Peninim on the Torah

ונתנו איש כפר נפשו לד'... זה יתנו כל העבר על הפקדים מחצית השקל... העשיר לא ירבה והדל לא ימעיט ממחצית השקל

Every man shall give Hashem an atonement for his soul… This shall they give – everyone who passes through the census – a half-shekel… The wealthy shall not increase and the destitute shall not decrease from half a shekel. (30:12, 13, 15)

The Jewish census was taken by having the people contribute an item which would then be counted. In this instance, when the nation was counted in the wilderness, they were instructed to each give a half-shekel coin which was later used for the construction and maintenance of the Mishkan. Participation in this census via the half-shekel coin was mandatory on each and every Jew, who was to give an equal amount – a half-shekel. This was mandated regardless of financial ability or lack thereof – everyone gave the same. Why a half-shekel? Why did everyone contribute an equal amount? A…

Home -> 5775 -> Ki Seitzei

זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק... ואתה עיף ויגע ולא ירא אלקים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5775

Remember what Amalek did to you… when you were faint and exhausted, and he did not fear G-d. (25:17,19)

Amalek was not the only nation that attacked the Jews. The Canaanites, Sichon and Og also acted in much the same reprehensible manner. Yet, Amalek is the only one about whom the Torah attests was V’lo yarei Elokim, “And he did not fear G-d.” Why is Amalek singled out more than any other one of our enemies, in terms of being unafraid of G-d? The Brisker Rav, zl, explains this, basing his thesis on a statement of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai in the Talmud Bava Kamma 79b. The students of the great Tanna asked him why the Torah is more…

Home -> 5775 -> Ki Seitzei

כי יהיה ריב בין אנשים ונגשו אל המשפט

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5775

When there will be a dispute between people, and they have recourse to judgment. (25:1)

Rashi explains that, when there is a dispute, their end will be to have to recourse to judgment. On the basis of this pasuk, you should say/deduce that peace does not emerge from dispute. Maharal explains that the Torah could have simply written, “When men will have recourse to judgment.” “When there will be a dispute” is seemingly superfluous. Thus, we derive that the natural outcome of a dispute is a din Torah, recourse to judgment. The disputants will not come to an agreement on their own. Rashi adds, “What caused Lot to separate from the righteous Avraham Avinu, his…

Home -> 5775 -> Ki Seitzei

השב תשיבם לאחיך... לא תוכל להתעלם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5775

You shall surely return them to your brother… you shall not hide yourself. (22:1,3)

We wonder why certain mitzvos are included in the Torah. Any decent person knows that if he finds an object belonging to someone else, he should proceed to return it to the rightful owner. People, however, are lazy and greedy. We are not often inclined to go out of our way to search for the owner. This is especially true when we find an object of great value, whose owner is not readily identifiable. Thus, between the time involved and the value of the item, the finder rationalizes that he does not have to return the item. A mitzvah is…

Home -> 5775 -> Ki Seitzei

כי תצא למלחמה על אויביך... וראית בשביה אשת יפת תאר וחשקת בה ולקחת לך לאשה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5775

When you will go out to war against your enemies…And you will see among its captivity a woman who is beautiful of form, and you will desire her, you may take her to yourself for a wife. (21:10, 11)

The law concerning the yefas toar, captive woman, whose physical beauty captivates the Jewish soldier, is not to be taken lightly. If the Torah permits what is considered a prohibited liaison, it is for a specific reason: It is responding to the inflamed passion of the Jewish soldier while in battle. War affects the mind and heart of a soldier. Leaving home, family and friends–relegated to fighting an enemy in which one wrong move means serious injury and even death–can have an adverse effect upon even the most rational mind, causing it to think irrationally. The Torah recognizes that the…

Home -> 5775 -> Ki Savo

והשיבך ד' מצרים באניות בדרך אשר אמרתי לך לא תוסיף עוד לראותה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5775

Hashem will return you to Egypt in ships, on the way of which I said to you, “You shall never again see it.” (28:68)

With this curse, Moshe Rabbeinu concludes the dread Tochachah, Admonition. Ramban explains why the tragic Egyptian experience serves as the climax of the Admonition. A slave dreads the idea of being forced to return to the very land where he had originally been subjugated and humiliated, and from which he was overjoyed to be liberated. Accordingly, we derive from here that returning to one’s past, descending a notch in his spiritual journey, is devastating. Horav Chaim Zaitchik, zl, expounds on the tragedy of one who had achieved spiritual eminence and then fell backwards, descending to a point which he had…

Home -> 5775 -> Ki Savo

ונשארתם במתי מעט

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5775

You will be left few in number. (28: 62)

What a terrible curse. Our numbers will diminish as a result of the troubles of the exile to which we will be subjected. What makes it worse is the loneliness that results from depleted numbers. When one is the member of a large group, he will always find a partner, someone to whom he can gravitate and develop a friendship. When the numbers are greatly diminished, however, allowing for one person in one place and another distant from him, the feeling of loneliness begins to set in. The curse of b’m’sei me’at, being left few in number, has a dual…

Home -> 5775 -> Ki Savo

ארור מכה רעהו בסתר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5775

Accursed is one who strikes his fellow stealthily. (27:24)

Rashi interprets this prohibition as reference to speaking lashon hora, slanderous speech. We do not realize the serious consequences which result from lashon hora. While it is true that refraining from speaking what comes to mind can be difficult, when we realize that the Torah considers it a hakaah, tantamount to striking someone – which most of us would never do – it might serve as a deterrent. We might say or even allude to something ethically or morally negative about someone. This statement might be overheard by someone who conveys the comment to others who embellish it. By the…

Home -> 5775 -> Ki Savo

וענית ואמרת... ארמי אבד אבי... וירעו אותנו המצרים ויענונו... ושמחת בכל הטוב

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5775

Then you shall call out and say… “An Aramean tried to destroy my forefather… the Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us…” You shall rejoice with all the goodness. (26:5,6,11)

I met someone the other day who a number of years ago had been at the brink of bankruptcy. His financial profile was in such serious straits that, at one point, he could not afford food on the table. Hashem blessed him, and he flowered exponentially; today, he is a very successful, wealthy man. We began talking about “old times,” and the topic of his not so recent past came up. When I alluded to how far he had come, he practically became indignant and said, “We do not talk about those times. What was – was, and it is…

Home -> 5775 -> Ki Savo

ובאת אל הכהן אשר יהיה בימים ההם ואמרת אליו הגדתי היום לד' אלקיך כי באתי אל הארץ

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5775

You shall come to whoever will be the Kohen in those days, and you shall say to him, “I declare today to Hashem, your G-d, that I have come to the land.” (26:3)

Once Eretz Yisrael was conquered and allocated among the tribes, the farmers were able to take their first ripened fruit to the Sanctuary and present them to the Kohen in a ritual which included a moving declaration of gratitude to Hashem. Hakoras hatov, gratitude, is one of the most basic middos tovos, positive character traits, without which one is not a mentch, decent human being. Only a person who is a makir tov, one who recognizes and appreciates the good which he receives from others, has a chance of achieving shleimus, perfection, in his relationship with Hashem. One who does…

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ונתנו איש כפר נפשו לד'... זה יתנו כל העבר על הפקדים מחצית השקל... העשיר לא ירבה והדל לא ימעיט ממחצית השקל

Every man shall give Hashem an atonement for his soul… This shall they give – everyone who passes through the census – a half-shekel… The wealthy shall not increase and the destitute shall not decrease from half a shekel. (30:12, 13, 15)

זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק... ואתה עיף ויגע ולא ירא אלקים

Remember what Amalek did to you… when you were faint and exhausted, and he did not fear G-d. (25:17,19)

כי יהיה ריב בין אנשים ונגשו אל המשפט

When there will be a dispute between people, and they have recourse to judgment. (25:1)

השב תשיבם לאחיך... לא תוכל להתעלם

You shall surely return them to your brother… you shall not hide yourself. (22:1,3)

כי תצא למלחמה על אויביך... וראית בשביה אשת יפת תאר וחשקת בה ולקחת לך לאשה

When you will go out to war against your enemies…And you will see among its captivity a woman who is beautiful of form, and you will desire her, you may take her to yourself for a wife. (21:10, 11)

והשיבך ד' מצרים באניות בדרך אשר אמרתי לך לא תוסיף עוד לראותה

Hashem will return you to Egypt in ships, on the way of which I said to you, “You shall never again see it.” (28:68)

ונשארתם במתי מעט

You will be left few in number. (28: 62)

ארור מכה רעהו בסתר

Accursed is one who strikes his fellow stealthily. (27:24)

וענית ואמרת... ארמי אבד אבי... וירעו אותנו המצרים ויענונו... ושמחת בכל הטוב

Then you shall call out and say… “An Aramean tried to destroy my forefather… the Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us…” You shall rejoice with all the goodness. (26:5,6,11)

ובאת אל הכהן אשר יהיה בימים ההם ואמרת אליו הגדתי היום לד' אלקיך כי באתי אל הארץ

You shall come to whoever will be the Kohen in those days, and you shall say to him, “I declare today to Hashem, your G-d, that I have come to the land.” (26:3)

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