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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5752

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5752, Bechukosai

“These are the statutes and the ordinances and the laws which ‘в made between Him and (between) Bnei Yisrael in Mount Sinai by the hand of Moshe.” (26:46)

One would expect to find this pasuk located at the very end of this parsha, which is the culmination of Sefer Vayikra. This pasuk would then serve as a separation to distinguish the laws of Sefer Vayikra which were given at Mount Sinai – from those of Sefer Bamidbar, which were communicated in the Ohel Moed on the plains of Moav. Instead of concluding Sefer Vayikra at this point, however, the Torah continues the chapter to relate the vows that a person may make to donate to the Bais Hamikdash the monetary value which the Torah assigns to a person…

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5752

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5752, Bechukosai

“I shall remember My covenant with Yaakov, and also My covenant with Avrohom and also My covenant with Yitzchok I shall remember.” (26:42)

The placement of this pasuk in the midst of the narrative seems to deviate from the focus of the text. The Torah enumerates the frightening curses that are to befall the Jewish people in response to their abandonment of the Torah. The interjection of Hashem’s benevolent remembering of our ancestors interrupts the theme of severe judgment. There are various ways to approach this problem.   The Shellah views the reminiscence of the ancestors as a condemnation of the Jewish people. Before one is punished, his past must be weighed. Is there a pathology in the family that led to this…

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5752

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5752, Bechukosai

If in My statutes you shall walk, and My commandments you shall keep, and do them.” (26:3)

Rashi interprets the Torah’s imperative to “walk” in Hashem’s statutes as meaning to toil laboriously in the study of Torah. It seems peculiar that Torah study, which is an intellectual pursuit of knowledge, should be characterized by the term “chok” – which denotes a statute whose rationale is not necessarily comprehensible by human intelligence.               Horav Simcha Zisel Shlita explains that the Torah is teaching us the proper perspective with which one should view Torah study. Torah study should be more than an exercise in mental gymnastics; rather, it should be a total immersion of one’s essence in the…

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Home -> Bechukosai -> 5752

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5752, Bechukosai

“If in My statutes, you shall walk.” (26:3)

What is the meaning of “walking” in Hashem’s statutes? This idea can be elucidated allegorically with the following parable: A group of people are sitting together around a large table. As long as they sit together, eating and drinking, there are no noticeable characteristics distinguishing any individual among them. This situation changes at the end of the meal, when they rise to go. All but one individual leave and go on their way. Only one person remains sitting in his place, as if paralyzed in his position. This riddle is solved only after careful inquiry. Due to a serious physical…

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