Rabbi L. Scheinbaum

But if the bondsman shall say, “I love my master…I shall not go free…” and his master shall bore through his ear with the awl. (21:5,6)

There is no sin in the Torah for which a similar punishment is meted out. Chazal say that the ear is bored because it was the ear that heard Hashem say on Har Sinai, “To Me shall the Jewish People be servants” (Vayikra 25:55), and this individual then went and acquired for himself a (human) master anyway. The question is glaring: If the issue is becoming a slave, why is his ear pierced – after six years of servitude? It should have been done immediately when he sold himself as a slave. Why is he punished now, after all of…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5771

You shall not ascend with steps upon My Altar. (20:23)

This simply means that when we build the ramp leading up to the Altar, it must be made smooth and inclined – not with ascending levels (Rashi). Otherwise, the Kohen would be compelled to take wide steps, which might lead to his humiliation. The word maalos has another meaning: qualities, attributes, aspects concerning an individual which, so to speak, elevate him, make him stand out. The Chafetz Chaim, zl, applied this other definition to a homiletic rendering of the pasuk. When the Kenessiah Gedolah took place in Vienna in 1923, the Chafetz Chaim made a great effort to attend. Frail, and…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5771

You shall not take the Name of Hashem, your G-d, in vain. (20:7)

The Talmud Shavuos 39a relates that when Hashem said the words of Lo sisa…,“You shall not take the Name of Hashem, your G-d, in vain,” the entire world shook. We wonder why this particular commandment had such a frightening effect on people, more so than Lo signov, “Do not steal,” Lo sirtzach, “Do not murder,” or any of the other commandments for that matter. The Kotzker Rebbe, zl, explains that, regrettably, some people convince themselves and others that under certain circumstances, for the “greater good,” one can find a dispensation to steal – even to murder! It is all done in…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5771

I am Hashem, your G-d, Who took you out of the land of Egypt. (20:2)

Yashem identified Himself to Klal Yisrael as the One Who performed the miracles of the Exodus. It would have been logical for Hashem to have identified Himself as the Creator of the Universe, which is clearly a more encompassing title than the Liberator Who freed them from bondage. While it is true that his liberation involved many miracles which attested to Hashem’s awesome powers, they still pale in comparison with the creation of the Universe. In the Kuzari, Rabbi Yehudah Halevi, zl, explains that Hashem spoke of the Exodus because it was a phenomenon that was seen, as the entire…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5771

Hashem descended upon Har Sinai…; Hashem summoned Moshe to the top of the mountain, and Moshe ascended. (19:20)

Elevating Klal Yisrael to the level of Kabbolas HaTorah, receiving the Torah, was not an overnight task. The Jewish People had been enslaved in Egypt for two-hundred and ten years, suffering persecution and degradation, misery and emotional pain, until they cried out to Hashem. This catalyzed their return to Him, effecting their spiritual development, and preparing them for the seminal movement in Jewish history: the Giving of the Torah. Egypt was the crucible that tempered their spirit. The era of Egyptian bondage served as their incubation period, during which they evolved from the Hebrew people to Bnei Yisrael, endowed with the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5771

“Whoever touches the mountain shall surely die.” (19:12)

The mountain represents a sphere of holiness that is beyond the reach of the average person. To penetrate the boundaries around it is intensely dangerous to the welfare of the individual. The Chafetz Chaim, zl, derives an important lesson concerning the reverence we must accord to a talmid chacham, Torah scholar. A mountain has no intelligence and no feelings. Yet, simply because it was the place from which the Torah was given, it attained such an element of kedushah, holiness, that the people were admonished not to touch it. How much more so should we revere the Torah scholar who…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5771

Yisro said, “Blessed is Hashem, Who has rescued you from the hand of Egypt.” (18:10)

The Talmud Sanhedrin 94 notes that it was embarrassing for Moshe Rabbeinu and 600,000 Jews that Yisro was the first one to bless Hashem for saving them. This reality comprises a powerful critique of the Jewish People and their leadership. Imagine, no one had been moved to bless Hashem for all the incredible miracles which He had wrought for them until Yisro expressed his feelings of gratitude and praise. It almost does not make sense. But what about the Shirah, “the Song by the Sea” – a Song of Praise and gratitude, which Moshe and Klal Yisrael sang immediately after…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Beshalach, 5771

“For the hand is on the Throne of G-d: Hashem maintains a war against Amalek from generation to generation.” (17:16)

Sensitivity to the feelings of others is a given. No decent, upstanding ben Torah would knowingly hurt his fellow Jew. What about our behavior toward Hashem? Are we cognizant of the effect our actions and words have in the Heavenly sphere? While the concept of “feelings” “emotions,” are corporeal and, thus, do not apply in the spiritual dimension – certainly not to Hashem – that should not excuse our thoughtless behavior. The following vignette is an example to what I am alluding. When the Chafetz Chaim, zl, reached an advanced age, his congregants took note of the fact that the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Beshalach, 5771

“For the hand is on the Throne of G-d: Hashem maintains a war against Amalek from generation to generation.” (17:16)

No people is so reviled by Hashem as Amalek, the archenemy of the Jewish People. Regarding no other nation do we have a commandment to obliterate their name (Devarim 25:17-19). Only Amalek has that “distinction.” Why? What is there about Amalek – his hatred of the Jews and everything that they represent – that differentiates him so? I think the answer lies in Amalek’s attack on us. We were leaving Egypt after two centuries of bitter, brutal persecution. We were not bothering anyone. Yet, for some reason, Amalek felt it necessary to attack us. Why? We were not threatening them…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Beshalach, 5771

And he said, “If you will hearken to the voice of Hashem, your G-d… any of the diseases that I placed upon Egypt, I shall not place upon you, for I am Hashem, your Healer.” (15:26)

The Talmud Sanhedrin 101a questions the message of this pasuk. Inasmuch as Hashem has promised that He will not place any disease upon us (i.e. that we never become ill in the first place), then why do we have a need for His healing? The Talmud replies that the pasuk is self-explanatory. If one hearkens to Hashem’s voice and observes His mitzvos, he will not be stricken with disease. However, if he will not listen to Hashem and will not faithfully carry out His mitzvos, then the diseases of Egypt will be placed upon him. There is one “plus”: Hashem…

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But if the bondsman shall say, “I love my master…I shall not go free…” and his master shall bore through his ear with the awl. (21:5,6)

You shall not ascend with steps upon My Altar. (20:23)

You shall not take the Name of Hashem, your G-d, in vain. (20:7)

I am Hashem, your G-d, Who took you out of the land of Egypt. (20:2)

Hashem descended upon Har Sinai…; Hashem summoned Moshe to the top of the mountain, and Moshe ascended. (19:20)

“Whoever touches the mountain shall surely die.” (19:12)

Yisro said, “Blessed is Hashem, Who has rescued you from the hand of Egypt.” (18:10)

“For the hand is on the Throne of G-d: Hashem maintains a war against Amalek from generation to generation.” (17:16)

“For the hand is on the Throne of G-d: Hashem maintains a war against Amalek from generation to generation.” (17:16)

And he said, “If you will hearken to the voice of Hashem, your G-d… any of the diseases that I placed upon Egypt, I shall not place upon you, for I am Hashem, your Healer.” (15:26)

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