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Home -> 5780 -> Bo

כי אני הכבדתי את לבו

Sruly Schnair
In Bo, 5780

For I have made his heart stubborn. (10:1)

Kveidus ha’lev, translated as “a hardening of the heart,” making it stubborn, is derived from the word, kaveid, heavy; a hardened heart is a heavy heart. Why is the heart the reference point, as opposed to any other organ? Horav Baruch Dov Povarsky, Shlita, explains that a human being is comprised of 248 eivarim, organs, which coincide with 248 mitzvos asei, positive commandments. Each individual organ is designated for a specific mitzvah. Thus, if a specific organ is flawed or defective, the mitzvah with which it coincides will likely be compromised. In other words, organs matter because of their relationship…

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Home -> 5780 -> Bo

ולמען תספר באזני בנך ובן בנך את אשר התעללתי במצרים

Sruly Schnair
In Bo, 5780

So that you may relate in the ears of your son and your son’s son that I made a mockery of Egypt. (10:2)

Relating the events preceding and surrounding the Exodus is more than a lesson in Jewish history. As the seminal event in world history, it demonstrates Hashem’s mastery over nature to all. Thus, it has become a lesson in Jewish theology and dogma. Hashem is the Creator of the world and the G-d of history. As He wrought the miracles in Egypt thousands of years ago, He continues to control and guide the events of the world (history) to suit Klal Yisrael. Nations have come and gone. We are still here and will continue to maintain our presence as long as…

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Home -> 5780 -> Bo

שבעת ימים מצות תאכלו ... ושמרתם את המצות

Sruly Schnair
In Bo, 5780

For a seven-day period, shall you eat matzos … You shall safeguard the matzos. (12:15,17)

The association of our departure from Egypt and the prohibition against eating chametz, leaven, for seven/eight days, requires some explanation. Furthermore, the fact that a mitzvah d’Oraisa, Biblical commandment, obligates us to eat matzah (on the first night) begs elucidation in its relationship to the Exodus. The fact that we were compelled to rush out of Egypt, which precluded our ability to make leavened bread, is the obvious and accepted reason for eating matzah (for its commemorative value). Is there a deeper reason for negating leaven and replacing it with matzah? Horav Moshe Shapiro, zl, explains that when one mixes…

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Home -> 5780 -> Bo

והיה כי יאמרו אליכם בניכם מה העבודה הזאת לכם

Sruly Schnair
In Bo, 5780

It shall be when your children say to you, “What is this service to you?” (12:26)

The first question which was cited in our parsha is that of the rasha, wicked son. The second question which is to be found in Sefer Devarim is that of the chacham, wise son. On the surface, they appear to be asking the same question. The difference lay in the subtle changes in their relative vernacular. The wicked son does not ask; he states. His question, if anything, is rhetorical, since he has all the answers. He refuses to acknowledge that the service is Divinely mandated, and, since mitzvos are “man-made,” they are not binding on him. Conversely, the wise…

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Home -> 5780 -> Vayeira

וירא אליו ד' באלני ממרא והוא ישב פתח האהל כחם היום

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeira, 5780

Hashem appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day. (18:1)

It was three days after Avraham Avinu’s bris milah, circumcision. The third day is the most painful. Yet, our Patriarch was sitting at the entrance of his tent during an unusually warm time of the day. Chazal teach that Hashem removed the sun from its protective casing in order to make it more powerful (and hotter), so that wayfarers would not travel. Thus, they would not inconvenience Avraham (by not creating an opportunity for him to serve them). When Hashem saw that Avraham was actually pained by not having the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of hachnosas orchim, welcoming guests,…

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Home -> 5780 -> Vayeira

וישא עיניו וירא והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeira, 5780

He lifted his eyes and saw: And behold! Three men were standing over him. (18:2)

Rashi explains that it was necessary to send three angels in the image of men because an angel performs only one mission. Thus, one angel came to heal Avraham Avinu; the second came to inform Sarah Imeinu of the impending birth of her son; the third came to destroy Sodom. Raphael, the angel who healed Avraham, went on to Sodom to save Lot form the conflagration that would destroy the city. The question is obvious: If an angel performs only one mission (at a time), and Rapahel had gone on to destroy Sodom to save Lot, would it not have been…

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Home -> 5780 -> Vayeira

כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו ושמרו דרך ד'

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeira, 5780

For I have loved him, because he commands his children and his household after him that they keep the way of Hashem. (18:19)

The literal translation of yedaativ (reference to knowledge) is, “I know him.” Understandably, when one loves and cares for someone, he seeks to bring him close and know him better. Hashem loved Avraham because he did not keep His teachings to himself. When one believes in something, he wants to shout it from the rooftops, to reach out to whomever he can, so that he can share these verities with him. Interestingly, Avraham Avinu performed many mitzvos for which he achieved singular distinction. In addition, he kept the entire Torah even prior to its being given to Klal Yisrael. Yet,…

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Home -> 5780 -> Vayeira

ותאמר לאברהם גרש האמה הזאת ואת בנה כי לא יירש בן האמה הזאת עם בני עם יצחק

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeira, 5780

So she said to Avraham, “Drive out this slavewoman with her son, for the son of that slavewoman shall not inherit with my son, with Yitzchak!” (21:10)

The Chazon Ish, zl, teaches that distancing a boy from yeshivah, sending him away, is a dinei nefashos, life and death, issue. A yeshivah that sends a student away due to its inability to deal with him is similar to a hospital who refuses to treat a patient whose illness is advanced. A maggid shiur in Yeshivas Porat Yosef approached Horav Yehudah Tzadaka, zl, Rosh Yeshivah, with a request that a certain student be asked to leave the yeshivah. Rav Tzadaka asked the rebbe, “Did you pray for him? Did you fast for him? First pray and fast for him…

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Home -> 5780 -> Vayeira

ויהי אחר הדברים האלה והאלקים נסה את אברהם

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeira, 5780

And it happened after these things that Hashem tested Avraham. (22:1)

Our Patriarch, Avraham Avinu, had been tested ten times by Hashem as a means of confirming his commitment and as a vehicle for proclaiming to the world his abiding devotion to Hashem. Hashem was now asking him to sacrifice his only son, whom he loved with a love that went beyond words. Actually, Avraham had already proven his commitment to Hashem, when he relinquished his life as he was prepared to die in the fiery cauldron of Uhr Kasdim. How often did Avraham have to prove his willingness to sacrifice on behalf of Hashem? Mesiras nefesh, self-sacrifice, is a spiritual…

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Home -> Shemos -> 5780

אלה שמות בני ישראל הבאים מצרימה

Sruly Schnair
In 5780, Shemos

And these are the names of Bnei Yisrael who were coming to Egypt. (1:1)

The parsha commences by mentioning the names of the tribal ancestors. Although they had previously been recorded during their lifetime, they are once again repeated after they have passed from the scene because of their dearness to Hashem. They are likened to the stars of the sky, which Hashem brings out and brings in by name. He counts and enumerates them at both opportunities. This indicates that the forefathers, like the stars, are precious to Hashem. Actually, Hashem took a census of Klal Yisrael three times: when they were liberated and left Egypt; after the Golden Calf debacle during which…

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