Join our weekly Peninim on the Torah list!

Category

5774

YEARS

5751
5752
5753
5754
5755
5756
5757
5758
5759
5760
5761
5762
5763
5764
5765
5766
5767
5768
5769
5770
5771
5772
5773
5774
5775
5776
5777
5778

וכל מעשר בקר וצאן כל אשר יעבר תחת השבט העשירי יהיה קדש לד'

Any tithe of cattle or flock, any that passes under the staff, the tenth of one shall be holy to Hashem. (27:32)

Every tenth animal of those born during the current season must be consecrated as an offering to Hashem. This is Maaser beheimah, the tithe of cattle or flock. All of the animals are put into a large corral and allowed to leave individually. Every tenth animal is marked with a dab of paint to distinguish it from the other animals. Horav Eliezer Gordon, zl, founding Rosh Yeshivah of Telshe, visited Kiev in order to solicit funds for his growing yeshivah. He came to the home of one of the wealthiest men in Russia and presented his case on behalf of…

Continue Reading

ונתן את הערכך ביום ההוא קדש לד' וכל ערכך יהיה בשקל הקדש

And he shall pay the evaluation of that day, it is holy to Hashem. (27: 23)

Every valuation shall be in the sacred shekel. (27:25) In the Talmud Arachin 24a, Chazal state, Ein l’hekdesh ela mekomo u’sheato, “Hekdesh has only its place and time.” This means that, if a man makes an erech – vow, but lacks the means to pay for it, the gizbar of Hekdesh, the Sanctuary’s treasurer, must assess his possessions to establish the amount that the donor can really afford. The assessment of value is commensurate with the place and time in which the vow occurred. For example, if the donor possesses a slave who is worth twenty dinarim, but when he…

Continue Reading

ורדפו מכם חמשה מאה ומאה מכם רבבה ירדופו

Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand. (26:8)

Rashi notes the discrepancy in the ratio of five to one hundred. If five Jews can pursue one hundred, which is a ratio of one to twenty, then a hundred Jews should pursue two thousand – not more. Yet, the Torah states that one hundred will pursue ten thousand. This teaches that when more people are united in serving Hashem, the effectiveness of their actions increase exponentially. The same Reuven and Shimon who had earlier been pursuing one hundred are now able to achieve much more. They have not changed, but their power has, because they are part of a…

Continue Reading

אם בחקתי תלכו ואת מצותי תשמרו ועשיתם אתם

If you will follow My decrees and observe My Commandments and perform them. (26:3)

At first glance, the pasuk appears repetitious: follow My decrees; observe My commandments; perform them. The Torah is not written in synonyms. Every word – indeed, every letter – has profound significance. How are we to understand what appear to be variegated nuances for heeding Hashem’s word? Rashi explains that the pasuk is teaching us the process by which we proceed from learning to action. The combined meaning of the pasuk is: If you will follow My decrees by engaging in ameilus ba’Torah, intensive Torah study, with the intention that this study will lead to; observe My commandments properly, and,…

Continue Reading

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our weekly Peninim on the Torah list!

You have Successfully Subscribed!