Moshe Marcovich

Let it be that the maiden to whom I shall say, “Please tip over the jug so I may drink,” and who replies, “Drink, and I will even water your camels,” her will You have designated for Your servant Yitzchak. (24:14)

Eliezer established a criteria for a suitable mate for Yitzchak. He would request of her an act of chesed, kindness. If her response exceeded his request, it would indicate that she was truly a baalas chesed. The wife for Yitzchak, the future Matriarch of Klal Yisrael, must be an individual whose character refinement is innate. Rivkah displayed a level of chesed that was exemplary. We may wonder why her willingness to draw water for the camels was so remarkable that it demonstrated her admirable quality of chesed. What was so special about it? We suggest that the answer lies…

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Moshe Marcovich In Chayei Sarah, 5758

I have given you the field, and as for the cave that is in it, I have given to you….bury your dead. Land worth four hundred silver shekels; between you and I–what is it? Bury your dead. (23:11,15)

What made Efron change his mind so radically? At first, he appeared to be a wonderful, refined gentleman who opened his land to Avraham. He granted him a place in which to bury Sarah without asking any compensation. Suddenly Efron showed a different side to his personality, when he “intimated” that he would be inclined to “give” the property to Avraham for a mere four hundred silver shekels, which constituted an outrageous amount of money. Something must have transpired that catalyzed this sudden change. What was it? Horav Yaakov Neiman, zl, cites the Alter M’Kelm who responds to the question…

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Moshe Marcovich In Chayei Sarah, 5758

And Sarah died in Kiryas Arba….And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to cry for her. (23:2)

Rashi explains that the narrative regarding Sarah’s death is juxtaposed upon the previous parsha, which relates the story of Akeidas Yitzchak, because her death is intrinsically related to the Akeidah. When she heard the news that her only child was about to be slaughtered, “parchah nishmassah,” her soul “flew out” and she died. We may question why Rashi discusses Sarah’s death and its connection with the Akeidah while commenting on the pasuk which mentions Avraham’s eulogy. He should have raised this issue in the beginning of the parsha, when the Torah says, “And Sarah died.” Second, it is difficult to…

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Moshe Marcovich In Bo, 5758

But on the previous day you shall nullify the leaven from your homes; for anyone who eats leavened food, that soul shall be cut off from Yisrael. (12:15)

Among all of the mitzvos connected to the festival of Pesach, none is so stringent as the prohibition of chametz. One who does not recount the story of the Exodus, one who does not eat matzoh or marror has “only” neglected performing a mitzvah. One who eats chametz, however, is liable to the Heavenly punishment of kares, premature death. This harsh punishment seems to underline the significance of the mitzvah of matzoh. The prohibition against eating or keeping chametz in one’s possession indicates the crucial importance of the haste in which the Jews left Egypt. They departed in such a…

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Moshe Marcovich In Bo, 5758

They shall eat the flesh on that night, roasted over the fire, and matzos; with herbs they shall eat it. (12:8)

It seems almost paradoxical that one should eat the matzoh, which symbolizes our freedom, together with the marror, bitter herbs, which represent our affliction. That is not the only anomaly of the Seder night. The night of the first Seder occurs on the same day of the week as Tisha B’Av of that same year. On the night that we celebrate the fortune of our redemption from Egypt, we are to remember Tisha B’Av, the day of the year set aside for the commemoration of the churban, the destruction of our Batei Mikdash. Why is it necessary to integrate misery…

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Moshe Marcovich In Bo, 5758

And there was a thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for a three-day period. (10:22)

Rashi cites the Midrash that suggests one of the reasons for the three-day darkness. He posits that it occurred so that the Jews who were too assimilated into the Egyptian culture would die. As a result of the darkness the Egyptians did not see their deaths. Therefore, they could not assert that the plagues affected the Jews as well as the Egyptians. We may question the need for a complete change in nature just to purge Klal Yisrael of an element so alienated that it had no hope of ever returning to the Covenant. If the purpose was that…

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Moshe Marcovich In Beshalach, 5758

And because of their test of Hashem, saying: “Is Hashem among us or not?” Amalek came and battled Yisrael in Rephidim. (17:7,8)

Klal Yisrael challenged Hashem to the point that a place is named for their contentious behavior. The name implies for all time that Hashem is always with us. Further, the name suggests that we should use prayer for expressing our needs, not complaint and challenge. Rashi explains the juxtaposition of the place that Klal Yisrael questioned Hashem’s presence among them upon the location of the battle with Amalek. When they asked, “Is Hashem among us?”, Hashem sent Amalek as an indication that He was there watching every move, listening to every complaint, responding to every ingratitude. The Midrash analogizes this…

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Moshe Marcovich In Beshalach, 5758

This is the thing that Hashem has commanded, a full omer of it shall be a safekeeping for your generations, so that they will see the food that I fed you in the wilderness. (16:32)

Bnei Yisrael were privy to an unprecedented array of miracles, ranging from the Ten Plagues to the many miracles that occurred during the Exodus, to the splitting of the Red Sea. The Jews clearly saw that Hashem was with them during times of crisis. However, was this the most crucial lesson? Or is there another miracle, which, although less profound in nature, has a more significant message? Horav S.R. Hirsch, zl, observes that Bnei Yisrael were acutely aware that Hashem was close to them during the critical stages of their development. What about their recognition of Hashem’s role in their…

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Moshe Marcovich In Beshalach, 5758

And the people revered Hashem, and they believed in Hashem and in Moshe His servant. (14:31)

A Jew should strive to attain such a sublime level of emunah in Hashem that he truly believes with a clarity of vision. Let us explain. People accept the notion that “seeing is believing.” This means that in order to really believe, one must actually see the phenomenon. Hence, belief in a given concept is a step lower than actually seeing it. This is not the Torah perspective. The Chidushei Ha’Rim asserts that as Bnei Yisrael stood at the shores of the Red Sea and experienced unprecedented miracles, they were privy to a revelation of Hashem which was unparalleled. The…

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Moshe Marcovich In Beshalach, 5758

Hashem said to Moshe: “why do you cry out to Me? Speak unto Bnei Yisrael that they go forward.” (14:15)

Rashi explains Hashem’s response to Moshe as he stood in supplication before Him. Hashem told Moshe, “Now, when Bnei Yisrael are in distress is not the appropriate time to prolong prayer. Let them go forward. The merit of their forefathers and their own emunah, faith, which they have exhibited, are sufficient reason for the Sea to split before them.” This interpretation is enigmatic. Moshe was praying to Hashem during a time of severe crisis. Hashem told Moshe that now, when Bnei Yisrael were teetering on the brink of disaster, was not a time for prayer. There is no more propitious…

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Let it be that the maiden to whom I shall say, “Please tip over the jug so I may drink,” and who replies, “Drink, and I will even water your camels,” her will You have designated for Your servant Yitzchak. (24:14)

I have given you the field, and as for the cave that is in it, I have given to you….bury your dead. Land worth four hundred silver shekels; between you and I–what is it? Bury your dead. (23:11,15)

And Sarah died in Kiryas Arba….And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to cry for her. (23:2)

But on the previous day you shall nullify the leaven from your homes; for anyone who eats leavened food, that soul shall be cut off from Yisrael. (12:15)

They shall eat the flesh on that night, roasted over the fire, and matzos; with herbs they shall eat it. (12:8)

And there was a thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for a three-day period. (10:22)

And because of their test of Hashem, saying: “Is Hashem among us or not?” Amalek came and battled Yisrael in Rephidim. (17:7,8)

This is the thing that Hashem has commanded, a full omer of it shall be a safekeeping for your generations, so that they will see the food that I fed you in the wilderness. (16:32)

And the people revered Hashem, and they believed in Hashem and in Moshe His servant. (14:31)

Hashem said to Moshe: “why do you cry out to Me? Speak unto Bnei Yisrael that they go forward.” (14:15)

YEARS

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