Join our weekly Peninim on the Torah list!

Category

Back to Home -> Emor ->


ויצא בן אשה ישראלית והוא בן איש מצרי... וינצו במחנה בן הישראלית ואיש הישראלי ויקב בן האשה הישראלית את השם

The son of a Yisraelite woman went out – and he was the son of an Egyptian man… they fought in the camp, the son of the Yisraelite woman and Yisraelite man. The son of the Yisraelite woman pronounced the Name and blasphemed. (24:10,11)

Rarely do we see such an explosion of un-Jewish depravity as evinced by the blasphemer. Indeed, had his mother not been the only Jewish woman to have committed her own act of transgression with the Egyptian, this blasphemy would not have occurred. The mother planted the seed of infamy; the son executed his ignoble heritage that became his mother’s legacy to him. Indeed, the mother’s name is recorded for posterity in the Torah only after her son sinned. Parents must realize that, while they may ignore the personal ramifications of their ignominious behavior, they cannot disregard its effect on their…

Continue Reading

שבעת ימים מצות תאכלו

You shall eat matzos for a seven-day period. (23:6)

Every once in a while, I come across a story which is more dvar Torah than story.  The episode is merely the medium for imparting an important Torah principle. The following story fits into this category. The surplus of matzah, which has become a way of life for us, is a modern-day wonder. One hundred years ago, when Europe was in midst of a world war, whole communities went without matzah for Pesach. Food was at a premium, and the Jewish community was always at the bottom of the totem pole for receiving aid. As a result, ehrliche Yidden, observant…

Continue Reading

ובת איש כהן כי תחל לזנות

If the daughter of a Kohen desecrates herself through adultery. (21:9)

Ki seichal liznos can also be translated as, “when she will begin to stray immorally.” One must realize, and it should be emphasized, that once one has begun to fall – even slightly – the descent to the depths of evil is quick. Indeed, it is a rapid deterioration, with limited space to stop in the middle. Once the plunge has started, one can do little to prevent the sad ending. Horav Shabsai Yudelevitz, zl, relates that he once met a policeman. The two men struck up a conversation concerning the sad plight of Israeli youth. The policeman bemoaned the…

Continue Reading

ולא תחללו את שם קדשי ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל

You shall not desecrate My holy Name, rather I should be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael. (22:32)

What is the most egregious sin that one can transgress? Perhaps we should step back a little in order to clarify the meaning of “egregious.” Sin might be relative, but every sin is an infraction against Hashem. So, they are all bad! In the Talmud Yoma 86a, Chazal address this question. They posit that the nefariousness of a sin is based on the contingency of performing teshuvah, repentance. When one transgresses a prohibitive commandment and later repents, his teshuvah is in limbo until Yom Kippur, when the sanctity of the day atones for his sin. When one transgresses a sin…

Continue Reading

מועדי ד' אשר תקראו אתם מקראי קדש אלה הם מועדי

Hashem’s appointed Festivals that you are to designate as holy convocations – these are My appointed festivals. (23:2)

The term moed is commonly translated as “festival.” When we peruse halachah, we come across a law which seems to contradict this translation. The Tur (Orach Chaim 559) rules that, on Tishah B’Av, we do not recite the Tachanun prayer. This is a prayer of supplication, and, since the Navi (Yirmiyahu in Megillas Eichah 1:15) refers to Tishah B’Av as a moed, kara alai moed lishbor bachurai, “He proclaimed a set time against me to crush my young men,” we do not recite Tachanun on a moed. We wonder why the saddest day of the Jewish calendar year, the day…

Continue Reading

ולקחתם לכם ביום הראשון פרי עץ הדר

You shall take for yourself on the first day the fruit of a citron tree. (23:40)

Pri eitz hadar, “the fruit of a beautiful tree,” is commonly accepted as referring to the esrog tree. In Sefer Likutim, the Arizal says that the letters of the word esrog: aleph, taf, reish, gimmel form an acronym for the pasuk in Tehillim 36:12, Al tevoeini regel gaavah, “Let not the foot of arrogance come to me.” Horav Yaakov Galinsky, zl, explains this pragmatically. The pasuk in which David Hamelech deplores arrogance and prays that it not affect him in any way, is truly a pasuk fitting for the esrog. This could be termed the “esrog’s prayer,” for the esrog…

Continue Reading

אמור אל הכהנים בני אהרן

Say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon. (21:1)

The Kohanim represent our nation’s spiritual elite. Their greatness is hereditary; thus, their responsibility to convey the compelling nature of their lineage and station in life to the next generation, is consequential. It is, therefore, noteworthy that they were excluded from the monarchy, as was the rest of the nation. On his deathbed, Yaakov Avinu, blessed each of his sons. He turned to Yehudah and said, Lo yasur shevet miYehudah, “The scepter shall not depart from Yehudah” (Bereishis 49:10). While this blessing did not take effect immediately, since Shaul Hamelech, our nation’s first monarch, heralded from the tribe of Binyamin…

Continue Reading

אמר אל הכהנים בני אהרן... לנפש לא יטמא בעמיו

Say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon… each of you shall not contaminate himself to a (dead) person among his people. (21:1)

The Chasam Sofer renders this pasuk homiletically as presenting the imperative and guidelines for successful Jewish outreach. First: “Say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon” that they should act in accordance with their noble, illustrious heritage. Their Patriarch, Aharon HaKohen, was known by his nom de plume as the consummate Ohaiv shalom v’rodef shalom, ohaiv es ha’brios u’mekarvan laTorah, “(He) lover of peace and (he) pursuer of peace; (he) loves people and brings them closer to the Torah.” One who seeks success in reaching out to his fellow man must first make peace with himself. No sin, no moral…

Continue Reading

ולאחתו הבתולה הקרובה אליו אשר לא היתה לאיש לה יטמא

And to his virgin sister who is close to him, who has not been wed to a man; to her shall he contaminate himself. (21:3)

Chazal teach that it is a mitzvah for a Kohen to defile himself to the seven close relatives. Indeed, as Chazal say, if the Kohen refuses to ritually contaminate himself to any of them, we compel him to do so (Zevachim 100a). In a way, this is a form of sacrifice. A Kohen who is sincere about his station in life might get carried away. He might feel that, even for a close relative, it is just not worth it. He has heretofore maintained his purity. Why should he ruin his spotless record? Obviously, such a Kohen has no clue…

Continue Reading

שור או כשב או עז כי יולד... ירצה לקרבן אשה לד'

When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born… it is acceptable for a fire-offering to Hashem. (22:27)

The Yalkut Shimoni teaches us why the above three animals (ox, sheep, goat) were selected to serve as Korbanos, sacrifices. The ox was chosen in the merit of Avraham Avinu who, in the course of preparing dinner for his “Heavenly” guests, ran to bring for them an ox. [V’el ha’bakar ratz Avraham, “And to the ox Avraham ran” (Bereishis 18:7)]. Yitzchak Avinu’s z’chus, merit, catalyzed the designation of the sheep as a sacrifice. [Va’yar v’hinei ayil neechaz ba’svach b’karnav, “And he raised his eyes and saw, and behold! A ram, afterwards caught in the thicket” (Bereishis 22:13)]. When Yaakov Avinu…

Continue Reading

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our weekly Peninim on the Torah list!

You have Successfully Subscribed!