Peninim on the Torah

ויתרוצצו הבנים בקרבה

The children agitated within her. (25:22)

The Maharal explains that the struggle between Eisav and Yaakov in their embryonic stage was not influenced by their personal proclivities to good and evil, since these inclinations had not manifested prior to their births. Yaakov Avinu and Eisav represented cosmic forces in Creation, Heavenly ordained forces that transcended the normal course of personal development, a phenomenon that predated and existed even before their births. Chazal (Midrash Rabbah 63:6) teach that Eisav hated Yaakov while they were still in the womb. The Brisker Rav, zl, derives from Chazal that Eisav’s hatred for Yaakov is non-dependent on any specific circumstance, incident…

Home -> 5779 -> Toldos

ויהי עשו איש יודע ציד איש שדה ויעקב איש תם יושב אהלים

Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5779

And Eisav became one who knows trapping, a man of the field; but Yaakov was a wholesome man, abiding in tents. (25:27)

The Torah’s characterization of the differences between Yaakov Avinu and Eisav ha’rasha seems minor in contrast to the actual stark differences between the two. Yaakov was holy, righteous, the pillar of Torah and truth, the third leg of the Heavenly chariot. Eisav was the epitome of evil, the archenemy of our people. Yet, the Torah chose to underscore the fact that Eisav was a man of the field, yoshev batel, did nothing all day, wasted his time. Yaakov, however, was a wholesome man who spent his day in spiritual ascendance, studying Torah. Apparently, herein lay the difference between the two….

Home -> 5779 -> Toldos

על כן קרא שמו אדם

Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5779

He, therefore, called his name Edom. (25:30)

Certainly the name Edom/Eisav evokes question. Referring to a bowl of red bean soup as “red” is not cause for one to be named “Red,” unless this reference to red soup defines the person. Rashbam says that Eisav had a ruddy complexion, and he sold his birthright for a bowl of red soup. That is a pretty contemptuous act. Hence, Edom/Red is a reference, not so much to color, but to contempt, which describes Eisav quite well. Sforno views the red color of the soup as a description of Eisav’s values and outlook on life. He was so consumed with…

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ויבז עשיו את הבכורה

Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5779

Eisav spurned the birthright. (25:34)

Eisav saw no value whatsoever in the birthright. Thus, when he was hungry, he quickly sold the birthright for a bowl of red soup. Apparently, selling the birthright is held against Eisav. The fact that he committed five grave sins that day does not seem to carry as much weight as his selling the birthright. Why? The Brisker Rav, zl, explains that concerning the other sins which Eisav committed, he always had the excuse that he was provoked by the yetzer hora, evil inclination. The other sins may have brought him some sort of perverse satisfaction. Selling the birthright was…

Home -> 5779 -> Toldos

ויאמר לאביו יקם אבי ויאכל מציד בנו בעבר תברכני נפשך

Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5779

He said to his father, “Let my father rise and eat of his son’s game, so that your soul will bless me. (27:31)

The commentators (Midrash Tanchuma) note the stark disparity between the manner in which Yaakov Avinu addressed his father and the way that Eisav spoke to him. Yaakov spoke to his father with the words, Kum na shvah v’achlah mitzeidi; “Rise up, please, sit and eat of my game” (Bereishis 27:18). Eisav ha’rasha said, Yakum avi v’yochal mitzeid bno; “Let my father rise and eat of his son’s game” (ibid. 27:31). Yaakov said, “Please;” Eisav demanded, “Get up.” Yaakov spoke with humility. Eisav arrogantly commanded, insisting that his father eat. We are well aware that the mitzvah of Kibud av, honoring…

Home -> 5779 -> Chayei Sarah

תנו לי אחזת קבר עמכם ואקברה מתי מלפני

Sruly Schnair In Chayei Sarah, 5779

Grant me burial property with you, so that I may bury my dead from before me. (23:4)

Achuzah (according to Horav S.R. Hirsch, zl) means settlement, the act of becoming domiciled in a given place. When Avraham asked permission to bury his wife, Sarah, he asked that she be able to rest in a place that would be her permanent, everlasting home. Avraham Avinu lived his entire life as a wanderer, refusing to settle in any one place, because this would contradict his mission in life: to reach out wherever possible to touch the lives of many, wherever they may be. He was not going to sit back and wait for people to come to him. He…

Home -> 5779 -> Chayei Sarah

ואברהם זקן בא בימים וד' ברך את אברהם בכל

Sruly Schnair In Chayei Sarah, 5779

Now Avraham was old, well on in years, and Hashem had blessed him with everything. (24:1)

We think of life as measured by years: a long life is one during which one has lived many years; a short life is defined the opposite way. Horav Eliyahu Lopian, zl, derives from the above pasuk that we should measure life by days – complete days. He quotes the Zohar HaKadosh, who teaches that at the beginning of each day, a person’s forthcoming “day” asks him, “What will it be today?” What type of day will you have? Will you stand up to the challenges and tests prepared for you by the yetzer hora, evil inclination? Will your yetzer…

Home -> 5779 -> Chayei Sarah

והיה הנערה אשר אמר אליה הטי נא כדך ואשתה ואמרה שתה וגם גמליך אשקה אתה הכחת לעבדך ליצחק

Sruly Schnair In Chayei Sarah, 5779

Let it be that the maiden to whom I shall say, “Please tip over your jug so I may drink,” and who replies, “Drink, and I will water your camels,” her will You have designated for Your servant. (24:14)

Osah hochachta, “He will You have designated”: She is fitting for Yitzchak Avinu due to her performance of acts of lovingkindness. Such a girl is worthy of entering the home of Avraham Avinu, the Patriarch who personified gemillas chesed, acts of lovingkindness. While offering to give water also for the camels was certainly an act of thoughtfulness and chesed, was that all it was? Horav Sholom Schwadron, zl, observes that there was another factor– something about the manner in which she carried out her act of kindness. The Torah states, Vatomar sh’sei adoni va’timaher va’torad kadah; “And she said, ‘Drink,…

Home -> 5779 -> Chayei Sarah

ואמר אל אדני אלי לא תלך האשה אחרי

Sruly Schnair In Chayei Sarah, 5779

And I said to my master, “Perhaps the woman will not follow me?” (24:39)

Life is not always a bed of roses. Disappointments are part of the Heavenly-designed world in which we live. How one reacts and responds to disappointments is the barometer of his acknowledgement that it is Hashem – not he – who runs the world. Accepting disappointment — and, in fact, growing from it — is the mark of a great person. When Avraham Avinu sent his trusted student/servant, Eliezer, on a mission to find a suitable mate for his son, Yitzchak (Avinu), he set forth one critical criterion which was non-negotiable: Under no circumstances was Yitzchak permitted to live with…

Home -> 5779 -> Vayeira

ואל הבקר רץ אברהם

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5779

Then Avraham ran to the cattle. (18:7)

The Baal HaTurim turns around the letters of the word, ha’bakar, so that it becomes ha’kever, the grave. The Yalkut Shemoni explains that the bakar, calf, that Avraham Avinu was prepared to slaughter ran away, and Avraham followed it into the Meoras HaMachpeilah, which then contained the graves of Adam and Chavah. When Avraham entered the cave, he saw a man and a woman lying there asleep. Next to them candles were burning, from which a pleasant odor permeated outward. This is why Avraham sought to make Meoras HaMachpeilah the place where he, too, wished to be buried. Interestingly, as…

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ויתרוצצו הבנים בקרבה

The children agitated within her. (25:22)

ויהי עשו איש יודע ציד איש שדה ויעקב איש תם יושב אהלים

And Eisav became one who knows trapping, a man of the field; but Yaakov was a wholesome man, abiding in tents. (25:27)

על כן קרא שמו אדם

He, therefore, called his name Edom. (25:30)

ויבז עשיו את הבכורה

Eisav spurned the birthright. (25:34)

ויאמר לאביו יקם אבי ויאכל מציד בנו בעבר תברכני נפשך

He said to his father, “Let my father rise and eat of his son’s game, so that your soul will bless me. (27:31)

תנו לי אחזת קבר עמכם ואקברה מתי מלפני

Grant me burial property with you, so that I may bury my dead from before me. (23:4)

ואברהם זקן בא בימים וד' ברך את אברהם בכל

Now Avraham was old, well on in years, and Hashem had blessed him with everything. (24:1)

והיה הנערה אשר אמר אליה הטי נא כדך ואשתה ואמרה שתה וגם גמליך אשקה אתה הכחת לעבדך ליצחק

Let it be that the maiden to whom I shall say, “Please tip over your jug so I may drink,” and who replies, “Drink, and I will water your camels,” her will You have designated for Your servant. (24:14)

ואמר אל אדני אלי לא תלך האשה אחרי

And I said to my master, “Perhaps the woman will not follow me?” (24:39)

ואל הבקר רץ אברהם

Then Avraham ran to the cattle. (18:7)

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