Behar – Page 7 – Peninim on the Torah

ולא תונו איש את עמיתו

“Each one of you shall not aggrieve his fellow.” (25:17)

The Sefer Yereim contends that just as there is an admonition against onaas devarim, hurting a person with words, saying something to him that disconcerts and makes him feel bad, there is also an enjoinment against looking at someone with a bad/evil look. The way we look at someone – be it with disdain, scorn, or hatred – can and does hurt. Onaas mamone is the prohibition against cheating someone financially. It is a surreptitious form of stealing. In truth, one only fools himself. Horav Menachem Mendel, z.l., m’Varko, said, “According to Halachah, one should not cheat another Jew. Lifnim meshuras…

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ואכלתם לשבע וישבתם לבטח עליה. וכי תאמרו מה נאכל בשנה השביעת... וצויתי את ברכתי לכם בשנה הששית

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5762, Behar

“And you will eat your fill; and you will dwell securely upon it. If you will say: ‘What will we eat in the seventh year?’ …I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year.” (25:19-21)

Klal Yisrael is assured that, in return for observing the Shemittah laws and allowing the land to rest during the seventh year, they would not be exiled. Furthermore, to those of little faith, who question how only one crop can sustain them for more than one year, Hashem promises that the prosperity will be to such an extent that their questions will be without basis. Yet, the Torah felt that the question of Mah nochal, “What will we eat?” was of such significance, that it was eternalized in the Torah. This question, however, should have been asked only once. After their…

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ואיש כי לא יהיה לו גאל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5762, Behar

“If a man will have no redeemer.” (25:26)

What a terrible feeling – not to have anyone. It is our obligation to see to it that no Jew is alone or feels alone. Some individuals make it their business to see to the physical and emotional needs of their brethren, realizing how important this is. One individual who was a towering example of chesed at its zenith was the Skverer Rebbe, Horav Yaakov Yosef Twersky, z.l. After World War II, he took a small apartment in Bucharest, Romania. During the three years that he spent there, this tiny apartment served the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of thousands…

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וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך והחזקת בו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5762, Behar

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

The responsibility to help a Jew in financial need is a serious one. We live in a time when financial struggling has, regrettably, become a way of life for many. Throughout Jewish history, there have always been those who give and those who take. Due to circumstances beyond our control, today’s times are creating more who are relegated to take and fewer who are able to give. Yet, the Jewish people have always risen to their appellation of being rachamanim bnei rachamanim, compassionate sons of compassionate ones. We help, many doing so beyond their means. Let us peruse some of the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5761, Behar

“Do not harass one another.” (25:17)

Rashi interprets the pasuk as an enjoinment against onoaas devarim, verbal harassment. Ridiculing someone can have an enduring effect upon his personality development. The humiliation and scorn one is subject to at the hands of others can damage his psyche, impairing his self-esteem and his ability to relate to others. Humiliation does not only result from words; it can also be the consequence of an intentional snub. There is nothing as demeaning as being ignored by others, so that one feels as if he does not exist in their eyes. While the individual should not be obsessed with his ego,…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5761, Behar

“If you will say, what will we eat in the seventh year?… I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year.”(25:20-21)

If one were to go to a great tzaddik and receive a blessing for success and Divine assistance in all of his endeavors, it would be incredible! Who would not do anything to receive such a guarantee? As Horav Uri Kelerman, z.l., was wont to say, the opportunity is there for all of us – all of the time. Indeed, we recite the pasuk daily: “Baruch ha’gever asher yivtach b’Hashem, v’hayah Hashem mivtacho”, “Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem and Hashem is his source of trust.” The pasuk clearly states that one who has bitachon is blessed. What…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5760, Behar

“Do not harass one another.” (25:17)

Rashi interprets the pasuk as an enjoinment against onoaas devarim, verbal harassment. Ridiculing someone can have an enduring effect upon his personality development. The humiliation and scorn one is subject to at the hands of others can damage his psyche, impairing his self-esteem and his ability to relate to others. Humiliation does not only result from words; it can also be the consequence of an intentional snub. There is nothing as demeaning as being ignored by others, so that one feels as if he does not exist in their eyes. While the individual should not be obsessed with his ego,…

Home -> Behar -> 5760

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5760, Behar

“If you will say, what will we eat in the seventh year?… I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year.”(25:20-21)

If one were to go to a great tzaddik and receive a blessing for success and Divine assistance in all of his endeavors, it would be incredible! Who would not do anything to receive such a guarantee? As Horav Uri Kelerman, z.l., was wont to say, the opportunity is there for all of us – all of the time. Indeed, we recite the pasuk daily: “Baruch ha’gever asher yivtach b’Hashem, v’hayah Hashem mivtacho”, “Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem and Hashem is his source of trust.” The pasuk clearly states that one who has bitachon is blessed. What…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5759, Behar

And in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath to be celebrated by the cessation of work for the land a sabbath unto G-d… and you shall sanctify the fiftieth year… a Yovel it is for you. (25:4,10)

Shabbos and Shemitah have a common denominator – they are both spiritual entities. Shabbos implies the unbreakable bond that thrives between Hashem and Klal Yisrael. This bond is manifest in a cessation from one’s secular affairs, as an opportunity and mandate to devote his time to Torah study and spiritual reflection. The Torah emphasizes that the seventh year is a period of time, an entire year, which one is to dedicate as a “Shabbos l’Hashem.” The individual is to infuse himself with spirituality during his refrain from agricultural labor. Yovel, which derives its name from the blowing of the shofar…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5759, Behar

For unto Me are the Bnei Yisrael servants, they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. (26:55)

At the conclusion of the laws dealing with personal freedom, the Torah states the reason that our freedom is not for sale: We were redeemed from Egypt by Hashem. We belong to Him – a fact that takes precedence over and precludes our belonging to anyone else. Every fiber of our being, every fraction of our strength and powers, belongs to the Almighty. The principle of a Jew’s unalienable freedom is nurtured by Jewish law, to the point that not even the normal contract of a daily worker is considered binding. It can be revoked by the po’el, worker, at…

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ולא תונו איש את עמיתו

“Each one of you shall not aggrieve his fellow.” (25:17)

ואכלתם לשבע וישבתם לבטח עליה. וכי תאמרו מה נאכל בשנה השביעת... וצויתי את ברכתי לכם בשנה הששית

“And you will eat your fill; and you will dwell securely upon it. If you will say: ‘What will we eat in the seventh year?’ …I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year.” (25:19-21)

ואיש כי לא יהיה לו גאל

“If a man will have no redeemer.” (25:26)

וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך והחזקת בו

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

“Do not harass one another.” (25:17)

“If you will say, what will we eat in the seventh year?… I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year.”(25:20-21)

“Do not harass one another.” (25:17)

“If you will say, what will we eat in the seventh year?… I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year.”(25:20-21)

And in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath to be celebrated by the cessation of work for the land a sabbath unto G-d… and you shall sanctify the fiftieth year… a Yovel it is for you. (25:4,10)

For unto Me are the Bnei Yisrael servants, they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. (26:55)

YEARS

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