Challenge – Page 32 – Peninim on the Torah

במדבר הזה יפלו פגריכם

In this wilderness shall your carcass drop. (14:29)

During their forty-year trek through the wilderness, Klal Yisrael breached their relationship with Hashem, as they committed a number of transgressions. Yet, the Almighty punished the actual perpetrator and forgave the rest of the populace. These were not simple sins. The chet ha’eigal, sin of the Golden Calf, was no simple transgression. Shortly after they left Egypt, Klal Yisrael committed a sin of grave proportions, as they turned their backs on Hashem, Who had done so much for them. They were scared; their leader, Moshe Rabbeinu, was late in descending the mountain, so they sinned. This was no excuse. Yet,…

Home -> 5773 -> Noach

ושם אשת נחור מלכה בת הרן אבי מלכה ואבי יסכה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5773

And the name of Nachor’s wife was Milkah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milkah and the father of Yiskah. (11:28)

Rashi teaches that Yiskah was actually Sarah Imeinu, the Matriarch. She was called Yiskah, which is a name derived from the word, sachoh, meaning to gaze, to see. Sarah was able to gaze into the future, because she was endowed with Divine Inspiration. Also, everyone gazed at her extraordinary beauty. Rashi’s second explanation, which focuses on the physical beauty of Sarah Imeinu, seems out of place. The Matriarch was a spiritual person, her life’s purpose was to serve the Almighty in every possible way. Why should her extraordinary beauty play a role in identifying her by name? If Sarah would…

Home -> 5773 -> Noach

ויאמר אלקים לנח קץ כל בשר בא לפני כי מלאה הארץ חמס מפניהם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5773

G-d said to Noach, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with robbery through them.” (6:13)

Chazal focus on the word mipneihem, “through them,” written in lashon rabim, plural, implying that Hashem was weary with the actions of the gazlan, thief, and the nigzal, victim. This is enigmatic. While it is understandable that the actions of the thieves were at the point of disgust, what blame can be placed on the hapless victims? Is it my fault that someone decided to rob me? Apparently, the Torah has a dim view of the victim. Perhaps he is not as blameless as we would be led to believe. Horav Arye Leib Bakst, zl, explains that we are all…

Home -> 5773 -> Lech Lecha

ויאמר אברם אל לוט אל נא תהי מריבה ביני וביניך... הפרד נא מעלי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5773

So Avram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between me and you… please separate from me.” (12:8,9)

Chazal teach us that maasei Avos siman labanim, “The actions of the Fathers are a sign for the sons.” The Torah is teaching us that the varied approaches to life’s challenges encountered by the Patriarchs serve as a portent and guide for their descendants to follow and emulate. They are teaching us the correct path to take upon confronting similar situations. Clearly, as in all “maps,” it takes the educated and discerning eye of a teacher to explain the meaning of various actions, the underlying reason for taking such action, and the lessons to be derived. This brings us to…

Home -> Devarim -> 5773

כי ירשה לעשו נתתי את הר שעיר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Devarim

For an inheritance to the children of Eisav I have given Mount Seir. (2:5)

The old cliché goes; Es is shver tzu zein a yid, “It is difficult to be a Jew.” While this is a wrong attitude for a Jew to take, it may, from a practical point of view, be considered true. Living an observant lifestyle takes a certain amount of conviction, resolution and forbearance. What we fail to acknowledge is that the cliché might have some validity; there may be a good reason for the manifold challenges that a Jew confronts in life. Horav Aharon Bakst, zl, explains this as a reason for the distinction between Yaakov Avinu and Eisav with…

Home -> Devarim -> 5773

איכה אשא לבדי טרחכם ומשאכם וריבכם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Devarim

How can I alone carry your trouble and your burden and your quarrels? (1:12)

Rashi translates tarchachem, as “your troubles”: Melamed she’hayu Yisrael tarchanim, “this teaches us that the Jewish People were troublesome.” Masaachem, which literally means, “your burdens,” is employed by Rashi to infer that they were apikorsim, heretics. It is understandable for the word tarchanim to imply the troublesome nature of the Jews. Both words are derived from the same root word. How is masa, burden, related to heresy? There seems to be no connection between the two words. Horav Nachman Breslover, zl, explains that, indeed, from a practical perspective, a deep connection exists between the two terms. Apikorsus, heresy, is a…

Home -> 5773 -> Chayei Sarah

ואברהם זקן בא בימים וה' ברך את אברהם בכל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5773

Now Avraham was old, well on in his years, and Hashem had blessed him with everything. (24:1)

Avraham Avinu was the mechanech, educator, par-excellence. He taught a pagan world the truth of monotheism. He inspired as he taught, thus serving as the vehicle for promulgating belief in the Creator. As the first educator, he set the standard for excellence in education. His goal was not simply to teach his generation, but to set the parameters and lay down the rules for the most appropriate manner in which to inculcate one’s beliefs in his students. When we study the educational approach of the first Patriarch, we are confronted with two questions which are pointed out by Horav Arye…

Home -> 5773 -> Chayei Sarah

וישקל אברהם לעפרן את הכסף... ארבע מאות שקל כסף

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5773

And Avraham weighed out to Efron the silver… four hundred Shekalim of silver. (23:16)

Avraham Avinu is confronted with one of the greatest challenges of his life. Perhaps it was not a spiritual challenge as much as it was emotional in nature. His wife- his partner in life- the mother of Yitzchak Avinu, had just died. The Patriarch had to deal with the funeral arrangements. It was not easy. He wanted a specific burial site, one which had already been used by Adam HaRishon and Chavah. He was determined to obtain this specific site. Efron owned it, and he was asking an exorbitant sum of money for its purchase. Avraham paid. No problem. It…

Home -> 5773 -> Beshalach

ובני ישראל אכלו את המן ארבעים שנה...את המן אכלו עד באם אל קצה ארץ כנען

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Beshalach, 5773

Bnei Yisrael ate the manna for forty years…They ate the manna until their arrival at the border of the land of Canaan. (16:35)

In the Mechilta, Chazal teach that, Lo nitnah Torah lidrosh ela l’ochlei man, “The Torah was given to be expounded only by mann-eaters.” This means that there were positive reasons for the Torah to have been given to Klal Yisrael while they were in the midst of their forty-year sojourn to the Promised Land. The wilderness was an integral part of this experience. The Torah had to be given in the desolate wilderness. It is not just because Egypt’s prevailing environment was filled with spiritual bankruptcy and defilement. It was because to live in the desert is to defy the…

Home -> 5773 -> Beshalach

וחמשים עלו בני ישראל מארץ מצרים...ויקח משה את עצמות יוסף עמו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Beshalach, 5773

Bnei Yisrael were armed when they went up from Egypt… And Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him. (13:18, 19)

Rashi explains chamushim to mean “armed.” In an alternative exposition, Rashi quotes the Midrash which posits that chamushim is derived from chomesh,“a fifth.” This implies that actually only one fifth of the Jewish People left Egypt. Apparently, the bulk of the nation was prepared to adopt the Egyptian lifestyle. They did not want to be slaves, but they were not yet prepared to leave the country. They died during the three-day plague of darkness. In his Shemen Hatov, Horav Zev Weinberger, Shlita, quotes Horav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, zl, of Yerushalayim, who offered an insightful explanation of chamushim, armed. Of what…

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במדבר הזה יפלו פגריכם

In this wilderness shall your carcass drop. (14:29)

ושם אשת נחור מלכה בת הרן אבי מלכה ואבי יסכה

And the name of Nachor’s wife was Milkah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milkah and the father of Yiskah. (11:28)

ויאמר אלקים לנח קץ כל בשר בא לפני כי מלאה הארץ חמס מפניהם

G-d said to Noach, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with robbery through them.” (6:13)

ויאמר אברם אל לוט אל נא תהי מריבה ביני וביניך... הפרד נא מעלי

So Avram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between me and you… please separate from me.” (12:8,9)

כי ירשה לעשו נתתי את הר שעיר

For an inheritance to the children of Eisav I have given Mount Seir. (2:5)

איכה אשא לבדי טרחכם ומשאכם וריבכם

How can I alone carry your trouble and your burden and your quarrels? (1:12)

ואברהם זקן בא בימים וה' ברך את אברהם בכל

Now Avraham was old, well on in his years, and Hashem had blessed him with everything. (24:1)

וישקל אברהם לעפרן את הכסף... ארבע מאות שקל כסף

And Avraham weighed out to Efron the silver… four hundred Shekalim of silver. (23:16)

ובני ישראל אכלו את המן ארבעים שנה...את המן אכלו עד באם אל קצה ארץ כנען

Bnei Yisrael ate the manna for forty years…They ate the manna until their arrival at the border of the land of Canaan. (16:35)

וחמשים עלו בני ישראל מארץ מצרים...ויקח משה את עצמות יוסף עמו

Bnei Yisrael were armed when they went up from Egypt… And Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him. (13:18, 19)

YEARS

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