Masei – Peninim on the Torah

והקריתם לכם ערים ערי מקלט... ונס שמה רוצח מכה נפש בשגגה וישב בה עד מות הכהן הגדול

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Masei

You shall designate cities for yourselves, cities of refuge… and a murderer shall flee there – one who takes a life unintentionally… He shall dwell in it until the death of the Kohen Gadol. (35:11,25)

The rotzeiach b’shogeg, unintentional murderer, is sent into exile to one of the designated cities of refuge. There, he will be safe from the wrath and vengeance of the go’eil ha’dam, redeemer of the blood, a close relative of the victim who has the right to exact vengeance against the murderer. The rotzeiach b’shogeg is safe as long as he remains within the confines of the ir miklat. If he leaves and the redeemer catches him, his blood is on his own hands. The rotzieach remains in the ir miklat until the death of the Kohen Gadol, who, on some…

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אלה מסעי בני ישראל אשר יצאו מארץ מצרים

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Masei

These are the journeys of Bnei Yisrael, who went forth from the land of Egypt. (33:1)

The Torah makes a point of detailing each and every one of the nation’s encampments in the Wilderness. Clearly, we must derive a lesson from this pasuk. Horav Yeruchem Levovitz, zl, explains (based on the commentaries of the Rishonim) that the idea of yetzias Mitzrayim, the Egyptian exodus, is based on the principle that it and all its accompanying miracles and wonders were revealed for anyone to see. No room existed for even the biggest fool or greatest agnostic to deny what took place. If one possessed a modicum of intelligence, he saw what was clearly Divine intervention in its…

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ומצרים מקברים... ובאלהיהם עשה ד' שפטים

Sruly Schnair In 5783, Masei

And the Egyptians were burying (those among them whom Hashem had struck)… and on their gods Hashem had inflicted punishment. (33:4)

The Torah begins by informing us that the Jewish people left Egypt “with an upraised hand to the eyes of the Egyptians.” It then apprises us of the Egyptians burying their dead and continues to let us know that, not only did the firstborn perish, but Hashem also destroyed their idols. Can we derive a message from the juxtaposition of these two punishments? To explain the connection between the two punishments, we cite Rabbeinu Bachya who writes (commentary to Shemos 12:12) that, while Hashem, indeed, destroyed the Egyptian idols at night (the same time that He smote the firstborn), the…

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אלה מסעי בני ישראל אשר יצאו מארץ מצרים

Sruly Schnair In 5783, Masei

These are the sojourns of Bnei Yisrael who went forth from the land of Egypt. (33:1)

Parashas Masei concludes Klal Yisrael’s forty-year sojourn in the wilderness. Many of the individuals in the nation who now stood before Moshe Rabbeinu, poised to enter into the Promised Land, were but children when they left Egypt, while others of them had been born after the liberation. Their parents, who had slaved for Pharaoh and had been redeemed from Egypt, were no longer alive. They paid a heavy price for their insubordination. They had been raised in a culture that was morally deviant and spiritually bankrupt, yet, they merited being liberated from that country. Apparently, they did not have the…

Home -> Masei -> 5782

ולארץ לא יכפר לדם אשר שפך בה כי אם בדם שפכו

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Masei

The land will not have atonement for the blood that was spilled in it, except through the blood of the one who spilled it. (35:33)

Why does the land require atonement? Did it sin in any way concerning the murder? Is it guilty of some form of murder? Horav Zaidel Epstein, zl, explains that the strictures of the complaint against the land is in its passive response to the murder. It acted with indifference, with cool detachment, as if the murder were nothing at all. The land should have cried out and made demands. Who ever heard of the land expressing its emotion with regard to a wanton act of murder? The Mashgiach refers us to Hashem’s curse of Kayin’s act of murdering his brother. …

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והקריתם לכם ערים ערי מקלט ... ונס שמה רצח מכה נפש בשגגה

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Masei

You shall designate cities for yourselves… and a murderer shall flee there – one who takes a life unintentionally. (35:11)

The Arei Miklat, Cities of Refuge, served as home to two groups of Jews: Shevet Levi, the spiritual exemplars of our nation; and the rotzeach b’shogeg, one who committed unintentional murder. The relationship between these two groups seems to be a bit of a stretch. They are quite the opposite of one another. The Bostoner Rebbe, zl, was one of the founders of the baal teshuvah movement in this country. The Rebbe was called to address the annual Agudath Israel convention. He used his time at the podium as an opportunity to exhort observant Jews to reach out to their…

Home -> Masei -> 5781

ונס שמה רצח מכה נפש בשגגה

Sruly Schnair In 5781, Masei

And a murderer shall flee the one who takes a life unintentionally. (35:11)

The word rotze’ach, murderer, followed by makeh nefesh, one who takes a life, is seemingly redundant. Why does the Torah repeat itself? Horav Chaim Toito, Shlita, employs the following story as a means for distinguishing between the two terms. A devout, G-d-fearing Jew lived in a small village not far from Sanz. He earned a living by using his house as an inn and restaurant. It was a lucrative business. One day, a poor man dressed in tattered clothes appeared at his inn. Being a kind-hearted man, the innkeeper gave this man a decent, nourishing meal, after which he took…

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אלה מסעי בני ישראל ... ויכתב משה את מוצאיהם למסעיהם על פי ד'

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Matos, Masei

These are the journeys of Bnei Yisrael… Moshe wrote their goings forth according to their journeys at the bidding of Hashem. (33:1,2)

The journeys of Klal Yisrael from the time they left Egypt until their arrival in the Holy Land are significant, since the Torah underscores them. The Torah only contains events that have importance for posterity. Moshe recorded these journeys by the word of Hashem, because (according to Rambam), in this way, the nation would remember the miraculous events which occurred in the wilderness for all time. Veritably, some of these miracles were clearly evident, such as the Clouds of Glory and the manna. As we all know only too well, however, memory fades, and doubters and skeptics are likely to…

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ויאמר בני גד ובני ראובן אל משה... עבדיך יעשו כאשר אדני מצוה ... עבדיך יעברו כל חלוץ צבא לפני ד' למלחמה כאשר אדני דבר

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Matos, Masei

Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven said to Moshe… Your servants shall do as my lord commands… And your servants shall cross over, every armed person of the legion, before Hashem, to do battle, as my lord speaks. (32:25,27)

Moshe Rabbeinu exhorted Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven to assume their share of the battle of conquering Eretz Yisrael, concluding, “V’nichb’shah ha’aretz lifnei Hashem, v’achar tashuvu, “And the Land; shall be conquered before Hashem, and then you shall return” (ibid 32:22). Chazal (Midrash) comment that Moshe’s statement, V’achar tashuvu, “And then you shall return,” was fulfilled b’m’lo muvan ha’milah, to the word. Every member of Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven returned home from the war and apportioning of the Land, a total of fourteen years. Not a single one died, not even of natural causes! Tzaddik gozeir v’Hakadosh Boruch Hu…

Home -> Matos -> 5780

נקום נקמת בני ישראל מאת המדינים אחר תאסף אל עמיך

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Matos, Masei

Take vengeance for Bnei Yisrael against the Midyanim; afterward you will be gathered unto your people. (31: 2)

Hashem informed Moshe Rabbeinu that he would leave this world once Klal Yisrael destroyed Midyan. Then Klal Yisrael would be avenged. Once Klal Yisrael exacted vengeance, Moshe’s “work” (so to speak) would be complete. Although Moshe was acutely aware that once he completed this mitzvah he would die, he executed the vengeance with amazing alacrity. A mitzvah is a mitzvah, even if it meant that it would hasten his own demise. The Torah writes that the Jewish People waged war with Midyan, and they succeeded in killing all males. Among them was Bilaam ben Be’or, the pagan prophet who was…

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והקריתם לכם ערים ערי מקלט... ונס שמה רוצח מכה נפש בשגגה וישב בה עד מות הכהן הגדול

You shall designate cities for yourselves, cities of refuge… and a murderer shall flee there – one who takes a life unintentionally… He shall dwell in it until the death of the Kohen Gadol. (35:11,25)

אלה מסעי בני ישראל אשר יצאו מארץ מצרים

These are the journeys of Bnei Yisrael, who went forth from the land of Egypt. (33:1)

ומצרים מקברים... ובאלהיהם עשה ד' שפטים

And the Egyptians were burying (those among them whom Hashem had struck)… and on their gods Hashem had inflicted punishment. (33:4)

אלה מסעי בני ישראל אשר יצאו מארץ מצרים

These are the sojourns of Bnei Yisrael who went forth from the land of Egypt. (33:1)

ולארץ לא יכפר לדם אשר שפך בה כי אם בדם שפכו

The land will not have atonement for the blood that was spilled in it, except through the blood of the one who spilled it. (35:33)

והקריתם לכם ערים ערי מקלט ... ונס שמה רצח מכה נפש בשגגה

You shall designate cities for yourselves… and a murderer shall flee there – one who takes a life unintentionally. (35:11)

ונס שמה רצח מכה נפש בשגגה

And a murderer shall flee the one who takes a life unintentionally. (35:11)

אלה מסעי בני ישראל ... ויכתב משה את מוצאיהם למסעיהם על פי ד'

These are the journeys of Bnei Yisrael… Moshe wrote their goings forth according to their journeys at the bidding of Hashem. (33:1,2)

ויאמר בני גד ובני ראובן אל משה... עבדיך יעשו כאשר אדני מצוה ... עבדיך יעברו כל חלוץ צבא לפני ד' למלחמה כאשר אדני דבר

Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven said to Moshe… Your servants shall do as my lord commands… And your servants shall cross over, every armed person of the legion, before Hashem, to do battle, as my lord speaks. (32:25,27)

נקום נקמת בני ישראל מאת המדינים אחר תאסף אל עמיך

Take vengeance for Bnei Yisrael against the Midyanim; afterward you will be gathered unto your people. (31: 2)

YEARS

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