Rabbi L. Scheinbaum

ומכה אביו ואמו... וגנב איש ומכרו... ומקלל אביו ואמו

Whoever strikes his father or mother… whoever steals/kidnaps a man and sells him… whoever curses his father and mother. (21:15,16,17)

Social murder, which consists of depriving a human being of his personal freedom, is tantamount to actual murder. To kidnap a human being and sell him is a capital offense. To strike a father or mother, to injure one of them, is indicative of an evil person. Last, a child’s verbal articulation of his wish to see his parent destroyed is also a capital offense. What kind of person would be so vile as to strike a parent or to stoop so low as to curse a parent? Such a person is so filled with himself that no one else…

Home -> Mikeitz -> 5775

וימהר יוסף כי נכמרו רחמיו אל אחיו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Mikeitz

Then Yosef rushed because his compassion for his brother had been stirred. (43:30)

Yosef’s conversation with his brother Binyamin was an emotion-laden experience. Yosef asked Binyamin if he had a brother from the same mother as he. Binyamin responded in the affirmative, but he did not know his whereabouts. When Yosef asked Binyamin concerning his own family, the latter replied that he had ten sons – each one named in a manner commemorating the loss of his brother. When Yosef heard how far Binyamin had gone in perpetuating his memory, his emotions were stirred. Two powerful lessons can be derived from here. First, the greatest tribute one can make to the memory of…

Home -> Mikeitz -> 5775

וקל ש-די יתן לכם רחמים לפני האיש

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Mikeitz

And may Almighty G-d grant you mercy before the man. (43:14)

Rashi explains Yaakov Avinu’s farewell to his sons: “Now that you have the money, a gift for the viceroy, and your brother Binyamin, you lack nothing but prayer – I will pray for you.” The decision was made that they were to return to Egypt. If so, they were to take along a gift for the Egyptian ruler. Second, they required funds for purchasing the grain. Third, they should return the money they had discovered in their bags. Fourth, they would take along double money, just in case the price had doubled. Fifth, take Binyamin. It would seem that now…

Home -> Mikeitz -> 5775

ויקח מאתם שמעון ויאסר אתו לעיניהם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Mikeitz

He took Shimon from them and imprisoned him before their eyes. (42:24)

Yosef took Shimon as a hostage until the brothers would return with Binyamin. Rashi explains that it was Shimon who had thrown Yosef into the well, and he was the one who had contemptuously referred to Yosef as the baal ha’chalomos, “the dreamer.” Alternatively, Rashi explains that allowing Shimon and Levi to be together could have been dangerous. As the ones who slew the entire city of Shechem, he feared that their companionship could lead to a lethal conspiracy against him. In any event, Yosef felt he had reason to fear Shimon. In his inimitable manner, Horav Aryeh Leib Heyman,…

Home -> Mikeitz -> 5775

ואת בנימין אחי יוסף לא שלח... כי אמר פן יקראנו אסון

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Mikeitz

But Binyamin, Yosef’s brother, Yaakov did not send… for he said, “Lest disaster befall him.” (42:4)

The words yikranu, spelled with an aleph, is related to kara, to call, to designate. When Yehudah repeats (to Yosef) his father’s fear concerning Binyamin’s safety, he says, Ulekachtem gam es zeh me’im panai v’karahu ason, “So you should take this one, too, from my presence, and disaster will befall him” (44:29). In this instance v’karahu is spelled with a hay, related to karah, denotes an unrelated occurrence by chance. Thus, we have two words which sound the same: with an aleph, it implies deliberation, designation, calling with a purpose; with a hay, it denotes a chance meeting, an unrelated…

Home -> Mikeitz -> 5775

ויקרא יוסף את שם הבכור מנשה כי נשני אלקים את כל עמלי ואת כל בית אבי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Mikeitz

Yosef called the firstborn Menashe, for “G-d has made me forget all my hardship and my entire father’s household. (41:51)

Unquestionably, Yosef’s home life was difficult. Being reviled and shunned by his brothers, regardless of its appropriateness or misguided nature, did not provide the setting for a happy home life. He had every reason to want to forget the hardships that he had endured in his father’s home. Yet, he did not remonstrate over it, because he understood that it had been Hashem’s will, as part of a larger Divine Plan. He bore his brothers no ill will and carried no grudge. As the Baal Akeidah explains, he thanked Hashem for enlightening him concerning his difficult past. Now, it all…

Home -> Mikeitz -> 5775

ובלעדך לא ירים איש את ידו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Mikeitz

And without you, no man may lift up his hand. (41:44)

Thirty years of servitude is a harsh sentence for a young man in the prime of his life. Yosef knew it was not going to be easy, and he was prepared to live with the consequences of his sale to the Yishmaelim. When it was decreed by Heaven that it was time for Yosef to be released, it came all of a sudden. Yosef had no warning that he was leaving. He never despaired of being released one day. The last thing on his radar was being released, and – almost overnight – the slave becoming the Egyptian Viceroy. This…

Home -> Mikeitz -> 5775

ועתה ירא פרעה איש נבון וחכם וישיתהו על ארץ מצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Mikeitz

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

Yosef was asked to interpret Pharaoh’s dream – not to add his personal opinion concerning its implementation. Yet, when he rendered the interpretation, he rendered free, unrequested advice. Why did he do this? Horav Gamliel Rabinowitz, Shlita, explains that, actually, the advice was part of the dream’s interpretation. He quotes a vignette which he heard from his father concerning the Chofetz Chaim, zl. A man came to the venerable sage, complaining bitterly that, at one point in his life, parnassah, earning a livelihood, had been no problem for him. He did well, and he had money to spare. Now, regrettably,…

Home -> Mikeitz -> 5775

ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Mikeitz

And it was at the end of two years. (41:1)

Yosef was only supposed to be in prison for ten years, because he had spoken lashon hora, slander, against his ten brothers. Why did he stay for two more years? Chazal explain that his reliance on the sar ha’mashkin, chamberlain, bespoke a failing in his level of bitachon, trust in Hashem. An individual of Yosef’s spiritual level knows better than to rely on people. It is all up to Hashem – or nothing. Only the Almighty has the power to save. Indeed, whatever a man catalyzes requires Hashem’s complete assistance. In his sefer Yado Bakol, Horav Eliyahu m’Izmir, raises a…

Home -> Matos -> 5775

אלה מסעי בני ישראל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Matos, Masei

These are the journeys of Bnei Yisrael. (33:1)

The adage, “Life is a trip,” has greater meaning than one might think. Each of us travels on the journey called life, and, as occurs in many instances, not all travelers have the same experience. One can travel to a wonderful, beautiful vacation spot and still have a miserable experience. The other can go to a stark, cold, uninviting place and still have a great time. Different people have varied experiences as they go through life. For some, the trip is long and quite enjoyable; for others, it might be too short, and not much to write home about. Once,…

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ומכה אביו ואמו... וגנב איש ומכרו... ומקלל אביו ואמו

Whoever strikes his father or mother… whoever steals/kidnaps a man and sells him… whoever curses his father and mother. (21:15,16,17)

וימהר יוסף כי נכמרו רחמיו אל אחיו

Then Yosef rushed because his compassion for his brother had been stirred. (43:30)

וקל ש-די יתן לכם רחמים לפני האיש

And may Almighty G-d grant you mercy before the man. (43:14)

ויקח מאתם שמעון ויאסר אתו לעיניהם

He took Shimon from them and imprisoned him before their eyes. (42:24)

ואת בנימין אחי יוסף לא שלח... כי אמר פן יקראנו אסון

But Binyamin, Yosef’s brother, Yaakov did not send… for he said, “Lest disaster befall him.” (42:4)

ויקרא יוסף את שם הבכור מנשה כי נשני אלקים את כל עמלי ואת כל בית אבי

Yosef called the firstborn Menashe, for “G-d has made me forget all my hardship and my entire father’s household. (41:51)

ובלעדך לא ירים איש את ידו

And without you, no man may lift up his hand. (41:44)

ועתה 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

And it was at the end of two years. (41:1)

אלה מסעי בני ישראל

These are the journeys of Bnei Yisrael. (33:1)

YEARS

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