Rabbi L. Scheinbaum

ויקם את החצר סביב למשכן ולמזבח... ויכל משה את המלאכה ויכס הענן את אהל מועד וכבוד ד' מלא את המשכן

He erected up the courtyard all around the Mishkan and the Mizbayach… And Moshe completed the work. The cloud covered the Ohel Moed, and the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan. (40:33, 34)

Ramban addresses the reason Sefer Shemos concludes with the subject of the Mishkan, when, in fact, it is addressed earlier in Parshios Terumah and Tetzaveh. He explains that Sefer Shemos is referred to as the Sefer HaGeulah, Book of Redemption. It is the book that relates how Hashem came to His close nation and redeemed them from the pain and misery of the Egyptian bondage. Although they were no longer under the thumbscrews of their Egyptian masters, they were still in exile, in the sense that, until they would return to their place and come back to the level of…

Home -> Pekudei -> 5773

אלה פקודי המשכן משכן העדות

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Pekudei

These are the reckonings of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of Testimony. (38:21)

Rashi notes the juxtaposition of Mishkan/Mishkan, which he explains refers to the two Temples which were taken from us. In a play on words, the word Mishkan is pronounced Mashkon, which is a pledge, collateral, security. This suggests that the two Temples/Mishkanos were taken as collateral for Klal Yisrael’s sins. At the time in which we will sincerely repent, they will be returned to their former glory. It seems strange that the destruction of the Batei Mikdash is alluded to specifically at the juncture that the Torah addresses the completion of the Mishkan’s construction. Surely, there could be another, more…

Home -> Vayakhel -> 5773

והמלאכה היתה דים לכל המלאכה לעשות אתה והותר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Vayakhel

And the work (of bringing materials for the building) was just enough, to make all the works (of the Mishkan), and there was left over. (36:7)

When we read this pasuk we are struck with an anomaly in its interpretation. The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh asks: Are these two expressions – dayom, “just enough;” and v’hoseir, “left over” – actually exclusive of one another? If there was “just enough,” then there could not have been anything “left over”; and if there is something “left over,” then clearly there was more than “just enough.” The Sfas Emes approaches this from a number of perspectives. We will select one which teaches a valuable lesson in avodas Hashem, service to the Almighty. In the Midrash Tanchuma, Chazal state that the…

Home -> Vayakhel -> 5773

ששת ימים תעשה מלאכה וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Vayakhel

On six days work may be done, but the seventh shall be holy for you. (35:2)

The Torah introduces the commandments concerning the Mishkan with an enjoinment to guard/observe the Shabbos. On a simple level, the Torah is intimating that, while the construction of the Mishkan is a lofty endeavor with clearly transcendent significance, it does not supersede Shabbos. In other words, the construction of the Mishkan, regardless of its magnitude, is halted for Shabbos. Veritably, one detects an affinity between Shabbos and the Mishkan. Chazal declare that the Lamed-tes Melachos, Thirty-nine classifications of work prohibited on Shabbos, are derived from the nature of work involved in the construction of the Mishkan. What is the connection…

Home -> Vayakhel -> 5773

ויקהל משה את כל קהל עדת בני ישראל ויאמר אליהם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Vayakhel

And Moshe assembled the entire assembly of Bnei Yisrael and said to them. (35:1)

Rashi observes that this assembly took place on the day after Yom Kippur, after Moshe Rabbeinu had descended from the mountain. The Sifsei Chachamim notes that Parashas Ki Sisa concludes with Moshe’s descent from the mountain. The narrative here continues from that point. The fact that Rashi emphasizes that the Assembly occurred on the day after Yom Kippur is notable. Is the date really that significant? If the gathering would have taken place on another day – would it have been different? Horav Moshe zl, m’Kubrin offers a practical exposition – something to which we can probably all relate. Yom…

Home -> 5773 -> Va'eschanan

ושננתם לבניך ודברת בם בשבתך בביתך ובלכתך בדרך ובשכבך ובקומך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Va'eschanan, 5773

And impress them sharply upon your sons, and speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk upon the way; when you lie down, and when you get up. (6:7)

A simple reading of the pasuk implies that one is to teach the commandments to his children/students, who are considered like his children. He should also speak words of Torah, with the primary topic of his conversation always being Torah-oriented. Last, he should occupy himself with Torah at all times: when he is in his home: or when he is traveling: at night when he lays down to sleep; and when he arises in the morning – Torah must be his primary focus in life. Perhaps, we might apply writer’s license to interpret the pesukim as an orientation for parents…

Home -> 5773 -> Va'eschanan

ואהבת את ד' אלקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Va'eschanan, 5773

You shall love Hashem, your G-d, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your resources. (6:5)

In his thesis on ahavas Hashem, love of the Almighty, Horav Eliezer Papo, zl, author of the Pele Yoetz, writes, “Love for Hashem – there is no quality/virtue better than it, for all service to Hashem, and (indeed) all Yahadus, Judaism, is derived from it.” Loving Hashem is one of the Taryag, 613, mitzvos. It is a constant mitzvah, one which is fulfilled only through thought and contemplation, resulting in a person’s awareness of Hashem’s beneficence and all that he owes Him. The Pele Yoetz writes that love of Hashem takes on two different forms or dimensions. The first, which…

Home -> 5773 -> Va'eschanan

אז יבדיל משה שלש ערים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Va'eschanan, 5773

At that time, Moshe designated three cities. (4:41)

In Sefer Mishlei 24:30-33, Shlomo HaMelech teaches us the inevitable consequence of indolence. Al sadeh ish atzeil avarti, “By the field of a lazy person I passed and behold, it was entirely covered with thorns, its face covered with weeds, and its wall of stones was in ruins. I saw, and I took a lesson: a little sleep, a little dreaming, a little folding of the hands to rest; your poverty will come racing after you.” The wisest of all men tells us that it does not take much. A little slacking off, and one gets into the habit. Habit…

Home -> 5773 -> Va'eschanan

וצו את יהושע וחזקהו ואמצהו כי הוא יעבר לפני העם והוא ינחיל אותם את הארץ

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Va'eschanan, 5773

But you shall command Yehoshua, and strengthen him and give him resolve, for he shall cross before this people and he shall cause them to inherit the Land. (3:28)

Upon a cursory reading of the text, the phrase, “For he shall cross before this people,” is superfluous in light of the following phrase, “And he shall cause them to inherit the Land.” Clearly, if Yehoshua was leading the nation in Eretz Yisrael, he would cross before they did. In his Aderes Eliyahu, Horav Yosef Chaim zl, m’Bagdad, distinguishes the leadership characteristics of Yehoshua’s from that of his Rebbe and predecessor, Moshe Rabbeinu. Yehoshua “crossed” before the nation, very much like a monarch who precedes his people. Moshe, on the other hand, was a roeh, shepherd, who led from “behind.”…

Home -> 5773 -> Vaeira

הירא את דבר ד'... הניס את עבדיו ואת מקנהו אל הבתים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vaeira, 5773

Whoever feared the word of Hashem… chased his servants and his livestock into the houses. (9:20)

Chazal derive an important principle from the Torah’s depiction of the “G-d-fearing” Egyptian: The best of snakes should have its head smashed. In other words, a snake is a snake, regardless of how “good” it may be. It cannot be trusted. The Torah distinguishes between the Egyptians who listened to the warning of Moshe Rabbeinu concerning the upcoming plague which would overrun the country and those that did not listen. Those who listened brought their livestock indoors, while those who ignored the warning left their animals outside. To their chagrin, these recalcitrant Egyptians lost their animals. Later on, when Pharaoh…

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ויקם את החצר סביב למשכן ולמזבח... ויכל משה את המלאכה ויכס הענן את אהל מועד וכבוד ד' מלא את המשכן

He erected up the courtyard all around the Mishkan and the Mizbayach… And Moshe completed the work. The cloud covered the Ohel Moed, and the glory of Hashem filled the Mishkan. (40:33, 34)

אלה פקודי המשכן משכן העדות

These are the reckonings of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of Testimony. (38:21)

והמלאכה היתה דים לכל המלאכה לעשות אתה והותר

And the work (of bringing materials for the building) was just enough, to make all the works (of the Mishkan), and there was left over. (36:7)

ששת ימים תעשה מלאכה וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש

On six days work may be done, but the seventh shall be holy for you. (35:2)

ויקהל משה את כל קהל עדת בני ישראל ויאמר אליהם

And Moshe assembled the entire assembly of Bnei Yisrael and said to them. (35:1)

ושננתם לבניך ודברת בם בשבתך בביתך ובלכתך בדרך ובשכבך ובקומך

And impress them sharply upon your sons, and speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk upon the way; when you lie down, and when you get up. (6:7)

ואהבת את ד' אלקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך

You shall love Hashem, your G-d, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your resources. (6:5)

אז יבדיל משה שלש ערים

At that time, Moshe designated three cities. (4:41)

וצו את יהושע וחזקהו ואמצהו כי הוא יעבר לפני העם והוא ינחיל אותם את הארץ

But you shall command Yehoshua, and strengthen him and give him resolve, for he shall cross before this people and he shall cause them to inherit the Land. (3:28)

הירא את דבר ד'... הניס את עבדיו ואת מקנהו אל הבתים

Whoever feared the word of Hashem… chased his servants and his livestock into the houses. (9:20)

YEARS

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