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Home -> 5784 -> Eikev

לאהבה את ד' אלקיכם ולעבדו בכל לבבכם

Sruly Schnair
In Eikev, 5784

To love Hashem, your G-d, and to serve Him with all your heart. (11:13)

The mitzvah of ahavas Hashem, loving the Almighty, is recorded in the Torah thirteen times. (Interestingly, the gematria, numerical equivalent, of ahavah, love, is 13. Another word that has such a gematria is echad, one. True love transforms two people into one. When we love Hashem, we abrogate ourselves, thus becoming completely attached to Him.) In the previous parashah, the Torah teaches that this love must extend to: b’chol levavcha, with all your heart; b’chol nafshecha, with all your soul (life); and b’chol me’odecha, with all your material assets. Chazal add their own interpretation to these three expressions of love….

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Home -> 5784 -> Eikev

ושמתם את דברי אלה על לבבכם

Sruly Schnair
In Eikev, 5784

You should place these words of Mine upon your heart. (11:18)

Rashi comments that, even after Klal Yisrael has been exiled, they should distinguish themselves through the performance of mitzvos. For example: put on Tefillin; make mezuzos, so that, when we ultimately return from exile, these mitzvos (and others) should not be new to us. Throughout our tumultuous journey in exile, we have confronted oppression and degradation with pride in the practice of mitzvos. Our perseverance and fidelity to Hashem have provided continuity, identity and a connection to the traditions that prevailed in various Jewish communities. We distinguished ourselves through our religious values which we maintained regardless of the challenging circumstances…

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Home -> 5784 -> Va'eschanan

אנכי ד' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים

Sruly Schnair
In Va'eschanan, 5784

I, am Hashem, your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt. (5:6)

So begin the Aseres HaDibros, Ten Commandments. They are divided into two categories: mitzvos bein adam laMakom, mitzvos (that address the laws) between man and G-d; and mitzvos bein adam l’chaveiro, mitzvos (that address relationships) between man and his fellow man. The first five mitzvos are bein adam laMakom, while the second five mitzvos are bein adam l’chaveiro. Horav S. R. Hirsch, zl, comments concerning the sequence of the Dibros. The first five mitzvos begin with a demand that focuses on an intellectual appreciation and acknowledgement of the Creator. The Torah, however, does not suffice with mere spirit. It also…

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Home -> 5784 -> Va'eschanan

ששת ימים תעבד ועשית כל מלאכתיך ויום השביעי שבת לד' אלקיך

Sruly Schnair
In Va'eschanan, 5784

Six days shall you labor and accomplish all your work. But the seventh day is Shabbos to Hashem, your G-d. (5:13,14)

The group of friends with whom one surrounds himself speaks volumes about his true character. Such friends often share similar values, interests and beliefs. By observing the dynamics in these relationships, we are able to gain insight into a person’s priorities and attitudes. Furthermore, friends significantly influence a person’s priorities and actions. This impact can be either positive or negative. The litmus test of a person’s true identity may be determined by his circle of friends. With this idea in mind, the Bais Av (Horav Elyakim Schlesinger) explains the verse we recite in the Friday night zemiros, K’challah bein reiosehah…

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Home -> 5784 -> Va'eschanan

כבד את אביך ואת אמך

Sruly Schnair
In Va'eschanan, 5784

Honor your father and your mother. (5:16)

The Kuzmirer Rebbe, Shlita, relates that his father (Horav Ephraim, zl), who was the son of the saintly Horav Yechezkel, zl, m’Kuzmir, decided to travel alone, in complete anonymity. He refused to reveal his illustrious pedigree as the Kuzmirer’s son. He entered the shul in a small town and promptly sat down in the rear of the shul together with a few simple men whose relationship with anything spiritual was foreign. (While they might have been spiritually challenged, they all at least made it their business to attend shul.) The Rebbe felt spiritually uplifted sitting where he was, not garnering…

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Home -> 5784 -> Va'eschanan

וקשרתם לאות על ידך והיו לטוטפת בין עיניך

Sruly Schnair
In Va'eschanan, 5784

Bind them as a sign on your arm, and let them ornaments between your eyes. (6:8)

The mitzvah of Tefillin carries profound symbolism for the continuity and eternity of Am Yisrael. Tefillin serve as a physical embodiment of the Bris, Covenant, between Hashem and His People. It is a mitzvah in which we physically bind the words of the Shema, the central declaration of our faith in Hashem, to our bodies. These two leather boxes, which contain within them pesukim of the Torah, are a daily reminder of Jewish identity and heritage hailing back to the exodus from Egypt. Thus, when a person fulfills the mitzvah of Tefillin daily, he not only serves Hashem, but he…

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Home -> 5784 -> Va'eschanan

בך בחר ד' אלקיך להיות לו לעם סגלה מכל העמים

Sruly Schnair
In Va'eschanan, 5784

Hashem, your G-d, has chosen you to be for Him a treasured people above all the peoples. (7:6)

We are called the chosen people – an appellation that has, throughout the centuries, caused much Jewish blood to be spilled. Atah B’chartanu mikol ha’amim, “You chose us from among all the nations,” is how we commence our Yom Tov Shemoneh Esrai. We utter these words with utmost pride. Do we really understand their meaning and significance? Horav Shimshon Pincus, zl, approaches this concept practically. Imagine, if six thousand years ago, Hashem would have asked mankind if it was worth creating the world. (This is hypothetical, since if there is no world, there would be no mankind.) Perhaps the responses…

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Home -> Devarim -> 5784

איכה אשא לבדי טרחכם ומשאכם וריבכם

Sruly Schnair
In 5784, Devarim

Eichah, how can I alone bear your contentiousness, your burdens, and your quarrels. (1:12)

Chazal (Eichah Rabbah 1:1) observe that three leaders prophesized using the word eichah, how: Moshe Rabbeinu, Yeshayahu, and Yirmiyahu. Moshe said, Eichah essa levadi? “How can I alone bear?” Yeshayahu said, Eichah haysah l’zonah kiryah ne’emanah? “How has the faithful city become a harlot?” (Yeshayahu 1:21). Yirmiyahu said, Eichah yashvah vadad? “How she sits alone” (Eichah 1:1). This, say Chazal, may be compared to a woman who had three guests: one she saw when she was successful; the other when she was failing; and, the third, following her downfall. According to the Midrash, the three eichah’s represent a timeline of…

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Home -> Devarim -> 5784

ואקח את ראשי שבטיכם

Sruly Schnair
In 5784, Devarim

So I took the heads of your tribes. (1:15)

Rashi explains how Moshe Rabbeinu “took” the heads of the tribes: “I persuaded them verbally; I said, ‘Fortunate are you! Over whom do you come to be appointed?’ Over the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. Over people who are called ‘brothers’ and ‘friends’ of Hashem, a ‘portion’ and an ‘inheritance’ of Hashem and all other expressions of endearment.” Moshe convinced the heads of the tribes that they were about to become leaders of a select group of people – ones whom Hashem esteemed. Likewise, Moshe implied to the people that they were special. A remarkable lesson in chinuch, education,…

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Home -> Devarim -> 5784

ובמדבר אשר ראית אשר נשאך ד' אלקיך כאשר ישא איש את בנו בכל הדרך אשר הלכתם... ההלך לפניכם בדרך

Sruly Schnair
In 5784, Devarim

And in the Wilderness, as you have seen, that, Hashem, your G-d, bore you, as a man carries his son, on the entire way that you traveled… Who goes before you on the way. (1:31,33)

Moshe Rabbeinu points out to Klal Yisrael that, throughout the nation’s hazardous journey through the Wilderness, they were all under Hashem’s protection. He led them at every step of the way. Hashem is compared to a loving father carrying his child in his embrace – a simile which conveys a sense of care, protection and guidance – which, in effect, is the way we should relate to Hashem at all times. This concept speaks to the comforting belief that we are never alone. Not only is someone always looking out for us, but that someone is Hashem, and He has…

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