Eikev – Page 4 – Peninim on the Torah

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)

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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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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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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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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למען ירבו ימיכם וימי בניכם על האדמה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Eikev, 5775

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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לאהבה את ד' אלקיכם ללכת בכל דרכיו ולדבקה בו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Eikev, 5774

To love Hashem your G-d, to walk in all His ways and to cleave to Him. (11:22)

To follow in Hashem’s ways, to walk in His path, means to display the same loving compassion for all Jews, regardless of background, personality and religious attitude. Hashem is our Father, and, as such, turns away no one. On the contrary, it is we who turn away from Him. Horav Shlomo Levinstein, Shlita, relates the following episode. Horav Mordechai Rabinowitz is the Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivas Oheiv Yisrael in Petach Tikvah. It is a school that caters to a high caliber of highly motivated students. Like so many good schools, it is very difficult to gain entrance to this yeshivah….

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והיה עקב תשמעון את המשפטים האלה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Eikev, 5774

This shall be the reward when you hearken to these ordinances. (7:12)

In this instance, the word mishpatim, statutes, is a general term to describe the various divisions of the mitzvos – eidus, chukim and Mishpatim – under one title. All mitzvos, whether they commemorate an historic religious event, a legal obligation to a fellow Jew, a form of Heavenly service, or a mitzvah which defies human comprehension, are all included in the category of mishpatim, legal maxims. As such, it is our duty to execute them simply because it is Hashem’s command; it is our duty – with no thanks or reward to be claimed. Yet, by doing all of these,…

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לא יהיה בך עקר ועקרה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Eikev, 5774

There will be no infertile male or infertile female among you. (7:14)

We, as human beings, will not be plagued with infertility. The pasuk continues on with a similar blessing for our sheep and cattle. The Baal HaTurim makes note of an incredible gimatria, numerical equivalent, that corresponds with the pasuk, Lo yiheyeh becha akar va’akara, which amounts to 834. Likewise, the words b’divrei haTorah, “in the words of the Torah,” also amount to 834. This implies a connection between Torah study and fertility, which is explained by Horav Shlomo Levenstein, Shlita, as a demand for a person to be mechadesh chiddushim, innovate original commentary and elucidation, to apply creativity to one’s…

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ומלתם את ערלת לבבכם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Eikev, 5774

You shall cut away the barrier of your heart. (10:16)

Metaphorically, the heart represents the seat of a human being’s passion and emotion. When one loses his moral compass and begins to fall prey to his base desires, this moral weakness is described figuratively as a dulled heart, ensconced in a layer of dross which prevents it from connecting spiritually. In other words, the person’s ability to perceive and be inspired spiritually is hampered by this encumbrance. The only way to resuscitate the heart spiritually is to “cut away” the layer that dulls the person’s spiritual impulses, preventing him from growing in the manner of becoming a Torah Jew. What…

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Sruly Schnair In Eikev, 5754

“Your clothes did not wax old upon you, neither did your foot swell these forty years… So I turned and came down from the mountain … and two luchos (were) on my two hands… and I looked and behold you had sinned against Hashem your G-d… and I took hold of the two luchos and cast them out of my two hands… At that time, Hashem said unto me, ‘hew for you two luchos of stone… and make for you an ark of wood’… and (I) went up the mountain having the two luchos in my hands.” (8:4, 9:15-17, 10:1,3)

It is human nature to speak about things we can and should do. On the other hand, sometimes we must also be aware of those things we think we can not accomplish, but we must try to do. In the beginning of this parsha, Moshe relates Klal Yisrael’s forty year sojourn in the desert until the moment when they stand ready to enter Eretz Yisrael. Indeed, as noted in the pesukim, the desert experience was more like paradise. Bnei Yisrael received water from stones and food from Heaven. Their clothes were always wearable, and their feet were never swollen. Their…

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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)

וברכת את ד' אלקיך

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

ואכלת ושבעת וברכת את ד' אלקיך

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

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)

למען ירבו ימיכם וימי בניכם על האדמה

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

לאהבה את ד' אלקיכם ללכת בכל דרכיו ולדבקה בו

To love Hashem your G-d, to walk in all His ways and to cleave to Him. (11:22)

והיה עקב תשמעון את המשפטים האלה

This shall be the reward when you hearken to these ordinances. (7:12)

לא יהיה בך עקר ועקרה

There will be no infertile male or infertile female among you. (7:14)

ומלתם את ערלת לבבכם

You shall cut away the barrier of your heart. (10:16)

YEARS

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