Rabbi L. Scheinbaum

If you will say: “What will we eat in the seventh year?”… I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year. (25:20,21)

Shemittah is a mitzvah which infuses emunah and bitachon, faith and trust, in a Jew. Each Shemittah (Sabbatical year), a Jew turns his back on what seems to be the source of his sustenance, and he does not work his field for an entire year. Living through a Shemittah provides one with an incredible test of his faith in Hashem. One who emerges triumphant from this test has indeed strengthened his emunah in the Almighty. Imagine an individual walking off the job that has been his source of support for the past six years, saying, “I am not working this…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Emor, 5771

I will be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael. (22:32)

If one peruses history, he notes that the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem, Sanctifying Hashem’s Name, has applied to children as well. In other words, parents who were prepared to sacrifice themselves to sanctify Hashem’s Name were, likewise, prepared to do the same for their children. During the Crusades, it was not unusual for parents to take the lives of their children prior to killing themselves, just so that the murderers would not defile their bodies. Why are children not exempt from the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem? The only reason that mitzvos apply to children is chinuch, educating them in the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Emor, 5771

But an ox or a sheep, you may not slaughter it and its offspring on the same day. (22:28)

While the Torah uses the masculine pronoun oso, “his,” as opposed to “its” (offspring), this prohibition applies only to the mother and child. In his Moreh Nevuchim, the Rambam posits that the reason for prohibiting oso v’es beno, the slaughter of a female cow or sheep and its young, is to prevent the mother’s suffering in seeing her child killed. This halachah holds true even if the mother does not actually see its young being slaughtered. The Rambam explains that a mother’s compassion for her child is instinctive – not cognitive. Otherwise, animals would not have this sensitivity, as they lack…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Emor, 5771

The Kohen who is exalted above his brothers… He shall not come near to any dead person… he shall not leave the Sanctuary… for a crown – the oil of his G-d’s anointment – is upon him. (21:10-12)

There is a hierarchy within the Jewish nation. The Kohanim who serve in the Bais HaMikdash are enjoined with specific laws regarding their spiritual defilement caused by coming in contact with the dead. The Kohen Hedyot, regular Kohen, may come in contact with seven close relatives: father, mother, sister, brother, wife, son and daughter. Otherwise, all other Jewish dead are off-limit. The Kohen Gadol, High Priest, has further restrictions. He may not become tamei, defiled, to anyone – not even his closest relatives. Furthermore, he may not leave the Sanctuary to follow the funeral procession. In short, the Kohen Gadol…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Emor, 5771

And they shall not marry a woman who has been divorced by her husband; for each one is holy to his G-d. (21:7)

The circle of permitted marriages diminishes as one rises higher in the social/spiritual hierarchy. The Torah places restrictions upon the Levi and Yisrael concerning certain marriages. The Kohen has even greater limitations, while the Kohen Gadol, High Priest, is in a very tight circle with regard to marriage. These provisions concerning marriage are governed primarily by the principle of yichus, pedigree, and the nobility of untainted family descent. The preservation of the blood lines is one of the principles of Jewish family life. In its purest form, yichus is conveyed through the male line from generation to generation by marriages…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Emor, 5771

Say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon, and you shall say to them. (21:1)

Rashi notes the redundancy in the words, emor v’amarta, “Say (to the Kohanim) and you shall say (to them).” He explains that this is “to enjoin the adults with regard to minors.” It is consistent with the Talmud Yevamos 114a, in which Chazal explain that the word, “say” indicates that adult Kohanim are prohibited to make themselves impure through contact with the dead. “And you shall say” implies that the Kohanim are commanded to make sure that Kohanim who are minors must also not defile themselves. L’hazhir gedolim al ha’ketanim, “To caution adults with regard to the children” has become…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Kedoshim, 5771

You shall not make a cut in your flesh for the dead…My Shabbosos you shall observe and My Sanctuary shall you revere. I am Hashem. Do not turn to [the sorcery of] the Ovos and Yidonim (those who claim to speak with the dead). (19:28, 30, 31)

There is no way of getting around it: the death of a loved one is one of life’s most crippling experiences. This is especially true of a parent’s death – regardless of his or her age. Respect for parents and the deceased has long been one of the hallmarks of Judaism. When a parent passes on to the World of Truth, the surviving family reacts with grief, followed by public displays of reverence. The family observes shivah, the seven-day mourning period. Sons recite Kaddish for eleven months following a parent’s death. It is a time when one is able to…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Kedoshim, 5771

Speak to the entire congregation of Bnei Yisrael and say to them, “You shall be holy for I am holy.” (19:2)

A while ago I received a call from a Peninim reader, concerned about the fact that I had distinguished between the focus of punishment meted out to a Jew and that meted out to a gentile. Hashem’s punishment of the Jewish nation is therapeutic, to elevate and improve the individual Jews. The punishment that Hashem metes out to the gentile world is punitive. Apparently, more is demanded of us. The caller took issue with the notion that I was differentiating between people. I apologized, but reality is what it is. At times, it might make us uncomfortable. In Parashas Kedoshim,…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Acharei Mos, 5771

No one, no one of you shall approach any close relative to uncover nakedness… And you shall not give any of your progeny to pass through for Molech… I am Hashem. (18:6,21)

After enumerating a list of sexual aberrations, the Torah concludes with an exhortation not to give one’s child “to pass through for [the] Molech [god].” Horav S.R. Hirsch, zl, explains the rationale for this juxtaposition. He suggests a practical reason for the prohibition of the laws concerning ervah, physical relations with close relatives. He explains that a relationship between husband and wife should be predicated upon bonds of mutual love, which is the result of marriage. Any relationship which has been linked prior to marriage by bonds of mutual attachment and affection, or of familial love, precludes the link founded in…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Acharei Mos, 5771

After the death of Aharon’s two sons, when they approached before Hashem, and they died. (16:1)

The Midrash says that when Iyov heard about the tragic deaths of Aharon HaKohen’s two sons, he said, Af l’zos yecherad libi v’yitar mimkomo, “Even for this, my heart trembles and it leaps from its place” (Iyov 37:1). Iyov had suffered as no other man. He believed that he did not deserve to suffer such extreme pain and misery. He felt that had led a virtuous and pious life, and had not done anything wrong – certainly nothing of the caliber to warrant such serious punishment. Iyov claimed that the physical/emotional pain of losing his children and his possessions paled in…

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If you will say: “What will we eat in the seventh year?”… I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year. (25:20,21)

I will be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael. (22:32)

But an ox or a sheep, you may not slaughter it and its offspring on the same day. (22:28)

The Kohen who is exalted above his brothers… He shall not come near to any dead person… he shall not leave the Sanctuary… for a crown – the oil of his G-d’s anointment – is upon him. (21:10-12)

And they shall not marry a woman who has been divorced by her husband; for each one is holy to his G-d. (21:7)

Say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon, and you shall say to them. (21:1)

You shall not make a cut in your flesh for the dead…My Shabbosos you shall observe and My Sanctuary shall you revere. I am Hashem. Do not turn to [the sorcery of] the Ovos and Yidonim (those who claim to speak with the dead). (19:28, 30, 31)

Speak to the entire congregation of Bnei Yisrael and say to them, “You shall be holy for I am holy.” (19:2)

No one, no one of you shall approach any close relative to uncover nakedness… And you shall not give any of your progeny to pass through for Molech… I am Hashem. (18:6,21)

After the death of Aharon’s two sons, when they approached before Hashem, and they died. (16:1)

YEARS

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