Rabbi L. Scheinbaum

“The sons of Reuven, of Chanoch, the family of Chanochi.” (26:5)

Rashi cites Chazal who state that Hashem added two letters of His Name to each Jewish family name. He added the letter, v hay, as a prefix, and the letter h yud, as a suffix. These letters form a Name of Hashem which attests to the purity of Klal Yisrael. What does it mean to have Hashem’s Name attached to ours? What responsibilities are evoked as a result of having the Name of the Almighty integrated with ours? In the Shemoneh Esrai which is recited on Yom Tov, we say ub,rjc v,tw “You have chosen us.” At the end of…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Pinchas, 5755

“Therefore, say: ‘Behold I give him My covenant of peace. And it should be for him and his offspring after him a covenant of eternal priesthood.” (25:12,13)

If one were to look in a Sefer Torah or even in many Chumash texts, it would be noticeable that the vov, ( u ), of the word ouka, peace, is somewhat broken. This is referred to as a a broken vov. What is signified by the break in the vov of shalom? Horav Shlomo Yosef Zevin, z.l., offers the following novel insight. There are two forms of unity. The first one is mechanical, perfunctory or automatic unity. This is an external consolidation of different parts, merged together to create the appearance of wholeness. The second form of unity is…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Pinchas, 5755

“Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon Ha’Kohen turned back My wrath from upon the Bnei Yisrael when he zealously avenged Me amongst them.” (25:11)

Pinchas’ act of zealousness is described in Parashas Balak, while his reward is presented in this parsha. Was it necessary to “wait” between the deed and the reward? Horav Yitzchak Goldwasser, Shlita, explains that, indeed, it was necessary to contemplate whether a reward was appropriate! This concept applies to every act of kana’us, zealousness. Is it truly a deed motivated l’shem Shomayim, for the sake of Heaven, and — therefore — worthy of reward Or is it what it appears to be — a wanton act of murder cloaked in a banner of zealousness? Only after contemplating the act, the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Pinchas, 5755

Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon Ha’Kohen.” (25:11)

Chazal question the Torah’s tracing of Pinchas’ ancestry by placing emphasis upon the fact that he was a grandson of Aharon Ha’Kohen. They explain that after Zimri’s death, members of Shimon’s Shevet, who were cousins of Zimri, chided the members of Shevet Levi. They felt that they could not believe Pinchas was a true zealot. After all, on his mother’s side he was a grandson of Yisro, who used to fatten calves for idols. Could it be that such a person really had sincere motivation, or did he assassinate the Nasi of Shevet Shimon out of hatred or feelings of…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Balak, 5755

“And Hashem opened the mouth of the she-donkey … And the she-donkey said to Bilaam, ‘Am I not your she-donkey that you have ridden all your life until this day?'” (22:28,30)

The “mouth of the she-donkey” — or the miracle of the she-donkey’s speech — is mentioned as one of the ten supernatural phenomena which originated during the period of time between the end of the sixth day of Creation and the commencement of Shabbos. We can glean profound lessons from the necessity for such a miracle. We would like to place emphasis upon the actual statement the she-donkey made and the lessons we learn from it. Horav Yitzchak Rabinovitz, z.l., who was better known as Reb Itzele Ponievezer, used the following homiletic illustration to admonish a group of ill- mannered…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Balak, 5755

“And the she-donkey turned away from the road and went into the field … and the angel of Hashem stood in the path of the vineyards, a fence on this side and a fence on that side … and (the angel) stood in a narrow place, where there was no room to turn.” (22:23,24,26)

Rashi cites the Midrash Tanchuma which explains that the angel’s threefold appearance symbolizes that Bilaam’s efforts to curse the Jews, descendants of the three Avos, Patriarchs, were all in vain. It was as if each time a different Patriarch blocked the path of Bilaam’s donkey. The first time the angel appeared, ample space remained for the donkey to escape on either side. This indicated that had Bilaam wished to curse Avraham’s descendants, he would have had two options. He could curse the offspring of either Avraham’s son, Yishmael, or of Avraham’s wife, Keturah. He was not, however, permitted to curse…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Balak, 5755

“And he (Balak) sent messengers to Bilaam the son of Be’or to Pethor.” (22:5)

The main character in our parsha is Bilaam. This parsha, however, is called Balak after the evil king who invited Bilaam to join him in cursing and destroying the Jews. This emphasis implies that the individual who is maliciously manipulating behind the scenes is more ruthless than he who does the actual cursing. Regrettably, we are often confronted with people who put on a veil of piety and religious superiority while subtly slandering others in such a manner that no one would ever connect them to any malevolent activity. They incite others to do their destructive work for them. These…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5755

“And strip Aharon of his vestments and dress Elazar his son in them.” (20:26)

In the Midrash, Chazal recount a fascinating story about the transfer of Aharon’s vestments to Elazar, his son. It is forbidden to dress the Kohen Gadol in any manner other than the prescribed order: He first dons the undergarments, followed by the outer garments. In order to dress Elazar properly, Moshe would have had to remove all of Aharon’s clothes. What was he to do? Hashem performed a great miracle for Aharon. Whenever Moshe removed one of Aharon’s priestly garments, he found him clothed underneath with a corresponding Heavenly garment, so that Aharon’s body was actually never bared. Another miracle…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5755

“And they shall take to you a completely red cow.” (19:2)

The laws of Parah Adumah are shrouded in mystery. Chazal teach us that the Parah Adumah served as an atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf. How does this take effect, and what relationship do the two have with each other ? Another paradoxical aspect of the law is that the one who had prepared the ashes of the Parah Adumah became spiritually defiled, while the unclean person became purified. How could the parah be me’tameh tehorim and simultaneously be me’tahar tema’im? How could the same substances defile those handling them and yet purify those who were spiritually unclean?…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5755

“And they shall take to you a completely red cow, which is without blemish, and upon which a yoke has not come.” (19:2)

“And they shall take to you a completely red cow, which is without blemish, and upon which a yoke has not come.” (19:2) The Parah Adumah, Red Heifer/cow, symbolizes two seemingly conflicting concepts. On the one hand, the Parah Adumah should be completely red in color. Indeed, if only two hairs are not red, it is rendered invalid. The color red traditionally represents sin in an allusion to blood and murder. This idea is consistent with the pasuk in Yeshayah 1:18, “Though your errors will be like scarlet, they will become white as snow; though they will be red as…

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“The sons of Reuven, of Chanoch, the family of Chanochi.” (26:5)

“Therefore, say: ‘Behold I give him My covenant of peace. And it should be for him and his offspring after him a covenant of eternal priesthood.” (25:12,13)

“Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon Ha’Kohen turned back My wrath from upon the Bnei Yisrael when he zealously avenged Me amongst them.” (25:11)

Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon Ha’Kohen.” (25:11)

“And Hashem opened the mouth of the she-donkey … And the she-donkey said to Bilaam, ‘Am I not your she-donkey that you have ridden all your life until this day?'” (22:28,30)

“And the she-donkey turned away from the road and went into the field … and the angel of Hashem stood in the path of the vineyards, a fence on this side and a fence on that side … and (the angel) stood in a narrow place, where there was no room to turn.” (22:23,24,26)

“And he (Balak) sent messengers to Bilaam the son of Be’or to Pethor.” (22:5)

“And strip Aharon of his vestments and dress Elazar his son in them.” (20:26)

“And they shall take to you a completely red cow.” (19:2)

“And they shall take to you a completely red cow, which is without blemish, and upon which a yoke has not come.” (19:2)

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