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Home -> 5776 -> Vayishlach

וישאל יעקב ויאמר הגידה נא שמך ויאמר למה זה תשאל לשמי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vayishlach, 5776

Then Yaakov inquired, and he said, “Divulge if you please, your name.” And he said, “Why then do you inquire of my name?” (32:30)

Yaakov Avinu wanted to know the name of the angel with whom he had wrestled – and won. The angel responded, “Why do you inquire of my name?” The commentators debate if this was a question, more or less, as if the angel were replying, “What difference does it make to you what my name is? You cannot do anything about it. I am not reachable by name.” Others contend that his response was actually his name. In other words: “Why do you ask my name?” is the actual name of the angel. Horav Shabsi Yudelevitz, zl, explains this. When…

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Home -> 5776 -> Vayishlach

הצילני נא מיד אחי מיד עשו כי ירא אנכי אותו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vayishlach, 5776

Rescue me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Eisav, because I fear him. (32:12)

Rashi explains the apparent redundancy continued in the pasuk: Miyad achi, miyad Eisav; “From the hand of my brother, from the hand of Eisav.” Sometimes Eisav acts like my brother, showing love and friendship which conceal his true, nefarious intentions. Other times Eisav acts like the evil person that he is, challenging me and stirring up adversity for me to overcome. Both the Kedushas Levi and the Chozeh m’Lublin write that Yaakov Avinu prayed to Hashem to spare him the challenge of Eisav, the yetzer hora, evil inclination, who was coming at him in the form of Eisav, his “dear”…

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Home -> Vayikra -> 5776

נפש כי תחטא ומעלה מעל ד' וכחש בעמיתו... והיה כי יחטא ואשם והשיב את הגזילה אשר גזל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Vayikra

If a person sins and commits a breach of trust against G-d by lying to his friend… so it shall be when he will sin and become guilty, he shall return the robbed item that he robbed. (5:21,23)

The pasuk appears to be redundant, “He should return the robbed item that he robbed.” The words asher gazal, “which he robbed,” are superfluous. Obviously, the item which he robbed is what he is presently returning. What else? He is certainly not returning something which he did not rob. The Sefer Chassidim asks this question and offers an insightful answer which sheds light on the nadir of theft. One who steals from someone and later has a change of heart, and – immediately that same day – returns the item – he will not have to add to the principle….

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Home -> Vayikra -> 5776

ולא תשבית מלח ברית אלקיך מעל מנחתיך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Vayikra

You may not discontinue the salt of your G-d’s covenant from upon your meal offering. (2:13)

Rashi teaches that a covenant was enacted during the Sheishes Yemei Bereishis, Six Days of Creation, that ensured the lower waters (the waters of our earth) that they would be offered on the Mizbayach. This is executed through the induction of salt on the Mizbayach and the water libation. Apparently, the waters were appeased for a reason. What was it? In the beginning of Sefer Bereishis, Rashi comments concerning the creation of Heaven and earth which was preceded by the spirit of G-d hovering over the water. This would seem to indicate that the creation of the waters preceded the…

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Home -> Vayikra -> 5776

אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן לד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Vayikra

When a man among you brings an offering to Hashem. (1:2)

Rashi explains that the Torah uses the word adam, man, by design-to recall the Adam HaRishon, Primordial Man. Just as Adam HaRishon did not offer anything from gezel, that was stolen (since everything belonged to him), so, too, may we not offer a sacrifice from an item that has been stolen. We wonder why Adam HaRishon is used as the paradigm to teach the absolute requirement that the korban that is offered may not be derived illegally. After all, everything in the world belonged to Adam. Would it not have been more appropriate to bring a proof from someone who…

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Home -> Vayikra -> 5776

ויקרא אל משה וידבר ד' אליו מאהל מועד

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Vayikra

He called to Moshe, and Hashem spoke to him from the Ohel Moed. (1:1)

The parshah of Korbanos, sacrificial offerings mandated by Hashem to be a part of the Jewish People’s service to Him, is rife with ambiguity. The Rishonim offer their rationale to explain and lend meaning to this service. In his Moreh Nevuchim, Rambam explains that the korbanos had a therapeutic effect on the Jewish People after their exposure to the idolatrous cultures in which they had lived. Egypt had elevated idol worship as to a way of life to the point that anything short of paganism was beyond rationale. The korbanos would balance out this perverted ideology. Notwithstanding the Rambam’s view…

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Home -> Vayigash -> 5776

ויאסור יוסף מרכבתו ויעל לקראת ישראל אביו גשנה וירא אליו ויפול על צואריו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Vayigash

Yosef harnessed his chariot and went up to meet his father in Goshen. He appeared before him, and fell on his neck. (46:29)

Rashi explains that neither did Yaakov Avinu fall upon Yosef’s neck, nor did he kiss him, because, at the time of their meeting, Yaakov was preoccupied with reciting Shema. Yosef was not. This leads up to the obvious question: Was it the time for reciting Krias Shema — or not? If it was not Krias Shema recital time, why did Yaakov find it necessary to choose this unique moment of their meeting to capitalize on Krias Shema? Could the meeting not have waited a few moments? The commentators grapple with this question, each offering his own insight into this seeming…

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Home -> Vayigash -> 5776

ואת יהודה שלח לפניו אל יוסף להורות לפניו גשנה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Vayigash

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

Chazal teach that Yaakov Avinu sent Yehudah to Goshen for the purpose of establishing the first yeshivah, from whence Torah and its teachings would be disseminated. Why did Yaakov choose Yehudah over any of the other brothers – especially Yissachar, who was the paradigm of Torah study and scholarship? The Midrash Tanchuma teaches a novel idea to explain why Yaakov made this choice. Apparently, for years, ever since the disappearance of Yosef, when Yehudah was the one who presented Yosef’s bloodied tunic, the Patriarch had suspected Yehudah of culpability in (what he believed to be) Yosef’s death. Now that he…

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Home -> Vayigash -> 5776

ואת יהודה שלח לפניו אל יוסף להורות לפניו גשנה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Vayigash

He sent Yehuda ahead of him to Yosef, to prepare ahead of him in Goshen. 46:28

Rashi teaches that Yaakov Avinu dispatched Yehudah on a mission to Egypt for more than merely making arrangements for the family’s arrival. The Midrash interprets l’horos as “to teach.” This implies that Yaakov sent Yehudah to establish the first yeshivah in Egypt. The “Yeshivah Gedolah of Goshen” set a precedent for all time. Torah education must be a community’s priority number one. A city without a makom Torah, place where Torah is studied, lacks the most critical component of its Jewishness. A Jewish community without a makom Torah is not Jewish! Horav Moshe Yaakov Ribicov, zl, popularly known as the…

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Home -> Vayigash -> 5776

ויזבח זבחים לאלקי אביו יצחק

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Vayigash

He slaughtered sacrifices to the G-d of his father, Yitzchak. (46:1)

Yaakov Avinu was moving to Egypt. Although he knew quite well that his ultimate home would be Eretz Yisrael and that Egypt was a galus, exile, which he would have to endure – the move to Egypt was not an easy one. Galus has a transformative effect on a person. Some feel the need to adapt, to eschew past practices and beliefs. Otherwise, how can they survive in an environment that is foreign to them? Yaakov taught his children to remain focused on the future, on their return to the Holy Land, on their eventual redemption. With hope, one can…

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