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Home -> 5777 -> Mishpatim

ותחת רגליו כמעשה לבנת הספיר וכעצם השמים לטוהר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Mishpatim, 5777

And under His feet was like a brick work of sapphire, and an appearance of the Heavens in their brilliance. (24:10)

The Torah relates that Klal Yisrael accepted the Torah amid a resounding declaration of Naaseh v’Nishma, “We will do and we will listen.” Following this, Moshe Rabbeinu, Aharon HaKohen, his sons and the seventy Elders were privy to an unparalleled revelation of Hashem. This was a prophetic vision in which they visualized Hashem sitting on His Holy Throne (Ibn Ezra explains that they saw Hashem’s “back”). Under His feet was like a brick work of sapphire and an appearance of the Heavens in their brilliance. Rashi says that the brick work was in Hashem’s Presence during the Jews’ enslavement, so…

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Home -> 5777 -> Mishpatim

כל אלמנה ויתום לא תענון. אם ענה תענה אתו כי אם צעק יצעק אלי שמע אשמע צעקתו.

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Mishpatim, 5777

You shall not persecute any widow or orphan. If you will persecute him…for if he will cry out to Me, I shall surely hear his cry. (22:21,22)

Hashem issues a guarantee: If the widow or orphan cry out to Him, He will listen to their cries. Understandably, the widow and orphan are among the loneliest people in our society. Does this mean that they should be guaranteed access to Hashem over everyone else? Horav Tzvi Partzovitz, Shlita, quotes Chazal (Rosh Hashanah 18a) who say the following: Two men went up to the scaffold, each about to be executed; or two men went to the executioner to have his head severed from the rest of his body. One succeeds in leaving, while the other falls victim to the…

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Home -> 5777 -> Mishpatim

אם במחתרת ימצא הגנב והכה ומת אין לו דמים. אם זרחה השמש עליו דמים לו שלם ישלם. אם אין לו ונמכר בגניבתו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Mishpatim, 5777

If the thief will be found in an underground passage, and he is struck and dies, there is no blood for him. If the sun shone upon him, he has blood, he shall pay; if he has nothing, he shall be sold for his theft. (22:1,2)

It seems quite simple. A person breaks into a house at night, indicating by his covert approach that he does not want to be discovered. Thus, his life has no value, because he would murder in order to protect his identity. On the other hand, the thief that steals by light of day presents less of a danger to the owner of the house. Therefore, when he is caught, he pays. If he is unable to pay, he is sold into slavery. The halachah that an indigent thief is sold into slavery is not exclusive to ba b’machteres, one who…

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Home -> 5777 -> Mishpatim

וגנב איש ומכרו ונמצא בידו...מות יומת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Mishpatim, 5777

One who kidnaps a man and sells him, and he was found to have been in his power, shall surely be put to death. (21:16)

Who would kidnap a fellow Jew? It would have to be someone who is depraved, an individual to whom human life has no meaning, certainly not someone who would refer to himself as an observant Jew. So we think. We must take into account that when one’s life is threatened, especially when it means the possibility of losing one’s own child, when the stakes reach such epic proportion – a person’s mind becomes clouded and the rationality of his decisions become suspect. In other words, when it is “me” or “you” – it is not going to be “me.” The…

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Home -> 5777 -> Mishpatim

ורצע אדניו את אזנו במרצע

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Mishpatim, 5777

And his master shall bore through his ear with the awl. (21:6)

Rashi quotes the well-known statement of Chazal, “The ear that heard at Har Sinai Lo signov, you shall not steal, and this one went and stole – it should be pierced with an awl.” The question is obvious: Is it not late for the reminder concerning Lo signov? The man stole six years ago. He did not have the money to pay his debt. As a result, he was sold into slavery for six years. Now, he seeks to extend his servitude. After all, he is happy here – nice boss, nice wife, nice children. Why ruin it all and…

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Home -> 5777 -> Mishpatim

ורצע אדניו את אזנו במרצע ועבדו לעלם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Mishpatim, 5777

And his master shall bore through his ear with the awl; He then serves his master forever. (21:6)

Why was the ear selected over any other limb of the body? Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai explains that, if the ear heard at Har Sinai, “You shall not steal!” and the owner of that ear none- the-less went ahead and stole, his ear should be pierced. Why should the ear be singled out, given that the hands and feet were involved in an act of theft? They should be pierced! It is almost as if the ear was held responsible for the theft. Horav Tzvi Pesach Frank, zl, explains that the Giving of the Torah was not a one-time, isolated…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5777

וקל שקי יתן לכם רחמים לפני האיש

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Mikeitz

And many Keil Shakkai grant you mercy before the man. (43:14)

  The Midrash Tanchuma questions why Yaakov Avinu blessed his sons using the Name Keil Shakkai. They explain that our Patriarch endured much adversity in his life. While yet in the womb, he fought with his twin brother, Eisav. It was not easy growing up with such a brother, having to look over his shoulder constantly to see if Eisav was planning a terror attack against him. Finally, when the opportunity materialized, Yaakov escaped home, only to land in the home of his corrupt uncle, Lavan. After twenty years of swindling and deceit, Yaakov once again escaped. Three days later,…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5777

על כן באה אלינו הצרה הזאת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Mikeitz

This is why this anguish has come upon us. (42:21)

Yosef challenged his brothers, declaring that they were spies. They, of course, denied his allegations. As proof to their insistence that they were all brothers, Yosef demanded that they leave one brother in Egypt as “security,” while the rest would return home and come back with Benyamin. The brothers now realized that all was not well. Something was wrong. Hashem was sending them a message. The word eileinu, which is translated “upon us,” really means “to us.” The pasuk should rather have been written with the word aleinu, which means upon/on us. In his Lekutei MoHaran, Horav Nachman Breslover, zl,…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5777

וירא יעקב כי יש שבר במצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Mikeitz

Yaakov perceived that there were provisions in Egypt. (42:1)

When the Baal HaTanya, zl, was taken to prison in St. Petersburg, he asked one of his Chassidim to take a kvittel, written petition asking for a blessing, to his mechutan (father of child’s spouse) and close friend, Horav Levi Yitzchak Berdichever, zl. The Berditchever asked the messenger for Rav Shneur Zalman’s mother’s name. The chasid did not know. Rav Levi Yitzchak took out a Chumash and made a goral, lot, a means of turning pages in such a manner that the last page will have a pasuk which reveals the answer to one’s question. Obviously, only a Torah scholar…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5777

ויקרא יוסף את שם הבכור מנשה כי נשני אלקים את כל עמלי ואת כל בית אבי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Mikeitz

Yosef called the name of the firstborn Menashe, for “G-d has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.” (41:51)

Is forgetting one’s youth, his home, his parents, something to be happy about? Yosef seems to have emphasized “forgetting” to the point that he named his firstborn Menashe. Horav Yosef  Nechemiah Kornitzer, zl, Rav of Cracow, explains that educating children is not about rebuke and pointing out what to do and what not to do. Children learn best when they have a positive role model in their parents. Seeing how a father speaks, his choice of words, how he interacts with others, his total demeanor, is probably the most effective manner of teaching a child how to act. Our actions…

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