Nitzavim – Page 8 – Peninim on the Torah

“And you will return unto Hashem, your G-d, and listen to His voice.” (30:2)

There is a remarkable contrast between two types of people: one defies rebuke, laughing it off with disdain and derision; and the baal teshuvah, penitent, who hears Hashem’s call, responds to His voice and returns wholeheartedly. Two people – or could it be one person, one individual in different stages of his spiritual development? Is it possible for the hard-core sinner, the individual who mocks Hashem and His followers bitterly, to return and be accepted? It is certainly possible for him to be accepted: Hashem is a loving Father Who waits patiently for His errant child. How does one…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5764

“The hidden (sins) are for Hashem, our G-d, but the revealed (sins) are for us and for our children forever.” (29:28)

Simply, we are not held responsible for those sinners who hide their evil. The hidden sinners are in Hashem’s province. Our focus must be on those whose evil is blatant, who have no shame and no fear. Our lack of response to those sins and sinners – and in some cases, our open acceptance of their evil – impugns the integrity of Klal Yisrael. In an alternative exegesis, the Belzer Rebbe, z.l., suggests that nistaros and niglos, “hidden” and “revealed,” refer to mitzvos and good deeds, but not to sins. His pshat, rendering of the pasuk, is better understood in…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5763

“From the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water.” (29:10)

Everybody was present that day, from the woodcutter to the water carrier. Is this the correct sequence? Should it not be worded, “From your leadership all the way down to your woodchoppers” or “From your goldsmiths to your woodchoppers”? One would think that the woodchopper and water carrier are basically on an equal level. Shivim Panim LaTorah suggests the following idea: When the ax is raised up over the head of the woodchopper, the “ax” would never consider that it is higher or more distinguished than the woodchopper, because the woodchopper is the one who is raising it up. Likewise,…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5763

“Perhaps there is among you a root flourishing with gall and wormwood.” (29:17)

Home -> 5763 -> Nitzavim

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5763

“And you will return unto Hashem, your G-d, and listen to His voice.” (30:2)

There is a remarkable contrast between two types of people: one defies rebuke, laughing it off with disdain and derision; and the baal teshuvah, penitent, who hears Hashem’s call, responds to His voice and returns wholeheartedly. Two people – or could it be one person, one individual in different stages of his spiritual development? Is it possible for the hard-core sinner, the individual who mocks Hashem and His followers bitterly, to return and be accepted? It is certainly possible for him to be accepted: Hashem is a loving Father Who waits patiently for His errant child. How does one…

Home -> 5763 -> Nitzavim

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5763

“The hidden (sins) are for Hashem, our G-d, but the revealed (sins) are for us and for our children forever.” (29:28)

Simply, we are not held responsible for those sinners who hide their evil. The hidden sinners are in Hashem’s province. Our focus must be on those whose evil is blatant, who have no shame and no fear. Our lack of response to those sins and sinners – and in some cases, our open acceptance of their evil – impugns the integrity of Klal Yisrael. In an alternative exegesis, the Belzer Rebbe, z.l., suggests that nistaros and niglos, “hidden” and “revealed,” refer to mitzvos and good deeds, but not to sins. His pshat, rendering of the pasuk, is better understood in…

Home -> 5762 -> Nitzavim

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5762

“And you will return unto Hashem, your G-d, and listen to His voice.” (30:2)

Repentance – the opportunity to return to Hashem, to once again be accepted by Him and be able to appeal to Him – is the ultimate kindness that Hashem offers us. The following analogy, cited by Horav Yaakov Beifus, Shlita, demonstrates this idea. Rebelling against the king is without a doubt the most egregious transgression one can do to a monarch. The punishment is commensurate with the level of rebellion and the relationship of the rebel to the king. The closer one is to the king, the greater and more serious the infraction and eventual punishment. In one of the provinces,…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5762

“And you shall choose life.” (30:19)

A poor man came to a businessman and asked for a loan: “I need one hundred dollars, and I am willing to pay seven percent interest on the loan. There is one stipulation however, I can only pay you one dollar a week,” said the poor man. “I appreciate your situation, but I cannot help you,” the businessman responded. “I must be paid all at once, not in installments.” Understandably, the poor man left quite upset. The businessman’s associate who witnessed the entire proceedings wondered why his friend would throw away an opportunity in order to make a quick profit. The…

Home -> 5761 -> Nitzavim

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5761

“From the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water.” (29:10)

Everybody was present that day, from the woodcutter to the water carrier. Is this the correct sequence? Should it not be worded, “From your leadership all the way down to your woodchoppers” or “From your goldsmiths to your woodchoppers”? One would think that the woodchopper and water carrier are basically on an equal level. Shivim Panim LaTorah suggests the following idea: When the ax is raised up over the head of the woodchopper, the “ax” would never consider that it is higher or more distinguished than the woodchopper, because the woodchopper is the one who is raising it up. Likewise,…

Home -> 5761 -> Nitzavim

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5761

“Perhaps there is among you a root flourishing with gall and wormwood.” (29:17)

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“And you will return unto Hashem, your G-d, and listen to His voice.” (30:2)

“The hidden (sins) are for Hashem, our G-d, but the revealed (sins) are for us and for our children forever.” (29:28)

“From the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water.” (29:10)

“Perhaps there is among you a root flourishing with gall and wormwood.” (29:17)

“And you will return unto Hashem, your G-d, and listen to His voice.” (30:2)

“The hidden (sins) are for Hashem, our G-d, but the revealed (sins) are for us and for our children forever.” (29:28)

“And you will return unto Hashem, your G-d, and listen to His voice.” (30:2)

“And you shall choose life.” (30:19)

“From the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water.” (29:10)

“Perhaps there is among you a root flourishing with gall and wormwood.” (29:17)

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