5780 – Page 18 – Peninim on the Torah

וחם הוא אבי כנען ... וירא חם אבי כנען את ערות אביו ויגד לשני אחיו בחוץ

Sruly Schnair In Noach, 5780

Cham, being the father of Canaan. (9:18)…Cham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside. (9:22)

Why does the Torah find it necessary to inform us twice that Cham was the father of Canaan? Horav Sholom Schwadron, zl, explains that the Torah is teaching us the reason that Canaan was such a morally-depraved person: his father, Cham. When one has a Cham for a father, he is hard-pressed to expunge the nefarious character traits that have likely become part of his DNA. Children inherit the nature of their parents. Does that mean that a child whose parents leave much to be desired in the areas of morality, ethicality, human decency is challenged with also being a…

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על כן יאמר כנמרד גבור ציד לפני ד'

Sruly Schnair In Noach, 5780

Therefore, it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before Hashem.” (10:9)

Under such circumstances that there is no clearly-defined halachah that prohibits a certain activity, we will find a remonstrance such as: “It is not a Jewish thing,” or “Jewish people do not act in such a manner.” A point in question is the well-known psak, ruling, of the Noda B’Yehudah concerning hunting for sport. A wealthy Jew had just come into a sizeable estate, which included a large forest stocked with a variety of wild animals. The man asked the Noda B’Yehudah if he were permitted to hunt these animals on his newly-acquired forest. The Noda B’Yehudah replied that exclusive…

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וזאת הברכה אשר ברך משה ... את בני ישראל לפני מותו

Sruly Schnair In Bereishis, 5780

And this is the blessing with which Moshe blessed… Bnei Yisrael before his death. (33:1)

Rashi notes the apparently unnecessary phrase, lifnei moso, before his death; obviously, this took place prior to our leader’s passing from the world. After all, could Moshe Rabbeinu bless the people after his death? We understand this phrase to mean “immediately before he died.” The Maharal m’Prague comments that Moshe blessed the people at the last possible moment, to teach us that the primary role of a leader is to rebuke and guide his people. He should wait until his task is complete before blessing them. Rashi alludes to the urgency of Moshe’s blessing. Moshe knew that his death was…

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ויקבר אתו בגי בארץ מואב מול בית פעור

Sruly Schnair In Bereishis, 5780

And (he) they buried him in the valley, in the land of Moav, facing Beis Peor. (34:6)

The Talmud (Sotah 14a) explains that Moshe Rabbeinu was buried opposite the Peor idol in order to atone for the sin of Peor. What does the Peor idol have to do with the Jewish People? Indeed, if it had been Heavenly decreed that Moshe would be buried opposite Peor, could there not have been a more positive way of describing the location? Secondly, why was our quintessential Rebbe and leader buried in such an ignominious location opposite such a degenerate idol? Chazal seem to be addressing these questions when they say that Moshe was buried there in order to atone…

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ולא ידע איש קברתו עד היום הזה

Sruly Schnair In Bereishis, 5780

And no one knows his burial place to this day. (34:6)

Rashi quotes Chazal (Sotah 14a) who say that Hashem buried Moshe Rabbeinu. Rabbi Yishmael contends that Moshe buried himself, since the Torah writes, “No one knows Moshe’s burial place.” If this is the case, another person could not have buried him, indicating either that he was either buried by Hashem or that he buried himself. The Zohar HaKadosh adds that Moshe’s “burial place” is not only a reference to his physical burial place in this world, but also to his exalted place of repose in Olam Habba, the World to Come. No one/no other soul is permitted access into his…

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וחם הוא אבי כנען ... וירא חם אבי כנען את ערות אביו ויגד לשני אחיו בחוץ

Cham, being the father of Canaan. (9:18)…Cham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside. (9:22)

על כן יאמר כנמרד גבור ציד לפני ד'

Therefore, it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before Hashem.” (10:9)

וזאת הברכה אשר ברך משה ... את בני ישראל לפני מותו

And this is the blessing with which Moshe blessed… Bnei Yisrael before his death. (33:1)

ויקבר אתו בגי בארץ מואב מול בית פעור

And (he) they buried him in the valley, in the land of Moav, facing Beis Peor. (34:6)

ולא ידע איש קברתו עד היום הזה

And no one knows his burial place to this day. (34:6)

YEARS

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