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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5785

אם בחוקתי תלכו

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Bechukosai

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

Toras Kohanim derives from here that Hashem is misaveh, desires, for the Jewish People to toil in Torah. The Korban Aharon writes that the term misaveh is used concerning something which a person does not have – thus, he desires it. To use the concept of taavah, desire, with regard to Hashem implies that He is missing something. What aspect/component of Torah could Hashem be missing? The Midrash is emphasizing that Hashem does not just command or expect Torah study – He deeply longs for our ameilus, our effort in learning. The Maharal m’Prague (Tiferes Yisrael 25) explains that the…

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5785

אם בחוקתי תלכו

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Bechukosai

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

Rashi comments, She’tiheyu ameilim baTorah, that you will toil in Torah (study). Studying Torah amid toil, expending extraordinary effort to understand and internalize the Torah that one is studying, is part and parcel of Torah study. Toil comes in all shapes and sizes and is usually “catered” to the individual as a challenge. For some, it is acumen. For others, it is money or time. For yet others, it may be health issues which can deprive a person of the strength and even the will to learn. Ameilus defines how we should view the Torah in our life. One who…

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5784

לא יבקר בין טוב לרע ולא ימירנו ואם המר ימירנו והיה הוא ותמורתו יהיה קדש

Sruly Schnair
In 5784, Bechukosai

He shall not distinguish between good and bad and he shall not substitute for it, and if he does substitute for it, then it and its substitute shall be holy. (27:33)

The Torah addresses the laws of maaser beheimah, tithing of animals. Unlike other offerings, for which it is most appropriate to select the choicest animal, the tithe is left purely to chance. Even if the tenth animal to be selected is blemished and thus disqualified from being offered on the Altar, it remains maaser. It is consecrated and may be used only for food. One may neither work with it, nor shear its wool. If, however, he does substitute it (temurah) for another animal, it and its substitute are both holy. Once sanctified, it remains so. Horav Tzvi Hirsch Ferber,…

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5784

וזכרתי את בריתי יעקוב ואף את בריתי יצחק ואף את בריתי אברהם אזכר והארץ אזכר

Sruly Schnair
In 5784, Bechukosai

I will remember My covenant with Yaakov, and also My covenant with Yitzchak, and also My covenant with Avraham will I remember and I will remember the Land. (26:42)

Noticeably, the Torah mentions the word “remembering” (v’zacharti, ezkor) only in connection with Avraham Avinu and Yaakov Avinu. Rashi explains that “remembering” is not necessary with regard to Yitzchak, because afro, the ashes, of Yitzchak appear before Hashem as they rest upon the Mizbayach. [This, of course, refers to ashes of the ayil, ram, which was offered in place of Yitzchak.] Veritably, the concept of “remembering” with regard to Hashem is unimaginable. He does not require a symbol to remind Him of anything. Hashem does not forget. If so, the issue is not why remembering is not mentioned by Yitzchak,…

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5784

והייתי לכם לאלקים ואתם תהיו לי לעם

Sruly Schnair
In 5784, Bechukosai

I will be G-d unto you, and you will be a people unto Me. (26:12)

For what more can one ask? When we look around at an environment whose degenerative societal values and plummeting moral compass and virtue are pervasive, we should feel a sense of relief and deep pride that we are part of the am kadosh, holy nation. A life wholly dedicated to moral purity, ethical integrity, virtue and kindness is, in and of itself, deeply fulfilling. It involves a strong sense of purpose and adherence to the ethical and moral principles of the Torah. In order to achieve these lofty goals, Torah study and prayer play central roles in a life dedicated…

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5783

ונסתם ואין רדף אתכם

Sruly Schnair
In 5783, Bechukosai

You will flee, though none chase after you. (26:17)

Fear of an unknown enemy (or demons, in today’s vernacular) is a terrible curse. It is a miserable way to live. To be beset by imagined fears and phobias takes a toll on a person. His life comes to a halt, his cognitive lucidity off balance, because he is afraid to do anything out of fear of consequences. The systems upon which a person’s basic needs are built are interrupted, often taking down the “victim” and those who have the misfortune to be in his proximity. A modern-day term for describing fear of an unknown enemy which one has convinced…

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5782

והיה ערכך חמשים שקל כסף

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Bechukosai

The valuation shall be fifty silver shekels. (27:3)

Chazal (Megillah 23b) distinguish between arachin, valuations, which are a set amount established by the Torah, and damim, money/assessments, which are based upon a person’s worth (on the slave market). Horav Moshe Feinstein, zl, posits that the Torah is teaching us that two variant circumstances, conditions, determine how to view a person. First is a person’s established level – as expected of him, based on standards. This is similar to an established expectancy that at (for example) age 20, an individual should be proficient in various disciplines. At age thirty, he should have progressed beyond this to a different level….

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5782

וזכרתי את בריתי יעקב ואף את בריתי יצחק ואף את בריתי אברהם אזכר

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Bechukosai

I will remember My covenant with Yaakov, and also My covenant with Yitzchak, and also My covenant with Avraham will I remember. (26:42)

Rashi observes that zechirah, remembering, is mentioned concerning Avraham Avinu and Yaakov Avinu – but not in connection with Yitzchak Avinu. He explains that Yitzchak’s “ashes” (His ashes are considered to be as they would have been if the Akeidah had occurred, and Avraham had offered his son, Yitzchak, on the altar as a korban, sacrifice, to Hashem) are piled up on the Mizbayach. Remembering applies to something which is no longer extant. Yitzchak’s ashes are present. Thus, the term “remembering” does not apply concerning him. Anyone reading this should immediately wonder how the concept of forgetting applies to Hashem….

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5782

ואם תלכו עמי קרי ולא תאבו לשמע לי ויספתי עליכם מכה

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Bechukosai

If you will behave casually with Me and refuse to heed Me, then I shall lay a further blow upon you. (26:21)

Rashi explains keri, casually, as applying to one who is observant, yet his performance of mitzvos is, at best, erratic and haphazard. His attitude toward mitzvos is not one of obligation, but rather, of convenience and choice, sort of being in the “mood” of performing a mitzvah. Horav Moshe Shternbuch, Shlita, writes that when his Rebbe, Horav Moshe Schneider, zl, would read this pasuk, he would weep. He remarked that this pasuk refers to the Jew who fulfills mitzvos, who studies Torah, but it is not an obligation for him. He learns when he wants, attends a shiur at will….

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5782

אם בחוקתי תלכו ואת מצותי תשמרו

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Bechukosai

If you will go in My statutes and observe My commandments. (26:3)

Rashi comments: One might be able to think that this (teilechu, you will go) refers to the fulfillment of mitzvos. Then, when it follows with “And (you will) observe My commandments,” that the fulfillment of mitzvos has been stated. (There is no reason to reiterate the enjoinment of mitzvah observance). There is no interpretation for Im b’chukosai teilechu, other than shetiheyu ameilim baTorah, that you should be laboring in Torah. Much has been written concerning Rashi’s well-known commentary; if one values Torah study, then he is more than happy to exert himself to master it. Torah achievement is granted by…

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