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Home -> 5785 -> Shoftim

כי השוחד יעור עיני חכמים

Sruly Schnair
In Shoftim, 5785

For the bribe will blind the eyes of the wise. (16:19)

We must endeavor to understand the necessity of a Biblical prohibition against accepting a bribe.  Anyone with a modicum of intelligence understands that accepting a bribe is unethical.  It perverts one’s thought process, encouraging partiality in favor of the one who offers him the bribe.  The Chazon Ish, zl (Emunah U’Bitachon 3:30), teaches otherwise, explaining that the prohibition of shochad is a special decree from Hashem.  It has nothing whatsoever to do with rationale.  Proof positive is the fact that the Torah does not prohibit a person from issuing a halachic ruling for himself.  A Jew may inspect a newly-slaughtered…

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Home -> 5785 -> Shoftim

לא תטע לך אשרה כל עץ אצל מזבח ד' אלקיך

Sruly Schnair
In Shoftim, 5785

You shall not plant for yourselves an idolatrous tree, any tree, near the altar of Hashem, your G-d. (16:21)

An idolatrous tree refers either to a tree which was worshipped (as was the accepted service of the pagans) or to any kind of tree that is planted in the proximity of the Mizbayach.  The idolators would often landscape their idols and temple with lush foliage and trees in order to attract worshippers to its aesthetically enhanced surroundings.  Chazal (Sanhedrin 7B) focus on the juxtaposition of asheirah to dayanim, judges. Reish Lakish says, “If one appoints an unqualified judge over the community, it is as if he has planted an asheirah in Yisrael.”  In a well-known exposition, Horav Chaim Soloveitchik,…

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Home -> 5785 -> Shoftim

והאיש אשר יעשה בזדון לבלתי שמוע אל הכהן ... ובערת הרע מישראל וכל העם ישמען ויראו

Sruly Schnair
In Shoftim, 5785

And the man that will act with willfulness, not listening to the Kohen … And you shall destroy the evil from among Yisrael, the entire nation shall listen and fear. (17:12,13)

The zakein mamrei, rebellious elder, is someone who is, for all intents and purposes, one of the nation’s erudite scholars.  He disagreed with his colleagues concerning certain halachah.  While debate and disagreement are allowed — and even encouraged — once the halachah is established, everyone must accept and adhere to the ruling.  One who does not – especially an elder, a scholar who defiantly disagrees and rules against the Sanhedrin— endangers the very underpinnings of halachic authority.  He is to be executed during the next Regel, Festival, of the Shalosh Regalim, when all of Klal Yisrael is present to witness,…

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Home -> 5785 -> Shoftim

ואמרת אשימה עלי מלך ... שום תשים עליך מלך אשר יבחר ד' אלקיך בו

Sruly Schnair
In Shoftim, 5785

And you will say, “I will set a king over myself” … You shall surely set over yourself a king who Hashem, your G-d, shall choose. (17:14,15)

Unlike secular royalty, the melech Yisrael is not merely a ruler, but rather, a spiritual shepherd, warrior, judge and unifier, who embodies the highest level of yiraas Shomayim, fear of Heaven, and humility.  While he represents the glory of our nation, he remains a servant of the people.  His presence inspires awe and fear of Heaven, with his very being reminding us of malchus Shomayim, the Heavenly kingdom.  Ideally, the melech Yisrael (if he is worthy) is the institution through which Hashem enables the people to live in peace and justice, maintaining the ability to serve Him in preparation for…

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Home -> 5785 -> Re'eh

ראה אנכי נותן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה. את הברכה אשר תשמעו... והקללה אם לא תשמעו

Sruly Schnair
In Re'eh, 5785

Behold! I set before you this day a blessing and a curse… A blessing – if you obey (the commandments) … And a curse – if you do not obey (the commandments). (11:26–28)

In a homily (Erev Rosh Chodesh Elul, 1941, Warsaw Ghetto) passionately rendered to a group of Jews interned in the Ghetto, the Piaseczna Rebbe, z”l, focused on the opening pesukim of our parsha. Hashem instructs us to see the justice and truth in all things – blessing for one who obeys and observes, and curse for one who does not. The result of this perception will be that one will see “this day” that Hashem has set before us, that He is behind and involved in everything that goes on in our lives, both blessing and curse. A Jew must…

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Home -> 5785 -> Re'eh

כי יסיתך אחיך ... לאמר נלכה ונעבדה אלהים אחרים... לא תאבה לו, ולא תשמע אליו, ולא תחוס עינך עליו, ולא תחמל, ולא תכסה עליו.

Sruly Schnair
In Re'eh, 5785

let us go and worship the gods of(If your brother will entice you secretly… saying “others” … you shall not accede to him, and not hearken to him, and your eye shall not take pity on him, you shall not compromise nor conceal him. (13:7–9)

The Torah singles out the meisis – person who entices others to idolatrous worship – for particularly severe treatment, as befits a sin of this egregious nature. Such a person poses a profound threat to the spiritual fabric of Klal Yisrael. His actions are much more than a personal transgression, but rather, an unpardonable assault on the collective faith and identity of the Jewish people. The punishment meted out to the meisis underscores the importance of maintaining the purity of faith within the Jewish community and how we abhor anyone who would dare undermine the status quo. The laws that…

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Home -> 5785 -> Re'eh

שבעת ימים תחג לה׳ אלקיך ... והיית אך שמח

Sruly Schnair
In Re'eh, 5785

A seven-day period shall you celebrate to Hashem, your G-d…. And you will be completely joyous (16:15)

Rashi comments that v’hayisa ach sameach is not a command, but rather, a promise that we will fulfill the mitzvos of celebrating the festival amid joy. Chazal (Pesachim 71A) derive from here that the joy inherent in our celebration of the festival applies to the last night as well. The commentators question how ach, which in Hebrew is used to exclude, is used in this context to include the last night of the Yom Tov for joyful celebration. Throughout Shas, however, the word is used to exclude. In a homily rendered following the Holocaust which decimated European Jewry, HoRav Shmuel…

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Home -> 5785 -> Eikev

והיה עקב תשמעון

Sruly Schnair
In Eikev, 5785

When you listen to these ordinances. (7:12)

Rashi explains that the Torah uses the word, eikav, which also means heel, to allude to the sort of mitzvos that people regard as relatively unimportant.  Thus, they tend to “tread upon them with their heels” figuratively. The Torah assures the nation that rewards will be in store for making an effort to observe mitzvos – especially those which, on the surface, appear insignificant.  Do we have a concept of a mitzvah that is on the lower rung of significance?  I think if we view the mitzvos from their Source – they are all from Hashem.  This alone renders each…

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Home -> 5785 -> Eikev

והסיר ד' ממך כל חלי וכל מדוי מצרים הרעים אשר לא ידעת ישימם בך

Sruly Schnair
In Eikev, 5785

Hashem will remove from you every illness and all the bad maladies of Egypt that you knew – He will not put them upon you. (7:15)

Lo yesimam bach; “He will not put them upon you.”  If Hashem will not put the illness on us; if we will not be affected by maladies, what reason is there for V’heisir Hashem mimcha kol choli, “Hashem will remove from you every illness”? If no illness is affecting them, what exactly will He remove?  Horav Yehoshua, zl, m’Kutna explains, citing the Yerushalmi (Shabbos 75B): “Kol choli, every illness, this applies to worry and anxiety.  When a person worries that he might be ill with a specific illness, the worry alone will fester and germinate in his mind until he…

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Home -> 5785 -> Eikev

והוא תהילתך והוא אלקיך

Sruly Schnair
In Eikev, 5785

He is your praise, and He is your G-d. (10:21)

Hashem should be the sole recipient of our praise.  The Mezritcher Maggid, zl, was wont to say concerning this pasuk: If you want to determine the level of yiraas Shomayim, fear of Heaven, that you have achieved, you must authenticate your level of emunah, faith in Hashem.  Analyze your davening, benching and other forms of tehillah, praise, to Hashem.  Is it passionate, warm, with deveikus, desire to cling to the Almighty?  The manner in which one expresses his praise of Hashem attests to his belief in Him – and vice versa.” The Maggid, zl, m’Warsaw would often use the following…

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