5781 – Page 17 – Peninim on the Torah

ויעקב איש תם יושב אהלים

Yaakov was a wholesome man, abiding in tents. (25:27)

Onkeles interprets ish tam as g’var shlim, perfect/whole man; and yosheiv ohalim as meshamesh bais ulfana, served/studied in the house of Torah study. Yaakov Avinu achieved perfection in that his neshamah, soul, filled his entire body; he essentially became a totally spiritual (spiritually-oriented) person. Yaakov expunged whatever negative spiritual forces that might have existed within him, to the point that his pure soul was in complete control of his being. Chazal teach (Bava Basra 16a) that Eisav kofar b’Ikar, denied the Ikar, Hashem; he was a heretic who had no regard for anything spiritual. He believed in nothing. He demonstrated…

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ויאהב יצחק את עשו כי ציד בפיו

Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5781

Yitzchak loved Eisav, for game was in his mouth. (25:27)

Yitzchak Avinu’s love for Eisav has been the topic of many a commentator’s pen. The Patriarch achieved an extraordinary level of spirituality. He was a Navi, Prophet, having reached a level of yiraah, awe of Hashem, that was unparalleled. As the Olah Temimah, perfect sacrifice, his devotion to the Almighty was without peer. He was the Amud ha’Gevurah, Pillar of spiritual strength. Taking all of this into consideration, we wonder how such a holy, perceptive tzaddik could possibly have been blind to Eisav’s corruption. Moshe Rabbeinu did not kill the Egyptian until he saw that no righteous person would ever…

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עקב אשר שמע אברהם בקלי וישמר משמרתי מצותי חקתי ותורתי

Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5781

Because Avraham hearkened My voice and safeguarded My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws. (26:5)

In his commentary to the above pasuk, Sforno makes an important point. He notes that Hashem promised Yitzchak Avinu to multiply his offspring, grant his descendants the Land and bless them – all because of His oath to Avraham Avinu. We see here (explains Sforno) that z’chus Avos, merit of others (his father, Avraham Avinu) is invoked when Hashem speaks to Yitzchak. Not so with Avraham (who did not have z’chus Avos) or Yaakov. This is because, before Yitzchak was inspired to call upon the Name of Hashem (after Gerar), when Avimelech came to him and said, “We saw that…

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הקל קול יעקב והידים ידי עשו

Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5781

The voice is Yaakov’s voice, but the hands are Eisav’s hands. (27:22)

Chazal derive from the above pasuk that when the voice of Yaakov Avinu prevails – when Torah is studied and his descendants are engaged in prayer – the murderous hands of Eisav have no power against us. When we slack off and weaken our vocal power, Eisav and his minions are strengthened. When we read the pasuk, however, the implication is different. It almost appears as if Yaakov lives by his voice and Eisav by his hands – and there is no counterbalance, such that one rises and the other falls. Furthermore, the word kol (ha’kol) the voice, is written…

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הקל קול יעקב והידים ידי עשו

Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5781

The voice is Yaakov’s voice, but the hands are Eisav’s hands. (27:22)

Yitzchak Avinu sensed a contradiction. The manner in which the “son” who stood before him spoke was gentle, pleasant and respectful. Hence, he assumed that it was Yaakov who stood before him. On the other hand, once he felt his hairy arms, he thought it was Eisav. Alternatively, the power of Yaakov’s voice was in his ability to plead with Hashem through the medium of prayer. Eisav was a “hands on” man; he lived with his hands – plundering and murdering. Nothing stood in the way of his hands. One question that weighs heavily on the reader: If Yitzchak questioned…

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ויקם אברהם מעל פני מתו וידבר אל בני חת

Sruly Schnair In Chayei Sarah, 5781

Avraham rose up from the presence of his dead, and spoke to the Bnei Cheis. (23:3)

This group of people, Bnei Cheis, is mentioned ten times in the parsha. The Torah is frugal with words and does not use an extra word unless it teaches a lesson or has unique significance. Therefore, the ten-time redundancy of Bnei Cheis (nine times in this parshah and once in Parshas Vayechi) begs elucidation. Chazal explain that these ten mentions correspond to the Ten Commandments, in order to teach the lesson that whoever assists in the business dealings of a tzaddik, righteous person, it is considered as if he carried out the Ten Commandments. This is a powerful statement. We…

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אשר לא תקח אשה לבני מבנות הכנעני ... כי אל ארצי ואל מולדתי תלך ולקחת אשה לבני ליצחק

Sruly Schnair In Chayei Sarah, 5781

That you not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanim… Rather, to my land and to my kindred shall you go and take a wife for my son, for Yitzchak. (24:3,4)

The moral profligacy that reigned in Canaan overrode the spiritual perversion that prevailed in Charan. As the D’Rashos HaRan explains, it is possible to penetrate the mind of he who is spiritually perverse, because idolatry is a philosophical issue which can be addressed rationally, so that the individual can understand how his logic has been twisted. In contrast, the moral degeneracy of the Canaanim is more difficult to counter, because the degeneracy becomes imbedded in the psyche of the individual, so that he is unable to comprehend anything outside of his established belief system. Horav Boruch Dov Povarsky, Shlita, supplements…

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אנכי בדרך נחני ד'

Sruly Schnair In Chayei Sarah, 5781

As for me, Hashem has guided me on the way. (24:27)

How often do we become frustrated with a situation or a person, to the point that we wonder what is it that Hashem is asking of us? Eliezer was sent on a mission, an impossible mission: to find a suitable mate for Yitzchak (Avinu). Yitzchak was raised by Avraham Avinu and Sarah Imeinu. He was the Olah Temimah, perfect sacrifice. The world “out there” was pagan-oriented, with no moral/ethical compass and even less of a spiritual focus. If Avraham sends, Eliezer goes. The lodestar that guided and maintained him was, Anochi baderech nachani Hashem;“As for me, Hashem has guided me…

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ויבאה יצחק האהלה שרה אמו ויקח את רבקה ותהי לו לאשה ויאהבה וינחם יצחק אחרי אמו

Sruly Schnair In Chayei Sarah, 5781

And Yitzchak brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother; he married Rivkah; she became his wife, and he loved her; and thus was Yitzchak consoled after his mother. (24:67)

The Ramban observes that Yitzchak Avinu’s love for Rivkah Imeinu was inspired by her righteousness and the suitability of her maasim tovim, good deeds, which are the only criteria upon which the Torah predicates the love between husband and wife. This is the only form of love that is enduring. Targum Onkeles interprets the pasuk: “When he/Yitzchak saw that her/Rivkah’s actions were similar to those of Sarah, his mother – v’nasiv es Rivkah, he married Rivkah.” Yitzchak’s decision to marry Rivkah, to have her become Klal Yisrael’s second Matriarch, was grounded on her spiritual similarity to his mother. He sought…

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ויזכר אלקים את אברהם וישלח את לוט מתוך ההפיכה

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5781

Hashem remembered Avraham; so He sent Lot from amidst the upheaval. (19:29)

Avraham Avinu was a baal chesed, master of kindness. Indeed, the Torah goes to great lengths in describing his devotion to the wayfarer, and how he exerted himself to make sure that whoever came into his home had a pleasureful and satisfying experience. Lot, Avraham’s nephew, also acted with chesed. He moved to Sodom and became a distinguished member of this ignominious community. He moved there because he was into money and everything one can achieve with material bounty. He did, however, retain some of the good qualities that he learned under the influence of his uncle. When the Angels…

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ויעקב איש תם יושב אהלים

Yaakov was a wholesome man, abiding in tents. (25:27)

ויאהב יצחק את עשו כי ציד בפיו

Yitzchak loved Eisav, for game was in his mouth. (25:27)

עקב אשר שמע אברהם בקלי וישמר משמרתי מצותי חקתי ותורתי

Because Avraham hearkened My voice and safeguarded My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws. (26:5)

הקל קול יעקב והידים ידי עשו

The voice is Yaakov’s voice, but the hands are Eisav’s hands. (27:22)

הקל קול יעקב והידים ידי עשו

The voice is Yaakov’s voice, but the hands are Eisav’s hands. (27:22)

ויקם אברהם מעל פני מתו וידבר אל בני חת

Avraham rose up from the presence of his dead, and spoke to the Bnei Cheis. (23:3)

אשר לא תקח אשה לבני מבנות הכנעני ... כי אל ארצי ואל מולדתי תלך ולקחת אשה לבני ליצחק

That you not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanim… Rather, to my land and to my kindred shall you go and take a wife for my son, for Yitzchak. (24:3,4)

אנכי בדרך נחני ד'

As for me, Hashem has guided me on the way. (24:27)

ויבאה יצחק האהלה שרה אמו ויקח את רבקה ותהי לו לאשה ויאהבה וינחם יצחק אחרי אמו

And Yitzchak brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother; he married Rivkah; she became his wife, and he loved her; and thus was Yitzchak consoled after his mother. (24:67)

ויזכר אלקים את אברהם וישלח את לוט מתוך ההפיכה

Hashem remembered Avraham; so He sent Lot from amidst the upheaval. (19:29)

YEARS

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