Sruly Schnair

כל אלמנה ויתום לא תענון. אם ענה תענה אתו כי אם צעק יצעק אלי שמע אשמע צעקתו

You shall not cause pain to any widow or orphan. If you (dare to) cause him pain …. For if he shall cry out to Me, I shall surely hear his outcry. (22:21,22)

The widow and orphan represent all of the weak and disadvantaged, those who have no one to protect them or to look out for their interests. Sadly, there are those who take advantage of the weak, either because they are easy prey or because the tormentor himself is so insecure that he must “beat up” on the weak in order to maintain a false sense of self-dignity. The Torah tells us in no uncertain terms that Hashem Himself will intervene on behalf of the weak and disadvantaged because, when they cry, their tears go directly to Him. Hashem listens to…

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אם כסף תלוה את עמי

Sruly Schnair In Mishpatim, 5779

When you lend money to My People. (22:24)

Lending money should be simple. After all, if I have and he does not have, why not share? There is always the slight issue of being paid back, but that usually happens. The Torah says, Im kesef talveh es ami, “When you lend money to My People.” The halachah is that if one has some money available for lending purposes, and he has the option of lending either to a Jew or a gentile, he should lend Ami, My People. A Jew precedes a gentile. Naturally, since we are open – minded, progressive, independent individuals, we might question this halachah….

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ויאמרו כל אשר דבר ד' נעשה ונשמע

Sruly Schnair In Mishpatim, 5779

They said, “Everything that Hashem has said, we will do and we will listen.” (24:7)

When a friend comes over to ask for a favor, the usual responses are: “Depends on what you ask”; “If it does not take too much time; “If it does not conflict with my schedule;” “If it is ‘legal.’” Rarely does one respond, “Sure, whatever you want.” Having said this, let us now appreciate Klal Yisrael’s response to Hashem’s Torah: Naaseh v’Nishma; “We will do, and we will listen.” No questions; no stipulations, no reasons: simply, whatever Hashem asks of us we are prepared to do. Veritably, this response is part of our DNA. When Hashem called Avraham Avinu, the Patriarch’s…

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לא תחמד בית רעך... וכל אשר לרעך

Sruly Schnair In Yisro, 5779

Do not covet your friend’s house… and everything that belongs to your friend. (20:14)

The question is obvious. Why delineate various items that belong (so to speak) to your friend (which you covet) and then conclude the pasuk with, V’chol asher l’reiecha, “And everything that belongs to your friend”? The aforementioned items also belong to your friend. Why not simply write: “Do not covet anything that belongs to your friend”? The simple answer to this question is that a person covets because he sees something that his neighbor has, and this drives him into a frenzy. Why not me? I also want that. Envy is the driving force behind chemdah, coveting, what belongs to someone…

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אנכי ד' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים

Sruly Schnair In Yisro, 5779

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

So begin the Aseres HaDibros, Ten Commandments, the Decalogue, the basis upon which our Torah stands. Indeed, when we depict the Torah, it is through the medium of the Two Tablets upon which the Ten Commandments are inscribed. Chazal (Shabbos 88b) relate the dialogue that ensued between Moshe Rabbeinu and the Ministering Angels concerning the Torah. The Ministering Angels said to Hashem, “The Torah is a hidden treasure that had been concealed for 974 generations prior to the creation of the world. Yet, You want to give it to a mortal of flesh and blood.” Hashem asked Moshe to respond…

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אשר שם האחד גרשם... ושם האחד אליעזר

Sruly Schnair In Yisro, 5779

And the name of one was Gershom… and the name of one (the other) was Eliezer. (18:3,4)

The Baalei Mussar, Ethicists, exhort us to live on the bare minimum in terms of material needs. The Tanna in Pirkei Avos teaches us the recipe for Torah living: Pas ba’melech tochal, u’mayim ba’meshureh tishte, “Bread dipped in salt, and measured water”; v’al haaretz tishan, “and sleep on the floor.” We can do without luxuries. When it comes to spiritual benefits, Torah achievements, one should not be mistapek b’muat, suffice with a little. We should be filled with a passion to achieve greater and even greater levels of erudition in Torah. Horav Reuven Karlinstein, zl, applies this rule to explain…

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והר סיני עשן כלו מפני אשר ירד עליו ד' באש

Sruly Schnair In Yisro, 5779

All of Har Sinai was smoking, because Hashem had descended upon it in the fire. (19:18)

The most awesome, momentous moment in the history of mankind was the Revelation, during which Hashem descended upon Har Sinai amid an unprecedented display of thunder, smoke, lightning and fire. The background “music” was the accompaniment of shofar blasts. In Derech Eitz Chaim, the Ramchal addresses the idea that the essence of Torah is eish, fire: “Behold! With great precision, it (the Torah) was compared to fire. When one uses an ember which does not flame (not noticeable), but the energy of the flame is concealed inside, until that moment when one blows (stokes) on it. Then the flame will…

Home -> 5779 -> Beshalach

ויושע ד' ביום ההוא את ישראל מיד מצרים וירא ישראל את מצרים מת על שפת הים

Sruly Schnair In Beshalach, 5779

On that day, Hashem saved Yisrael from the hand of Egypt, and Yisrael saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. (14:30)

Pesach and Purim occur a month apart on the Jewish calendar, but the mode of celebration of each differs greatly. This is because each manifested a different mode of celebration, with regard to our emerging triumphant over our enemies. On Purim, we celebrate the day that Haman’s evil decree was annulled, the day asher nacha mei’oyiveihem, “they rested from their enemies”; in contrast, on both the first and seventh day of Pesach, we celebrate the destruction of our enemies. During the seder night, the firstborn of Egypt perished. Nary was there a home that did not reek of death. Our…

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והמים להם חמה מימינם ומשמאלם

Sruly Schnair In Beshalach, 5778

The water was a wall for them, on their right and on their left. (14:29)

Actually, the Red Sea was divided into twelve parts, allowing each tribe to walk though separately. The Sfas Emes explains that Hashem did this to teach them that each individual tribe has its own singular mission and, thus, deserves the miracle of the Splitting of the Red Sea for its own sake. In Sefer Tehillim 136:13, David Hamelech records the miracle, L’Gozeir Yam Suf ligzarim, “Who splits/divides the Red Sea into parts.” Surprisingly, the pasuk is written in the present tense, as if Hashem continually splits the Red Sea. (Veritably, the commentators translate it in the past tense, but l’gozeir…

Home -> 5779 -> Beshalach

וידי משה כבדים ויקחו אבן וישימו תחתיו וישב עליה

Sruly Schnair In Beshalach, 5779

The hands of Moshe were heavy, and they took a stone, placed it beneath him, and he sat upon it. (17:12)

We can distinguish between those mitzvos that are incumbent upon man in his relationship with Hashem – bein adam laMakom; and those mitzvos that involve interpersonal relationships – bein adam lachaveiro. The basis for mitzvos bein adam laMakom is Hashem. He desires our service. The root of mitzvos bein adam la’chaveiro is V’halachta bidrachav, “You shall emulate His ways” (Devarim 11:22). Hashem interacts with our world by sharing our pain. With regard to interpersonal relationships, this trait is called nosei b’ol im chaveiro, sharing/carrying the burden with one’s fellow. During the Revelation that accompanied the Giving of the Torah on…

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כל אלמנה ויתום לא תענון. אם ענה תענה אתו כי אם צעק יצעק אלי שמע אשמע צעקתו

You shall not cause pain to any widow or orphan. If you (dare to) cause him pain …. For if he shall cry out to Me, I shall surely hear his outcry. (22:21,22)

אם כסף תלוה את עמי

When you lend money to My People. (22:24)

ויאמרו כל אשר דבר ד' נעשה ונשמע

They said, “Everything that Hashem has said, we will do and we will listen.” (24:7)

לא תחמד בית רעך... וכל אשר לרעך

Do not covet your friend’s house… and everything that belongs to your friend. (20:14)

אנכי ד' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים

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

אשר שם האחד גרשם... ושם האחד אליעזר

And the name of one was Gershom… and the name of one (the other) was Eliezer. (18:3,4)

והר סיני עשן כלו מפני אשר ירד עליו ד' באש

All of Har Sinai was smoking, because Hashem had descended upon it in the fire. (19:18)

ויושע ד' ביום ההוא את ישראל מיד מצרים וירא ישראל את מצרים מת על שפת הים

On that day, Hashem saved Yisrael from the hand of Egypt, and Yisrael saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. (14:30)

והמים להם חמה מימינם ומשמאלם

The water was a wall for them, on their right and on their left. (14:29)

וידי משה כבדים ויקחו אבן וישימו תחתיו וישב עליה

The hands of Moshe were heavy, and they took a stone, placed it beneath him, and he sat upon it. (17:12)

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