Ki Seitzei – Page 4 – Peninim on the Torah

כי יהיה לאיש בן סורר ומורה... ואמרו אל זקני עירו בננו זה סורר ומורה איננו שמע בקלנו זולל וסובא

If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son… they shall say to the elders of the city, “This son of ours is wayward and rebellious; he does not listen to our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.” (21:18,20)

The ben sorer u’moreh, wayward and rebellious son, has to be one of Jewish society’s greatest tragedies. A child so evil that his parents bring him to bais din, rabbinical court, where, upon confirmation of his nefarious acts of gluttony and derogation of his parents, he will be executed, is unusual and tragic. His actions indicate a complete lack of restraint necessary to lead an observant and holy life. While this concept is quite difficult for anyone not steeped in Torah to understand, let alone accept, it is primarily due to their not being steeped in Torah that grasping the…

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ורגמוהו כל אנשי עירו באבנים ומת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5776

All the men of his city shall pelt him with stones and he shall die. (21:21)

The ben sorer u’moreh receives the ultimate punishment: execution by stoning. He is put to death while he is still innocent, having not yet committed a sin which carries the penalty of capital punishment. It is better that he should die now as a rebellious glutton, rather than allowing him to be driven by his base desires to plunder and even murder in pursuit of filling his obsessive appetite. The punishment of stoning seems excessive, since, even if our fears for his future evil would be realized – and he would murder – the punishment would still be hereg/sayif, beheading…

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זכור את אשר עשה ד' אלקיך למרים בדרך בצאתכם ממצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5776

Remember what Hashem, your G-d, did to Miriam on the way, when you were leaving Egypt. (24:9)

Rashi comments: Remember what was done to Miriam who spoke against her brother, Moshe (Rabbeinu) and (as a result) was stricken with tzaraas (spiritual leprosy). Targum Yonasan ben Uziel comments: Take care not to be suspicious of your friend (not to suspect him of wrongdoing). Remember what Hashem, your G-d, did to Miriam because she suspected Moshe of something which was unfounded: she was stricken with tzaraas. Rashi attributes Miriam HaNeviyah’s illness/punishment to speaking ill of Moshe Rabbeinu. Targum Yonasan seems to feel that her shortcoming was in incorrectly suspecting Moshe of a wrongdoing. Horav Kalmen Pinsky, zl, observes (from…

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זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Uncategorized, Ki Seitzei, 5776

Remember what Amalek did to you. (25:17)

It is a positive command to blot out the memory of Amalek mitachas ha’Shomayim, from beneath the Heavens. On a purely cursory level, one would be hard-pressed to explain what it was about the war with Amalek that earned him and his descendants the ignominious title of archenemy of the Jews. It is not as if Amalek drowned Jewish babies (as did the Egyptians), bathed in their blood, and subjected our entire nation to captivity and persecution for over two centuries. He attacked us as we commenced our journey to Eretz Yisrael. Definitely not a good thing, but does it…

Home -> 5775 -> Ki Seitzei

כי תצא למלחמה על אויביך... וראית בשביה אשת יפת תאר וחשקת בה ולקחת לך לאשה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5775

When you will go out to war against your enemies…And you will see among its captivity a woman who is beautiful of form, and you will desire her, you may take her to yourself for a wife. (21:10, 11)

The law concerning the yefas toar, captive woman, whose physical beauty captivates the Jewish soldier, is not to be taken lightly. If the Torah permits what is considered a prohibited liaison, it is for a specific reason: It is responding to the inflamed passion of the Jewish soldier while in battle. War affects the mind and heart of a soldier. Leaving home, family and friends–relegated to fighting an enemy in which one wrong move means serious injury and even death–can have an adverse effect upon even the most rational mind, causing it to think irrationally. The Torah recognizes that the…

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השב תשיבם לאחיך... לא תוכל להתעלם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5775

You shall surely return them to your brother… you shall not hide yourself. (22:1,3)

We wonder why certain mitzvos are included in the Torah. Any decent person knows that if he finds an object belonging to someone else, he should proceed to return it to the rightful owner. People, however, are lazy and greedy. We are not often inclined to go out of our way to search for the owner. This is especially true when we find an object of great value, whose owner is not readily identifiable. Thus, between the time involved and the value of the item, the finder rationalizes that he does not have to return the item. A mitzvah is…

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כי יהיה ריב בין אנשים ונגשו אל המשפט

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5775

When there will be a dispute between people, and they have recourse to judgment. (25:1)

Rashi explains that, when there is a dispute, their end will be to have to recourse to judgment. On the basis of this pasuk, you should say/deduce that peace does not emerge from dispute. Maharal explains that the Torah could have simply written, “When men will have recourse to judgment.” “When there will be a dispute” is seemingly superfluous. Thus, we derive that the natural outcome of a dispute is a din Torah, recourse to judgment. The disputants will not come to an agreement on their own. Rashi adds, “What caused Lot to separate from the righteous Avraham Avinu, his…

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זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק... ואתה עיף ויגע ולא ירא אלקים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5775

Remember what Amalek did to you… when you were faint and exhausted, and he did not fear G-d. (25:17,19)

Amalek was not the only nation that attacked the Jews. The Canaanites, Sichon and Og also acted in much the same reprehensible manner. Yet, Amalek is the only one about whom the Torah attests was V’lo yarei Elokim, “And he did not fear G-d.” Why is Amalek singled out more than any other one of our enemies, in terms of being unafraid of G-d? The Brisker Rav, zl, explains this, basing his thesis on a statement of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai in the Talmud Bava Kamma 79b. The students of the great Tanna asked him why the Torah is more…

Home -> 5774 -> Ki Seitzei

כי יהיה לאיש בן סורר ומורה איננו שמע בקול אביו ובקול אמו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5774

If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son, who does not listen to the voice of his father and the voice of his mother. (21:18)

In the Talmud Sanhedrin 71a, Chazal teach, “There never was, nor will there ever be, such a thing as a ben sorer u’moreh, ‘wayward and rebellious son’. Why, then, do we have this law? So that you may inquire into it and receive reward (by your inquiry).” Our sages give us the comforting assurance that the ben sorer u’moreh is not a reality in our history. Never have we had— nor will we ever have— to deal with a child whose rebellious behavior meets all of the criteria of the law which classifies him utterly beyond redemption. Execution is the…

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כי יהיה לאיש בן סורר ומורה... ותפסו בו אביו ואמו... ואמרו בננו זה בן סורר ומורה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5774

If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son… and is father and mother shall take hold of him…and they shall say… “This son is wayward and rebellious.” (21:18, 20)

We all know the story. A rebellious child is brought to the court. His parents are at their wits’ end. They have tried everything – from discipline, to love, to coercion and reward. They have gone to professionals, tried every technique – all to no avail. Their son refuses to change. He displays an attitude for which apparently there is no cure. He is brought to bais din, court, where the ultimate punishment is carried out: Yamus zakai v’al yamus chayov, “Let him die while he is still innocent, rather than having to execute him once he has committed an…

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כי יהיה לאיש בן סורר ומורה... ואמרו אל זקני עירו בננו זה סורר ומורה איננו שמע בקלנו זולל וסובא

If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son… they shall say to the elders of the city, “This son of ours is wayward and rebellious; he does not listen to our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.” (21:18,20)

ורגמוהו כל אנשי עירו באבנים ומת

All the men of his city shall pelt him with stones and he shall die. (21:21)

זכור את אשר עשה ד' אלקיך למרים בדרך בצאתכם ממצרים

Remember what Hashem, your G-d, did to Miriam on the way, when you were leaving Egypt. (24:9)

זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק

Remember what Amalek did to you. (25:17)

כי תצא למלחמה על אויביך... וראית בשביה אשת יפת תאר וחשקת בה ולקחת לך לאשה

When you will go out to war against your enemies…And you will see among its captivity a woman who is beautiful of form, and you will desire her, you may take her to yourself for a wife. (21:10, 11)

השב תשיבם לאחיך... לא תוכל להתעלם

You shall surely return them to your brother… you shall not hide yourself. (22:1,3)

כי יהיה ריב בין אנשים ונגשו אל המשפט

When there will be a dispute between people, and they have recourse to judgment. (25:1)

זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק... ואתה עיף ויגע ולא ירא אלקים

Remember what Amalek did to you… when you were faint and exhausted, and he did not fear G-d. (25:17,19)

כי יהיה לאיש בן סורר ומורה איננו שמע בקול אביו ובקול אמו

If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son, who does not listen to the voice of his father and the voice of his mother. (21:18)

כי יהיה לאיש בן סורר ומורה... ותפסו בו אביו ואמו... ואמרו בננו זה בן סורר ומורה

If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son… and is father and mother shall take hold of him…and they shall say… “This son is wayward and rebellious.” (21:18, 20)

YEARS

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