Join our weekly Peninim on the Torah list!

Category

Back to Home -> Yisro ->


The entire people responded together and said, “Everything that Hashem has spoken we shall do.” (19:8)

Chazal praise Klal Yisrael’s affirmative response, their ability to accept the challenge of performing Hashem’s command without demanding a rationale.  “Naase v’nishma,”  – “We will do and we will listen,” was the clarion cry of our anscestors as they accepted the Torah.  Chazal cite the awesome reward that Klal Yisrael received for declaring “naase“, we will do, before “nishma,” we will listen.  Indeed, Hashem queried, “Who revealed this secret to My children, a phrase that only the ministering angels use?”  Ultimately, we have to ask ourselves: What difference does it really make?  In the end, they accepted both aspects- to…

Continue Reading

They shall make an Ark of shittiim wood…You shall cover it with pure gold…and you shall make on it a gold crown all around. (25:10,11)

Three of the four primary Klei haMishkan, appertenances of the Mishkan, had crowns/ golden rims, decorating them: the Aron HaKodesh; Ark; the Shulchan, Table; and the Mizbayach, Altar.  The Menorah, candelabra, did not.  This fact corresponds with the words of Chazal in Pirke Avos, 4:13, “There are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of Kehunah, priesthood, and the crown of malchus, kingship.  The crown of shem tov, a good name, is greater than them all. ” The Aron HaKodesh, which contained within it the two Luchos  upon which were inscribed the Aseres Hadibros, Ten Commandments, corresponds with the…

Continue Reading

It happened in those days that Moshe grew up and went out to his brethren…and he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man. He went out on the next day and behold! Two Hebrew men were fighting. (2:11,13)

Moshe grew into a position of responsibility.  He became ready to minister to the needs of his people.  Horav Zeev Weinberger, Shlita, feels that Moshe had two distinct goals in mind when he began to serve Klal Yisrael:  His first objective was to expunge the evil that the Egyptian environment had engendered.  Second, he sought to correct and bring back the Jewish People.  The occurrences related in the pesukim on the two days that Moshe “went out” to his brethren demonstrate these two faci. On the first day,  Moshe encountered an Egyptian beating a Jew. He immediately “corrected” the problem,…

Continue Reading

Then Moshe and Bnei Yisrael chose to sing this song to Hashem. (15:1)

Klal Yisrael praised Hashem for the miracle of Krias Yam Suf, the splitting of the Red Sea, through a shirah, a song of praise.  This rare, sublime expression of gratitude to Hashem is unique in its form and meaning.  We should address a pressing question regarding the shirah.  Krias Yam Suf was not the first miracle that Klal Yisrael had experienced.  Many miraculous occurrences had preceded it.  There were the Ten Plagues that befell Egypt.  Were they so “natural” that they paled in comparison to the splitting of the Red Sea?  Why did Klal Yisrael wait so long to sing…

Continue Reading

Moshe said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand fast and see the salvation of Hashem…for as you have seen Egypt today, you shall not see them ever again…Hashem shall do battle for you, and you shall remain silent. Hashem said to Moshe, “Why do you cry out to Me?” (14:13, 14,15)

Chazal teach us that four distinct groups confronted Moshe. The first group were the fatalists, who felt the end was near, no vestige of hope remained.  They might as well walk into the sea and die, rather than fall into Pharaoh’s hands.  The second group consisted of the pacifists, who felt that the only way out of their present predicament was to return to Egypt and adopt the Egyptian culture.  Their motto was: If you cannot fight them – join them.  These people were scared of their own shadow, submitting before they ever had a chance to fight.  The third…

Continue Reading

You shall love Hashem your G-d with all your heart. (6:5)

“With all your heart” is a strong term, but one cannot serve Hashem in any lesser manner.  Rashi cites Chazal who interpret “b’chol levavecha” as “bishnei yitzrecha,” with your two inclinations, your yetzer tov, good inclination, as well as your yetzer hora, evil inclination.  We must endeavor to understand the meaning of loving Hashem with one’s good inclination. Certainly, there is nothing challenging about the yetzer tov.  It encourages mitzvah observance and good deeds.  What quality of the good inclination might be considered a challenge to overcome? Horav Moshe Feinstein, zl, explains that at times, by following the intimations of…

Continue Reading

And He declared unto you His covenant… And He wrote them upon two tablets of stone. (4:13)

The Aseres Hadibros, Ten Commandments, are supreme among the Torah’s precepts.  This is the result of two factors.  Primary is their fundamental and overwhelming importance.  Second is the awe-inspiring, majestic manner in which Hashem revealed them to the entire nation of Klal Yisrael.  The Revelation was undeniably the most incredible event in the history of the world.  It gave birth to Klal Yisrael as a nation – a Torah nation, whose license to nationhood consists of its acceptance of, and adherence to, the Torah.  The Torah is a Divine synopsis of our duties toward Hashem and our fellowman.  The two…

Continue Reading

Gather together the people – the men, the women, and the small children. (31:12)

Rashi explains that the men came to study; the women came to hear words of Torah; the children came to give reward to those who brought them. Nachlas Tzvi cites Horav Shraga Moshe Kalmenovitz, zl, who derives a significant lesson from the fact that the parents received reward for bringing their infants to the Hakhel gathering. After all, if the parents were obligated to come, who would be taking care of their children? If the Torah demands that the parents attend, it should take into consideration that there is a family at home. For this reason, the Torah provided a…

Continue Reading

And Yaakov settled in the land of his father’s sojournings. (37:1)

The Rokeach makes an incredible statement which begs elucidation.  He says that every pasuk in Parashas Vayeshev, with the exception of eight pesukim, begins with the letter “vav.”  The eight exceptions correspond to the mitzvah of Bris Milah which is performed on the eighth day of the boy’s life .  Horav Zeev Weinberger,Shlita, gives the following explanation:  If one were to follow the narrative throughout Parashas Vayeshev, it would seem to be one long story in which everything fits into place naturally.  This is implied by the “vav” which is the connecting letter meaning “and.”  This is the picture perceived…

Continue Reading

What if there should be fifty righteous people in the midst of the city? (18:24)

If there had been tzaddikim, would they have made a difference?  In reality, there were not even ten righteous people.  If there would have been  ten tzaddikim, however, the city would have been saved.  Why?  Will a few tzaddikim accomplish so much that their presence would save the city from disaster?  The answer is yes, if these few righteous Jews do not isolate themselves from the community.  The key phrase is, “b’soch ha’ir,” in the midst of the city.  The fact that tzaddikim live in a community is not necessarily a guarantee that it will be spared.  Hashem does not…

Continue Reading

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our weekly Peninim on the Torah list!

You have Successfully Subscribed!