Peninim on the Torah

הבו לכם אנשים חכמים ונבנים וידועים לשבטיכם ואשימם בראשיכם

“Designate for yourselves men who are wise, understanding and well-known to your tribes, and I shall appoint them as your leaders.” (1:13)

Rashi explains that the tribes among whom the leaders grew up and lived would know them better than Moshe Rabbeinu did. Moshe said, “If each of them were to come before me wrapped in his Tallis, I would not know who he is, from which tribe he has descended, and if he is worthy.” In other words, apparently Moshe had difficulty discerning the pedigree and true nature of each judicial candidate. This seems inconsistent with the pasuk in Sefer Shemos 18:21, in which Moshe is told to “seek out men of ability, G-d-fearing men of truth who hate improper gain.”…

Home -> Devarim -> 5775

איכה אשא לבדי טרחכם ומשאכם וריבכם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Devarim

“How can I carry by myself your contentiousness, your burdens and your quarrels?” (1:12)

The nation of Moshe Rabbeinu was not an easy people to lead. Apparently, they needed to be trained in the ways and means of peoplehood – with the first requisite lesson being respect for leadership. Rashi identifies Moshe’s three complaints. The first was contentiousness. The people were difficult to deal with, especially during litigation. If a litigant saw his rival prevailing, he insisted on a trial delay, with the claim that he has other witnesses to testify in his behalf ,or additional proof to support his position. Alternatively, he might have demanded his right to call for more judges on…

Home -> Devarim -> 5775

ודי זהב

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Devarim

And Di Zahav. (1:1)

Sefer Devarim is the last will and testament of Moshe Rabbeinu to his beloved nation. Concerned lest they succumb to the blandishments of the pagan nations which inhabited Canaan, Moshe spoke words of rebuke to them, pointing out areas of deficiency in their natural/national character which must be rectified. Rather than mention these sins explicitly – due to his concern about a negative reaction – he alluded to them by employing names of places which did not actually exist. These names allude to a variety of indiscretions, and areas in which they mutinied against Hashem. Di Zahav refers to the…

Home -> 5775 -> Chukas

ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5775

Miriam died there and was buried there. (20:1)

Rashi quotes the Talmud Bava Basra 17a, where Chazal teach that Miriam HaNeviah merited missas neshikah, death through Hashem’s kiss, as did her brothers, Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen. Rashi wonders why the Torah does not add al pi Hashem, by the mouth of Hashem, as it writes concerning the passing of her brothers. He explains that it would not have been derech kavod shel Maalah, appropriate respect for Hashem Yisborach to make such a statement. Horav Shimon Schwab, zl, asks the question that is probably posed by any student of Torah, anyone who has read and truly understood the…

Home -> 5775 -> Chukas

וישב העם בקדש ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5775

And the people settled in Kadesh. Miriam died there and she was buried there. (20:1)

As a result of their involvement in the Mei Merivah, waters of strife, Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen were not permitted to enter Eretz Yisrael (Moshe hit the rock instead of speaking to it, as Hashem had instructed him. The reason that this was considered a breach in obedience which warranted his losing out on Eretz Yisrael is far too complex a topic to be addressed within the limitations of this paper.) Miriam HaNeviah also died in the wilderness. Why did she lose out on the opportunity of a lifetime? Horav Avigdor HaLevi Nebentzhal, Shlita, suggests that Miriam inadvertently played…

Home -> 5775 -> Chukas

זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל כל הבא אל האהל וכל אשר באהל יטמא שבעת ימים... ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם... ויראו כל העדה כי גוע אהרן ויבכו את אהרן

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5775

This is the law when a man dies in a tent. Everyone coming into the tent and everything in it shall be tamei, ritually unclean, seven days… and Miriam died there and was buried there…and when all the people saw that Aharon had died, they wept for Aharon for thirty days. (19:14; 20:1,29)

The parsha addresses a number of pertinent issues, among which are the laws of tumah and taharah, ritual contamination and purity, following contact with death and the deaths of the righteous; namely, the death of Miriam HaNeviah and Aharon HaKohen. Life is filled with ambiguity, and death is the greatest paradox of all. This notion is perhaps underscored in the Torah’s order of the purification process for one who has come in contact with the deceased. On the third and seventh day, the ritually unclean person is sprinkled with a solution of pure water mixed with the ashes of the…

Home -> 5775 -> Chukas

ויקחו אליך פרה אדומה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5775

And they shall take to you a Red Cow. (19:2)

The Parah Adumah, Red Cow (heifer), is considered the quintessential chok, mitzvah whose reason defies human rationale. There is an aspect to this mitzvah, which although paradoxical in nature, is symbolically perceivable. Indeed, at first glance, the Parah Adumah incorporates two opposites. On the one hand, it must be totally red: even two black hairs render it invalid. This is puzzling, since the color red is usually identified with sin. Red is the symbol of blood. The Navi Yeshayahu (1:18) says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are as red as…

Home -> 5775 -> Chayei Sarah

עבד אברהם אנכי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5775

I am the servant of Avraham. (24:34)

Eliezer was entrusted with a mission of the most crucial importance: finding the next Matriarch, the woman who, together with Yitzchak Avinu, would be charged with forming and maintaining the next link in Klal Yisrael. It was no easy task, and, clearly, without Divine manipulation, the success of this mission would not have been realized. Obviously, the selection of Eliezer to execute this mission is indicative of his virtue and sanctity. Avraham Avinu was acutely aware that nothing is achieved without Divine interplay, and Hashem would not interact with a person of base character. Chazal, however, teach us that there…

Home -> 5775 -> Chayei Sarah

ויהי כאשר ושני כלו הגמלים לשתות ויקח האיש נזם זהב בקע משקלו ושני צמידים על ידיה עשרה זהב משקלם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5775

And it was, when the camels finished drinking, that the man took a nose ring whose weight was a beka, and two bracelets for her hands, whose weight was ten measures. (24:22)

The Torah goes to great lengths in describing Eliezer’s journey to Aram Naharayim in search of a suitable wife for Yitzchak Avinu. When Eliezer saw the outstanding display of chesed, loving kindness, manifested by Rivkah Imeinu, he realized that she had the refined character traits that were necessary for the next Matriarch of the Jewish Nation. Eliezer gave her gifts, a nose ring and two bracelets. The Torah underscores the weight of these pieces of jewelry, due to their allusion to the half-shekel collected from the people for the building of the Mishkan, and the ten measures, which allude to…

Home -> 5775 -> Chayei Sarah

וירץ העבד לקראתה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5775

The servant ran towards her. (24:17)

Rashi explains that Eliezer ran towards Rivkah Imeinu when he saw the water rising towards her. Clearly, this was an outstanding display of the supernatural. Rivkah must have been an impressive young woman to have merited such “reverence.” If this is the case, why did Eliezer feel the need to test her to see how she would react when he asked for water for his camels? What greater indication of her suitability for Yitzchak Avinu did he need than seeing nature altered for her? The well-known explanation, attributed to Horav Yechezkel, zl, m’Kozmir, is that a person is judged according…

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הבו לכם אנשים חכמים ונבנים וידועים לשבטיכם ואשימם בראשיכם

“Designate for yourselves men who are wise, understanding and well-known to your tribes, and I shall appoint them as your leaders.” (1:13)

איכה אשא לבדי טרחכם ומשאכם וריבכם

“How can I carry by myself your contentiousness, your burdens and your quarrels?” (1:12)

ודי זהב

And Di Zahav. (1:1)

ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם

Miriam died there and was buried there. (20:1)

וישב העם בקדש ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם

And the people settled in Kadesh. Miriam died there and she was buried there. (20:1)

זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל כל הבא אל האהל וכל אשר באהל יטמא שבעת ימים... ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם... ויראו כל העדה כי גוע אהרן ויבכו את אהרן

This is the law when a man dies in a tent. Everyone coming into the tent and everything in it shall be tamei, ritually unclean, seven days… and Miriam died there and was buried there…and when all the people saw that Aharon had died, they wept for Aharon for thirty days. (19:14; 20:1,29)

ויקחו אליך פרה אדומה

And they shall take to you a Red Cow. (19:2)

עבד אברהם אנכי

I am the servant of Avraham. (24:34)

ויהי כאשר ושני כלו הגמלים לשתות ויקח האיש נזם זהב בקע משקלו ושני צמידים על ידיה עשרה זהב משקלם

And it was, when the camels finished drinking, that the man took a nose ring whose weight was a beka, and two bracelets for her hands, whose weight was ten measures. (24:22)

וירץ העבד לקראתה

The servant ran towards her. (24:17)

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