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Home -> Vayechi -> 5779

ראובן בכורי אתה... פחז כמים אל תותר

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Vayechi

Reuven, you are my firstborn… water-like impetuosity – you cannot be foremost. (49:3,4)

The Midrash (Yalkut Shemoni Mishlei 15, remez 953) teaches, “Because Reuven, Shimon and Levi accepted the rebuke of their father, Yaakov Avinu, they merited to have their lineage enumerated together with that of Moshe and Aharon” (Shemos 6:14). The first three sons of Yaakov achieved an enviable pinnacle of spiritual merit by accepting their father’s rebuke. The fact that Hashem rewarded them indicates that accepting rebuke is a challenging feat, a battle which they won, and one that apparently from which others not as strong as they might not have successfully emerged. There is no question that no one looks forward…

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Home -> Vayechi -> 5779

קברו אתי אל אבתי אל המערה אשר בשדה עפרון... שמה קברו את אברהם ואת שרה אשתו שמה קברו את יצחק ואת רבקה אשתו ושמה קברתי את לאה

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Vayechi

Bury me among my fathers, in the cave that is in the field of Ephron… there they buried Avraham and his wife, Sarah; there they buried Yitzchak and his wife Rivkah; and there I buried Leah. (49:29,31)

The Meoras HaMachpeilah (as explained by Rashi, Ibid 23:9) was called machpeilah, which means double. Chazal gave it this name either because it contained upper and lower chambers or due to the fact that zuggos, couples, that were buried there. It was the burial site of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, couples united in life and death. Thus, Yaakov Avinu concluded his request to be buried there next to his “wife,” Leah. If Yaakov’s only reason for burial in the cave was to be buried next to his wife, he could have been buried next to Rachel Imeinu on the road…

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Home -> Vayigash -> 5779

ויאמר יוסף אל אחיו אני יוסף העוד אבי חי ולא יכלו אחיו לענות אתו כי נבהלו מפניו

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Vayigash

And Yosef said to his brothers, “I am Yosef, is my father still alive? But his brothers could not answer him, because they were left disconcerted before him. (45:3)

Yosef finally reveals himself to his brothers, and, in the space of a few moments, G-d’s master plan became evident to all. All of the questions, pain and challenges that had transpired and that they had experienced became clear to them. Twenty-two years of ambiguity had been lifted from their eyes. Yosef asked, “Is my father still alive?” This question begs elucidation. How many times must they repeat to him that their elderly father was still alive and living at home? The Kli Yakar explains that Yosef thought that they might have mentioned an elderly father who was inexorably attached…

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Home -> Vayigash -> 5779

ועתה אל תעצבו ואל יחר בעיניכם כי מכרתם אותי הנה כי למחיה שלחני אלקים לפניכם

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Vayigash

And now, neither be distressed, nor reproach yourselves for having sold me here, for it was to be a provider that G-d sent me ahead of you.” (45:5)

Yosef appeases his brothers, explaining to them that they were all part of a Divine Plan, in order to have him precede them to Egypt. By “trailblazing” the Egyptian exile which Klal Yisrael was destined to experience, Yosef was able to mitigate their and their descendants’ ordeal to some extent. Yosef was addressing his brothers, but it is a worthy lesson that is applicable to – and should be reviewed over and over by – us all. Hashem controls and guides the world. He has a Divine Plan in which we all have a role. We must be patient and…

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Home -> Vayigash -> 5779

ואת יהודה שלח לפניו אל יוסף להורות לפניו גשנה

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Vayigash

He sent Yehudah ahead of him to Yosef, to prepare ahead of him in Goshen. (46:28)

Chazal interpret, L’horos lefanav, “To prepare ahead of him,” with the word l’horos being derived from the word horaah: to teach, to decide halachah. Yehudah was sent to establish a bais horaah she’mishom teitzei Torah, a house of learning, a yeshivah, from which the Torah would emanate. Yehudah was the first Rosh Yeshivah. The question is obvious. Yehudah was the melech, king, monarch of the brothers. True, he was quite proficient erudite, and was undoubtedly a scholar, but Torah erudition and dissemination were not his primary vocations. He was occupied with malchus, kingship. The commentators, each in his inimitable manner,…

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Home -> Vayigash -> 5779

ימי שני מגורי שלשים ומאת שנה מעט ורעים היו ימי שני חיי

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Vayigash

The years of my dwelling are 130; few and terrible were the years of my life. (47:9)

Our Patriarch, Yaakov Avinu, stood before Pharaoh, and, when asked his age, Yaakov replied, “The years of my dwelling are 130; few and terrible were the years of my life.” What provoked Yaakov to add that his life was short and miserable? Why not just answer the question? How old are you? 130 – end of conversation. Obviously, Yaakov felt that simply stating his age was insufficient. It was necessary to explain the kind of life he had endured. Why? Horav Shlomo Wolbe, zl, distinguishes between “dwelling” in the world and “living” in it – or between mere existing and…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5779

ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Mikeitz

It happened at the end of two years to the day. (41:1)

So begins the salvation of Yosef HaTzaddik, which would have commenced two years earlier had Yosef not shown a deficiency in his bitachon, trust in Hashem. After all has been said and done, Yosef truly suffered as a slave and a prisoner. He spent a good portion of his formative adult life away from family, alone in a pagan, immoral world. How did he do it? How was he able to maintain his extraordinary fidelity to Hashem amidst the multitude of tzaros, troubles, that accompanied him for thirteen years. This was followed by nine more years during which he was…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5779

אתה תהיה על ביתי ועל פיך ישק כל עמי

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Mikeitz

You shall be in charge of my palace, and by your command shall all my people be sustained. (41:40)

In Parashas Shemos (1:8), the Torah writes, Vayakam melech chadash al Mitzrayim, “A new king arose over Egypt.” Chazal debate the meaning of “a new king.” Was he actually a new king? Or was he the same Pharaoh that had coroneted Yosef as a viceroy over Egypt? He suffered from “memory loss,” quickly forgetting the benefits he had accrued as a result of Yosef’s wise counsel. Horav David Povarsky, zl, asks that if he was indeed the same Pharaoh who was so impressed with Yosef, why was it that the miracles and wonders of Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen did…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5779

ויקרא פרעה שם יוסף צפנת פענח ויתן לו את אסנת בת פוטיפרע כהן און לאשה ויצא יוסף על ארץ מצרים

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Mikeitz

Pharaoh called Yosef’s name Tzafnas-Paneach and he gave him Osnas bas Potiphera, chief of On, as a wife. Thus, Yosef emerged in charge of the land of Egypt. (41:45)

Pharaoh was confronted with a major policy decision. A brilliant young man stood before him, who had the ability not only to save the country, but also to fill Pharaoh’s coffers with enormous wealth. The problem was that not only was he a slave – he was also a Hebrew. This would not sit well with his pagan populace. While they thought little of their slave population – they reviled Jews! What was Pharaoh to do? How was he to concoct an extreme makeover of Yosef and transform him into an “acceptable” Egyptian? The Torah gives us the answer when…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5779

אבל אשמים אנחנו על אחינו אשר ראינו צרת נפשו בהתחננו אלינו ולא שמענו

Sruly Schnair
In 5779, Mikeitz

Indeed, we are guilty concerning our brother inasmuch as we saw his heartfelt anguish when he pleaded with us, and we paid no heed. (42:21)

Twenty-two years had passed from that fateful day on which the brothers had sold Yosef as a slave. During this period, they no doubt saw their father constantly in a state of mourning over the loss of his son, lamenting over what had probably happened to him. What was worse, he did not know whether/how he had died. Yaakov Avinu could not get closure to the tragedy of his son’s disappearance. The brothers saw this daily – for twenty-one years, but they were not moved. Never once did they even question the veracity of their deed. Had they done the…

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