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Home -> 5781 -> Chukas

ויאמר להם שמעו נא המרים המן הזה נוציא לכם מים.

Sruly Schnair
In Chukas, 5781

“Listen now, O rebels, shall we bring forth water for you from this rock?” (20:10)

Miriam HaNeviah passed away. The water that had sustained Klal Yisrael for forty years was in her merit. Following her death, the water stopped flowing. When people have no water to drink, they react. They complained to Moshe Rabbeinu that they were thirsty. Moshe struck the rock, and it provided the necessary water. Hashem told Moshe, “Since you have not trusted in Me to sanctify Me before the People… you will not lead them in the Land.” Imagine, the quintessential leader of Klal Yisrael made one wrong decision, which is beyond our ability to comprehend, and he received a most…

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Home -> 5781 -> Chukas

ך את הסלע במטהו פעמים ויצאו מים רבים ותשת העדה ובעירם.

Sruly Schnair
In Chukas, 5781

And he struck the rock with his staff twice; abundant water came forth, and the assembly and their animals drank. (20:11)

Hashem instructed Moshe Rabbeinu to speak to the rock. He also told him to fetch his staff – which he had earlier used to strike the rock that had previously provided the nation with water. Who knows? Clearly, whatever infraction was involved in Moshe’s striking the rock is beyond us. The mere fact that so many early commentators weigh in concerning the sin is a clear indication that the sin was esoteric and of the minutest form of misconduct. In other words, when one must search, dispute and delve into the action that represents the sin, it demonstrates that it…

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Home -> 5781 -> Korach

ואון בן פלת

Sruly Schnair
In Korach, 5781

And Ohn ben Peles. (16:1)

Two women: One catalyzed her husband’s downfall, while the other saved her husband from destruction and eternal infamy. Korach and his henchmen, Dasan, Aviram and Ohn ben Peles, together with the support of the 250 heads of the Sanhedrin, were bent on usurping the leadership of Moshe Rabbeinu. Chazal (Sanhedrin 109b) teach that Ohn was saved by his wife. She asked him, “What difference does it make to you which man (Moshe or Korach) leads the nation? At the end of the day, you will still remain a lackey – not someone who is in charge.” She then gave him…

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Home -> 5781 -> Korach

ויקהל עליהם קרח את כל העדה

Sruly Schnair
In Korach, 5781

Korach gathered the entire assembly. (16:19)

Without a doubt, Korach was as powerful as he was charismatic. Nonetheless, he was going up against Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen, Klal Yisrael’s leaders, who certainly were greater than he. He succeeded in gathering a group of distinguished followers, heads of the Sanhedrin, men of erudition and discernment. He did not go to a bar and preach to ne’er-do-wells. He went to the elite of Klal Yisrael and succeeded in swaying them to support him. For this, they paid dearly. How did Korach pull this off? Leitzanus, cynicism, sarcasm, scorn, whatever name we call it; the result is the…

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Home -> 5781 -> Korach

אם כמות כל האדם ימתן אלה ופקודת כל האדם יפקד עליהם

Sruly Schnair
In Korach, 5781

If these die like the death of all men, and the destiny of all men is visited upon them. (16:29)

This was not the first time that someone usurped the authority of Moshe Rabbeinu. His reaction this time was atypical. He asked Hashem that this group be meted with a punishment which was both unusual and stark. It was important for all the people to know that Moshe was Hashem’s chosen leader and that he made every decision under His direction. The heresy expounded by Korach must be put to rest in a manner such that it would be recorded in the hearts and minds of Klal Yisrael that Moshe’s prophecy may not be denied. Chazal (Nedarim 39b) derive from…

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Home -> 5781 -> Shelach

שלח לך אנשים ויתרו את ארץ כנען

Sruly Schnair
In Shelach, 5781

Send forth men, if you please, and let them spy out the Land of Canaan. (13:2)

The parsha begins with the acquiescence of Moshe Rabbeinu to the Jewish People’s request to send a reconnaissance mission comprised of twelve representatives – one from each tribe — to gather information concerning the land. We all know that this mission ended in disaster — for which we still pay to this very day. The spies returned, and all but two slandered the land and incited the people to severe hopelessness, culminating in unwarranted weeping. That night was Tishah B’Av, which, as a result of their weeping, became our day of national mourning, a day of warranted weeping over the…

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Home -> 5781 -> Shelach

שלח לך אנשים ויתורו את ארץ כנען

Sruly Schnair
In Shelach, 5781

Send forth men, if you please, and let them spy out the land of Canaan. (13:2)

In a shmuess, ethical discourse, he gave in memory of his father, Horav Eliyahu Svei, zl, attempts to show how generations decline spiritually. His father survived World War I, during which Jewish life drastically changed. Entire communities were obliterated. Extreme hunger became a way of life. People were compelled to eat grass just to have some nutrients in their bodies. He studied in Kollel Slabodka until the material pressures were too much to handle. The next step was to move to America, which in and of itself was a spiritual challenge of immense proportion. Nonetheless, he lived in this country…

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Home -> 5781 -> Shelach

. ויהס כלב את העם

Sruly Schnair
In Shelach, 5781

And Kalev silenced the people. (13:30)

Some of the greatest tragedies result from petty jealousy. At times, one misplaced word purposely rendered to cast aspersion on someone can have deleterious ramifications – for the slanderer. The spies returned with their slanderous report concerning Eretz Yisrael. Yehoshua and Kalev knew these were lies. They attempted to quiet the nation, to get them to listen to reason. Kalev succeeded in getting their attention. The Talmud (Sotah 35a) posits that Yehoshua made a futile attempt, but the people refused to listen to him. They said, Dein rosh ktiya yimallel, “he whose head is cut off is speaking.” This is…

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Home -> 5781 -> Shelach

ויבכו העם בלילה ההוא

Sruly Schnair
In Shelach, 5781

The people wept that night. (14:1)

Klal Yisrael wept bitterly on that fateful night. The meraglim incited their fears, and their emotions broke through in profuse weeping. Unfortunately, their weeping was unwarranted, since the spies were spewing nothing but lies which were meant to inject fear in the hearts of the people. Had their faith and trust in Hashem been realized, their reaction would have been completely different. Hashem promised to transform their unwarranted weeping into warranted weeping, and we now commemorate Tishah B’Av, our day of national mourning. It is incredible that all of this tragedy was the result of baseless weeping. Understandably, one should…

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Home -> 5781 -> Shelach

ויאמרו איש אל אחיו נתנה ראש ונשובה מצרימה

Sruly Schnair
In Shelach, 5781

So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader, and let us return to Egypt.” (14:4)

The chet meraglim, sin of the spies, was the transgression that put an end to the possibility that the Jews of that generation would settle in Eretz Yisrael. This was a generation that had survived the Egyptian bondage, were privy to the miracles of the Ten Plagues, were liberated from Egypt and experienced the Splitting of the Red Sea; later, they stood at Har Sinai and witnessed the greatest Revelation in history, as they received the Torah. Yet, this generation was barred from entering Eretz Yisrael. It would be their children, instead, who would enter and settle in the land….

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