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Home -> Behar -> 5784

ושבתה הארץ שבת לד'

Sruly Schnair
In 5784, Behar

The land shall observe a Shabbos rest for Hashem. (25:2)

In addition to our biological ascendance from the Avos Hakedoshim, Patriarchs, we are distinguished as Jews because of our acceptance of – and adherence to – the Torah. Hashem offered the Torah to the other nations, who refused it due to its incompatibility with the prevalent lifestyle. Stealing, murder and adultery are prohibited as part of our religious code. The other nations live by a different moral compass. Hashem presented us with the Torah, accompanied by an unprecedented and unparalleled Revelation on Har Sinai. We accepted with the resounding declaration, Naaseh v’Nishmah, “We will do and we will listen!” All…

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Home -> Behar -> 5784

וקדשתם את שנת החמשים שנה וקראתם דרור בארץ לכל ישביה יובל הוא תהיה לכם ושבתם איש אל אחזתו ואיש אל משפחתו תשבו

Sruly Schnair
In 5784, Behar

You shall sanctify the fiftieth year and proclaim freedom throughout the Land for all its inhabitants; it shall be the Jubilee Year for you. You shall return each man to his ancestral heritage, and you shall return each man to his family. (25:10)

An obvious redundancy appears in this pasuk. “(You shall) proclaim freedom throughout the Land” implies that people who heretofore had not been free (bondsman) will now be set free. If so, why does the pasuk conclude, “You shall return each man to his ancestral heritage, and you shall return each man to his family?” How many times can one be freed? Furthermore, once freedom is mentioned (twice), what is added by ish el mishpachto, “each man to his family”? To whom else is he returning? The Brisker Rav, zl, asks these questions and explains the freedom process with the words…

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Home -> Behar -> 5784

לא תרדה בו בפרך

Sruly Schnair
In 5784, Behar

You shall not subjugate him to hard labor. (25:43)

It goes without saying that we are a nation of rachamanim bnei rachamanim, compassionate sons of compassionate (fathers). We do not need to be exhorted not to take advantage of the weak and disadvantaged. While it is true that the individual who sold himself as a slave, to a certain extent, deserves the indignities that come with being subjugated to a master – such lording over a brother is limited. This man either was a thief or he was unable (or did not want) to earn a decent living, so he either sold himself or bais din sold him as…

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Home -> 5784 -> Emor

ובת איש כהן כי תחל לזנות את אביה היא מחללת

Sruly Schnair
In Emor, 5784

If the daughter of a Kohen will be desecrated through adultery, she desecrates her father. (21:9)

The Torah explains what a tragedy truly is. A young woman, married or betrothed, commits an act of adultery. The actual act is an egregious sin in its own right, but her pedigree magnifies the sin. This woman’s father is a Kohen, member of the Priestly family. Thus, not only does she disgrace herself, but she also humiliates and defames her father. As a result, her punishment is more harsh than if she had been the daughter of a Yisrael. The word seichel is translated as desecrated, a derivative of challal or chillul. Seichal, posits Horav Shlomo Kluger, zl, can…

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Home -> 5784 -> Emor

ועל כל נפשת מת לא יבא לאביו ולאמו לא יטמא

Sruly Schnair
In Emor, 5784

He shall not come near any dead person; he shall not contaminate himself to his father or his mother. (21:11)

Rashi infers from the pasuk (which on the surface appears superfluous) that, while the Kohen Gadol may not contaminate himself even to a family member, he may contaminate himself to a meis mitzvah, deceased who has no one to bury him. To better understand this, we will explain what it means to be alone at the time of death. By nature, the human being seeks connection and companionship. Human beings are social creatures. As such, during moments of vulnerability, the need for companionship intensifies. Having said this, we turn to the laws concerning the meis mitzvah, man who dies alone,…

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Home -> 5784 -> Emor

ולקחתם לכם ... פרי עץ הדר כפת תמרים וענף עץ עבת וערבי נחל

Sruly Schnair
In Emor, 5784

You shall take for yourselves … an esrog (the fruit of a citron tree), a lulav (the branches of date palms), hadas (twigs of a plaited tree/myrtle), and aravos (brook willows). (23:40)

Chazal (Succah 37b) state that one is to take the lulav (held) in his right hand, while he takes the esrog in the left. The reason for this is that the lulav includes three mitzvos: lulav, hadas, aravah; the esrog is singular. This does not seem consistent with the Midrash’s (Vayikra Rabbah 30:12) characterization of the symbolic representation of each of the arba minim, four species. The four species allude to four types of Jews. The esrog, pri eitz hadar, the beautiful fruit of a tree, has taam and reiach, taste as well as fragrance. It parallels the talmid chacham,…

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Home -> 5784 -> Kedoshim

דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני

Sruly Schnair
In Kedoshim, 5784

Speak to the entire assembly of Bnei Yisrael, and say to them: “You shall be holy, for holy am I.” (19:2)

Sefer Vayikra is called Toras Kohanim, the Laws of Kohanim. Veritably, only the first few parshiyos of Sefer Vayikra address the Priestly service and obligations. Why, then, is the entire book under the rubric of Toras Kohanim? The question is especially germane with regard to Parashas Kedoshim which addresses the normal gamut of mitzvos that applies to all Jews, who, through the observance of these mitzvos, sanctify and maintain the kedushah of the entire nation. Horav Simcha Wasserman, zl, explains that, just as the Kohanim are to be the spiritual exemplars of the Jewish nation, so, too, should the Jewish…

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Home -> 5784 -> Kedoshim

קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני

Sruly Schnair
In Kedoshim, 5784

You shall be holy, for holy am I. (19:2)

Holiness for the Jew is a Divine mandate, whose meaning is debated by the Rishonim (Ramban, Rashi). Rashi posits that kedoshim tiheyu means perushim tiheyu, distance yourself from the illicit relationships detailed in the previous parshah. Ramban contends that is an exhortation to approach all aspects of life through moderation. Despite the fact that a particular behavior is permitted, surrendering to self-indulgence, gluttony and licentiousness undermines the goals of kedushah. Having said this, we turn towards what appears to be an enigmatic statement by Chazal (Vayikra Rabbah 24), “‘Be holy’ – I might think that this means Kamoni – like…

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Home -> 5784 -> Kedoshim

איש אמו ואביו תיראו

Sruly Schnair
In Kedoshim, 5784

Every man: your father and mother shall you revere. (19:3)

One fears his father more than his mother. Rashi explains that this is why the Torah places mother first. A child naturally fears his father more than his mother. He is instructed that Torah does not “play” by the rules of nature. Both parents are the same. Likewise, concerning the mitzvah of honoring a parent, the Torah mentions the father before mother, because a child is predisposed to honoring his mother. Thus, the Torah teaches that both parents are on the same level. The Jew does not act because he is so inclined. He acts in accordance with Hashem’s dictates….

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Home -> 5784 -> Kedoshim

ובקצרכם את קציר ארצכם לא תכלה פאת שדך לקצר

Sruly Schnair
In Kedoshim, 5784

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not complete your reaping to the corner of your field. (19:9)

Before one may consider his crops to be his own, he must first discharge his obligations to others. Horav S. R. Hirsch, zl, observes that, even at the closing moment of an entire growing season – after he has put in his time and effort, cultivated, planted, seeing to it that his crops have grown well and are ready for reaping – the produce still does not belong to him until he leaves peah, the corner of his field to the poor. They, too, must eat. This is how they sustain themselves. The obvious question is: Why not give them…

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