Sruly Schnair – Page 27 – Peninim on the Torah

ויאמר כי אהיה עמך וזה לך האות כי אנכי שלחתיך

And He said, “For I shall be with you, and this is your sign that I have sent you.” (3:12)

Moshe Rabbeinu claimed that he was unworthy to lead the Jews out of Egypt. Hashem countered that he was worthy of great things. He gave him a sign. What was that sign? The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh explains that Hashem intimated, “You ask what is the sign? The mere fact, Ki Anochi shilachticha, that I have sent you, is your greatest sign. For had you not have been worthy, I would not have sent you! So what room do you have for the concern regarding your worthiness?” Horav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Shlita, applies the words of the Ohr HaChaim to assuage the…

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ויקח משה את אשתו ואת בניו וירכיבם על החמור וישב ארצה מצרים

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Shemos

So, Moshe took his wife and sons, mounted them on the donkey and returned to the land of Egypt. (4:20)

Rashi teaches that this was no ordinary donkey. It was the donkey that Avraham Avinu saddled for the Akeidas, Binding, of Yitzchak. It is also the donkey that Moshiach Tziddkeinu is destined to be revealed upon, as the pasuk in Zecharyah (9:9) says, Ani v’rocheiv al ha’chamor, “A humble man riding on a donkey.” What is Rashi teaching us? What is to be gleaned from the fact that Moshe Rabbeinu’s donkey was none other than the same donkey that Avraham saddled to go to the Akeidah? Horav Chaim Stein, zl, explains that we should understand this in the context of…

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ויחי יעקב בארץ מצרים שבע עשרה שנה

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Vayechi

Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. (47:28)

After (what seemed to be) a life of difficulty, Yaakov Avinu arrived in Egypt to spend the last seventeen years of his mortal existence. The tranquility, joy and harmony that he enjoyed in some way ameliorated what he had endured in the past. While there can be no tradeoff for the pain and sorrow that our Patriarch experienced, we do know that the last seventeen years of his life were reasonably calm and filled with nachas. Chazal (Talmud Yerushalmi, Kesubos 65b, Bereishis Rabbah 96:5) teach that Yaakov Avinu and Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi were intrinsically joined. This matter was not unknown…

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ועשית עמדי חסד ואמת אל נא תקבריני במצרים

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Vayechi

And do kindness and truth with me – please do not bury me in Egypt. (47:29)

Chesed shel emes, true kindness, or kindness of truth, is a fundamental concept in Jewish life. It underscores the importance of performing acts of lovingkindness for others for the sake of “kindness,” for Heaven’s sake, and not for any form of remuneration. For the most part, it pertains to the compassion and respect inherent in preparing the deceased for burial. The Chevra Kaddisha, Jewish Sacred Society, is charged with seeing to it that every Jew is accorded a proper and dignified burial. Chesed shel emes highlights the selfless and unconditional love that one should exhibit towards others – at all…

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ברכת אביך גברו על ברכת הורי... תהיין לראש יוסף

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Vayechi

The blessings of your father surpassed the blessings of my parents… Let them be upon Yosef’s head. (49:26)

When Yaakov Avinu blessed his sons, he gave an extra blessing to Yosef. Rashi translates Gavru al Bircas horai, “The blessing of your father gavru, surpassed, the blessings of my father.” This means that the blessings that Yaakov received from Hashem surpassed the blessings he received from his father. These should rest upon Yosef. Targum Onkelos translate gavru as “in addition.” This means that all the blessings – Yaakov’s father and those of Hashem, should all come to fruition in Yosef. This was the Patriarch’s way of saying that all the blessings will rest upon the head of he who…

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ויפל על צוארי בנימין אחיו ויבך ובנימין בכה על צואריו

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Vayigash

Then he fell upon his brother Binyamin’s neck and wept; and Binyamin wept upon his neck. (45:15)

Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 93:10) comment that the Yosef/Binyamin reunion, accompanied by copious weeping, was much more profound than two brothers simply reconnecting after many years. Their weeping was not just an expression of joy mixed with sadness. Their weeping was not personal. They wept over: the destruction of the Batei Mikdash that would stand in Binyamin’s portion of Yerushalayim, and Mishkan Shiloh which was situated in the portion of Efraim, son of Yosef. This is a momentous commentary concerning the elevated level of sensitivity which each of these two brothers demonstrated. They were distinct from the rest of their family,…

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ויסע ישראל וכל אשר לו ויבא בארה שבע

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Vayigash

So Yisrael set out with all that he had and he came to Beer Sheva. (46:1)

Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 94:4) explain that Yaakov Avinu went to Beer Sheva to cut down cedar trees which his grandfather, Avraham Avinu, had planted there. Apparently, Avraham knew that the karshei haMishkan, bars that comprised the walls of the Mishkan, would be made of wood. He planted in preparation for that auspicious day. Knowing that he would die in Egypt and that his descendants would build a Sanctuary in the wilderness, Yaakov, therefore, went to cut these trees (and transplanted them in Egypt), so that, when his descendants would leave, they would take the trees along with them. This is…

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ואת יהודה שלח לפניו... להורות לפניו גשנה

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Vayigash

He sent Yehudah ahead of him… to prepare ahead of him in Goshen. (46:28)

Yaakov Avinu sent Yehudah l’horos lefanav Goshnah, which Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 95:3) interpret to be Yehudah’s mission to set the foundation for a makom Torah, a yeshivah where everyone could study. From the very beginning, our Patriarch set forth his priorities for his children to know and incorporate into their lives. Torah is our number one priority. While not every Jewish community has a yeshivah gedolah, they all have a shul set aside for prayer and study. Without Torah, we are unable to serve Hashem and live properly as observant Jews. Judaism is a religion – not a culture –…

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ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים ופרעה חלם

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Mikeitz

And it was at the end of two years, and Pharaoh was dreaming. (41:1)

“No wine before its time” is a general maxim often used in the context of patience and waiting for things to reach their full potential before one can enjoy them. [This phrase became the slogan of choice for the largest wine company in California.) We look at a given situation and ask, “Why not now?” Because now is not yet the time. The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh addresses the unusual manner in which the Torah conveys that Pharaoh had a dream. Since the introduction of Pharaoh’s dreams is the beginning of a new narrative, it should have written, Cholam Pharaoh, or,…

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ושם אתנו נער עברי עבד לשר הטבחים

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Mikeitz

And there, with us, was a Hebrew youth, a slave of the chamberlain of the bakers. (41:12)

Rashi quotes Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 89:7), “Cursed are the wicked because even their favors are incomplete!” The chamberlain described Yosef in the most disparaging terms: a naar, youth; ignorant and unfit for distinction; Ivri, Hebrew; a foreigner not conversant in the prevalent culture and language; eved, a slave; about whom it is written in Egyptian law that he can neither be a ruler nor wear the robes of a noble man. In other words, even when they are supposedly nice, it is with great reluctance and insincerity. After all, they cannot allow the Jew to be superior to them. We…

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ויאמר כי אהיה עמך וזה לך האות כי אנכי שלחתיך

And He said, “For I shall be with you, and this is your sign that I have sent you.” (3:12)

ויקח משה את אשתו ואת בניו וירכיבם על החמור וישב ארצה מצרים

So, Moshe took his wife and sons, mounted them on the donkey and returned to the land of Egypt. (4:20)

ויחי יעקב בארץ מצרים שבע עשרה שנה

Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. (47:28)

ועשית עמדי חסד ואמת אל נא תקבריני במצרים

And do kindness and truth with me – please do not bury me in Egypt. (47:29)

ברכת אביך גברו על ברכת הורי... תהיין לראש יוסף

The blessings of your father surpassed the blessings of my parents… Let them be upon Yosef’s head. (49:26)

ויפל על צוארי בנימין אחיו ויבך ובנימין בכה על צואריו

Then he fell upon his brother Binyamin’s neck and wept; and Binyamin wept upon his neck. (45:15)

ויסע ישראל וכל אשר לו ויבא בארה שבע

So Yisrael set out with all that he had and he came to Beer Sheva. (46:1)

ואת יהודה שלח לפניו... להורות לפניו גשנה

He sent Yehudah ahead of him… to prepare ahead of him in Goshen. (46:28)

ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים ופרעה חלם

And it was at the end of two years, and Pharaoh was dreaming. (41:1)

ושם אתנו נער עברי עבד לשר הטבחים

And there, with us, was a Hebrew youth, a slave of the chamberlain of the bakers. (41:12)

YEARS

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