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Home -> 5780 -> Mishpatim

ובשביעית יצא לחפשי חנם

Sruly Schnair
In Mishpatim, 5780

And in the seventh, he shall go free, for no charge. (21:2)

Overcome with economical woe, a Jew ignores the degradation that he will bring upon himself and resorts to theft to elevate himself from his sorrowful economic state. He is caught, and found lacking in funds with which to make restitution. As a result, he is sold into slavery. In the event that the value of the theft equals or exceeds the estimated value of his six years of work, he is sold as a bondsman. Jewish slavery is unlike any other form of restriction of personal freedom. The Jewish bondsman is treated quite well. Nonetheless, he is still a slave,…

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Home -> 5780 -> Mishpatim

כי יתן איש אל רעהו כסף או כלים לשמר

Sruly Schnair
In Mishpatim, 5780

If a man shall give money or vessels to his fellow to safeguard. (22:6)

Our parsha presents the laws concerning people who are entrusted to safeguard someone else’s property. If the pikadon, object (money or vessels) is lost, stolen or damaged, the liability of the shomer, custodian, varies according to the degree of his responsibility. For example, one who receives no compensation (shomer chinam) is responsible only if he had been in the position of safeguarding the article in his charge. One who receives compensation (shomer sachar) or a leasor (socheir) is responsible for loss or theft, unless it occurred in a situation beyond his control, an oneis. A borrower (shoeil) is responsible under…

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Home -> 5780 -> Mishpatim

לא תהיה לו כנושה

Sruly Schnair
In Mishpatim, 5780

Do not act toward him as a creditor. (22:24)

Hashem’s act of creating the world was an act of altruism. The Almighty needs nothing. He simply wants to do good, to benefit others. To this end, he expects His People to emulate His ways by identifying with the needs of others and looking for ways to alleviate their travail. It is important to underscore that travail comes in all forms and sizes. Just because an issue does not bother me does not mean that it would not bother anyone else. Our barometer for success is measured by what we do for others – not by what we do for…

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Home -> 5780 -> Mishpatim

לא תזבח על חמץ דם זבחי

Sruly Schnair
In Mishpatim, 5780

You shall not offer the blood of My feast-offering upon leavened bread. (23:18)

The Korban Pesach must be slaughtered on Erev Pesach, after all chametz has been disposed of. The Sefer HaChinuch explains that setting a designated time for the fulfillment of all matters is their source of preservation. Thus, concerning Korban Pesach — which is a seminal mitzvah included among a group of mitzvos affiliated with the liberation from Egypt and setting the stage for our nationhood — time and order are essential. The Torah gives preordained times for each and every component of the celebration of this Festival and its accompanying rituals. No commandment related to this time frame encroaches on…

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Home -> 5780 -> Yisro

וישמע יתרו ... את כל אשר עשה אלקים למשה ולישראל עמו

Sruly Schnair
In Yisro, 5780

Yisro heard… everything that G-D did to Moshe and Yisrael, his people. (18:1)

Was Yisro the only one who heard about Hashem’s wondrous miracles on behalf of the Jews? Shamu amim yirgazun… “Nations heard, they were anguished” (Shemos 15:14). The entire world heard, but only Yisro responded actively to the message. He came to join the Jews, realizing that the deities he had worshipped until now were a sham. We all hear, but we do not all listen. The sound enters our ears, but not our brain. Hearing without cognitive processing does not relay the message, leaving the person as if he had never even heard. Horav Chaim Vital, zl, writes that the…

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Home -> 5780 -> Yisro

לא יהיה לך אלהים אחרים על פני

Sruly Schnair
In Yisro, 5780

You shall not recognize the gods of others in My Presence. (20:3)

The prohibition against having any other gods is quite simple: A Jew believes only in Hashem as the Only Source of anything in his life. To ascribe power of any form to any other entity is pure idol worship. The Sefer HaChinuch considers this the ikar gadol, great/primary principle concerning upon which all the mitzvos are dependent. As Chazal (Sifri, Parashas Re’eh 11:28) state: “Whoever concedes to avodah zarah, idol worship, it is as if he has denied the entire Torah.” Essentially, a Jew by his very faith in Hashem must be totally committed only to Hashem, realizing and acknowledging…

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Home -> 5780 -> Yisro

כבד את אביך ואת אמך

Sruly Schnair
In Yisro, 5780

Honor your father and your mother. (20:12)

The Sefer Hachinuch explains that the shoresh, root, of the mitzvah of Kibbud Av v’Eim, honoring parents, is a sense of hakoras hatov, gratitude, to those who have acted kindly towards him. One who is a kafui tov, ingrate, is a naval, abominable person. He acts as if his benefactor, in this case his parents, are strangers to him. He quickly ignores the fact that his parents are the reason that he is here altogether. For this alone, he should honor them. One who does not honor his parents will soon present a similar attitude toward his Father in Heaven….

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Home -> 5780 -> Yisro

לא תענה ברעך עד שקר

Sruly Schnair
In Yisro, 5780

You shall not bear false witness against your fellow. (20:13)

Chazal (Pesikta Rabbasi 21) teach that each of the Aseres HaDibros, Ten Commandments, corresponds to one of the Ten Utterances, through which Hashem created the world. (Understandably, this concept is beyond the scope of this paper.) The Midrash goes on to identify which commandment coincides with which equivalent utterance. Interestingly, the prohibitive commandment, Lo sa’ane b’reiacha eid shaker, “You shall not bear false witness against your fellow,” corresponds with Hashem’s declaration that mortal man should be created, Naase adam b’Tzalmeinu kidmuseinu; “Let us make Man in Our image, after Our likeness” (Bereishis 1:26). How do these two (commandments) parallel one…

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Home -> 5780 -> Beshalach

ופרעה הקריב וישאו בני ישראל את עיניהם והנה מצרים נסע אחריהם וייראו מאד ויצעקו בני ישראל אל ד'

Sruly Schnair
In Beshalach, 5780

Pharaoh approached, Bnei Yisrael raised their eyes and behold! Egypt was journeying after them, and they were very frightened; Bnei Yisrael cried out to Hashem. (14:10)

Did it have to be this way? Finally, after 210 years of brutal enslavement, the Jews were leaving. It was a happy day, but it did not last very long. A few days later, when the Jews were standing at the banks of the Red Sea, suddenly Pharaoh and his minions were chasing after them. Understandably, the nation broke out in all-consuming fear followed by their audible crying to Hashem. We return to our opening question: Did it have to be this way? Chazal (Shemos Rabbah 21:5) ask this and give a simple, but profound, explanation: Hashem desires the prayers…

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Home -> 5780 -> Beshalach

וישם את הים לחרבה ויבקעו המים

Sruly Schnair
In Beshalach, 5780

And He turned the sea to damp land and the water split. (14:21)

The Midrash (Socheir Tov 114) states that the waters of the Red Sea split when they saw arono shel Yosef, the coffin of Yosef, which was being transported to Eretz Yisrael for burial. At first, the waters remained in place, despite the presence of Moshe Rabbeinu, Aharon HaKohen and all of Klal Yisrael. Only after the waters took note of the presence of Yosef’s coffin did they “agree” to split. David HaMelech immortalized this tete-a-tete in Tehillim (114:3), Hayam raah va’yanoss, “The sea saw and fled.” “What did the sea see? It saw arono shel Yosef.” What was it about…

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