Va’eschanan – Peninim on the Torah

ואהבת את ד' אלקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך

You shall love Hashem, your G-d, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources. (6:5)

The Sifri (Parsha 32) comments, Ahaveihu al ha’brios k’Avraham… “Make Him beloved by people as Avraham Avinu did.” Our Patriarch was not satisfied merely with his relationship with Hashem. He wanted everyone in the world to have such a relationship with the Almighty. He taught the world about its Creator because he wanted them to love Hashem and observe His precepts. This idea of reaching out to others, bringing them closer to Hashem is echoed by Rambam (Sefer Hamitzvos 3 and Sefer HaChinuch 418). A Jew who loves Hashem cannot remain at ease while others are distant from Him. His…

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ויאמר ד' אלי רב לך אל תוסף דבר אלי עוד בדבר הזה

Sruly Schnair In Va'eschanan, 5785

Hashem said to me, “It is too much for you! Do not continue to speak to Me further about this matter.” (3:26)

Simply, Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu, “Enough! Do not continue asking to enter Eretz Yisrael. It is not happening. The decision has been made.” Chazal (Sotah 13) offer an alternative understanding of rav lach: Rav yeish lach — you have a Rav/Rebbe/spiritual guide—Yehoshua. On the surface, Chazal’s exposition is enigmatic. It appears almost as if Hashem was calling attention to the fact that Moshe would not enter Eretz Yisrael – adding that Yehoshua is his Rav. It is not bad enough that Hashem did not accept his pleas to reverse His decree, that he had to be reminded that he was…

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ואתחנן אל ד' בעת ההיא

Sruly Schnair In Va'eschanan, 5785

I prayed to Hashem at that time. (3:23)

In the course of relating to Klal Yisrael his numerous efforts to stay Hashem’s decree that he not enter the Land, Moshe Rabbeinu adds, “Hashem became angry with me because of your matters.” Apparently, our leader was laying the blame for his remaining in the wilderness at the feet of the nation. This is uncharacteristic of Moshe, whose humility, dedication and forbearance serve as a model for future leaders. It almost seems as if he is bitterly blaming the people for his situation. In Pri Tzadik, Horav Tzadok HaKohen, zl, offers a novel interpretation of Moshe’s words. When Moshe heard…

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בך בחר ד' אלקיך להיות לו לעם סגלה מכל העמים

Sruly Schnair In Va'eschanan, 5784

Hashem, your G-d, has chosen you to be for Him a treasured people above all the peoples. (7:6)

We are called the chosen people – an appellation that has, throughout the centuries, caused much Jewish blood to be spilled. Atah B’chartanu mikol ha’amim, “You chose us from among all the nations,” is how we commence our Yom Tov Shemoneh Esrai. We utter these words with utmost pride. Do we really understand their meaning and significance? Horav Shimshon Pincus, zl, approaches this concept practically. Imagine, if six thousand years ago, Hashem would have asked mankind if it was worth creating the world. (This is hypothetical, since if there is no world, there would be no mankind.) Perhaps the responses…

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וקשרתם לאות על ידך והיו לטוטפת בין עיניך

Sruly Schnair In Va'eschanan, 5784

Bind them as a sign on your arm, and let them ornaments between your eyes. (6:8)

The mitzvah of Tefillin carries profound symbolism for the continuity and eternity of Am Yisrael. Tefillin serve as a physical embodiment of the Bris, Covenant, between Hashem and His People. It is a mitzvah in which we physically bind the words of the Shema, the central declaration of our faith in Hashem, to our bodies. These two leather boxes, which contain within them pesukim of the Torah, are a daily reminder of Jewish identity and heritage hailing back to the exodus from Egypt. Thus, when a person fulfills the mitzvah of Tefillin daily, he not only serves Hashem, but he…

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כבד את אביך ואת אמך

Sruly Schnair In Va'eschanan, 5784

Honor your father and your mother. (5:16)

The Kuzmirer Rebbe, Shlita, relates that his father (Horav Ephraim, zl), who was the son of the saintly Horav Yechezkel, zl, m’Kuzmir, decided to travel alone, in complete anonymity. He refused to reveal his illustrious pedigree as the Kuzmirer’s son. He entered the shul in a small town and promptly sat down in the rear of the shul together with a few simple men whose relationship with anything spiritual was foreign. (While they might have been spiritually challenged, they all at least made it their business to attend shul.) The Rebbe felt spiritually uplifted sitting where he was, not garnering…

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ששת ימים תעבד ועשית כל מלאכתיך ויום השביעי שבת לד' אלקיך

Sruly Schnair In Va'eschanan, 5784

Six days shall you labor and accomplish all your work. But the seventh day is Shabbos to Hashem, your G-d. (5:13,14)

The group of friends with whom one surrounds himself speaks volumes about his true character. Such friends often share similar values, interests and beliefs. By observing the dynamics in these relationships, we are able to gain insight into a person’s priorities and attitudes. Furthermore, friends significantly influence a person’s priorities and actions. This impact can be either positive or negative. The litmus test of a person’s true identity may be determined by his circle of friends. With this idea in mind, the Bais Av (Horav Elyakim Schlesinger) explains the verse we recite in the Friday night zemiros, K’challah bein reiosehah…

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אנכי ד' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים

Sruly Schnair In Va'eschanan, 5784

I, am Hashem, your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt. (5:6)

So begin the Aseres HaDibros, Ten Commandments. They are divided into two categories: mitzvos bein adam laMakom, mitzvos (that address the laws) between man and G-d; and mitzvos bein adam l’chaveiro, mitzvos (that address relationships) between man and his fellow man. The first five mitzvos are bein adam laMakom, while the second five mitzvos are bein adam l’chaveiro. Horav S. R. Hirsch, zl, comments concerning the sequence of the Dibros. The first five mitzvos begin with a demand that focuses on an intellectual appreciation and acknowledgement of the Creator. The Torah, however, does not suffice with mere spirit. It also…

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כבד את אביך ואת אמך... למען יאריכון ימיך ולמען ייטב לך

Sruly Schnair In Va'eschanan, 5783

Honor your father and your mother… so that your days will be lengthened and so that it will be good for you. (5:16)

The commandment to honor one’s parents is included in the Aseres HaDibros, Ten Commandments, which in and of itself indicates its significance. Indeed, it carries such weight that, when Klal Yisrael were still in Marah prior to receiving the Torah, they had already been commanded to observe this mitzvah. Furthermore, rarely does a mitzvah publicize its accompanying reward, as the Torah does regarding the mitzvah of kibbud av v’eim. Arichas yamim, longevity, is nothing to disdain. We should all merit such reward. The Tolner Rebbe, Shlita, related that he had heard from an elderly Jew about an incident that had…

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אנכי ד' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים...וזכרת כי עבד היית בארץ מצרים ויוצאיך ד' אלקיך משם

Sruly Schnair In Va'eschanan, 5783

I am Hashem, your G-d, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt. (5:6)…And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Hashem, your G-d, has taken you from there. (5:15)

Noticeably, yetzias Mitzrayim, our liberation from Egypt, is mentioned twice in the Aseres HaDibros, Ten Commandments. In his commentary to Sefer Shemos 20:2, which is the first time the Aseres HaDibros appears in the Torah, Rashi writes: “It is worth it that I took you out of Egypt that (now) you will be obliged to serve Me.” Ibn Ezra writes: “The special and unparalleled treatment that Hashem accorded Klal Yisrael gave Him the ‘right’ to impose special responsibilities on them.” In his commentary to Devarim 5:6, Rashi writes: “It is for this reason that He redeemed you, so that you…

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ואהבת את ד' אלקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך

You shall love Hashem, your G-d, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources. (6:5)

ויאמר ד' אלי רב לך אל תוסף דבר אלי עוד בדבר הזה

Hashem said to me, “It is too much for you! Do not continue to speak to Me further about this matter.” (3:26)

ואתחנן אל ד' בעת ההיא

I prayed to Hashem at that time. (3:23)

בך בחר ד' אלקיך להיות לו לעם סגלה מכל העמים

Hashem, your G-d, has chosen you to be for Him a treasured people above all the peoples. (7:6)

וקשרתם לאות על ידך והיו לטוטפת בין עיניך

Bind them as a sign on your arm, and let them ornaments between your eyes. (6:8)

כבד את אביך ואת אמך

Honor your father and your mother. (5:16)

ששת ימים תעבד ועשית כל מלאכתיך ויום השביעי שבת לד' אלקיך

Six days shall you labor and accomplish all your work. But the seventh day is Shabbos to Hashem, your G-d. (5:13,14)

אנכי ד' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים

I, am Hashem, your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt. (5:6)

כבד את אביך ואת אמך... למען יאריכון ימיך ולמען ייטב לך

Honor your father and your mother… so that your days will be lengthened and so that it will be good for you. (5:16)

אנכי ד' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים...וזכרת כי עבד היית בארץ מצרים ויוצאיך ד' אלקיך משם

I am Hashem, your G-d, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt. (5:6)…And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Hashem, your G-d, has taken you from there. (5:15)

YEARS

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