concerning interpersonal relationships. Just as the “Shulchan Aruch,” Code of Law, addresses the rights of the victim…

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ויאמר יוסף אל אחיו אני יוסף העוד אבי חי ... ויאמר יוסף אל אחיו גשו נא אלי ... ויאמר אני יוסף אחיכם אשר מכרתם אותי מצרימה

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Vayigash

And Yosef said to his brothers, “I am Yosef. Is my father still alive?” … The Yosef said to his brothers, “Come close to me, if you please,” and he said, “I am Yosef, your brother… me, whom you sold to Egypt.” (45:3,4)

Anyone who reads these pesukim is struck with the same questions: Why did Yosef repeat, “I am Yosef”? He stated in pasuk 3, “I am Yosef,” and immediately in pasuk 4, he repeated, “I am Yosef.” Furthermore, the first time that he “introduced” himself, his brothers’ reaction was one of fear and disconcertment. Why in his second “introduction” did he reiterate, “Whom you sold to Egypt”? Obviously, this was a sore point, as their reaction evinces. Why rub it in? The Sfas Emes offers a powerful explanation which teaches us an important lesson in avodas Hashem, serving the Almighty. When…

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ולא יכלו אחיו לענות אותו כי נבהלו מפניו

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Vayigash

But his brothers could not answer him, because they were left disconcerted before him. (45:3)

Rashi explains that the brothers were overwhelmed with shame. The humiliation of confronting Yosef after all these years, facing the error of their original decision, was too much. It agitated them to know that before them stood Yosef. It brought dread to their minds, and prompted their anxiety: “What is going to happen now?” All of this is understandable. Fear is an acceptable reaction at such a time, but shame? Why should shame take center stage over fear? Indeed, at the end of Parashas Va’yechi (50:15) when the brothers acknowledged that now that Yaakov Avinu had left this world, and…

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כל הבן הילד היארה תשליכהו

Every son that will be born – into the River shall you throw him. (1:22)

הלהרגני אתה אומר כאשר הרגת את המצרי

Do you propose to murder me, as you murdered the Egyptian? (2:14)

קחם נא אלי ואברכם

Bring them to me, if you please, and I will bless them. (48:9)

יששכר חמר גרם ... וירא מנוחה כי טוב ואת הארץ כי נעמה ויט שכמו לסבול

Yissachar is a strong-boned donkey… He saw tranquility that it was good, and the land that it was pleasant, yet he bent his shoulder to bear and he became an indentured servant. (49:14,15)

בן פרת יוסף בן פרת עלי עין

A charming son is Yosef, a charming son to the eye. (49:22)

ויעברו ימי בכיתו

When his bewailing period passed. (50:4)

ויראו אחי יוסף כי מת אביהם

Yosef’s brothers perceived that their father was dead… (50:15)

ויתן את קלו בבכי וישמעו מצרים וישמע בית פרעה

He cried in a loud voice. Egypt heard and Pharaoh’s household heard. (45:2)

ויאמר יוסף אל אחיו אני יוסף העוד אבי חי ... ויאמר יוסף אל אחיו גשו נא אלי ... ויאמר אני יוסף אחיכם אשר מכרתם אותי מצרימה

And Yosef said to his brothers, “I am Yosef. Is my father still alive?” … The Yosef said to his brothers, “Come close to me, if you please,” and he said, “I am Yosef, your brother… me, whom you sold to Egypt.” (45:3,4)

ולא יכלו אחיו לענות אותו כי נבהלו מפניו

But his brothers could not answer him, because they were left disconcerted before him. (45:3)

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