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Home -> 5776 -> Bereishis

ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Bereishis, 5776

And there was evening, and there was morning. (1:5)

The commentators discuss the essence of choshech, darkness: Was it nothing more than an absence of light; or was choshech a creation in the same sense as light? G-d created darkness. If we view darkness as the absence of light, we can understand why darkness preceded light. There was no light – hence, it was dark. According to the Gaon, zl, m’Vilna, who contends that darkness is a creation (I have no idea how to describe the void that “existed” prior to the creation of darkness), why did it precede light? They were both equal entities. Indeed, creating light first…

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Home -> 5776 -> Bereishis

בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Bereishis, 5776

In the beginning of G-d’s creating the heavens and the earth. (1:1)

The opening pesukim of Sefer Bereishis detail the process of Creation. This process progressed over a period of six Creation days. The last day was yom Shabbos kodesh, the holy Shabbos, a day on which Hashem rested from Creation. It was after these days of Creation that the natural clock of time with which we identify began. The Talmud Rosh Hashanah, 32a, explains that the word bereishis, in the beginning, is much more than a chronological term which describes when it all began;  rather, the word bereishis is the word which Hashem employed to commence creation itself. Horav Tzadok HaKohen,…

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Home -> Behar -> 5776

כי עבדי הם אשר הוצאתי אתם מארץ מצרים לא ימכרו ממכרת עבד

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Behar

For they are my servants, whom I have taken out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold in the manner of a slave. (25:42)

The Talmud Yevamos 46a teaches, “You may purchase from them, but they may not purchase from you.” In other words, a Jew may not sell himself as a slave to a gentile. The Brisker Rav, zl, comments that this is the underlying directive of the above pasuk. The Jewish people are excluded from the laws of slavery. They do not apply to us, because we may no longer become slaves. We were taken out of Egypt, from servitude to freedom. We have parted ways with slavery – we serve Hashem as our only Master. There is an emotional aspect to…

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Home -> Behar -> 5776

וכי ימוך אחיך...וחי אחיך עמך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Behar

If your brother becomes impoverished … and let your brother live with you. (25:35, 36)

It is our responsibility to see to it that our brother does not descend to the level of poverty such that he will have great difficulty sustaining himself. We must attempt to help him before he becomes poor, so that, with help from his brother, he can maintain his independence and raise himself up to his prior status. Lending him money or investing in his business is among the highest and noblest forms of charity, since the beneficiary is not made to feel like a charity case. The Torah admonishes us not to lend money for interest. This is not…

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Home -> Behar -> 5776

וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך והזחקת בו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Behar

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

The Midrash quotes an often-used pasuk relating to the mitzvah of tzedakah, charity: Ashrei maskil el dal, b’yom raah yimalteihu Hashem, “Praiseworthy is he who contemplates the needy, on the day of disaster Hashem will deliver him” Tehillim 41:2. David HaMelech enjoins us to give tzedakah with understanding: delving into who stands before us and why; making an attempt to put ourselves in his shoes. The above pasuk addresses the needs of one who has not yet hit rock bottom. He is faltering and needs assistance to prevent him from falling into the abyss of abject poverty. We are admonished…

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Home -> Behar -> 5776

וצויתי את ברכתי לכם בשנה הששית

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Behar

I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year. (25:21)

The crops produced during the sixth year will suffice for portions of the three calendar years affected by Shemittah: from Nissan of the sixth year until Nissan of the eighth year. In commentary on this pasuk, Horav Michel Feinstein, zl, explained that Hashem was ensuring the blessing as part and parcel of the mitzvah. The mitzvah itself provided the blessing. This is similar to the statement made by Chazal in Pirkei Avos, Maasros s’yag l’osher, “Tithes are a protective fence for wealth” (Avos 3:17). The discipline of taking a percentage of one’s produce and giving it to charity motivates the…

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Home -> Behar -> 5776

ונתנה הארץ פריה ואכלתם לשבע... וכי תאמרו מה נאכל בשנה השביעית... וצויתי את ברכתי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Behar

The land will give its fruit and you will eat your fill… if you will say: “What will we eat in the seventh year?” I will ordain my blessing. (25:19, 20, 21)

Sforno distinguishes between the baal bitachon, one who trusts in Hashem, who does not question, “What will we eat in the seventh year?” and he who questions. The one who does not question will, indeed, have less produce; however, its nutritional value will far exceed that of a regular year. He will have less, but he will require less. Less will be more. His seventh year will be covered by the produce of the sixth year, but in a manner unperceived by the unknowing spectator who will observe a regular yield that year. The believer whose bitachon is not as…

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Home -> Behar -> 5776

וידבר ד' אל משה בהר סיני

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Behar

Hashem spoke to Moshe on Har Sinai. (25:1)

Mah inyan Shemittah eitzel Har Sinai –“What is the connection between Shemittah and Har Sinai?” has become the catch phrase when questioning why two disparate subjects are juxtaposed upon one another for no apparent reason. The Torah introduces the laws of Shemittah in detail immediately following the mention of the Revelation at Har Sinai. Chazal derive from here that not only the broad outlines, but also the details, the minutiae of Torah law and mitzvah, were transmitted at Sinai – as were those of Shemittah, whose laws are detailed extensively. All mitzvos, even those which were recorded years after the…

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Home -> 5776 -> Beha'alosecha

והאיש משה ענו מאד מכל האדם אשר על פני האדמה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Beha'alosecha, 5776

Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth! (12:3)

To some, humility is on a parallel line with obsequiousness. We see from Moshe Rabbeinu, the most humble man to walk the face of the earth, that this is not true. Our leader took a stand when necessary. Certainly, he was aware that speaking with Hashem was not something to which the average man is accustomed. Yet, he was humble, because humility is an awareness of oneself. Despite one’s achievements, in the eyes of the humble person they are merely activities which are expected of him. He is doing what he is supposed to be doing. The Alter, zl, m’Kelm,…

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Home -> 5776 -> Beha'alosecha

כי תאמר אלי שאהו בחיקך כאשר ישא האמן את הינק

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Beha'alosecha, 5776

That you say to me, “Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a suckling.” (11:12)

Moshe Rabbeinu presents his taanah, “complaint,” to Hashem. Horav Meir Shapiro, zl, explains Moshe’s rationale. The developmental stages of a child require varied levels of adult support until the child matures sufficiently to the point that he is able to fend for himself. A young child of infant status requires a meinekes, nursemaid or babysitter, who feeds the child, since his young age does not yet allow for him to serve himself. An older child who has progressed beyond the need for adult feeding intervention requires an adult omein, sort of pedagogue, to train the child concerning what he must…

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