Va’eschanan – Peninim on the Torah

ומשלם לשנאיו על פניו להאבידו לא יאחר לשנאו אל פניו ישלם לו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Va'eschanan, 5775

But He repays each of His enemies to his face to make him perish; He will not delay for His enemy to his face He will repay him. (7:10)

Rashi explains that even the wicked who act appropriately and carry out good deeds will be rewarded. Hashem does not deprive anyone of his rightful reward. There is one difference, however; the wicked will be rewarded in this world. Olam Habba, the World To Come, is not their domain. They will not access their reward in the Eternal World. Their reward will be received in the here and now. The righteous, however, will enjoy the deep-rooted spiritual pleasure that is Olam Habba. Why should the rasha, wicked person, not receive his reward in Olam Habba? Is it reserved only for…

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ושננתם לבניך ודברת בם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Va'eschanan, 5775

You shall teach them thoroughly to your children. (6:7)

In his Taam V’Daas, Horav Moshe Shternbach, Shlita, quotes a powerful observation from Horav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, zl. Chazal teach that anyone who recites Krias Shema while not wearing Tefillin is considered as if he is offering false testimony. The parsha of Krias Shema includes the pasuk U’keshartem l’os al yadecha v’hayu l’totafos bein einecha, “Bind them as a sign upon your arm and let them be as ornaments between your eyes” (Devarim 6:8). How can one recite the mitzvah of wearing Tefillin when he himself is not wearing them? Accordingly, one who does not educate his children in the…

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ושננתם לבניך ודברת בם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Va'eschanan, 5775

You shall teach them thoroughly to your children and you shall speak of them. (6:7)

Rashi teaches that banecha, your sons, eilu ha’talmidim, applies equally to one’s talmidim, students. In Nitzotzos, Rav Yitzchak Herskowitz, Shlita, relates a story he heard from a Rosh Yeshivah, who is one of today’s more successful marbitzei Torah, disseminators of Torah, in Eretz Yisrael. Apparently, Torah was not always this individual’s primary interest. As a young, teenage student attending Yeshivas Ohr Yisrael in Petach Tikvah, he was involved in a lot of things, most of which were not Torah-related. Running with a group of like-minded students, he presented a constant challenge for the patience of the yeshivah’s Mashgiach, ethical supervisor….

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אנכי ד' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים מבית עבדים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Va'eschanan, 5775

I am Hashem, your G-d, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt from the house of slavery. (5:6)

A well-known question was posed by Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi (Kuzari 1:25): Since the first mitzvah of the Aseres HaDibros, Ten Commandments, is the enjoinment to believe in Hashem, why not mention that Hashem created Heaven and earth? Why does our liberation from Egypt play such a critical role in our hashkafah, philosophy/outlook. He explains that, while the creation of the world is the penultimate experience, no one was around to see it. Yetzias Mitzrayim, the Exodus, was witnessed by millions. There is no question that something witnessed is something remembered. Yetzias Mitzrayim left a lasting influence on the psyche of…

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לא תספו על הדבר אשר אנכי מצוה אתכם ולא תגרעו ממנו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Va'eschanan, 5775

You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor shall you subtract from it. (4:2)

The Torah is Divinely authored and, as such, it is perfect. To add or subtract from the written word of G-d is to imply that it lacks perfection and is somehow not applicable in all venues or under all circumstances. When Hashem commands that Tefillin have four parshios, He does not mean that four is a minimum, allowing for us to add a fifth parsha at will. Every number that Hashem gives us is the requisite for this mitzvah. To add or subtract is to distort and demean the pristine nature of the Torah. To do so is to deny…

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ומשלם לשנאיו על פניו להאבידו לא יאחר לשנאו אל פניו ישלם לו

But He repays each of His enemies to his face to make him perish; He will not delay for His enemy to his face He will repay him. (7:10)

ושננתם לבניך ודברת בם

You shall teach them thoroughly to your children. (6:7)

ושננתם לבניך ודברת בם

You shall teach them thoroughly to your children and you shall speak of them. (6:7)

אנכי ד' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים מבית עבדים

I am Hashem, your G-d, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt from the house of slavery. (5:6)

לא תספו על הדבר אשר אנכי מצוה אתכם ולא תגרעו ממנו

You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor shall you subtract from it. (4:2)

YEARS

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