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Home -> 5786 -> Lech Lecha

ואנשי סדם רעים וחטאים לד' מאד

Sruly Schnair
In Lech Lecha, 5786

Now the people of Sodom were wicked and sinful toward Hashem exceedingly. (13:13)

The sins of the people of Sodom serve as the paradigm of evil and iniquity.  Theirs was the only city that was totally obliterated, indicating that their evil was not only reprehensible, it was unpardonable.  What was their primary sin?  I emphasize “primary,” because, once they fell into the clutches of sin, everything fell apart.  Their entire moral compass was no longer pointed in the right direction.  One would think that, in addition to their sinful behavior vis-à-vis Hashem (they were rai’im v’chataim l’Hashem me’od – exceedingly wicked and sinful toward Hashem), they needed no added sins. The Navi (Yechezkel…

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Home -> 5786 -> Lech Lecha

ותעניה שרי ותברח מפניה

Sruly Schnair
In Lech Lecha, 5786

And Sarai dealt harshly with her. (16:6)

Horav Mordechai Gifter, zl, cites Targum Yonasan who teaches that Sarah Imeinu dealt harshly with Hagar after Avraham Avinu freed her as a slave.  She was a giyores, convert, who was betrothed to our Patriarch.  How was Sarah permitted to treat her in such a manner?  Targum Yonasan himself explains our Matriarch’s rationale.  Hagar was the daughter of Pharaoh who was the son of Nimrod, the cruel idolator who viciously sentenced Avraham to death in the fiery furnace of Uhr Kasdim.  Hagar herself had acted disrespectfully toward Sarah, which was an indication that the impure character traits handed down to…

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Home -> 5786 -> Lech Lecha

והקמותי את בריתי ביני ובינך

Sruly Schnair
In Lech Lecha, 5786

I will ratify My covenant between Me and you. (17:7)

Avraham Avinu observed the Torah and its mitzvos.  It is, therefore, surprising that the mitzvah of milah, circumcision, was the one mitzvah that he did not perform until Hashem instructed him to do so.  The question is well-known, and the accepted answer is: Gadol ha’metzuveh v’oseh mimi she’eino metzuveh v’oseh; “A person who does something after being commanded is superior to one who does it without being commanded.”  The mitzvah of milah was so important to Avraham that he waited for Hashem to command him, so that his performance would have greater impact and generate greater reward. Horav Yechiel Yaakov…

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Home -> 5786 -> Noach

נח איש צדיק תמים היה בדרתיו

Sruly Schnair
In Noach, 5786

Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generations. (6:9)

The Torah introduces Noach as a person who was the paragon of righteousness and moral/ethical perfection.  These attributes are especially laudable, given that he lived in the most depraved generation in history.  Indeed, that is why the society in which he lived was wiped from the world. At this critical time, Hashem chose Noach to be the progenitor of the future human race.  Having said this, we turn to Chazal (Tanchuma 5) who famously debate Noach’s true level of righteousness.  Was it relative to the evildoers of his generation? Had he lived in Avraham Avinu’s generation, would his standard of…

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Home -> 5786 -> Noach

נח איש צדיק

Sruly Schnair
In Noach, 5786

Noach was a righteous man. (6:9)

Can one be considered righteous if his righteousness is due to his seclusion from the world for six centuries?  Apparently, the Torah refers to Noach as righteous, despite the fact that he had no influence on the members of the society in which he lived. He really had no alternative.  The evil of his generation was so pervasive that had he attempted to reach out, not only would he have been rebuffed, he himself might have become a victim.  The Zohar HaKadosh observes that the waters of the flood are called mei Noach (Yeshayah 54:9), waters of Noach, as if…

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Home -> 5786 -> Noach

ויסגור ד' בעדו

Sruly Schnair
In Noach, 5786

Hashem shut (the Ark) on his behalf. (7:16)

The Torah seems to intimate that the “door” to the teivah, Ark, was closed, implying that its inhabitants were safe from the menacing rains.  Targum Onkelos and Targum Yonason write, V’agan Hashem b’meimra aleih; “and Hashem shielded him with His Word.”  This implies that the Ark was merely the vehicle for its inhabitants to gather and allow for the word of Hashem to protect them.  The Ark was not their means of protection.  It was Hashem.  Horav Eliyahu Baruch Finkel, zl, offers an explanation based on the Rabbinic maxim K’shebaah andarlemusia l’olam, einah mavcheves bein reshaim l’tzadikim, “When chaos comes…

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Home -> 5786 -> Noach

וישלח את הערב ויצא יצוא ושוב עד יבשת המים מעל הארץ

Sruly Schnair
In Noach, 5786

He sent out a raven, and it kept going and returning until the drying of the waters from upon the face of the earth. (8:7)

The raven was not happy about being selected to serve as Noach’s agent to determine whether it was sufficiently dry to disembark from the Ark.  Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 33) relate the dialogue that ensued between the raven and Noach.  “From all the beasts and fowl available to you, why did you pick me as (your agent)?” asked the raven.  Noach countered, “What purpose do you serve me? You are neither edible nor fit to be used as a korban.”  Why did Hashem instruct Noach to send the raven?  Chazal continue; Hashem told Noach, “One day, the world will need the…

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Home -> 5786 -> Bereishis

ויאמר אלקים נעשה אדם בצלמנו כדמותנו

Sruly Schnair
In Bereishis, 5786

And Hashem said, “Let us make man in our Image in our likeness. (1:26)

Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 8:5) teach that, when Hashem set out to create man, the angels organized themselves into groups – pro and con. Chesed, Kindness, “advised” Hashem to create man, because he would behave kindly and benevolently to others. Emes, Truth, disagreed, claiming that man would be filled with lies; thus, his presence in this world would be harmful. Hashem listened to their positions and then proceeded to fling Truth to the ground. This is alluded to in Daniel (8:12), V’sashleich emes artzah, “He threw Truth earthward” (and created Man). This Midrash begs elucidation. If, in fact, man is full…

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Home -> 5786 -> Bereishis

ומעץ הדעת טוב ורע לא תאכל ממנו

Sruly Schnair
In Bereishis, 5786

But of the Tree of Knowledge, of Good and Bad, you must not eat thereof. (2:17)

Adam Ha’Rishon was the yetzir kapav shel HaKadosh Baruch Hu, formed and created by Hashem. Yet, he sinned. He had one single mitzvah – not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. He could not withstand the temptation, however, and he sinned. We have 613 mitzvos and are commanded to observe them all. Obviously, a disparity exists between us and Adam. Adam did not have a yetzer hora, evil inclination – nothing to provoke him to commit anything negative; yet, he sinned. In his Moreh Nevuchim, Rambam posits that by sinning, Adam gained his greatest glory: the faculty of bechirah…

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Home -> 5786 -> Bereishis

ועפר תאכל כל ימי חייך

Sruly Schnair
In Bereishis, 5786

And dust shall you eat all the days of your life. (3:14)

Rebbeinu Bachya derives from the words kol yemei chayecha, “all the days of your life,” that the serpent’s punishment will not be mitigated l’asid lavo, after the advent of Moshiach Tzidkeinu. With the arrival of Moshiach, a new world culture will prevail. Harmony and peace will reign, and even the enmity between the serpent and human beings will come to an end. The punishment, “And dust shall you eat all the days of your life,” however, will continue unabated throughout time. In other words, despite the fact that, when Moshiach arrives the world will revert to pre-sin (of eating of…

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