Join our weekly Peninim on the Torah list!

  • Reset

Home -> Shemos -> 5777

ותפתח ותראהו את הילד והנה נער בכה ותחמול עליו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Shemos

She opened it and saw him, the boy, and behold! A youth was crying. She took pity on him. (2:6)

Horav Nachman Breslover, zl, teaches that everything has good and bad, positive and negative, aspects. Tears/crying are/is no different. Some tears emanate from atzvus, depression, despair, hopelessness, which are “motivated” by the sitra acharah, evil inclination, under the auspices of Satan. In such an instance, a person weeps for something entrenched in the yetzer hora – a passion, a desire, something that rightfully does not belong to him. Yet, he seeks to have it – and when Hashem is not forthcoming with filling his taavah, desire, he cries bitterly. When Eisav did not obtain his father’s blessing, he raised his…

Continue Reading

Home -> Shemos -> 5777

ותיראן המילדת את האלקים ולא עשו כאשר דבר אליהן מלך מצרים ותחיין את הילדים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Shemos

But the midwives feared G-d and they did not do as the king of Egypt spoke to them, and they caused the boys to live. (1:17)

Pharaoh had to stem the tide of the Jewish population explosion. Infanticide was his proposal. He could not prevent conception, but he could see to it that the infants never saw the light of day. The two Jewish midwives feared Hashem and rejected Pharaoh’s orders, claiming that, by the time they arrived, the children had already been born. These midwives were, like so many of the other Jewish women, nashim tzidkaniyos, righteous women, who placed their commitment to Hashem above everything. Their faith in the Almighty motivated their actions, despite the pressing question: To what kind of world and to…

Continue Reading

Home -> Shemos -> 5777

ויקם מלך חדש על מצרים אשר לא ידע את יוסף

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Shemos

A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Yosef. (1:8)

When did the Egyptian exile begin? Most would have us think that the shibud Mitzrayim, Egyptian exile, commenced with the death of Yosef and his brothers. The Torah records Yosef’s passing and immediately adds that a new Pharaoh came into the picture who had no knowledge of Yosef – or the debt of gratitude the country owed him. It would seem that this was the early stirrings of the exile. Surely, during the golden era of Egypt, when Yosef was viceroy in charge of the entire country, exile was the farthest thought from the minds of the people. Chazal do…

Continue Reading

Home -> 5777 -> Noach

בעצם היום הזה בא נח... אל התבה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Noach, 5777

On that very day Noach came… into the Ark. (7:13)

Can you imagine being too lazy to repent – even when you see clearly in black and white that the punishment for your sins is imminent? This is exactly what took place when Noach entered the Teivah, Ark. Rashi quotes the Sifri (Ha’azinu, Bereishis Rabbah) that Hashem made a point to have Noach enter the Ark b’etzem hayom, in midday, in full view of everyone. Apparently, Noach’s compatriats were determined to prevent him from entering the Ark and saving himself. They declared that they would destroy the Ark and kill Noach. Hashem showed them that man is powerless before G-d….

Continue Reading

Home -> 5777 -> Noach

ויהי הגשם על הארץ ארבעים יום וארבעים לילה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Noach, 5777

And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. (7:12)

When something happens in Thailand, does it have anything to do with us? We hear about an earthquake across the globe, does it impact us? Can we learn something from this tragedy? A Jewish businessman who lived in China took a business trip to Poland. One could not be in Poland and not take a day off to visit with the saintly Chafetz Chaim. The man rearranged his schedule so that he could detour to Radin. Perhaps he would be fortunate to receive a blessing from this saintly leader of world Jewry. The man arrived in Radin and immediately proceeded…

Continue Reading

Home -> 5777 -> Noach

ויאמר ד' לנח בא אתה... אל התבה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Noach, 5777

Hashem said to Noach come… into the Ark. (7:1)

The Baal Shem Tov, zl, notes that the Hebrew word for “word” is teivah. Hashem’s instruction to Noach to come into the Teivah can be interpreted as: “Come into the word”; enter within the words of Torah and tefillah, Torah study and prayer. In the words, you will find refuge; you will find sanctuary within the wisdom of Torah, comfort and solace within the words of prayer. Here you will be protected from the raging floodwaters of life. An important lesson may be derived from this exposition. When Noach entered the Ark, it enveloped him. He was ensconced within the…

Continue Reading

Home -> 5777 -> Noach

נח איש צדיק תמים היה בדורותיו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Noach, 5777

Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generations. (6:9)

The Talmud Avodah Zarah (6a) distinguishes between the appellations tzaddik, righteous man, and tamim, perfect, in that tamim is applied to derachav, ways/demeanor, while tzaddik is used to describe maasav, deeds. Rashi supplements this, explaining that tamim b’derachav means that one is anav u’shefal ruach, low, meek, humble, while tzaddik b’maasav means that he distances himself from any form of chamas, theft. From Rashi, we derive that tzaddik is a term used to describe one who takes great pains to be careful with other people’s money. Heaven forbid that he make use of another person’s money without his permission or…

Continue Reading

Home -> 5777 -> Noach

אלה תולדות נח נח איש צדיק תמים היה בדורותיו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Noach, 5777

These are the offspring of Noach – Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generations. (6:9)

The phrase b’dorosav, “in his generations,” has given rise to much commentary. One is either righteous, or he is not. What does “his generations” have to do with it? Rashi cites a dispute among Chazal as to the nature of this phrase: Is it an accolade, meant to praise Noach? Or a deficiency, considering Noach to be righteous only in contrast to his generation? Some see Noach as a very righteous person who was able to withstand the extreme evil of his generation. Indeed, had he lived in the era of Avraham Avinu, Noach would have been even greater. Others…

Continue Reading

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…

Continue Reading

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…

Continue Reading

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our weekly Peninim on the Torah list!

You have Successfully Subscribed!