Ki Seitzei – Page 6 – Peninim on the Torah

“And you will see among its captivity a woman who is beautiful of form… If a man will have two wives, one beloved and one hated… If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son.” (21:11,15,18)

Chazal derive a valuable lesson from the juxtaposition of the laws of the ben sorer u’moreh, the rebellious son, to the case of the man who has two wives, one of whom he hates, and to the incident of the beautiful captive, in which the Torah gives a dispensation, a concession to human weakness, allowing the Jewish soldier to marry this woman. Chazal perceive this marriage, which serves to prevent worse manifestations of the unbridled passions of man, as the precursor of the disobedient and rebellious son. A wife taken in a such a manner will probably ultimately become an…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5772

“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.” (21:11)

The Torah recognizes that war wreaks havoc on a person’s emotions. The anxiety and breakdown of normal life leaves a person in an unusually depressed state, emotionally fragile and susceptible to the blandishments of the yetzer hara, evil-inclination. Under such conditions, the Jewish soldier might defer to his base desires. Upon seeing a woman among the enemy, he might feel an uncontrollable desire for her. Rather than risk sin that may lead to further spiritual pollution, the Torah provides an outlet for the lustful soldier. There is a process that the female captive must undergo, after which he may marry…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5772

“He is unable to give the right of the firstborn to the son of the beloved one ahead of the son of the hated one, who is the firstborn.” (21:16)

The firstborn has an inviolable right to his share of his father’s inheritance. The Torah is teaching us that rivalries or animosities do not determine the laws of inheritance. There is a clearly defined halachah that the firstborn receive a double portion of his father’s inheritance. The fact that his father harbors a hatred for his mother does not give him license to deprive his firstborn son of his rightful share. In forbidding the father to give over a firstborn’s rights, the Torah uses a puzzling term. It says, lo yuchal, “He is unable to do so.” Why is the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5772

“Do not plow with an ox and a donkey together.” (22:10)

Being sensitive to the feelings of another human being is a requisite for defining mentchlichkeit, humanness. While many of us go out of our way to be kind and thoughtful when it affects the feelings of a prominent individual, we often ignore the sensitivities of a common person. The Torah provides us with a penetrating insight regarding this inappropriate practice. We are adjured not to plow with an ox and a donkey together. Although the Torah does not suggest a reason, the Daas Zekeinim explains that these two animals have two diverse habits for digesting their food. Because an ox…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5771

When you will go out to war against your enemies, and Hashem, your G-d, will deliver them into your hands and you will capture its captivity. (21:10)

The Baal Shem Tov HaKadosh says that the war to which the Torah alludes is none other than the war of our lives – the daily battle which we wage against the blandishments of the yetzer hara, evil-inclination. The Torah is teaching us v’shavisa shivyo, “And you will capture its captivity,” essentially, we should grab the yetzer hara, take it captive, and learn from its strategy. Let one study the yetzer hara’s guile, how it ensnares us to sin, disregarding the type or severity of the sin. Who cares? As long as one sins, he is ensnared in the trap…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5771

If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son. (21:18)

In the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 16b, Chazal teach, “A person is judged only in accordance with his actions/behavior at that moment, as it is written (concerning Yishmael), ‘For G-d has heeded the cry of the youth – ba’asher hu shum – in his present state’” (Bereishis 21:17). The Midrash Bereishis adds: Afilu hu asid l’harshia l’achar z’man, “Even if he will act wicked after time.” Chazal refer to the dialogue between the ministering angels and the Almighty as Yishmael lay sick with thirst. “Ribono Shel Olam!” the angels declared. “To one whose descendants will kill Your children with thirst, You…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5771

And so shall you do for any lost article of your brother that may become lost from him and you find it; you cannot hide yourself. (22:3)

Horav Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg, zl, writes that he once received a brief from a law professor at the University of Buenos Aires lauding the halachic jurisprudence of the Torah. Indeed, the man wrote that he had studied the entire Torah and was able to understand and qualify the rationale for every law in the Torah – except for one. As impressed as he was by the Torah, he was extremely troubled with the one law that does not seem to make sense – at all. This is the law concerning yi’ush, whereby one who despairs of recovering his lost object…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5771

You shall not have in your house diverse measures, large and small. A whole and just weight you should have. (25:14,15)

Simply put, one may not keep faulty or dishonest weights in his possession, because it might result in cheating others in a business transaction. What about cheating oneself? Where does the “double standard” fit in? The Torah writes in Vayikra 25:17, “Do not deceive another person.” The Kotzker Rebbe, zl, distinguishes between the actual law, prohibiting one from deceiving others, and the law’s severe implication: Self-deception. Having two sets of measures – one for myself and one for others, – can lead to a serious “double standard.” We are quick to condemn, to repudiate and rebuke – when it involves…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5770

“When you will go out to war against your enemies, and Hashem, your G-d, will deliver him into your hand, and you will capture its captives.” (21:10)

The pasuk’s text is enigmatic. It begins by referring to our enemies in the plural, “your enemies,” – but then it changes to the singular, saying, “And Hashem, your G-d, will deliver him into your hand.” Horav Mordechai Gifter, z.l., addresses this question and derives a profound lesson from the pasuk. Whether we realize it or not, we enter battle daily against all sorts of enemies or, rather, one enemy in the guise of many different enemies. The yetzer hara, evil-inclination, man’s archenemy is extremely cunning and seeks ways to destroy our spiritual development. He attacks us from all sides,…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5770

“And you will see among its captivity a woman who is beautiful of form… If a man will have two wives, one beloved and one hated… If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son.” (21:11,15,18)

Chazal derive a valuable lesson from the juxtaposition of the laws of the ben sorer u’moreh, the rebellious son, to the case of the man who has two wives, one of whom he hates, and to the incident of the beautiful captive, in which the Torah gives a dispensation, a concession to human weakness, allowing the Jewish soldier to marry this woman. Chazal perceive this marriage, which serves to prevent worse manifestations of the unbridled passions of man, as the precursor of the disobedient and rebellious son. A wife taken in a such a manner will probably ultimately become an…

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“And you will see among its captivity a woman who is beautiful of form… If a man will have two wives, one beloved and one hated… If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son.” (21:11,15,18)

“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.” (21:11)

“He is unable to give the right of the firstborn to the son of the beloved one ahead of the son of the hated one, who is the firstborn.” (21:16)

“Do not plow with an ox and a donkey together.” (22:10)

When you will go out to war against your enemies, and Hashem, your G-d, will deliver them into your hands and you will capture its captivity. (21:10)

If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son. (21:18)

And so shall you do for any lost article of your brother that may become lost from him and you find it; you cannot hide yourself. (22:3)

You shall not have in your house diverse measures, large and small. A whole and just weight you should have. (25:14,15)

“When you will go out to war against your enemies, and Hashem, your G-d, will deliver him into your hand, and you will capture its captives.” (21:10)

“And you will see among its captivity a woman who is beautiful of form… If a man will have two wives, one beloved and one hated… If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son.” (21:11,15,18)

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