Challenge – Page 34 – Peninim on the Torah

ועתה שני בניך הנולדים לך בארץ מצרים עד באי אליך מצרימה לי הם

And now, your two sons who were born to you in Egypt before my coming to you in Egypt shall be mine. (48:5)

Horav Moshe Feinstein, zl, derives from this pasuk that the symbol of the pertinacity of a Torah education; its staying power, and ability to overcome challenge, is whether it is still perceived in later generations. An education that endures generations is a good education. This idea is gleaned from Yaakov Avinu’s statement concerning Yosef’s children who were born prior to the arrival of the Patriarch in Egypt. Li heim, “They are mine!” has meaning only if they had been born and raised in the moral filth of Egyptian society without Yaakov Avinu to serve as a positive influence, as the…

Home -> 5775 -> Va'eschanan

ושננתם לבניך ודברת בם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Va'eschanan, 5775

You shall teach them thoroughly to your children and you shall speak of them. (6:7)

Rashi teaches that banecha, your sons, eilu ha’talmidim, applies equally to one’s talmidim, students. In Nitzotzos, Rav Yitzchak Herskowitz, Shlita, relates a story he heard from a Rosh Yeshivah, who is one of today’s more successful marbitzei Torah, disseminators of Torah, in Eretz Yisrael. Apparently, Torah was not always this individual’s primary interest. As a young, teenage student attending Yeshivas Ohr Yisrael in Petach Tikvah, he was involved in a lot of things, most of which were not Torah-related. Running with a group of like-minded students, he presented a constant challenge for the patience of the yeshivah’s Mashgiach, ethical supervisor….

Home -> 5775 -> Toldos

ויתרוצצו הבנים בקרבה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5775

The children agitated within her. (25:22)

Rashi cites Chazal who explain that the word Vayisrotzetzu, “And they (the children) agitated” is derived from the word rotz, to run. When Rivkah Imeinu passed the Yeshivah of Shem and Eivar, Yaakov “ran” and struggled to go forth; and when she passed a house of idol worship, Eisav “ran” to go out. Each child had a certain proclivity representative of the cosmic forces within Creation – forces that are not connected to normal personality development, but transcend it. Yaakov Avinu gravitated towards the bais hamedrash, while Eisav was more comfortable in the house of idol worship. As they grew…

Home -> Shemos -> 5775

ותראהו את הילד והנה נער בוכה... ותאמר מילדי העברים זה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Shemos

She saw him, the boy, and behold! A youth was crying… and (she) said, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.” (2:6)

Pharaoh’s daughter looked at the infant in the basket and noticed something unusual about the manner in which the infant wept. This made her assume that it was a Jewish infant. What about the infant’s weeping spurred her to think that it was Jewish? The Slonimer Rebbe, zl, explains that, indeed, a marked difference exits between the cry of a Jew and the cry of one who is not. Rather than go right to the distinction, I would like to approach it from the vantage point of Tishah B’Av, our national day of mourning. Every Festival has its cheftzah d’mitzvah,…

Home -> 5775 -> Shemini

ויאמר משה אל אהרן הוא אשר דבר ד' לאמר בקרבי אקדש ועל פני כל העם אכבד וידם אהרן

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shemini, 5775

And Moshe said to Aharon: Of this did Hashem speak, saying: “I will be sanctified through those who are nearest Me; thus, I will honored before the entire people”, and Aharon was silent. (10:3)

Horav Shlomo Levinstein, Shlita, relates that he heard from Rav Eliezer Yehudah Finkel, son of Horav Eliyahu Baruch Finkel, zl, that the Rosh Yeshivah told him the following thought two weeks prior to his petirah, untimely passing. The thought is a powerful insight into Aharon HaKohen’s reaction – or better, non reaction, to the tragic death of two of his sons, Nadav and Avihu. Rashi observes that following the tragedy, Moshe Rabbeinu rendered a powerful eulogy for his nephews. Moshe said to Aharon, “My brother, I knew that Hashem would sanctify His Sanctuary with His beloved close ones. I figured…

Home -> 5775 -> Shemini

ויהי ביום השמיני קרא משה לאהרן ולבניו ולזקני ישראל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shemini, 5775

It was on the eighth day, Moshe summoned Aharon and his sons and the elders of Yisrael. (9:1)

Thrice daily, we recite the prayer, Al ha’tzaddikim v’al ha’chassidim v’al ziknei amcha Bais Yisrael v’al pleitas bais sofreihem, “(May Your mercies be aroused) upon the righteous, upon the pious, upon the elders of Your People, the House of Yisrael, upon the remnant of their sages.” We must recite this prayer with consummate kavanah, intention/devotion. Chazal understood the value to the Jewish People of these varied leaders, without whom we would not exist as a people. We rely on them, and we are unable to function without them. Therefore, it is our obligation to pray for their continued good health….

Home -> 5775 -> Shelach

ויקרא משה להושע בן נון יהושע

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5775

Moshe called Hoshea bin Nun Yehoshua. (13:16)

Rashi explains that Moshe Rabbeinu added the letter yud to Hoshea’s name, thereby transforming it to Yehoshua, so that his name would begin with Yud-Kay, the letters of G-d’s Name. The Hebrew name, Yehoshua, means, “G-d will save.” Moshe was praying that Hashem would spare his primary student, Yehoshua, from falling under the mutinous influence of the spies. Chazal give a number of reasons that Moshe singled out Yehoshua over Calev. Surely, it was not favoritism. Moshe was concerned that Yehoshua’s extreme humility would get the better of him and not permit him to stand up to the meraglim. Alternatively,…

Home -> Matos -> 5775

אלה מסעי בני ישראל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Matos, Masei

These are the journeys of Bnei Yisrael. (33:1)

On a recent trip to Eretz Yisrael, I struck up a conversation with a fellow traveler. He told me that, since it was his first overseas trip, he was planning to savor every moment. He looked forward to the eleven-hour flight as another leg on what was supposed to be a momentous trip. He was so excited that he was keeping track of every moment – from the taxi that picked him up at home until his eventual return in ten days. I felt this was an interesting perspective on travel, which, for most people, is something they must endure…

Home -> Ki Sisa -> 5775

ושני לחת העדות בידו לוחת כתובים משני עבריהם מזה ומזה הם כתבים.

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Ki Sisa

With the Two Tablets of the Testimony in his hand, Tablets inscribed on both sides; they were inscribed on one side and the other. (32:15)

The Midrash to Megillas Esther (8:4) relates that when Mordechai heard of the terrible decree issued against the Jewish People, he rent his garments, dressed in sackcloth as a sign of mourning and wept bitterly throughout the city. When Esther was informed of Mordechai’s public expression of grief, she said, “Never in the history of the Jewish People has there been such a decree leveled at us. Perhaps it is because they denied Zeh Keili v’anveihu, “This is my G-d and I will build Him a Sanctuary” (Shemos 15:2), or they disbelieved in the Luchos, Tablets, about which is written,…

Home -> 5775 -> Ki Savo

ארור מכה רעהו בסתר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5775

Accursed is one who strikes his fellow stealthily. (27:24)

Rashi interprets this prohibition as reference to speaking lashon hora, slanderous speech. We do not realize the serious consequences which result from lashon hora. While it is true that refraining from speaking what comes to mind can be difficult, when we realize that the Torah considers it a hakaah, tantamount to striking someone – which most of us would never do – it might serve as a deterrent. We might say or even allude to something ethically or morally negative about someone. This statement might be overheard by someone who conveys the comment to others who embellish it. By the…

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ועתה שני בניך הנולדים לך בארץ מצרים עד באי אליך מצרימה לי הם

And now, your two sons who were born to you in Egypt before my coming to you in Egypt shall be mine. (48:5)

ושננתם לבניך ודברת בם

You shall teach them thoroughly to your children and you shall speak of them. (6:7)

ויתרוצצו הבנים בקרבה

The children agitated within her. (25:22)

ותראהו את הילד והנה נער בוכה... ותאמר מילדי העברים זה

She saw him, the boy, and behold! A youth was crying… and (she) said, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.” (2:6)

ויאמר משה אל אהרן הוא אשר דבר ד' לאמר בקרבי אקדש ועל פני כל העם אכבד וידם אהרן

And Moshe said to Aharon: Of this did Hashem speak, saying: “I will be sanctified through those who are nearest Me; thus, I will honored before the entire people”, and Aharon was silent. (10:3)

ויהי ביום השמיני קרא משה לאהרן ולבניו ולזקני ישראל

It was on the eighth day, Moshe summoned Aharon and his sons and the elders of Yisrael. (9:1)

ויקרא משה להושע בן נון יהושע

Moshe called Hoshea bin Nun Yehoshua. (13:16)

אלה מסעי בני ישראל

These are the journeys of Bnei Yisrael. (33:1)

ושני לחת העדות בידו לוחת כתובים משני עבריהם מזה ומזה הם כתבים.

With the Two Tablets of the Testimony in his hand, Tablets inscribed on both sides; they were inscribed on one side and the other. (32:15)

ארור מכה רעהו בסתר

Accursed is one who strikes his fellow stealthily. (27:24)

YEARS

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