Rabbi L. Scheinbaum

יפקד ד' אלקי הרוחות לכל בשר איש על העדה. אשר יצא לפניהם ואשר יבא לפניהם

“May Hashem, G-d of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the assembly, who shall go out before them and come in before them.” (27:16,17)

Moshe Rabbeinu asked Hashem to appoint his successor, hoping that his own son would be the one to succeed him as the nation’s leader. Hashem had other plans: “Yehoshua, who has never departed from the (your) tent, deserves to be granted leadership over the nation.” As Shlomo Ha’melech says (Mishlei 27:18) Notzer t’einah yochal piryah, “He who watches over the fig tree should eat its fruit.” Rashi, who cites the above Chazal, indicates that Yehoshua was selected as a result of his devotion to the ohalah shel Torah, incredible diligence in not leaving the tent of Torah. Lo yamush mitoch…

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והיתה לי ולזרעו אחריו ברית כהונת עולם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5775

And it shall be for him and his offspring after him a covenant of eternal Priesthood. (25:13)

Up until that time, only Aharon HaKohen and his sons had been inducted into the Priesthood. Any additional offspring who would be born into the family would be “born Kohanim.” Pinchas was already born; thus, he was not to be included in the Priesthood. As a result of his decisive act of zealousness, he was granted a place in the Priesthood, a place for himself and his offspring. The Zohar HaKadosh questions Pinchas’ induction into the Priesthood, since he had just killed a Jew. We have a rule that a Kohen who takes a life is not permitted to serve….

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והיתה לו ולזרעו אחריו ברית כהנת עולם תחת אשר קנא לאלקיו ויכפר על בני ישראל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5775

And it shall be for him and his offspring after him a covenant of eternal Priesthood, because he took vengeance for his G-d, and he atoned for Bnei Yisrael. (25:13)

Pinchas was inducted into the Kehunah, Priesthood, following his zealous act of killing Zimri, the Nasi, Prince, of the Tribe of Shimon. Rashi explains that, until this point in time, the only Kohanim were Aharon HaKohen, his sons and future offspring. Since Pinchas was not a son (neither were his future offspring), he was not included in the Kehunah. In one of the teachings of the Zohar, the position is taken that by killing Zimri, Pinchas became forever disqualified from the Kehunah. Thus, the Kehunah, which he received as a reward, was a totally new Kehunah, not connected with that…

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פינחס בן אלעזר בן אהרן הכהן השיב את את חמתי מעל בני ישראל... לכן אמור הנני נותן לו את בריתי שלום

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Pinchas, 5775

Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon HaKohen, turned back My wrath from upon Bnei Yisrael… Therefore, say: “Behold! I give him My covenant of peace.” (25:11,12)

Concerning Pinchas’ right to reward, Chazal express themselves strongly: B’din hu she’yitol s’charo; “It is by right (halachically axiomatic) that he (Pinchas) should take his reward.” Such an act of zealousness on behalf of Hashem warrants an exemplary reward. Far from belittling Pinchas’ right to reward, it seems inconsistent with the halachic maxim, S’char mitzvah b’hai alma leka, “The reward for mitzvah performance is not rendered in this world.” Simply, this is a physical world, a world of the mundane; mitzvos are spiritual in nature, given to us by Hashem for the purpose of our spiritual advancement and as a…

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וימת הרן על פני תרח אביו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5775

Haran died in the lifetime of Terach his father. (11:28)

Haran was the brother of Avraham Avinu. Very little is written about him, because he did not live very long, and, for all intents and purposes, he did not seem to have achieved very much. This is the first mistake. When we judge a person’s life accomplishments, we must do it with a lens that sees far beyond our first impression. Also, we must take into consideration that Hashem rewards every person in accordance with his own personal barometer of values. Thus, if a person devotes his life to material pursuits, the chances are that his reward will be material…

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והנה עלה זית טרף בפיה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5775

And behold! An olive leaf it had plucked with its bill. (8:11)

The Midrash teaches that, in addition to representatives of every living creature which Noach brought with him into the Teivah, Ark, he also brought seeds and shoots from all types of vegetation. The purpose was simple: He and all the creatures would survive, but what would they eat? From what would they sustain themselves? There was one plant which he did not take: the olive. In their commentary to the Torah, the Baalei Tosfos explain that the olive cannot endure one full year out of the soil. Thus, it would not have survived on the Ark. Therefore, it is interesting…

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עשה לך תיבת עצי גפר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5775

Make for yourself an Ark of gopher wood. (6:14)

Rashi explains that, indeed, Hashem had a wealth of ways to save Noach. The Teivah, Ark, was not for Noach; rather, Noach worked for one hundred and twenty years building this incredibly large boat, so that the curious spectators would question Noach, who would impart the message of impending doom. Perhaps this would motivate them to repent. In other words, the sole purpose of the Ark was to inspire the people to do teshuvah, repent. Hashem’s boundless compassion for His creations is so great that He held off the punishment which they certainly deserved, just because they might repent. We…

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קץ כל בשר בא לפני

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5775

The end of all flesh has come before Me. (6:13)

Simply, this means that the immorality of this generation had exceeded all boundaries. A people that behave so immorally, who are filled with such corruption, have forfeited their right to existence. Their end must come. Hashem told Noach to build an Ark and take his time doing it, so that maybe the people would repent, thereby averting the decree issued against them. The Kli Yakar interprets this statement with a homiletic twist. “The end of all flesh has come before Me”: When is there an end to all flesh? This refers to the yom ha’missah, day of death, when the…

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כי מלאה הארץ חמס

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5775

And the earth had become filled with robbery. (6:13)

Rashi explains that the fate of the people of that generation was sealed as a result of theft. The members of the dor hamabul, generation of the Flood, were guilty of many other and more egregious transgressions. Why did theft play such a critical role in their fate? Furthermore, it is a well-established maxim that Hashem does not exact punishment on a person’s body until He has exhausted all other avenues of punishment. We see that the individual who is guilty of behavior which brings on the onset of tzaraas, spiritual leprosy, first notices the plague on his house and…

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אלה תולדות נח נח איש צדיק

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Noach, 5775

These are the offspring of Noach – Noach was a righteous man. (6:9)

The pasuk begins with an introduction: the following are Noach’s offspring. Yet, rather than mention any names, it goes on to praise Noach as a righteous person. What happened to his offspring? Rashi quotes the Midrash which teaches that one’s primary “offspring” are his good deeds. This is especially true concerning the tzaddik whose entire life is devoted to the performance of good deeds. A young man who had been married for some time– and had not yet been blessed with children– had occasion to bring something to the venerable Rebbe of Gur, the Lev Simchah. The Rebbe was appreciative….

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יפקד ד' אלקי הרוחות לכל בשר איש על העדה. אשר יצא לפניהם ואשר יבא לפניהם

“May Hashem, G-d of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the assembly, who shall go out before them and come in before them.” (27:16,17)

והיתה לי ולזרעו אחריו ברית כהונת עולם

And it shall be for him and his offspring after him a covenant of eternal Priesthood. (25:13)

והיתה לו ולזרעו אחריו ברית כהנת עולם תחת אשר קנא לאלקיו ויכפר על בני ישראל

And it shall be for him and his offspring after him a covenant of eternal Priesthood, because he took vengeance for his G-d, and he atoned for Bnei Yisrael. (25:13)

פינחס בן אלעזר בן אהרן הכהן השיב את את חמתי מעל בני ישראל... לכן אמור הנני נותן לו את בריתי שלום

Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon HaKohen, turned back My wrath from upon Bnei Yisrael… Therefore, say: “Behold! I give him My covenant of peace.” (25:11,12)

וימת הרן על פני תרח אביו

Haran died in the lifetime of Terach his father. (11:28)

והנה עלה זית טרף בפיה

And behold! An olive leaf it had plucked with its bill. (8:11)

עשה לך תיבת עצי גפר

Make for yourself an Ark of gopher wood. (6:14)

קץ כל בשר בא לפני

The end of all flesh has come before Me. (6:13)

כי מלאה הארץ חמס

And the earth had become filled with robbery. (6:13)

אלה תולדות נח נח איש צדיק

These are the offspring of Noach – Noach was a righteous man. (6:9)

YEARS

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