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ונקה לא ינקה פקד עון אבות על בנים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Shelach, 5774

And Who cleanses – but does not cleanse completely, recalling the iniquity of parents upon children. (14:18)

Children are held to task for the iniquities of their parents. Is this fair? Let each generation pay for its own sins – not those of its predecessors. We have enough to deal with from our own mistakes, why should we be responsible to pay for those of our parents? Chazal explain that this unique form of reparation applies when banim ochazin b’maaseh avosam, “Children maintain their father’s iniquities.” The son will be punished when he continues actively to expand and extol his father’s egregious behavior. Still, is this a reason for the son to pay for his father’s sins?…

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Home -> 5774 -> Shelach

וימצאו איש מקשש עצים ביום השבת... וירגמו אתו באבנים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Shelach, 5774

And they found a man gathering wood on the Shabbos day… and they pelted him with stones. (15:32,36)

The mekoshesh eitzim, wood gatherer, who was the first mechalel Shabbos, desecrator of Shabbos, was executed by stoning. The Torah writes, Vayirgemu oso b’avanim, “And they pelted him with stones,” in the plural. Interestingly, when the mekallel, blasphemer, was executed by stoning, the Torah writes, Viyirgemu oso even, “And they stoned him to death,” in the singular (Vayikra 24:23). What is the reason for this change in the Torah’s vernacular? This question was asked of the Chidushei HaRim when he was a young boy. Known as a child prodigy, Rabbinic leaders would often pepper him with difficult questions to see…

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Home -> 5773 -> Shelach

ומה הארץ אשר הוא יושב בה הטובה היא אם רעה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Shelach, 5773

And how is the land in which it dwells – is it good or is it bad? (13:19)

Prior to their departure for their ill-fated trip to reconnoiter Eretz Yisrael, Moshe Rabbeinu gave the spies a“shopping list” of things they should investigate. One of these questions for which Moshe sought an answer was: Is it a good land or not? It is almost impossible to pass over this pasuk without wondering how our quintessential leader could ask such a question. If Hashem had promised that He was taking us into eretz tovah u’rechavah, “A land that was good and spacious” (Shemos 3:8), then what need is there for investigation? Did anyone doubt Hashem’s word? The mere fact that…

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Home -> 5773 -> Shelach

ויהס כלב את העם אל משה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Shelach, 5773

Calev silenced the people. (13:30)

How did Calev get the attention of the people? How was he able to halt the rebellion momentarily, so that he could get a word in edgewise? Rashi explains that Calev intimated that he, too, was about to disparage Moshe. How did he indicate this? The Sifsei Chachamim quotes the Mizrachi, that when Calev referred to Moshe Rabbeinu as Ben Amram, the son of Amram, the people thought that he was on their side. After all, he had referred to Moshe by something other than his given name. This constituted disrespect. Obviously, he did not esteem Moshe as a leader….

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Home -> 5773 -> Shelach

במדבר הזה יפלו פגריכם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Shelach, 5773

In this wilderness shall your carcass drop. (14:29)

During their forty-year trek through the wilderness, Klal Yisrael breached their relationship with Hashem, as they committed a number of transgressions. Yet, the Almighty punished the actual perpetrator and forgave the rest of the populace. These were not simple sins. The chet ha’eigal, sin of the Golden Calf, was no simple transgression. Shortly after they left Egypt, Klal Yisrael committed a sin of grave proportions, as they turned their backs on Hashem, Who had done so much for them. They were scared; their leader, Moshe Rabbeinu, was late in descending the mountain, so they sinned. This was no excuse. Yet,…

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Home -> 5773 -> Shelach

והיו לכם לציצת וראיתם אתו וזכרתם את כל מצות ד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Shelach, 5773

It shall constitute Tzitzis for you, that you may see it and remember all the commandments of Hashem. (15:38)

What is it about the mitzvah of Tzitzis that the Torah, more so than for any other mitzvah, emphasizes that it will engender within us the remembrance of all of the other mitzvos? The commentators render explanations, ranging from the simple p’shat, to the homiletic and even to the esoteric. Perhaps, we might suggest the following: Tzitzis, unlike any other mitzvah, also comprises the Jew’s uniform. A Tallis katan is worn all day. The Tallis gadol is worn during davening, and some righteous Jews even sit in their Tallis and Tefillin throughout the day. In any event, the Tallis is…

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Home -> 5772 -> Shelach

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Shelach, 5772

“Moshe sent them to spy out the land of Canaan.” (13:17)

Yehoshua also sent spies to spy out the land prior to conquering it. He had no problem with his spies. In contrast, when Moshe Rabbeinu, his rebbe, sent twelve distinguished leaders of the Jewish nation, a terrible calamity resulted. The impact of this calamity affected the entire Jewish nation. Wherein lay the difference between the two groups of spies? Perhaps the difference is in the numbers. Doleh U’mashkeh cites the pasuk in Devarim (1:22): “Vatikrevun eilai kulchem”, “And you all came close to me,” when the people requested spies. Yehoshua sent two representatives of the people, whom he felt were…

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Home -> 5772 -> Shelach

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Shelach, 5772

“Calev silenced the people toward Moshe.” (13:30)

Calev sought to attract the people’s attention, in order to listen to what they were saying against Moshe: “Is it this alone that the son of Amram has done to us?” Calev gave the inaccurate impression that he would now disparage Moshe (here it was a matter of pikuach nefesh of Klal Yisrael). They were wrong. He only wanted their attention, so that he could reveal the wonderful things that Moshe had done for them. Is one permitted to resort to subterfuge, to give the impression that he is not very observant, only to clarify the matter shortly thereafter? The…

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Home -> 5772 -> Shelach

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Shelach, 5772

“We were like grasshoppers in our eyes, and so were we in their eyes.” (13:33)

What did the spies want to prove when they said, “And so were we in their eyes”? The Kotzker Rebbe, z.l., said that this comprises, in effect, a major aspect of their sin. The fact that the spies felt small in their own eyes is something we can accept. They saw these giant men, and they felt overwhelmed by them; they felt small compared to them. While a Jew who has faith in Hashem should not have feelings of inadequacy, it is understandable that some of us have a difficult time dealing with pressure. What the Canaanites thought, however, also…

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Home -> 5772 -> Shelach

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Shelach, 5772

“And the people wept that night.” (14:1)

Klal Yisrael believed the spies’ malignant report of what they saw in Eretz Yisrael. They responded to the report in a manner unbecoming a noble people, a nation that had stood at Har Sinai and was privy to an unprecedented Revelation of the Almighty. What was their response? They cried – and cried. They withdrew to their tents and lamented the terrible “fate” that was awaiting them. They lived through a night of ceaseless weeping, a night of unwarranted weeping. Hashem also responded. The Talmud in Taanis 28a states that Hashem said to Klal Yisrael, “You wept without reason; I will…

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