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Home -> 5776 -> Mishpatim

מדבר שקר תרחק

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Mishpatim, 5776

Distance yourself from a false word. (23:7)

The Talmud Sanhedrin 97a relates that there was a city called Kushta that was unique in the phenomenon that none of its residents ever lied. Prevarication was to them the ultimate anathema. As a result, they were blessed with extreme longevity. No one in their community died. One Erev Shabbos, a woman came to the door of her friend’s home and asked to see her. Her husband was aware that his wife was preparing herself for Shabbos (combing her hair), so he said that she was not home at the time. As a result of his untruth, his two sons…

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Home -> 5776 -> Mishpatim

כי תראה חמור שנאך רבץ תחת משאו וחדלת מעזב לו עזב תעזב עמו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Mishpatim, 5776

If you see the donkey of someone you hate crouching under its burden, would you refrain from helping him? – You shall help repeatedly with him. (23:5)

Azov taazov imo; “You shall help repeatedly with him.” The Talmud Bava Metzia 32 uses imo, “with him” to teach an important lesson concerning helping one’s fellowman. It must be imo, with him. If the intended beneficiary of one’s assistance decides to sit back while he is being helped by others, he is not obliged to help him. We should reach out to those in need, but only when they are willing to work alongside, when they have exhausted every other means of income-generating endeavor. The Kli Yakar adds that this Chazal serves as a response to those aniyim, poor…

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Home -> 5776 -> Mishpatim

כי תראה חמור שונאך רובץ תחת משאו וחדלת מעזור לו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Mishpatim, 5776

If you see the donkey of someone you hate crouching under its burden, would you refrain from helping him? (23:5)

Rashi places a question mark, bitmiya, after the word v’chadalta, “would you refrain” (from helping him)? Horav Yechiel Michel Feinstein, zl, was wont to say that this is the only instance in the Torah that the Torah turns to the person with a question. This means that the Torah is incredulous concerning a person that would ignore another Jew in his time of need – even if he is a person whom one is permitted to hate. Turning away from helping a fellow Jew is not in the Jewish DNA. How could a person act so callously? A person who…

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Home -> 5776 -> Mishpatim

והגישו אדניו אל הדלת... ורצע אדניו את אזנו במרצע ועבדו לעולם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Mishpatim, 5776

Then his master shall bring him to the door… and his master shall bore through his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him forever. (21:6)

The Talmud Kiddushin 22b explains why the ear, as opposed to the other organs of the body, is bored. Hashem said, “The ear that heard My voice at Har Sinai, at the moment that I said, ‘For Me will Bnei Yisrael be slaves – and not slaves to slaves; yet, this person went ahead and acquired a (another) master for himself.’” This thief — who either was sold by the rabbinical court to repay his debt or sold himself out of poverty– was originally forced into servitude as a result of his predicament. He now seeks to extend his “working…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5776

ויחפש בגדול החל ובקטן כלה וימצא הגביע באמתחת בנימין

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Mikeitz

He searched; he began with the oldest and ended with the youngest; and the goblet was found in Binyamin’s sack. (44:12)

Stealing represents a character defect – if the thief is an adult. The mere fact that a person is not affected by the pain he inflicts upon another person is in and of itself an indication of a flawed, even perverted, personality. When the thief is a young child, it is usually an indication of a lack of ethical values which were not inculcated in him by a responsible mentor. We will soon discern exactly who the responsible mentor is. While I often include a story only for the purpose of buttressing the lesson which the dvar Torah teaches, in…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5776

ויצא לבם ויחרדו איש אל אחיו לאמר מה זאת עשה אלקים לנו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Mikeitz

Their hearts sank, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that G-d has done to us?” (42:28)

Any intelligent, observant Jew knows that life is neither lived randomly, nor lived in a vacuum. Life is filled with meaning and purpose, much like a roadway with signs warning the driver to slow down for a construction site, a children’s crossing, traffic jam, bad weather. The intelligent driver takes heed and makes the necessary changes in accordance with the messages that he sees. The driver who ignores the messages and is too preoccupied to take notice – or cannot read the language – will either luckily avoid an accident or fail to negotiate a problem area properly and hurt…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5776

הלא אמרתי אליכם לאמר אל תחטאו בילד ולא שמעתם וגם דמו הנה נדרש

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Mikeitz

Did I not speak to you saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy,’ but you would not listen! And his blood as well– behold – is being avenged. (42:22)

Reuven cast the blame for Yosef’s debacle on his brothers, claiming, “I told you so.” Veritably, they did not shed Yosef’s blood, but, since he had been held in captivity all these years, anything could have happened. If something actually had happened to Yosef, the brothers needed to be aware they were responsible. The Yalkut Chamishai quotes the Gerrer Rebbe, zl, the Bais Yisrael, who employs this pasuk as a remez, allusion, that the one who sins with regard to a child is guilty of a grave sin. A child is unable to protect himself, and, thus, he is susceptible…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5776

וירא יוסף את אחיו ויכירם ויתנכר להם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5776, Mikeitz

Yosef saw his brothers and he recognized them, but he acted like a stranger towards them. (42:7)

Yosef apparently wanted to conceal his identity from his brothers. He wanted them to think that he was the Egyptian viceroy, a pagan, not a Jew, and certainly not their long-lost brother, Yosef. Why? A practical, insightful explanation for Yosef’s behavior is rendered by Horav Moshe Yaakov Ribicov, zl, the holy man known as the Der Shuster, HaSandlor, the Shoemaker. Let me first digress from the subject and introduce the reading audience to this holy man. The Sandlor lived in Tel Aviv, and the Chazon Ish considered him to be rosh ha’lamed vov tzaddikim, the head/leader of the thirty-six righteous…

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Home -> 5762 -> Nitzavim

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Nitzavim, 5762

“And you will return unto Hashem, your G-d, and listen to His voice.” (30:2)

Repentance – the opportunity to return to Hashem, to once again be accepted by Him and be able to appeal to Him – is the ultimate kindness  that Hashem offers us. The following  analogy, cited  by Horav Yaakov Beifus, Shlita, demonstrates this idea. Rebelling against the king is without a doubt the most egregious transgression one can do to a monarch. The punishment is commensurate with the level of rebellion and the relationship of the rebel to the king. The closer one is to the king, the greater and more serious the infraction and eventual punishment. In one of the provinces,…

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Home -> 5762 -> Ki Savo

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Ki Savo, 5762

“Because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, amid gladness and goodness of heart.” (28:47)

Joy in mitzvah performance, aside from being an essential prerequisite to the actual fulfillment of the mitzvah, also has a very practical application.   Horav   Moshe  Feinstein,   z.l.,   explains  why  so many children of European immigrants who came to America after World War I  did not remain observant. Their parents were deeply committed  to Yiddishkeit. They slaved long hours, performing all kinds of backbreaking labor to eke out a meager living. They would never compromise their observance of Torah and mitzvos. Shabbos was paramount, and Kashrus was a standard in their homes. So, what went wrong? Why did so many Jews who…

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