Rabbi L. Scheinbaum

You shall be wholeheartedly simple with Hashem, your G-d. (18:13)

Fundraising can be a disheartening endeavor, regardless of the organization or individual for which one is working. The esteem which we accord the fundraiser is commensurate with the individual’s own level of self respect. One can view his undertaking as an opportunity to enable another Jew to share in the spiritual reward reserved for those who demonstrate strength of character – to overcome that “little voice” that finds every excuse to urge them not to give tzedakah. If he succeeds in adopting this perspective, he will approach his mission in a positive light. There is a story told about the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5757

Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and inherit the land. (16:20)

Emes, truth, is one of the most essential human character traits. Indeed, the Torah tells us to pursue truth. Hashem’s seal is emes. An individual who desires to be close and cling to Hashem must cleave to the attribute of truth. One who merits to be the paragon of integrity, to have emes permeate his entire essence, is already close to Hashem. Interestingly, we do not find a fence placed around any other middah, character trait, to the extent that we see occurring with sheker, falsehood. The Torah admonishes us, “Midvar sheker tirchak” – “Distance yourself from falsehood.” (Shemos 23,7) …

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5757, Shemos

Every son that will be born, into the River shall you throw him. (1:24)

Chazal tell us that Pharaoh’s astrologers foresaw that the Jewish savior’s downfall would occur as a result of water. They were even able to pinpoint the exact day on which Moshe would be born. Pharaoh’s own daughter, who found Moshe, took him home and raised him in the royal palace. Following the advice of his astrologers, on the day that Moshe was born, Pharaoh issued an edict to drown all male infants upon birth. The astrologers claimed that the threat of a Jewish savior had been averted. They were, of course, wrong, since Moshe’s death was not caused by drowning,…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5757, Shemos

And Pharaoh commanded his entire people saying, “Every son that will be born–into the River shall you throw him.” (1:22)

Pharaoh thought that the way to prevent the emergence of a Jewish leader was to drown all baby boys. Indeed, his astrologers had told him that the downfall of the Jewish savior would be effected through water. As a result of this decree, Amram, who was the gadol ha’dor, the spiritual leader of that generation, separated from his wife, Yocheved. Ostensibly, all Jewish men followed suit. Rather than bring boys into the world to be drowned by Pharaoh, they left their wives. Miriam, however, yet a young child, challenged her father Amram’s decree. She claimed that his decree to separate…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5757, Shemos

They embittered their lives with hard work…All their labors that they performed with them were with crushing harshness. (1:14)

We memorialize the bitterness of Egypt, the harsh labor and persecution, with the marror, bitter herbs, which we eat on Pesach night. Chazal teach us that while there are a number of vegetables that are suitable for the mitzvah of marror, leaf lettuce is preferred. Among the vegetables, leaf lettuce provides the most apt comparison with the type of labor to which the Egyptians subjected the Jewish people. At first, the Egyptians convinced the Jews to work with them. Later on, they embittered their lives with harsh labor. At first, the lettuce seems almost sweet to the palate, but subsequently,…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5757, Shemos

And they appointed taskmasters over it in order to afflict it with their burdens. (1:11)

By inflicting hard labor upon the Jews, the Egyptians’ goal was simply to destroy their dignity, to hurt them emotionally as well as physically. Horav Shimon Schwab, z”l, comments that the purpose of placing taskmasters over the Jews was to degrade and humiliate them, to convey to them that they could not be trusted to perform their job adequately without supervision. They were telling the Jews that they were crude and undignified; their integrity was lacking and their work ethic unsuitable. Is there anything worse than such a loathsome form of emotional abuse? Indeed, the intention of the Egyptians was…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5757, Shemos

Come let us outsmart it lest it become numerous….and it too, may join our enemies. (1:10)

Chazal tell us that Pharaoh had a council composed of three advisors, Bilaam, Iyov, and Yisro. Bilaam was the one who suggested the diabolical scheme to enslave the Jews. Iyov remained silent; he was later punished for his silence with ordeals of terrible pain and anguish. Yisro fled Egypt, rather than acquiesce to the evil advice. He was rewarded with the promise that his descendants would one day sit in the Sanhedrin. This well-known Midrash assumes a new meaning when one considers the nature of each of the three advisors and the inconsistency of their advice with his own personal…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shemini, 5757

You shall hallow yourselves and be holy…For I am Hashem Who took you up from the land of Egypt to be your G-d, you shall be holy for I am holy. (11:44)

This pasuk, which concludes the parshah, comes at the end of the Jewish dietary laws. Kashrus is one of the areas in which the Jew distinguishes himself from the rest of the world. The message of this pasuk reveals the significance of this distinctiveness. Horav Moshe Swift, zl, notes the words, “For I am Hashem Who took you up from the land of Egypt.” Elsewhere in the Torah and in our tefillos, prayers, we say, “Who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” The Torah emphasizes here that we were brought up–elevated–to a higher level, so that Hashem would…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shemini, 5757

The camel, for it brings up its cud, but its hoof is not split, the hyrax, for it brings up its cud but its hoof is not split…, and the hare, for it brings up its cud and its hoof is not split. (11:4, 5, 6)

The Torah identifies those animals that have only one siman, sign, of kashrus. Interestingly, the Torah seems to employ the three tenses concerning the lack of split hooves in describing the animals: past, present, and future. The Torah says, “einanu mafris” —“it does not have split hooves,” in the present; “ufarsa lo yafris”–“it will not have split hooves,” the future; “ufarsa lo hifrisa” — “it’s hooves were never split,” in the past. What is the significance of these three expressions? Ma’ayanah shel Torah cites one of the gedolei ha’mussar, who infer a noteworthy lesson from this pasuk. When one is…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shemini, 5757

And Aharon was silent. (10:3)

Ramban explains that Aharon actually did cry. Aharon silently accepted Hashem’s decree only after Moshe consoled him by telling him of the enormous kiddush Hashem, sanctification of Hashem’s Name, which Nadav and Avihu had effected. Aharon’s response to the tragic deaths of his two eldest sons serves as a paradigm for those who confront tragedy. He was silent, accepting the decree. Did Aharon exhibit the loftiest form of acquiescence, or is there another — more exalted — way of confronting Hashem’s decree? Tiferes Shlomo, the Admor m’Radomsk, zl, comments that Chazal laud Aharon Ha’kohen for his “silent” response to his…

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You shall be wholeheartedly simple with Hashem, your G-d. (18:13)

Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and inherit the land. (16:20)

Every son that will be born, into the River shall you throw him. (1:24)

And Pharaoh commanded his entire people saying, “Every son that will be born–into the River shall you throw him.” (1:22)

They embittered their lives with hard work…All their labors that they performed with them were with crushing harshness. (1:14)

And they appointed taskmasters over it in order to afflict it with their burdens. (1:11)

Come let us outsmart it lest it become numerous….and it too, may join our enemies. (1:10)

You shall hallow yourselves and be holy…For I am Hashem Who took you up from the land of Egypt to be your G-d, you shall be holy for I am holy. (11:44)

The camel, for it brings up its cud, but its hoof is not split, the hyrax, for it brings up its cud but its hoof is not split…, and the hare, for it brings up its cud and its hoof is not split. (11:4, 5, 6)

And Aharon was silent. (10:3)

YEARS

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