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Home -> 5776 -> Nitzavim

ראה נתתי לפניך היום את החיים ואת הטוב ואת המות ואת הרע... ובחרת בחיים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Nitzavim, 5776

See – I have placed before you today the life and the good, and the death and the evil… and you shall choose life. (30:15,19)

The pasuk teaches us that Hashem wants us to choose life. By not choosing the path of life, we, by default, choose evil. This is something that everyone understands. When two options contrast one another, choosing one means negating the other. The pasuk, however, is teaching us something else. Horav Michel Feinstein, zl, understands that there exists the entity of good and the entity of evil. The fact that the Torah refers to each entity individually compels us to acknowledge that ra, evil, is much more than a lack of good. It is a separate free-standing entity which exists as…

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Home -> 5776 -> Nitzavim

כי המצוה הזאת... לא נפלאת היא ממך ולא רחוקה היא

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Nitzavim, 5776

For this mitzvah… it is not hidden from you and it is not distant. (30:11)

The Ramban writes that “this mitzvah” refers to the mitzvah of teshuvah, repentance. The sinner conjures up a wealth of lame excuses for not repenting. For the most part, the primary hurdle is believing that one can successfully navigate the teshuvah process and return to pre-sin status – both in the eyes of the community and in the eyes of the sinner. The offender has convinced himself that he has gone too far, offended too many, hurt so many close family and friends, so why bother? We are at the gates of Rosh Hashanah, and each and every one of…

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Home -> 5776 -> Nitzavim

ואמרו כל הגוים... וישלכם אל ארץ אחרת כיום הזה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Nitzavim, 5776

And all the nations will say… and He cast them to another land, as this very day! (29:23,27)

Horav Chaim Shaul Kaufman, zl, Rosh Yeshivas Tiferes Yaakov (London) gleans from this statement the stark difference between the attitude of the gentile during a period of Heavenly concealment and the Jewish perspective on adversity. The gentile “believes” in G-d (according to his limited understanding of this term). When a moment of hester panim, Divine concealment, occurs in his life, he feels that G-d has forsaken him, cast him off (perhaps even deservedly) to the point that, whatever adversity and challenge he confronts, it will not provide a lesson for him from which he can learn and change. Whatever happens…

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Home -> 5776 -> Nitzavim

והיה בשמעו את דברי האלה הזאת והתברך בלבבו לאמר שלום יהיה לי כי בשררת לבי אלך... לא יאבה ד' סלח לו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Nitzavim, 5776

And it will be that when he hears the words of this imprecation, he will bless himself in his heart, saying, “Peace will be with me, though I walk as my heart sees fit…” Hashem will not be willing to forgive him. (29:18, 19)

We hear it all of the time, “It is not me… True, bad things do happen, but – to others – not to me.” We have convinced ourselves that we are immune from punishment; disasters happen to others; tragedies are events that we read about – but they do not happen to us. It is almost as if we have sprayed ourselves with Teflon, preventing anything bad from happening directly to us. Ibn Ezra offers a rationale for this delusion: “Peace will be with me, though I walk as my heart sees fit.” I will live in the merit of…

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Home -> 5776 -> Naso

זאת חנוכת המזבח

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Naso, 5776

This was the dedication of the Altar. (7:84)

In 1925, at the Chanukas HaBayis, dedication ceremony, for Yeshivas Baranovitz, Horav Elchonan Wasserman, zl, its Rosh Yeshivah, quoted the above pasuk in his address. Zos; “This,” was the dedication of the Altar. He observed that the gematria, numerical equivalent, of zos equals that of: tzom, fasting; kol, sound/prayer; mammon, money/charity. This alludes to the idea that in order to build/dedicate/establish a new altar/Torah edifice, in contrast to the amazing joy that accompanies such an endeavor, there must be a tempering of fasting, prayer and weeping. Joy is a mainstay of which our people sadly do not have a surplus….

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Home -> 5776 -> Naso

ויהי ביום כלות משה להקים את המשכן

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Naso, 5776

It came to pass, on the day Moshe finished erecting the Mishkan. (7:1)

Rashi observes that the pasuk does not write, “On the day Moshe erected…” This teaches us that, throughout the seven days of inauguration, Moshe Rabbeinu erected and dismantled the Mishkan. On the eighth day, he erected it without dismantling it. This is why the Torah writes, “On the day Moshe finished erecting…” It was on this auspicious day that he culminated his building. Why was it necessary for our quintessential leader to erect and dismantle the Mishkan repeatedly for seven days – only to erect it and not dismantle it on the eighth day? Why could he not have erected…

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Home -> 5776 -> Naso

ובאו המים המאררים האלה במעיך לצבות בטן ולנפול ירך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Naso, 5776

“These waters that cause curse shall enter your innards to cause stomach to distend and thigh to collapse!”(5:22)

The parsha of Sotah, the wayward wife, is certainly tragic. Whenever a marriage is broken up due to moral turpitude, it is a stain on the very fiber of our nation’s moral compass. We will not address the sin, but, rather, the punishment. Under normal circumstances, the testimony of a single witness has little to no efficacy. Yet, concerning the sotah’s infidelity, one witness prohibits her from returning to her husband, since there are raglayim l’davar, credible reasons, to believe that the charge against her is true. If we were to put her through the process of the bitter waters, it…

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Home -> 5776 -> Naso

ופקודיו אשר צוה ד' את משה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Naso, 5776

And they were counted as Hashem commanded Moshe. (4:49)

Ramban observes these three families of Leviim were Divinely designated, each family for its individual service. Furthermore, Ramban asserts that no Levi was permitted to go beyond his specific service. He was not to exchange his service or assist in an area for which he was not designated. Once Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chanania wanted to assist Rabbi Yochanan ben Gudgoda with the doors, and he was rebuked. The latter said to him, “Return! For you are already liable for death, since I am from those who attend to the gates, and you are of those who sing in the Bais…

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Home -> 5776 -> Mishpatim

ויקח משה את הדם ויזרק על העם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Mishpatim, 5776

Moshe took the blood and threw it upon the people. (24:8)

The Mechilta teaches that on the last day of the Shloshes Y’mei Hagbalah, three-day waiting period prior to receiving the Torah, Klal Yisrael entered into a covenant with the Almighty. This covenant comprised their commitment to be tied, fastened and bound (keshurim, anuvim, tefusim) to the Torah. Only afterwards, did Moshe Rabbeinu say, “Come and accept upon yourselves all of the mitzvos.” This was followed by the Giving of the Torah. Horav Shmuel Yaakov Burnstein, Shlita, Rosh Yeshivah of Kiryas Melech, derives from here that, before one can actually receive the Torah, before he can enter into a covenant of…

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Home -> 5776 -> Mishpatim

ושחד לא תקח כי השחד יעור פקחים ויסלף דברי צדיקים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Mishpatim, 5776

You shall not take a bribe, for the bribe will blind those who can see and will make righteous words crooked. (23:8)

Rashi teaches that even a Torah scholar who takes a bribe will ultimately become confused, his learning forgotten, and his vision dimmed. This is a very frightening punishment. A person can spend his entire life developing his erudition to the point that he achieves the appellation of chacham, Torah scholar. Yet, if he takes a bribe, it will be the catalyst for his downfall. Veritably, we are all judges in one way or another. We judge people and situations. Imagine if we are bribed because someone comes across as the underdog; we perceive him to be the one who is…

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