Eikev – Peninim on the Torah

למען ירבו ימיכם וימי בניכם על האדמה

In order to prolong your days and the days of your children upon the Land. (11:21)

The Talmud in Berachos 8a relates that, when Rabbi Yochanan heard that there were elderly Jews in Bavel/Babylonia, he was surprised, since it is written in the Torah, “In order to prolong your days and the days of your children upon the Land.” This is a reference to Eretz Yisrael, not to chutz l’aretz. There is no promise of longevity in the diaspora. Once they informed Rabbi Yochanan that the elders of Bavel were people who rose early to attend shul in the morning and remain in the shul until late in the evening, he said that this was the…

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השמרו לכם פן יפתה לבבכם וסרתם ועבדתם אלהים אחרים והשתחותם להם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Eikev, 5775

Beware for yourselves lest your heart be misled and you turn away and serve other gods and bow down to them. (11:16)

Rashi interprets v’sartem, and you turn away, as referring to one who abandons Torah study. Accordingly, one who severs his relationship with Torah will ultimately become an idol worshipper. This is a strong statement. Will abandoning the Torah lead one so far away that he would serve idols? Apparently the answer is, “Yes.” We wonder why. Horav Shimon Schwab, zl, addresses this question and explains that there are two diverse ways of understanding the term elohim acheirim, other gods. The words, elohim acheirim, in the context of this pasuk can be defined either as “other gods,” which would thus denote…

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ואכלת ושבעת וברכת את ד' אלקיך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Eikev, 5775

You will eat and you will be satisfied, and bless Hashem, your G-d. (8:10)

When a person eats or drinks, he prefaces his eating with a blessing and, upon completion, he once again offers his blessing. What if a person has no desire to eat, he is just not hungry, or he does not particularly care for the food that is being served? One would think that he has no obligation to eat. One does not eat just to avail himself the opportunity to recite a blessing – or should he eat just for the blessing? The following episode should enlighten us. The Bobover Rebbe, Horav Shlomo, zl, related that, when he was a…

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וברכת את ד' אלקיך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Eikev, 5775

And bless Hashem, Your G-d. (8:10)

One of the most common blessings we recite following food or drink consumption is the brachah acharonah, after-blessing, Borei nefashos rabos v’chesronan, “Who creates numerous living things with their deficiencies.” The Tur explains the concept chesronos, deficiencies, to mean that Hashem has created the hashlamah, completion, the (sort of) antidote to everything that we might be missing from our lives. The Rashba (Teshuvos 149), however, disagrees, explaining that we pay gratitude to Hashem specifically for (what appears to us as) the deficiencies in our lives. It is our way of affirming the manner in which Hashem has created us. For…

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כאשר ייסר איש את בנו ד' אלקיך מיסרך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Eikev, 5775

Just as a father will chastise his son, so Hashem, Your G-d, chastises you. (8:5)

Hashem’s discipline is likened to that of a loving father who is compelled to impose order in the life of his child. Discipline is a form of instruction which is vital and critical to a child’s development. The following are excerpts from a series of lectures given by the venerable Mashgiach of Beth Medrash Gavohah, Horav Matisyahu Solomon, Shlita. The Torah unequivocally forbids berating or embarrassing anyone, regardless of his wrongdoing. Chavalah, hitting, and onaah, persecution, are specifically prohibited. Just because someone is guilty of committing a sin does not give us license to humiliate or hit him. Concerning chinuch,…

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כי לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה האדם כי על כל מוצא פי ד' יחיה האדם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Eikev, 5775

Not by bread alone does man live, rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of G-d does man live. (8:3)

The phrase yichyeh ha’adam, does man live, is mentioned twice in the pasuk. Interestingly, Targum Onkeles uses two variant translations for the word yichyeh. With regard to the first part of the pasuk – “Not by bread alone does man live,” he writes, miskayeim enasha – is a man sustained/preserved. In the second part of the pasuk – “rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of G-d does man live,” he writes, chayei enasha, man lives. Why does the text change? (The variant translations are to be found in the older Chumashim. Many contemporary printings follow the standard corrected…

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למען ירבו ימיכם וימי בניכם על האדמה

In order to prolong your days and the days of your children upon the Land. (11:21)

השמרו לכם פן יפתה לבבכם וסרתם ועבדתם אלהים אחרים והשתחותם להם

Beware for yourselves lest your heart be misled and you turn away and serve other gods and bow down to them. (11:16)

ואכלת ושבעת וברכת את ד' אלקיך

You will eat and you will be satisfied, and bless Hashem, your G-d. (8:10)

וברכת את ד' אלקיך

And bless Hashem, Your G-d. (8:10)

כאשר ייסר איש את בנו ד' אלקיך מיסרך

Just as a father will chastise his son, so Hashem, Your G-d, chastises you. (8:5)

כי לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה האדם כי על כל מוצא פי ד' יחיה האדם

Not by bread alone does man live, rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of G-d does man live. (8:3)

YEARS

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