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Home -> 5777 -> Va'eschanan

ואתם הדבקים בד' אלקיכם חיים כלכם היום... ושמרתם ועשיתם כי היא חכמתכם ובינתכם... ככל התורה הזאת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Va'eschanan, 5777

But you who cling to Hashem, your G-d – you are alive today… you shall safeguard and perform them, for it is your wisdom and discernment… as this is the Torah. (4:4,6,8)

We have been bequeathed an incredible gift: the Torah. It is the source of our wisdom, understanding, character refinement, religious observance; indeed, it is chaim kulchem hayom, our life – today – and every day. Without Torah in its entirety we are lost. We may not accept the Torah piecemeal in accordance with our comfort zone. That is not Torah. It is everything – or else it is simply intellectual knowledge. It is a life source only when it is imbibed, seen, studied, understood and observed. What about someone who has had little opportunity to learn or has started late?…

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Home -> 5777 -> Tzav

ויעש אהרן ובניו את כל הדברים אשר צוה ד' ביד משה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Tzav, 5777

Aharon and his sons carried out all the matters that Hashem had commanded through Moshe. (8:36)

Rashi explains that the Torah is recording their praise in that they swerved neither to the right nor to the left. They followed the straight course as dictated to them by Moshe Rabbeinu. They had much to do, many mitzvos with a multitude of details. Nonetheless, whatever Moshe instructed them, they did. The Sifra adds that, despite their being commanded by a contemporary, they executed the commandments as if Hashem Himself had spoken to them. While we would expect Aharon and certainly his sons to perform the service, the inherent joy they manifested was to their credit, for it showed…

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Home -> 5777 -> Tzav

וזאת תורת זבח השלמים... אם על תודה יקריבנו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Tzav, 5777

This is the law of the feast Peace-offering… if he shall offer it for a Thanksgiving-offering. (7:11,12)

One who has survived a life-threatening crisis brings a Korban Todah, thanksgiving-offering: first, to demonstrate that he acknowledges that it was Hashem Who saved him; second, to pay gratitude to Hashem. David Hamelech says (Tehillim 107:21,22) Yodu la’Hashem chasdo, v’niflaosav livnei adam. V’yizbechu zivchei Todah v’yisapru maasav b’rinah. “Let them acknowledge to Hashem His kindness, and to the children of man His wonders. And let them sacrifice thanksgiving-offerings and relate His works with joyful song.” We derive from here that the offering of a Korban Todah is of overriding significance and is an integral part of the process of expressing…

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Home -> 5777 -> Tzav

זאת תורת החטאת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Tzav, 5777

This is the law of the sin-offering. (6:18)

Sin is relative in the attitude of the sinner with regard to the sin; and in the status of the sinner which, commensurate with his position, demands a higher standard in his demeanor and attitude. The Korban Chatas, sin-offering, was brought as penance following the commission of an aveirah b’shogeg, inadvertent sin. One wonders altogether why penance is required. It is not as if the person had acted maliciously. Everybody errs. Nobody is perfect. Horav Moshe Soloveitchik, zl, (Zurich) likened this to a person carrying a package of inexpensive glasses. If, once in a while, a glass slips out of…

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Home -> 5777 -> Tzav

ופשט את בגדיו ולבש בגדים אחרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Tzav, 5777

He shall remove his garments, and he shall wear other garments. (6:4)

Rashi observes that changing garments is not a chovah, obligation, but rather, proper conduct, so that the Kohen does not sully his clean vestments. It makes sense that the garments which one wears in the kitchen when he is cooking a pot of food for his master will not be the same garments that he will wear when serving his master. It just takes seichel, common sense. Thus, he dons other garments which are inferior to his vestments. How often do we read Rashi’s commentary and not incorporate it into our lifestyle? Upon serving the King/Master, one wears “different” clothes…

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Home -> 5777 -> Tzav

והרים את הדשן... ושמו אצל המזבח... והוצא את הדשן

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Tzav, 5777

He shall raise the ashes and place it next to the Mizbayach… He shall remove the ashes. (6:3,4)

The avodah in the Mishkan/Bais Hamikdash followed a daily routine. It was a clearly defined, Divinely-ordained, unchanging pattern of service. It began with the Terumas HaDeshen, the removal of the sacrificial ash from the previous day’s offerings, followed by the placing of wood, so that the fire on the Mizbayach, Altar, continued to burn. The first sacrifice of the day, as well as the last sacrifice, was the Korban Tamid. Tamid means consistent, which is a perfect way to describe the Korban. It was a constant. When activities are carried out in a particular order, unchanging, repeated daily, it might…

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Home -> 5777 -> Metzora

כנגע נראה לי בבית

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Metzora, 5777

Something like an affliction has appeared to me in the house. (14:35)

Toras Kohanim comments: Li v’lo l’ori, “To me – and not to my light.” This teaches that in a dark house, one does not open the windows (to allow sunlight to penetrate) in order to see the affliction (to determine its status of purity). Damesek Eliezer suggests that the approach taken by the Torah with regard to the sins committed by man should serve as a paradigm for us in our approach towards the sins of our fellow man. In other words, the Torah     is adopting a compassionate and understanding approach to the failings of our fellow man. As we…

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Home -> 5777 -> Metzora

ואם דל הוא ואין ידו משגת ולקח כבש אחד אשם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Metzora, 5777

If he is poor and his means are not sufficient, then he shall take one male lamb as a guilt-offering. (14:21)

The Korban Asham, guilt-offering, of the metzora is the same regardless of the financial status of the individual who offers it. Both the wealthy metzora and the poor metzora bring a male lamb as a guilt-offering. This is unlike the Korban Chatas, sin-offering, and Olah, elevation-offering, which are descending (olah v’yoreid) commensurate with the poor man’s ability to pay. Horav Shmuel Rosenberg, zl, Rav in Unsdorf, offers an illuminating but practical insight. The Chatas and Olah are korbanos which are brought for various sins. While a sin is a sin – and a sinner is a sinner, regardless of his…

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Home -> 5777 -> Metzora

זאת תהיה תורת המצרע

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Metzora, 5777

This shall be the law of the metzora. (14:2)

Tzaraas is a punishment visited upon a person whose morally-flawed character has caused him to slander a fellow Jew. It often begins with gossip and wratches up to full-fledged slander and character assassination. A spike in one’s self-esteem can catalyze an unbecoming arrogance, which allows a person to think – to actually believe – that he is better than others, that he can decide who is worthy and who is not. This self-generated haughtiness allows him to speak callously of others, to lord over them to the point that they become miserable. He is punished with tzaraas, an affliction which…

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Home -> 5777 -> Tazria

וביום הראות בו בשר חי וטמא

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Tazria, 5777

On the day healthy flesh appears in it, it shall be contaminated. (13:14)

On some specific days, the Kohen does not view a nega, plague. A chassan, bridegroom, who has a suspicious nega is allowed the Shivas yimei hamishtah, Seven days of celebration following his wedding. Likewise, one whose plague appeared at the onset of Yom Tov is permitted for the seven days of the Festival. Why is this? Horav Chaim Zaitchik, zl, offers a practical explanation. The purpose of the metzora’s punishment is to knock him down a notch in his arrogance and in the way he treats his fellow man. He has an obnoxious manner of treating people, because he has…

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