Moshe Marcovich

I instructed your judges…saying, “Listen among your brethren and judge righteously.” (1:16)

Moshe adjured the judges to be deliberate in judgement, to listen to the litigants and to understand their claims — not to make rash decisions. Rashi adds, if a case comes before you two or three times, do not say, “I have already rendered my decision in this case. Rather, listen to each case, regardless of its redundancy, and be deliberate in rendering your decision”. The Mizrachi contends that Rashi derives his thesis from the words, “Listen among your brothers.” How do we infer from this phrase that one should view each case as original, regardless of how many times…

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Moshe Marcovich In 5758, Devarim

How can I alone bear your contentiousness, your burdens, and your quarrels? (1:12)

The word “Eichah,” “how”, in this context is contrasted by Chazal to the exclamations of later prophets, who also used the word eichah to allude to the churban, destruction, of the Batei Mikdash. Notably, the baal koreih, Torah reader, chants this pasuk differently than the others, singing it to the tune of Eichah, Lamentations, which is read on Tisha B’Av. The obvious connection is the single word, eichah. The Gaon M’Vilna suggests a deeper connection between the two pesukim. In the third word of the pasuk Moshe says, “levadi” “alone,” (How can I alone bear?). A form of the word…

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Moshe Marcovich In 5758, Devarim

Enough of your dwelling on this mountain. (1:6)

A year had passed in which Klal Yisrael was situated at Har Sinai. It became time to move on to Eretz Yisrael. The Midrash defines the word “rav” as “abundance”; Klal Yisrael’s encampment at Har Sinai brought much benefit to them: the Torah, the Mishkan, the Zekeinim and other leaders. The Kli Yakar views the summons to leave Har Sinai as a practical lesson in attitude toward Torah. Moshe observed Klal Yisrael lingering at Har Sinai. They had become content with the Torah as a book of thought, a wonderful collection of laws brilliantly formulated by their Divine Author. They…

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Moshe Marcovich In 5758, Devarim

These are the words Moshe spoke to all Yisrael…(1:1)

Chazal tell us that these “devarim,” words, constituted the content of Moshe’s speech – divrei tochachah, words of reproachment. Moshe spoke to all of the Klal Yisrael, so that no individual would later say, “Had we been present we would have challenged his words.” Anyone who had an objection to Moshe’s admonishment had the opportunity to challenge Moshe, although nobody did so. Offering tochachah, reproach, is a serious endeavor which should not be undertaken lightly. It obliges every member of the Jewish community to try his hardest to improve his fellow man. Indeed, as Horav Shlomo Breuer, zl, writes,…

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Moshe Marcovich In Chukas, 5758

Take Aharon and Elazar his son…strip Aharon of his vestments and dress Elazar his son in them; Aharon shall be gathered in and die there. (20:25,26)

Aharon merited a unique and exalted departure from this world. The ritual of stripping him of his clothes, so that his son Elazar could don them seems a bit enigmatic. What really is the significance of removing Aharon’s clothes prior to his death? If the underlying purpose had been that Aharon could see his son attired in the priestly vestments of the Kohen Gadol, it could have been accomplished without Aharon being dressed and then having his clothes removed. Apparently, the actual removing of Aharon’s vestments plays an important role. Horav Zaidel Epstein, Shlita, cites the Talmud Shabbos, 153A, wherein…

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Moshe Marcovich In Chukas, 5758

Hashem said to Moshe and Aharon…by the border of Edom saying…Aharon shall be gathered to his people…(20:23,24)

Rashi explains that the Torah juxtaposes Aharon’s death upon Klal Yisrael’s unfruitful dialogue with Edom because of a distinct relationship between the two. When Klal Yisrael attempted to join Eisav’s descendants, they created a breach in their activities which resulted in the loss of Aharon. Why? How is Aharon’s death associated with their attempt to establish diplomatic relations with Eisav? Horav Nissan Alpert,zl, cites the pasuk in Devarim 32:4, “The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice.” Hashem’s rectitude in justice is manifest in that He will not punish a person if it will cause undue…

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Moshe Marcovich In Chukas, 5758

Regarding this the poets would come to Cheshbon, let it be built and established as the city of Sichon. (21:27)

In the Talmud Bava Basra78b, Rabbi Yochanan understands this pasuk differently. He contends that the word “moshlim,” “rulers,” refers to those who rule over themselves/their yetzer hora, evil inclination, while “cheshbon” means “reckoning.” Those who govern their passion — who are not controlled by their yetzer hora — say, “Let us make a reckoning of the world: the loss that a mitzvah entails against its reward; the profit from a transgression against the loss it brings.” In order to progress spiritually, one must triumph over the formidable challenge presented by the yetzer hora. The key to success is making a…

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Moshe Marcovich In Chukas, 5758

And the people settled in Kadosh, and Miriam died there…there was no water for the congregation…the people quarreled with Moshe. (20:1,2,3.)

The people followed a pattern that has regrettably become typical: When events did not proceed in their favor, they either complained or protested. The Alshich Hakadosh notes that the Torah does not mention that they expressed grief over Miriam’s loss, as it does regarding the deaths of Moshe and Aharon. Thus, he infers that they did not shed tears when Miriam died. Because they did not acknowledge her merit as the source of their water supply, they lost it. Being surrounded by kedushah, holiness, has little effect if one does not recognize and appreciate it. We must address Klal Yisrael’s…

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Moshe Marcovich In Chayei Sarah, 5758

And Avraham expired and died in a good old age, mature and content. (25:8)

The Ramban remarks on Avraham Avinu’s lofty character. He was sameiach b’chelko, satisfied with his lot in life. He was not one to yearn for luxuries. Those who desire luxuries will never be happy with what they attain. If they have a hundred, they desire two hundred; if they have two hundred, they desire four hundred. We are puzzled by the Ramban’s statement. Avraham really did not have a reason to complain. Hashem blessed him with extraordinary wealth and prestige. He miraculously saved his life when he was thrown into the fiery furnace. He was blessed with a son…

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Moshe Marcovich In Chayei Sarah, 5758

And Avraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who controlled all that was his….And I said to my master,” Perhaps the woman will not follow me?” (24:2, 39)

The Torah tells very little about Eliezer, Avraham’s trusted servant. Who was he? Who was his father? The first indication about his origins is later in the narrative, when Rashi explains the word “hkt”–“ulai,” this word is normally spelled with a “vov” and is translated as “perhaps.” It is now spelled without a “vov” and should really be interpreted as “to me.” Rashi says that Eliezer was alluding to his own daughter whom he had hoped to marry to Yitzchak. Thus, when he asked Avraham what to do if he was not successful in finding the suitable mate for Yitzchak,…

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I instructed your judges…saying, “Listen among your brethren and judge righteously.” (1:16)

How can I alone bear your contentiousness, your burdens, and your quarrels? (1:12)

Enough of your dwelling on this mountain. (1:6)

These are the words Moshe spoke to all Yisrael…(1:1)

Take Aharon and Elazar his son…strip Aharon of his vestments and dress Elazar his son in them; Aharon shall be gathered in and die there. (20:25,26)

Hashem said to Moshe and Aharon…by the border of Edom saying…Aharon shall be gathered to his people…(20:23,24)

Regarding this the poets would come to Cheshbon, let it be built and established as the city of Sichon. (21:27)

And the people settled in Kadosh, and Miriam died there…there was no water for the congregation…the people quarreled with Moshe. (20:1,2,3.)

And Avraham expired and died in a good old age, mature and content. (25:8)

And Avraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who controlled all that was his….And I said to my master,” Perhaps the woman will not follow me?” (24:2, 39)

YEARS

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