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Home -> 5775 -> Emor

ולא יחללו שם אלקיכם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Emor, 5775

And they shall not desecrate the Name of their G-d. (21:6)

The sin of chillul Hashem, desecrating Hashem’s Name, is of such magnitude that only death serves to atone for it. Teshuvah, repentance, must be accompanied by missah, death, so profound is the blemish created when one desecrates Hashem’s Name. What is the reason for this ultimate punishment which brooks no compromise? Horav Shimshon Pincus, zl, explains that whenever Hashem metes out justice against one who sins against Him, His Name is sanctified. This is especially true of death, because it demonstrates Hashem’s power over man. The Navi Yeshayahu 45 says: Ki Li tichra kol berech, “For to Me will bow…

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Home -> 5775 -> Emor

אמר אל הכהנים... לנפש לא יטמא בעמיו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Emor, 5775

Say to the Kohanim… Each of you shall not contaminate himself to a (dead) person among his People. (21:1)

Horav Gamliel Rabinowitz, Shlita, interprets this pasuk homiletically, utilizing it as a primer and guide for those who seek to devote themselves to Jewish outreach. Such work requires extreme dedication, love of Hashem and His children, consummate patience and selflessness – never expecting a thank you, because it is often not forthcoming. The work is very satisfying; saving a Jewish child or adult, bringing one back, encouraging a brother or sister to embrace a life of Torah and mitzvah observance are satisfying endeavors. They can be spiritually dangerous, however, for someone who is ill-prepared, who himself has a way to…

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Home -> 5775 -> Eikev

למען ירבו ימיכם וימי בניכם על האדמה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Eikev, 5775

In order to prolong your days and the days of your children upon the Land. (11:21)

The Talmud in Berachos 8a relates that, when Rabbi Yochanan heard that there were elderly Jews in Bavel/Babylonia, he was surprised, since it is written in the Torah, “In order to prolong your days and the days of your children upon the Land.” This is a reference to Eretz Yisrael, not to chutz l’aretz. There is no promise of longevity in the diaspora. Once they informed Rabbi Yochanan that the elders of Bavel were people who rose early to attend shul in the morning and remain in the shul until late in the evening, he said that this was the…

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Home -> 5775 -> Eikev

השמרו לכם פן יפתה לבבכם וסרתם ועבדתם אלהים אחרים והשתחותם להם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Eikev, 5775

Beware for yourselves lest your heart be misled and you turn away and serve other gods and bow down to them. (11:16)

Rashi interprets v’sartem, and you turn away, as referring to one who abandons Torah study. Accordingly, one who severs his relationship with Torah will ultimately become an idol worshipper. This is a strong statement. Will abandoning the Torah lead one so far away that he would serve idols? Apparently the answer is, “Yes.” We wonder why. Horav Shimon Schwab, zl, addresses this question and explains that there are two diverse ways of understanding the term elohim acheirim, other gods. The words, elohim acheirim, in the context of this pasuk can be defined either as “other gods,” which would thus denote…

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Home -> 5775 -> Eikev

ואכלת ושבעת וברכת את ד' אלקיך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Eikev, 5775

You will eat and you will be satisfied, and bless Hashem, your G-d. (8:10)

When a person eats or drinks, he prefaces his eating with a blessing and, upon completion, he once again offers his blessing. What if a person has no desire to eat, he is just not hungry, or he does not particularly care for the food that is being served? One would think that he has no obligation to eat. One does not eat just to avail himself the opportunity to recite a blessing – or should he eat just for the blessing? The following episode should enlighten us. The Bobover Rebbe, Horav Shlomo, zl, related that, when he was a…

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Home -> 5775 -> Eikev

וברכת את ד' אלקיך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Eikev, 5775

And bless Hashem, Your G-d. (8:10)

One of the most common blessings we recite following food or drink consumption is the brachah acharonah, after-blessing, Borei nefashos rabos v’chesronan, “Who creates numerous living things with their deficiencies.” The Tur explains the concept chesronos, deficiencies, to mean that Hashem has created the hashlamah, completion, the (sort of) antidote to everything that we might be missing from our lives. The Rashba (Teshuvos 149), however, disagrees, explaining that we pay gratitude to Hashem specifically for (what appears to us as) the deficiencies in our lives. It is our way of affirming the manner in which Hashem has created us. For…

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Home -> 5775 -> Eikev

כאשר ייסר איש את בנו ד' אלקיך מיסרך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Eikev, 5775

Just as a father will chastise his son, so Hashem, Your G-d, chastises you. (8:5)

Hashem’s discipline is likened to that of a loving father who is compelled to impose order in the life of his child. Discipline is a form of instruction which is vital and critical to a child’s development. The following are excerpts from a series of lectures given by the venerable Mashgiach of Beth Medrash Gavohah, Horav Matisyahu Solomon, Shlita. The Torah unequivocally forbids berating or embarrassing anyone, regardless of his wrongdoing. Chavalah, hitting, and onaah, persecution, are specifically prohibited. Just because someone is guilty of committing a sin does not give us license to humiliate or hit him. Concerning chinuch,…

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Home -> 5775 -> Eikev

כי לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה האדם כי על כל מוצא פי ד' יחיה האדם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Eikev, 5775

Not by bread alone does man live, rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of G-d does man live. (8:3)

The phrase yichyeh ha’adam, does man live, is mentioned twice in the pasuk. Interestingly, Targum Onkeles uses two variant translations for the word yichyeh. With regard to the first part of the pasuk – “Not by bread alone does man live,” he writes, miskayeim enasha – is a man sustained/preserved. In the second part of the pasuk – “rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of G-d does man live,” he writes, chayei enasha, man lives. Why does the text change? (The variant translations are to be found in the older Chumashim. Many contemporary printings follow the standard corrected…

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Home -> Devarim -> 5775

לא תערצון ולא תיראון מהם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5775, Devarim

“Be not terrified nor frightened of them.” (1:29)

Klal Yisrael had witnessed the destruction of the mightiest armies. Egypt was like nothing in the hands of Hashem. Likewise, Amalek went down into the dung heap of history, putty in the hands of the Almighty. Why is it that the nation that had been sustained by Hashem through the travails of wilderness journey for forty years was in deathly fear of a handful of small, scattered Canaanite kingdoms? Indeed, as noted in an earlier pasuk (27), Klal Yisrael suggested that Hashem must hate them to put them in such a terrifying situation. The Bostoner Rebbe, zl, notes that fear…

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Home -> Devarim -> 5775

ותקרבון אלי כלכם ותאמרו נשלחה אנשים לפנינו ויחפרו לנו את הארץ

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5775, Devarim

You approached me, all of you, and said, “Let us send men ahead of us and let them spy out the land.” (1:22)

Rashi describes the contrasting scenario in which the people came to Moshe Rabbeinu and “suggested” that spies be sent to reconnoiter Eretz Yisrael. “And you approached me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders…” This was a reference to the decorum manifest by the people when they accepted the Torah. That approach was proper. The young honored the elders and sent them ahead of them. And the elders honored the heads of the tribes by allowing them to precede them. In this case, however, “You approached me, all of you as a rabble, with the young pushing the…

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