Rabbi L. Scheinbaum

מי האיש אשר בנה בית חדש... ומי האיש אשר נטע כרם... ומי האיש אשר ארש אשה... מי האיש הירא ורך הלבב ילך וישב לביתו

Who is the man who built a new house… and who is the man who has planted a vineyard… and who is the man who had betrothed a woman… who is the man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house. (20:5,6,7,8)

The Torah’s sensitivity toward all Jews – regardless of background, personal status, or self-imposed emotional baggage – is evidenced in this parsha. Prior to the nation’s leaving for battle, the Kohen Gadol Mashuach Milchamah, High Priest anointed specifically for the purpose of leading the people in battle and serving as their spiritual advisor during this stressful time, made a declaration telling the troops that anyone who was not emotionally fit for fighting in a war should return home from the battlefield. The emotional toll on a person during such a period of adversity is enormous. If a soldier’s mind begins…

Home -> 5774 -> Shoftim

והאיש אשר יעשה בזדון... ומת האיש ההוא ובערת הרע מישראל. וכל העם ישמעו ויראו ולא יזידון עוד

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5774

And the man that will act with willfulness… that man shall die, and if you shall destroy the evil from among Yisrael. The entire nation shall listen and fear, and they shall not act willfully anymore. (17:12,13)

How often – upon confronting a young Jewish boy or girl and inquiring why he or she has suddenly opted for living a life of spiritual risk, or of turning off completely to religious observance – will the response be, “I was turned off by the lack of truth, the dearth of intellectual honesty, the improper behavior such as chillul Hashem and hypocrisy”? Veritably, the response that we receive has a ring of truth to it. The system is perfect; the people, however, are human, and human beings err – some by not thinking, while others are simply dishonest. In…

Home -> 5774 -> Shoftim

לא תסור מן הדבר אשר יגידו לך ימין ושמאל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5774

Do not deviate from the word that they will tell you, right or left. (17:11)

Rashi explains that one may not deviate from the halachah as expounded by the sages, even if they tell you concerning “right,” that it is “left” and, concerning “left” that it is “right.” The question is obvious: if I know that something is definitely “right” or that something is clearly “left,” a thousand sages are unable to change this reality. Does the Torah demand that I commit a falsehood, that I act out a lie? Obviously, this is not what the Torah wants of us. What is the meaning of Lo sassur, “Do not deviate,” and what does Rashi mean…

Home -> 5774 -> Shoftim

ובאת אל הכהנים הלוים ואל השפט אשר יהיה בימים ההם... והגידו לך את דבר המשפט

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5774

You shall come to the Kohanim, the Leviim, and to the judge who will be in those days… and they will tell you the word of judgment. (17:9)

We believe that the leaders of each and every generation are specifically suited for that generation. Therefore, we do not second guess our gedolim, Torah leadership. They are Hashem’s choice. To impugn the integrity of their leadership is to question Hashem’s decision. The leader of each individual generation is the last word in Torah ruling. We do not compare him to the leaders of earlier generations. He is our leader – not the leader of a previous generation. Horav Shimshon Pincus, zl, relates an amazing story that occurred concerning the Gaon, zl, m’Vilna, which underscores this idea. We must remember…

Home -> Shemos -> 5774

ויאמר משה אל ד'... לא איש דברים אנכי גם מתמול גם משלשם גם מאז דברך אל עבדך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Shemos

Moshe replied to Hashem… I am not a man of words, not since yesterday, not since the day before yesterday, nor since You first spoke to your servant. (4:10)

Rashi notes that this was the seventh day of Moshe Rabbeinu’s dialogue with Hashem. Moshe’s reluctance to assume the leadership of Klal Yisrael was because he did not want to arrogate himself over his older brother, Aharon, who was a Navi, Prophet, and the present leader of the people. The Yalkut Shimoni quotes Moshe, “Until I stood here, my brother, Aharon, had been prophesizing for the last eighty years. Now I should come into his perimeter? I should be his adversary and cause him pain?” Hashem replied, “You will neither be his adversary, nor will you cause him pain. Indeed,…

Home -> Shemos -> 5774

ויגדל משה ויצא אל אחיו וירא בסבלתם וירא איש מצרי מכה איש עברי מאחיו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Shemos

And Moshe grew up and went out to his brethren and observed their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man, of his brethren. (2:11)

Rashi’s famous comment tells it all: Nassan einav v’libo liheyos meitzar aleihem, “He applied his eyes and heart (to see their suffering and) grieve with them.” The Melitzer Rebbe, Shlita, observes that Hashem has given us a mitzvah to protect our eyes from gazing at anything that will cause us spiritual harm. V’lo sassuru acharei levavchem v’acharei eineichem, “And (do) not explore after your heart and after your eyes” (Bamidbar 15:39). To explore with our eyes can be quite dangerous to our spiritual health. This is why we are admonished concerning shemiras ha’einayim, guarding/ protecting our eyes from those areas…

Home -> Shemos -> 5774

וייטב אלקים למילדות וירב העם ויעצמו מאד

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Shemos

Hashem was good to the midwives, and the people increased and became very mighty. (1:20)

The meyaldos haIvrios, Hebrew midwives, really extended themselves to save the Jewish children,but is that not what being Jewish means? These women stood up to Pharaoh’s evil decree, with great risk to their own lives; thus, they were able to save countless Jewish children. The pasuk’s syntax, however, seems out of order. It begins, “Hashem was good to the midwives, and the people increased and became very mighty. Because the midwives feared Hashem, He gave them houses.” Rashi explains the meaning of this “good” which Hashem gave the midwives as the Houses of Priesthood that they would be of the…

Home -> 5774 -> Shemini

ואת בת היענה ואת התחמס... ואת הנץ למינהו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shemini, 5774

The bas ha’yaanah, the tachmos… and the netz according to its kind. (11:16)

The economic situation in Europe between the two world wars was severe. The Jews, who during good times lived from hand to mouth, found this period to be especially disastrous. People worked from dawn until late at night to earn enough to barely support their family. These were the lucky ones who had jobs. The others suffered the pangs of hunger and deprivation. The Chafetz Chaim, zl, was visiting the Polish manufacturing city of Lodz. A large Jewish population made their home there. Understandably, when a person of such distinction visited, lines of people came to greet him, seek his…

Home -> 5774 -> Shemini

וישמע משה וייטב בעיניו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shemini, 5774

And Moshe listened, and it was good in his eyes. (10:20)

Having just tragically lost his two sons, Aharon HaKohen was an onein, one who had just lost a close relative and, thus, could not partake of the sacrificial offerings. Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu that, despite Aharon’s aninus, he was permitted to eat of those sacrifices that had been offered exclusively for the Mishkan’s consecration. Moshe erred by extending this Heavenly dispensation to all korbanos. Aharon was, therefore, correct in not eating from the other sacrifices. Moshe chastised him for not listening to his instructions to eat from all the korbanos. Aharon was very proper, respectfully replying to his brother, “If…

Home -> 5774 -> Shemini

וישא אהרן את ידו אל העם ויברכם וירד מעשות החטאת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shemini, 5774

Aharon raised his hands towards the people and blessed them; then he descended from having performed the sin-offering. (9:22)

Negativity can destroy the most auspicious objective. It can undermine the most hopeful prayers. It can impugn the integrity of the most promising career. Some people thrive on negativity, because they cannot handle success. They know that as long as they are negative, they are safe. This is, of course, not the Torah way. Indeed, this is the method employed by the yetzer hora, evil-inclination, to undermine the individual’s efforts at prayer. One should not ignore his own shortcomings, but, when he is speaking with Hashem, he should focus on the positive. Concerning the above pasuk, the Tiferes Shlomo says…

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Back to Home -> Shoftim ->

מי האיש אשר בנה בית חדש... ומי האיש אשר נטע כרם... ומי האיש אשר ארש אשה... מי האיש הירא ורך הלבב ילך וישב לביתו

Who is the man who built a new house… and who is the man who has planted a vineyard… and who is the man who had betrothed a woman… who is the man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house. (20:5,6,7,8)

והאיש אשר יעשה בזדון... ומת האיש ההוא ובערת הרע מישראל. וכל העם ישמעו ויראו ולא יזידון עוד

And the man that will act with willfulness… that man shall die, and if you shall destroy the evil from among Yisrael. The entire nation shall listen and fear, and they shall not act willfully anymore. (17:12,13)

לא תסור מן הדבר אשר יגידו לך ימין ושמאל

Do not deviate from the word that they will tell you, right or left. (17:11)

ובאת אל הכהנים הלוים ואל השפט אשר יהיה בימים ההם... והגידו לך את דבר המשפט

You shall come to the Kohanim, the Leviim, and to the judge who will be in those days… and they will tell you the word of judgment. (17:9)

ויאמר משה אל ד'... לא איש דברים אנכי גם מתמול גם משלשם גם מאז דברך אל עבדך

Moshe replied to Hashem… I am not a man of words, not since yesterday, not since the day before yesterday, nor since You first spoke to your servant. (4:10)

ויגדל משה ויצא אל אחיו וירא בסבלתם וירא איש מצרי מכה איש עברי מאחיו

And Moshe grew up and went out to his brethren and observed their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man, of his brethren. (2:11)

וייטב אלקים למילדות וירב העם ויעצמו מאד

Hashem was good to the midwives, and the people increased and became very mighty. (1:20)

ואת בת היענה ואת התחמס... ואת הנץ למינהו

The bas ha’yaanah, the tachmos… and the netz according to its kind. (11:16)

וישמע משה וייטב בעיניו

And Moshe listened, and it was good in his eyes. (10:20)

וישא אהרן את ידו אל העם ויברכם וירד מעשות החטאת

Aharon raised his hands towards the people and blessed them; then he descended from having performed the sin-offering. (9:22)

YEARS

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

You have Successfully Subscribed!