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ולא ידע איש קברתו עד היום הזה

Sruly Schnair
In Bereishis, 5780

And no one knows his burial place to this day. (34:6)

Rashi quotes Chazal (Sotah 14a) who say that Hashem buried Moshe Rabbeinu. Rabbi Yishmael contends that Moshe buried himself, since the Torah writes, “No one knows Moshe’s burial place.” If this is the case, another person could not have buried him, indicating either that he was either buried by Hashem or that he buried himself. The Zohar HaKadosh adds that Moshe’s “burial place” is not only a reference to his physical burial place in this world, but also to his exalted place of repose in Olam Habba, the World to Come. No one/no other soul is permitted access into his…

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5779

אם בחקתי תלכו

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Bechukosai

If you will follow My decrees. (26:3)

Horav Gamliel Rabinowitz, Shlita, renders this pasuk homiletically by translating the word im (if) innovatively. Im contains the same Hebrew letters as eim, mother, which leads the Rosh Yeshivah (Shaar HaShomayim) to transform the message of the pasuk to assert that the mother, the akeres ha’bayis, mainstay of the Jewish home, is the one who catalyzes the spiritual growth of her children. She is the one who initiates the process, who ensures their proper entrance to Torah study and mitzvah observance. Furthermore, he explains, the Torah alludes to the manner of conveyance that will achieve the greatest results: B’chukosai teileichu;…

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5779

אם בחקתי תלכו

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Bechukosai

If you will follow My decrees. (26:3)

Rashi explains Im bechukosai teileichu; “If you will follow My decrees” – she’tiheyu ameilim baTorah; “That you will toil in Torah.” This is the deal breaker. It all begins and ends with Torah. One who does not toil (study is not enough; it must be toil) in Torah is not ensured success in mitzvah observance. Only one whose life is all about Torah – who studies Torah amid sacrifice, placing it on a pedestal above all else – can hope to follow in Hashem’s decrees. David Hamelech says (Tehillim 119:72), Tov li Toras Picha meialfei zahav va’kesef, “The Torah of…

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5779

ואם תלכו עמי קרי ולא תאבו לשמע לי

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Bechukosai

If you will behave casually with Me and refuse to heed Me. (26:21)

The pasuk introduces us to a new aspect of/on sin: Casualness. We persist in thinking (or acting as if we think) that all of Hashem’s carefully and meticulously calibrated punishments are merely coincidental: “Things happen.” When we act toward Hashem with casualness, He responds, in turn, by making it more difficult to discern the Divine Hand when things happen to us. This leads to Hester Panim, Divine concealment, Hiddenness of Hashem’s Countenance, making it harder for us to perceive the truth. The concept of keri, casualness, applies likewise (not equally) in our interpersonal relationships with our fellowman. We pass people…

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Home -> Behar -> 5779

והעברת שופר תרועה... ביום הכפורים תעבירו שופר בכל ארצכם... וקראתם דרור בארץ

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Behar

You shall sound a broken blast on the Shofar… on Yom Kippur you shall sound the Shofar throughout the land… and you shall proclaim freedom throughout the land. (25:9,10)

The mitzvah of sounding the Shofar on Yom Kippur of the Yovel – fiftieth year – is unlike the mitzvah of sounding the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah. The Sefer HaChinuch explains that on Rosh Hashanah, the purpose of the Shofar is to help us focus on the Akeidas Yitzchak, Binding of Yitzchak Avinu, thus encouraging us to think of his extraordinary ahavas Hashem, love for the Almighty. We, too, should learn from his example and thus imbue ourselves with love for Hashem, thereby increasing our merits on this day when all of Hashem’s creations are judged. On Yom Kippur of…

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Home -> Behar -> 5779

ושבתם איש אל אחזתו ואיש אל משפחתו תשבו

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Behar

Each of you shall return to his ancestral heritage, and each of you shall return to his family. (25:10)

Freedom is a precious commodity of which not all people are availed. Thus, when one who had heretofore been a slave to a master, one whose life was essentially not his own, the first thing to enter his mind, the first thing for which he would yearn, would be: freedom; return to his family; his home; his original lifestyle. Yet, the Torah teaches us otherwise: “Each of you shall return to his ancestral heritage.” Does property precede family? Does material sustenance come before freedom? Horav Zalman Sorotzkin, zl, explains this from a practical point. People often lose their freedom as…

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Home -> Behar -> 5779

וזרעתם את השנה השמינית

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Behar

And you shall plant during the eighth year. (25:22)

Shemittah observance tests one’s spiritual devotion, as well as his emotional stability. It is difficult to observe the farmers around you planting and harvesting (either they are non-observant, or they rely on various dispensations), while your field lays fallow. It is hard to subsist on contributions from others who understand, respect and admire your commitment. One who is patient, who rises to the Shemittah challenge, who perseveres despite the taunting of others, however, will be blessed with extraordinary siyata diShmaya, Divine assistance. Not only will he not lose out as a result of his commitment to Shemittah, it will also…

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Home -> Behar -> 5779

וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך והחזקת בו

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Behar

If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter on your proximity, you shall strengthen him. (25:35)

Strengthening a Jew who is confronted with economic challenges is a practical mitzvah. After all, if we ignore our brother’s plight, what good is our personal frumkeit, religious observance? A Jew whose observance is predicated upon his relationship with Hashem, while he simultaneously ignores the challenges that his brother must confront, is deluding himself. We are all one family. One cannot expect his brother to derive satisfaction from one son, when that very same son ignores the adversity suffered by his own brother. There is yet a deeper understanding of the mitzvah of supporting a fellow Jew who has come…

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Home -> 5779 -> Emor

ולא תהללו את שם קדשי ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל אני ד' מקדשכם

Sruly Schnair
In Emor, 5779

You shall not desecrate My holy Name, rather I should be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael; I am Hashem Who sanctifies you. (22:32)

The Torah exhorts us to strive to be holy. Some make it – others do not. Some make the attempt – others do not even bother. One might think that the barrier to achieving success in ruchniyos, spirituality, is a lack of aptitude, a deficiency of talent, or whatever excuses we might advance to justify our own lack of trying. In an inspiring exposition on the Midrash related to this pasuk, Horav Tzvi Kushelevsky, Shlita, explains the real reason that many fail to achieve the mark of greatness. The Tanchuma (Emor 2) relates that, in desperation, Shaul Hamelech went to…

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Home -> 5779 -> Emor

ובחמשה עשר יום לחדש הזה חג המצות לד'

Sruly Schnair
In Emor, 5779

And on the fifteenth day of this month is the Festival of Matzos to Hashem. (23:6)

One year, Horav Tzvi Hirsch Levin, zl, had occasion to invite the mayor of Berlin (a gentile, but one that was quite respectful and friendly to the members of the Jewish community) for the first Seder. The mayor entered the home to observe the rich finery of the tablecloth and napkins on a table bedecked with the finest china and silver flatware. The mayor had a superficial knowledge of Jewish traditions and customs. He was, thus, taken aback that Pesach, when we sit as kings, the young child traditionally asks the Four Questions, which begin, “Why is this night different?”…

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