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Home -> 5775 -> Vayeira

ויגש אברהם ויאמר האף תספה צדיק עם רשע

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vayeira, 5775

Avraham came forward and said, “Will You even obliterate righteous with wicked?” (18:23)

Avraham Avinu took the decree to obliterate Sodom seriously. Indeed, Rashi teaches that the word vayigash, “and (Avraham) came forward,” has three connotations – each one apparently applying to our Patriarch. We find “coming forward” used with regard: to war; to conciliation; and to prayer. Avraham undertook all of these approaches. He spoke strongly, arguing forcefully to establish his point; he appealed to Hashem to have mercy; and he prayed. He did all of this for the people of Sodom! Why? These were the most reprehensible people of the time. They made life miserable for anyone who had the misfortune…

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Home -> 5775 -> Vayeira

כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו ושמרו דרך ד' - המכסה אני מאברהם את אשר אני עשה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vayeira, 5775

Shall I conceal from Avraham what I do? (18:17) – For I have loved him, because he commands his children and his household after him that they keep the way of Hashem. (18:19)

The Torah relates that Hashem sent angels to Avraham Avinu to inform him of the Almighty’s plan to destroy Sodom. Why were they sent to tell Avraham about the impending destruction? The Torah explains, Ki yedativ, “Because I have loved him,” means because he [Avraham] teaches his offspring about Hashem, thereby encouraging them to observe His mitzvos. The reasoning begs elucidation. What relationship exists between the fact that he has dedicated his life to educating his children and the fact that Angels were sent to inform him of the impending destruction of Sodom? The sons of the Chasam Sofer, zl,…

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Home -> Vayechi -> 5775

וירא מנחה כי טוב... ויט שכמו לסבל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5775, Vayechi

He saw that serenity is good… He bowed his shoulder to bear. (49:15)

When one peruses the brachah, blessing, given to Yissachar, it appears as a lesson in contradiction. Yissachar symbolizes the ben Torah who devotes himself to Torah study under all circumstances. One would think that, if he is confronted with peace and serenity, it would be an opportunity for relaxation and rejuvenation; rather, the Torah tells us that the peaceful repose is not Yissachar’s reaction to serenity. Instead of rest, Yissachar girds himself for hard work. Is this not counterproductive? Horav Yeruchem Levovitz, zl, explains that, if one wants to raise a healthy, content and happy child, showering him with material…

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Home -> Vayechi -> 5775

ויקרא בהם שמי ושם אבתי אברהם ויצחק

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5775, Vayechi

So that my name and the names of my Fathers, Avraham and Yitzchak, may be called in them. (48:16)

Yaakov Avinu blesses his grandsons with a blessing that has become the standard for parental blessing throughout the ages. V’yikarei bahem shemi v’shem avosai, Avraham, v’Yitzchak, “So that my name and the name of my fathers, Avraham and Yitzchak, may be called in them.” The commentators wonder why the Patriarch placed his name first in the sequence of the Avos, Patriarchs. Simply, I would venture to suggest that he was alluding to the sorry state of affairs that exists when one must revert back to the previous generation to find someone whose spiritual repute is worth emulating. Sadly, we find…

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Home -> Vayechi -> 5775

ראה פניך לא פללתי והנה הראה אתי אלקים גם את זרעך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5775, Vayechi

I dared not accept the thought that I would see your face, and here G-d has shown me even your offspring. (48:11)

Yaakov Avinu is overjoyed as he shares his innermost feelings with his long lost son, Yosef. For twenty-two years he had mourned a son who supposedly had been mauled to death by a wild animal. Little did he dream of ever seeing Yosef again. Now, not only does Yosef stand before him, but even Yosef’s children are there waiting for his blessing. Lo pilalti – “I dared not accept/I dared not dream”; after all, it was impossible. Yosef was dead! What is there to dream about? In this vein, pilalti means resignation, a lack of acceptance, an unwillingness to hope,…

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Home -> Vayechi -> 5775

ועתה שני בניך הנולדים לך בארץ מצרים עד באי אליך מצרימה לי הם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5775, Vayechi

And now, your two sons who were born to you in Egypt before my coming to you in Egypt shall be mine. (48:5)

Horav Moshe Feinstein, zl, derives from this pasuk that the symbol of the pertinacity of a Torah education; its staying power, and ability to overcome challenge, is whether it is still perceived in later generations. An education that endures generations is a good education. This idea is gleaned from Yaakov Avinu’s statement concerning Yosef’s children who were born prior to the arrival of the Patriarch in Egypt. Li heim, “They are mine!” has meaning only if they had been born and raised in the moral filth of Egyptian society without Yaakov Avinu to serve as a positive influence, as the…

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Home -> Vayechi -> 5775

אם נא מצאתי חן בעיניך שים נא ידך תחת ירכי ועשית עמדי חסד ואמת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5775, Vayechi

If I have found favor in your eyes, please place your hand under my thigh and do kindness and truth with me. (47:29)

Placing one’s hand beneath the thigh was the means of taking an oath. Yaakov Avinu insisted on an oath, because he knew that Yosef would be under intense political pressure to bury him in Egypt. He now had a reason to justify his actions, having made a promise to his father, which he was obligated to keep. Horav Yehudah Asaad, zl, renders this episode homiletically, thereby teaching us a practical and inspiring lesson. Rav Assad begins by defining the words and underlying implied homiletical meaning of: yerech, thigh; yad, hand; chesed, kindness; emes, truth. In Devarim 15:8, the Torah addresses…

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Home -> Pekudei -> 5775

בחדש הראשון בשנה השנית באחד לחדש הוקם המשכן

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5775, Pekudei

In the first month of the second year on the first of the month that the Mishkan was erected. (40:17)

In an earlier commentary (ibid 39:33), Rashi explains how the Mishkan was erected. Apparently, the people presented the finished components to Moshe Rabbeinu, who had not previously been involved with the actual construction of the Mishkan. Hashem had left the placement of the Mishkan, its erection, up to Moshe. The reason for this was quite simple: It was too heavy. No one was able to erect the Mishkan due to the weight of the Kerashim, beams. Moshe was able to stand them upright – by himself. How did he do it? True, he was strong, but not that strong. Moshe…

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Home -> Vayakhel -> 5775

ויאמר משה אל בני ישראל ראו קרא ד' בשם בצלאל בן אורי בן חור למטה יהודה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5775, Vayakhel

And Moshe said to Bnei Yisrael, “See, Hashem has proclaimed by name, Betzalel ben Uri ben Chur, to the Tribe of Yehudah.” (35:30)

Chazal teach that no deed goes unrequited. While, at times, we see individuals laboring in Torah, indeed, sacrificing themselves for the pursuit of Torah study and its dissemination, although their incredible reward does not seem to materialize. This is literally due to our shortsightedness. We must understand that reward does not necessarily occur immediately. It might take generations for that reward to be actualized, but it will definitely come. Horav Yaakov Galinsky, zl, quotes the Binah L’Ittim, who notes that there are times when a person toils to understand a difficult Talmudic passage or halachah, which apparently, he is not…

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Home -> Vayakhel -> 5775

אלה הדברים אשר צוה ד' לעשות אתם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5775, Vayakhel

These are the objects that Hashem has commanded that they be made. (35:2)

Horav S. R. Hirsch, zl, observes that the above pasuk, Eilah ha’devarim, “These are the objects,” alludes to the various categories of labor required to construct the Mishkan. It represents the concept of meleches Shabbos, that which constitutes labor on Shabbos. In pasuk 4, the orders for building the Mishkan are introduced in a similar vernacular, Zeh hadavar asher tzivah Hashem laasos, “This is what G-d has commanded.” Thus, the (eilah ha)’devarim of the above pasuk refer only to those forms of labor which are vital to the construction of the Mishkan. These are the forms of labor which are…

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