Rabbi L. Scheinbaum

ויבא משה ויספר לעם את כל דברי ד' ואת כל המשפטים. ויען כל העם קול אחד ויאמרו כל הדברים אשר דבר ד' נעשה

Moshe came and told the people all the words of Hashem and all the ordinances, and the entire people responded with one voice and they said, “All the words that Hashem has spoken, we will do.” (24:3)

Accepting the Torah was not a simple undertaking for the Jewish People. Here was a people that had previously been living in a country whose citizens were infamous for their profligate decadence; they had been slaves to masters who had redefined the meaning of cruelty; these were a people who were quite distant from religion of any kind, let alone ready to accept a Torah which would totally transform their lives. Yet, when the Torah was offered to them, they accepted it with a resounding declaration of Naase v’nishma, “We will do and we will listen.” What motivated their acceptance?…

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אם חבל תחבל שמלת רעך עד בא השמש תשיבנו לו. כי היא כסותה לבדה הוא שמלותו לערו במה ישכב והיה כי יצעק אלי ושמעתי כי חנון אני

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Mishpatim, 5774

If you take your fellow’s garment as security, until sunset shall you return it to him. For it alone is his clothing, it is his garment for his skin – in what should he lie down? So it will be that if he cries out to Me, I shall listen, for I am compassionate. (22:25,26)

Rarely do we find the Torah explaining the reason behind a mitzvah so thoroughly as it does in this case. Theoretically, the Torah is presenting an argument for returning the borrower’s garment before nightfall. Indeed, the Torah goes so far as to give three reasons for returning the garment: it is his only garment; “it covers his skin”; “in what shall he lie down?” One would expect the rav who was making an appeal on behalf of the less fortunate members of his community to emphasize these points. This, however, is not the Torah’s way. It presents the law without…

Home -> 5774 -> Mishpatim

כי תקנה עבד עברי שש שנים יעבד ובשבעת יצא לחפשי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Mishpatim, 5774

If you purchase a Jewish bondsman, he shall work for six years; and in the seventh he shall go free. (21:2)

The term mishpatim, ordinances, aptly describes the core of the parsha: to list many of the social ordinances found in the Torah. It is, therefore, interesting to note that the first law detailed in the parsha is that of the eved Ivri, Hebrew slave. The terminology the Torah uses to describe the slave’s nationality and religious affiliation is inconsistent with the manner it uses throughout the rest of the Torah, in which Jews are referred to as Yisrael – not Ivri. The Shem MiShmuel quotes his father, the Avnei Nezer, who is bothered by this question. In order to answer…

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על כן באה אלינו הצרה הזאת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Mikeitz

This is why this anguish has come upon us. (42:21)

The brothers introspected when they saw a series of misfortunes coming upon them. They realized that these had not been isolated occurrences, but rather, a punishment of sorts. But, for what? These were righteous men who did nothing without first consulting halachah. They felt that they had adjudicated Yosef’s sale in accordance with the halachah, stating that a rodef, pursuer, who threatens one’s life must be dealt with. Yet, Hashem still found something wrong with their actions. Otherwise, they would not be in this predicament. It must be their lack of compassion in the manner in which they carried out…

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ובלעדך לא ירים איש את ידו ואת רגלו בכל ארץ מצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Mikeitz

And, without you, no man may lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. (41:44)

Pharaoh handed exemplary powers of monarchy to Yosef. He retained for himself the power associated with the crown, meaning that he, Pharaoh, granted these powers to Yosef. What Yosef achieved was by his grace. Thus, Yosef, and by extension, the people, would never forget that the true Egyptian monarch was none other than Pharaoh. Nonetheless, this was an incredible step for Pharaoh. The Egyptians did not hold the Jews in the highest esteem. In fact, they reviled the Jews, as evidenced by the chamberlain’s description of Yosef. Yet, Pharaoh was not like that: he recognized greatness; he appreciated wisdom; he…

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אתה תהיה על ביתי ועל פיך ישק כל עמי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Mikeitz

You shall be in charge of my palace and by your command shall my people be sustained. (41:40)

After Yosef successfully interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, the king and his ministers all agreed that Yoef was an unusual individual. They offered him the position of viceroy as a token of their appreciation, and also to prove his effectiveness in executing his plan for the survival of the country. The entire episode is mind-boggling. Yosef was a slave who had been imprisoned on a trumped-up charge of impropriety with his master’s wife. Regardless of his innocence, he certainly did not have a reputation that bode well for ministerial status – let alone viceroy over the entire country. Furthermore, the Egyptian constitution…

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ןעתה ירא פרעה איש נבון וחכם וישיתהו על ארץ מצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Mikeitz

Now let Pharaoh seek out a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. (41:33)

We wonder at Yosef’s unsolicited advice. Pharaoh had asked him to interpret his dreams: no more, no less. What prompted Yosef to advise the monarch on how to implement a solution to the dream’s formidable message? Horav Eli Munk, zl, feels that Yosef believed in the portent of his dreams; thus, he felt that now – finally – the long-awaited realization of his dreams had finally arrived. This was a unique opportunity for him to seize the moment and offer some unsolicited advice. He might be presenting himself as presumptuous, but it was worth the gamble. While this might be…

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ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים ופרעה חולם והנה עומד על היאור

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Mikeitz

It happened at the end of two years to the day: Pharaoh was dreaming that behold! He was standing over the River. (41:1)

We all know the rest of the story. Seven healthy cows were swallowed up by seven meager cows. Seven healthy ears of grain sprouting on a single stalk were swallowed up by seven ears of parched, thin, weather-beaten grain. These were strange dreams which disturbed the Egyptian king. Clearly, these dreams had to have a profound meaning. Finally, Yosef interpreted the dreams, referring to two sets of seven years – years of plenty swallowed up by years of hunger, a hunger that would be so overwhelming that the years of plenty would be totally forgotten. The Torah does not write…

Home -> 5774 -> Metzora

ואשה כי יזיב זב דמה ימים רבים... והזרתם את בני ישראל מטומאתם ולא ימתו מטומאתם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Metzora, 5774

If a woman’s blood flows for many days… You shall separate Bnei Yisrael from their contamination; and they shall not die as a result of their contamination. (15:25,31)

One would think that, as people age, they become more amenable to perform teshuvah, to repent a life lived inappropriately, not in consonance with Torah dictate. Yet, this is not necessarily true. Horav Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, zl, writes that as a person ages, the yetzer hora, evil inclination, puts on a greater battle to lay claim to this individual’s spiritual dysfunction. After leading him astray for a lifetime, he does not want to lose the battle at the very end. I have noticed this in speaking with seniors who agree with what they “hear,” but are not prepared to effect…

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והנה פשה הנגע בבית צרעת ממארת היא בבית טמא הוא

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Metzora, 5774

And behold! The affliction had spread in the house: it is a malignant tzaraas in the house. (14:44)

It seems as if every type of tumah, spiritual contamination, has some form of tikkun, spiritual repair, some way to correct what has been “broken,” to fix what has been put into spiritual dysfunction – everything but tzaraas ha’bayis, a house that manifests a plague. The house must be dismantled – every component connected to the house, wood, stone, even the earth upon which it is built – must be removed. Is this not a bit extreme? Every creation has a spiritual dimension to it or else it would cease to exist: domeim, inanimate; tzomeach, growing vegetation; chai, living creations;…

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ויבא משה ויספר לעם את כל דברי ד' ואת כל המשפטים. ויען כל העם קול אחד ויאמרו כל הדברים אשר דבר ד' נעשה

Moshe came and told the people all the words of Hashem and all the ordinances, and the entire people responded with one voice and they said, “All the words that Hashem has spoken, we will do.” (24:3)

אם חבל תחבל שמלת רעך עד בא השמש תשיבנו לו. כי היא כסותה לבדה הוא שמלותו לערו במה ישכב והיה כי יצעק אלי ושמעתי כי חנון אני

If you take your fellow’s garment as security, until sunset shall you return it to him. For it alone is his clothing, it is his garment for his skin – in what should he lie down? So it will be that if he cries out to Me, I shall listen, for I am compassionate. (22:25,26)

כי תקנה עבד עברי שש שנים יעבד ובשבעת יצא לחפשי

If you purchase a Jewish bondsman, he shall work for six years; and in the seventh he shall go free. (21:2)

על כן באה אלינו הצרה הזאת

This is why this anguish has come upon us. (42:21)

ובלעדך לא ירים איש את ידו ואת רגלו בכל ארץ מצרים

And, without you, no man may lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. (41:44)

אתה תהיה על ביתי ועל פיך ישק כל עמי

You shall be in charge of my palace and by your command shall my people be sustained. (41:40)

ןעתה ירא פרעה איש נבון וחכם וישיתהו על ארץ מצרים

Now let Pharaoh seek out a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. (41:33)

ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים ופרעה חולם והנה עומד על היאור

It happened at the end of two years to the day: Pharaoh was dreaming that behold! He was standing over the River. (41:1)

ואשה כי יזיב זב דמה ימים רבים... והזרתם את בני ישראל מטומאתם ולא ימתו מטומאתם

If a woman’s blood flows for many days… You shall separate Bnei Yisrael from their contamination; and they shall not die as a result of their contamination. (15:25,31)

והנה פשה הנגע בבית צרעת ממארת היא בבית טמא הוא

And behold! The affliction had spread in the house: it is a malignant tzaraas in the house. (14:44)

YEARS

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