Challenge – Page 23 – Peninim on the Torah

והרים את הדשן... ושמו אצל המזבח... והוצא את הדשן

He shall raise the ashes and place it next to the Mizbayach… He shall remove the ashes. (6:3,4)

The avodah in the Mishkan/Bais Hamikdash followed a daily routine. It was a clearly defined, Divinely-ordained, unchanging pattern of service. It began with the Terumas HaDeshen, the removal of the sacrificial ash from the previous day’s offerings, followed by the placing of wood, so that the fire on the Mizbayach, Altar, continued to burn. The first sacrifice of the day, as well as the last sacrifice, was the Korban Tamid. Tamid means consistent, which is a perfect way to describe the Korban. It was a constant. When activities are carried out in a particular order, unchanging, repeated daily, it might…

Home -> 5777 -> Shelach

ויעלו בנגב ויבוא עד חברון

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5777

They ascended in the south and he arrived at Chevron. (13:22)

From the Torah’s use of the singular va’yavo, and he came, Chazal (Sotah 34b) derive that Calev alone left the group, so that he could visit the graves of the Patriarchs to pray that they intercede on his behalf. So great was the ability of the meraglim to influence that Calev feared being influenced by them. Yehoshua had no reason to leave, since Moshe Rabbeinu had already prayed for him before they had all left the camp. In his Iyun Yaakov commentary to the Talmud, Horav Yaakov Reisher, zl, asks why Calev prayed at the graves of the Patriarchs. Chazal…

Home -> Ki Sisa -> 5777

וירא העם כי בשש משה לרדת מן ההר ויקהל העם על אהרן ויאמרו אליו קום עשה לנו אלהים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Ki Sisa

The people saw that Moshe had delayed in descending the mountain, and the people gathered around Aharon and said to him, “Rise up, make for us gods!” (32:1)

One error, one simple mistake was all that was needed to precipitate Klal Yisrael’s tragic rebellion, their egregious demonstration of infidelity– the construction of the Golden Calf. How did a people who had recently received the Torah under circumstances that were unreal become so faithless, almost overnight? It was all due to a mistake, an error in judgment. They thought that Moshe was to have been back, but they erred. Once they exhibited fear, Satan was certain that he had ensnared them. They were putty in his hands. He seized the opportunity and created an illusion of a deceased Moshe…

Home -> 5777 -> Chukas

ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5777

Miriam died there and was buried there. (20:1)

Though widely separated chronologically, the passing of Miriam HaNeviah is juxtaposed upon the laws of the Parah Adumah, Red Cow. This teaches us that, just as the offerings effect atonement for the nation, so does the death of a tzaddik, righteous person. This is an important lesson which should have been taught in parshas ha’korbanos at the beginning of Sefer Vayikra. Why of all the forms of sacrificial atonement is the Parah Adumah singled out to be the standard bearer of atonement and the lesson most closely identified with the death of tzaddikim? The Panim Yafos (Horav Pinchas Horowitz, zl,…

Home -> 5777 -> Beha'alosecha

ויהי העם כמתאוננים רע באזני ד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Beha'alosecha, 5777

The people were like those who seek pretexts of evil in the ears of Hashem. (11:1)

Our parsha begins with the Menorah, relates the laws of Pesach Sheini and then, in what appears to be a sad turn of events, records a series of puzzling complaints originally initiated by the eirev rav, mixed multitude, with an added participatory voice from the people. It is not as if the complaints had any positive substance – or any substance at all. For the most part, they complained for the purpose of complaining, something atypical of a happy people who had recently been liberated from crushing servitude. They craved meat – and cried. They claimed they missed the free…

Home -> Bamidbar -> 5777

הקרב את מטה לוי והעמדת אתו לפני אהרן הכהן ושרתו אתו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Bamidbar

Bring near the tribe of Levi and have it stand before Aharon HaKohen, and they shall serve him. (3:6)

Shevet Levi was consecrated to a life of service, avodas ha’kodesh, holy service, both in the Sanctuary and as Torah teachers. The Levi set the standard for Jews to acknowledge and put to action: one does not live solely for himself. We are here to live a life of service – to Hashem and to the Jewish community. Concerning this pasuk (Hakreiv es mateh Levi), the Midrash quotes the pasuk in Sefer Tehillim (92:13): Tzaddik katamar yifrach k’erez ba’levanon yisgeh, “A righteous man will flourish like a date palm, like a cedar in the Lebanon he will grow tall.” The…

Home -> Bamidbar -> 5777

וידבר ד' אל משה במדבר סיני

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Bamidbar

Hashem spoke to Moshe in the Wilderness of Sinai. (1:1)

The Torah was given to us in the Midbar, Wilderness – by design: Mah midbar hefker, af divrei Torah miskaymim b’mi she’mafkir atzmo, “Just as the Wilderness is ownerless, likewise, the words of Torah endure only in he who is mafkir, renders himself ownerless (abrogates himself, divests himself of himself; I am nothing!).” When a person feels himself to be insignificant, then that with which he comes in contact has greater value than himself. Thus, he values and respects it. Unless one values Torah, it will do nothing for him. One can own the most expensive piece of jewelry, but,…

Home -> 5777 -> Acharei Mos

אשר יעשה אתם האדם וחי בהם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Acharei Mos, 5777

Which man shall carry out and by which he shall live. (18:5)

V’chai bahem – “By which he shall live (by them)” is an enjoinment to us that mitzvos, commandments, are not to come in contradistinction to life. Thus, if performing a mitzvah endangers one’s well-being, his life supersedes the mitzvah, except for the three cardinal sins of idolatry, murder and forbidden relationships. Furthermore, if violating a mitzvah is under such circumstances which would bring about a chillul, desecration, of Hashem’s Name, his life takes second place to the mitzvah. The Chiddushei HaRim views the words, v’chai bahem, as setting the standard for mitzvah performance. We are exhorted to perform mitzvos in…

Home -> 5771 -> Re'eh

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Re'eh, 5771

See/Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse. (11:26)

When one peruses Jewish history, it is apparent that the pendulum of Jewish fortune swings to extremes. We have been blessed with either incredible prosperity or drastic misfortune. Even concerning the individual, one is either highly successful, very observant, or sadly, the extreme opposite. While it may not be obvious to the casual observer, if one were to cogently look at life, he would see that for the Jew, life is either about ceaseless blessing or unbearable curse. Even with regard to sin, the Torah relates in the parsha of Krias Shema: He’shamru la’chem pen yifteh levavechem – v’sartem, va’avaditem…

Home -> 5771 -> Eikev

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Eikev, 5771

You will eat and you will be satisfied and you will bless Hashem, your G-d, for the good Land that He gave you. (8:10)

The words V’achalta v’savata, “You will eat and you will be satisfied,” are mentioned twice in this Parsha: in the above pasuk, and later in (11:15). There is one difference, however, the above pasuk has an added word: u’beirachta, “and you will bless [Hashem].” In the second pasuk, the words V’achalta v’savata are followed in the next pasuk by, He’shamru la’chem pen yifteh l’vavchem v’sartem, “Beware for yourselves, lest your heart be seduced and you will turn astray.” Wherein lay the difference between the two phrases? Why is the second one followed with, “beware,” while the first concludes, “you will…

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והרים את הדשן... ושמו אצל המזבח... והוצא את הדשן

He shall raise the ashes and place it next to the Mizbayach… He shall remove the ashes. (6:3,4)

ויעלו בנגב ויבוא עד חברון

They ascended in the south and he arrived at Chevron. (13:22)

וירא העם כי בשש משה לרדת מן ההר ויקהל העם על אהרן ויאמרו אליו קום עשה לנו אלהים

The people saw that Moshe had delayed in descending the mountain, and the people gathered around Aharon and said to him, “Rise up, make for us gods!” (32:1)

ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם

Miriam died there and was buried there. (20:1)

ויהי העם כמתאוננים רע באזני ד'

The people were like those who seek pretexts of evil in the ears of Hashem. (11:1)

הקרב את מטה לוי והעמדת אתו לפני אהרן הכהן ושרתו אתו

Bring near the tribe of Levi and have it stand before Aharon HaKohen, and they shall serve him. (3:6)

וידבר ד' אל משה במדבר סיני

Hashem spoke to Moshe in the Wilderness of Sinai. (1:1)

אשר יעשה אתם האדם וחי בהם

Which man shall carry out and by which he shall live. (18:5)

See/Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse. (11:26)

You will eat and you will be satisfied and you will bless Hashem, your G-d, for the good Land that He gave you. (8:10)

YEARS

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