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Home -> 5776 -> Tzav

אש תמיד תוקד על המזבח לא תכבה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Tzav, 5776

Fire shall be kept continually on the Altar; it shall not go out. (6:6)

I had a rebbe who would often say that, when one looks through blue lenses, everything appears to be blue. An individual’s perspective is colored by the lens through which he views life around him. This applies equally to the way we view people. We often view others through the lens called “me.” We judge others through the lens of our personal proclivities and sentiments, often diminishing the value and talents of another person because they either do not live up to our personal standard or, the contrary, they tower over us, so we must put them down. There is…

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Home -> 5776 -> Tzav

והרים את הדשון...ופשט את בגדיו ולבש בגדים אחרים והוציא את הדשן

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Tzav, 5776

And he shall take up the ashes… He shall remove his garments and don other garments and he shall remove the ashes. (6:3,4)

Every day – the same process. Every day began the same way, with the same service, the same ritual. The avodah was filled with details – minute details, necessary details, but it was always the same. The routine never changed. The daily routine began with the Terumas HaDeshen, lifting the ashes from the korbanos, sacrifices, of the previous day. The ashes that had accumulated were then removed. The Kohen placed wood on the Altar, so that the fire would burn continuously; the first and last korban that was offered daily was the Korban Tamid, which incidentally means “always,” “constant” –…

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Home -> 5776 -> Tzav

והרים את הדשן אשר תאכל האש את העולה על המזבח ושמו אצל המזבח

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Tzav, 5776

And he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has consumed the elevation/burnt offering on the Altar, and lay them down at the side of the Altar. (6:3)

Prior to arranging the pyre and the kindling of the Altar fire, the Kohen was enjoined to perform the mitzvah of Terumas HaDeshen. The purpose of Terumas HaDeshen is not to prepare the Altar for the coming day’s sacrifices, since this is the focus of the Hotzoas HaDeshen, the removal of the ashes; rather, Terumas HaDeshen is in and of itself an avodah, priestly service. Thus, it may be carried out only by a Kohen kasher, dressed in his priestly vestments. The Haromas HaDeshen is the final conclusion to the service of the preceding day. Just as with the Korban…

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Home -> 5776 -> Terumah

וישא עשו קולו ויבך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Terumah, 5776

And Eisav raised his voice and wept. (27:38)

Yaakov Avinu received the blessings from his father, Yitzchak Avinu. He had barely left the room before Eisav returned with his father’s meal. Eisav had been sent to prepare a special meal for his father, so that his father would bless him. Following his mother, Rivkah Imeinu’s instructions, Yaakov entered the room first, giving the impression that he was Eisav, and preventing the blessings from falling into the hands of the evil Eisav. Understandably, Eisav did not react kindly to this scenario. Feeling that he was the victim of fraud, having been outsmarted by his brother, he let out a…

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Home -> 5776 -> Terumah

ויחרד יצחק חרדה גדולה עד מאד

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Terumah, 5776

And Yitzchak trembled in very great perplexity. (27:33)

Chazal teach us that the words, gedolah ad meod, “very great perplexity,” mean that the fear that Yitzchak Avinu experienced when Eisav walked in was even greater than when he lay at the Akeidah about to be slaughtered. Imagine, up until this moment, Yitzchak was under the impression that Eisav was fine, upstanding and observant. He would ask him halachic questions which, by their very nature, indicated that he was extremely stringent in his observance. Suddenly, the floor fell out from beneath him, and he saw Eisav in his true colors, for all that he was. The shock of discovery…

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Home -> 5776 -> Toldos

ויאמר ד' לה שני גיים בבטנך ושני לאומים ממעיך יפרדו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Toldos, 5776

And Hashem said to her: Two nations are in your womb; two regimes from your insides shall be separated. (25:23)

Rashi explains that the two nations which would descend from the twins within Rivkah’s womb would have two great leaders who were friends. Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, known as Rebbi, was the redactor of the Mishnah.  His contemporary was the Roman emperor, Antoninus, a descendant of Eisav. The Chasam Sofer explains that Rivkah was informed that the twins, Yaakov and Eisav, had the potential to complement one another’s service to Hashem, much like Yissacher who studied Torah supported by his brother, Zevullun. We find that Antoninus was subservient to Rebbi to the point that he enabled him to redact the Mishnah….

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Home -> 5776 -> Terumah

ויעתר יצחק לד' לנכח אשתו כי עקרה היא ויעתר לו ד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Terumah, 5776

Yitzchak entreated Hashem opposite his wife, because she was barren. Hashem allowed Himself to be entreated by him. (25:21)

Rashi explains that Hashem listened to Yitzchak’s plea over that of Rivkah, because there is no comparison between the effect of the prayer offered by a tzaddik ben tzaddik, righteous person who is the son of a righteous person, to that of a tzaddik ben rasha, righteous person whose father was evil. Rashi’s explanation is well-known, and it sets the standard for tefillah: A person’s righteous lineage makes a difference. This obviously presents a question to the rational mind: Is the efficacy of the prayers of someone whose roots are murky intrinsically limited? One would assume that the tefillos of…

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Home -> 5776 -> Terumah

ועשית את המזבח עצי שטים... ושלש אמות קמתי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Terumah, 5776

You shall make the Altar of shittim wood… and three cubits its height. (27:1)

The Baalei Tosfos teach that the three amos/cubits height of the Mizbayach, Altar, coincided with the three redeemers who acted on behalf of Klal Yisrael: Moshe Rabbeinu; Aharon HaKohen; Miriam HaNeviah. We wonder why Miriam is included. There is no mention anywhere of her role as redeemer. Why is she included? What did she do to facilitate the redemption that warrants her inclusion in this triumvirate? Horav Chaim Zaitchik, zl, explains that it was exactly this act of facilitating that grants her mention as one of the three redeemers. The Talmud Sotah 12a states that Miriam’s father, Amram, was one…

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Home -> 5776 -> Terumah

ועשית את הקרשים למשכן עצי שטים עמדים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Terumah, 5776

You shall make the planks of the Mishkan of shittim wood, standing erect. (26:15)

The Midrash (Shemos Rabba 35:2) derives an important lesson from the Torah’s requirement that wood used for the Mishkan be shittim, acacia wood. The acacia tree is a non-fruit bearing tree. Hashem said, “If a person wants to use wood to build for himself a house, he should take into account that the King of Kings, to whom everything belongs, chose non-fruit bearing trees as a source of wood for the Mishkan; likewise, man should do the same.” Just because we want to build a house for ourselves, it does not mean that we have the right to destroy a…

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Home -> 5776 -> Terumah

והיו הכרובים פורשי כנפים למעלה... ופניהם איש אל אחיו אל הכפורת יהיו פני הכרובים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Terumah, 5776

The Keruvim shall be with wings spread upward… with their faces toward one another; toward the Cover shall be the faces of the Keruvim. (25:20)

In his commentary to the Torah, the Abarbanel writes that the phrase, “The Keruvim shall be with wings and spread upward,” alludes to the idea that all Jews should be focused on Heaven. A person’s mind determines his goals and objectives. His thoughts should be motivated; his values should concentrate on spiritual growth. If one is stimulated towards nurturing his spiritual dimension, he can be certain that everything else in life that matters– ethics, morals — will develop on a positive note. When one’s values are distorted, the distortion takes its toll on everything else in his life, leaving him…

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