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Home -> 5762 -> Kedoshim

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Kedoshim, 5762

“You shall love your fellow as yourself.” (19:18)

In his Nusach HaAri Siddur, the Baal HaTanya writes that it is proper and correct that one say before davening, “I accept upon myself the positive commandment, ‘You shall love your fellow as yourself.’” The mitzvah of ahavas Yisrael is the entranceway to be able to stand before Hashem in prayer. Pardes Yosef interprets this idea into the pasuk in Bereishis 37:26, Mah betza ki naharog es achinu, “What gain will there be if we kill our brother?” The letters of the word betza – bais, tzaddik, ayin, form an acronym for: boker, morning; tzaharaim, afternoon; erev, evening, the three Tefillos,…

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Home -> 5762 -> Kedoshim

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Kedoshim, 5762

“With righteousness shall you judge your fellow.” (19:15)

We judge people all of the time. Interestingly, to become a judge, one must have training. He must have profound knowledge of the law coupled with an acute understanding of people. Yet, we sit in judgment of people – all of the time. We certainly are not qualified for this position. Chazal teach us that in addition to its simple meaning,  our pasuk is teaching us to be dan l’kaf zchus, give everyone the benefit of doubt. Regrettably, this does not coincide with human nature. The average person judges people according to his proclivity towards them. Horav Yaakov  Beifus, Shlita, cites…

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Home -> 5762 -> Kedoshim

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Kedoshim, 5762

“You shall be holy, for holy am I, Hashem, your G-d.” (19:2)

The Sifri makes what seems to be an ambiguous statement in interpreting this pasuk. Hashem says Yachol kamoni, “Perhaps, you think that you can be holy like Me.” Therefore, the Torah adds, Ani Hashem, “I am Hashem; My kedushah, holiness, is greater than yours.” This statement begs elucidation. Can one conceive that man could even remotely aspire to a kedushah equivalent to that of Hashem? What, then, is the meaning of Yachol kamoni? Horav Yosef Cohen, z.l., cites his father-in-law, Horav Tzvi Pesach Frank, z.l., who explains that this pasuk refers to a pasuk in the previous parsha, 16:16, where the…

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Home -> 5762 -> Acharei Mos

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Acharei Mos, 5762

“Let not the Land disgorge you for having contaminated it.” (18:28)

Eretz Yisrael will tolerate us as long as we act appropriately, as  befits a land that is pure and holy. The Maggid m’Dubno offers a valuable  analogy  that  sheds  light  on  the  reason  Klal  Yisrael is compelled to go into exile. A wealthy man exemplified the middah, character trait, of hachnosas orchim, welcoming wayfarers and providing for their immediate needs. His home was a veritable restaurant that fed anyone in  need – from the abject poor to the business traveler who needed a home-cooked meal and a bed. Acutely aware of the varied backgrounds of his guests, he divided his dining…

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Home -> 5762 -> Acharei Mos

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Acharei Mos, 5762

“You shall observe My decrees and My laws, which man shall carry out and by which he shall live.” (18:5)

Targum Onkelos explains the words, V’chai bahem, “by which he shall live,” as referring to chayei alma, eternal life. In other words, as the Chafetz Chaim, z.l., explains in his preface to the Mishnah Berurah, the Torah is the spiritual food of the neshamah, soul. By studying Torah in this world, we are preparing ourselves for chayei olam, eternal life in Olam Haba. This is the meaning of the phrase, V’chayei olam nota b’socheinu, “He planted eternal life within us.” With the study of Torah, we plant the seeds from which we will one day subsist in the eternal world. We…

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Home -> 5762 -> Acharei Mos

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Acharei Mos, 5762

“For on this day, he shall provide atonement for you to cleanse you, from all of your sins.” (16:30)

Yom Kippur provides atonement – if it is not too late. Horav Yitzchak Blazar, z.l., the famous Rav Itzele Peterburger, primary disciple of Horav Yisrael Salanter, z.l., spoke prior to Rosh Hashanah in the Bais HaMussar of Kovno. After his ethical discourse, the assemblage began to recite various perakim, chapters, from Sefer Tehillim. At the end, together they recited the verses of Shema Koleinu, Hear our Voices, a heartrending appeal which follows the Selichos prayer. When they reached the pasuk, Al tashlicheinu l’eis ziknah, “Do not discard us when we grow old,” Rav Itzele stopped, turned around to the kahal, those…

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Home -> 5762 -> Metzora

כנגע נראה לי בבית

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Metzora, 5762

“Something like an affliction has appeared to me in the house.” (14:35)

Otzar Chaim has a wonderful thought regarding the teshuvah process and how the Kohen or rav can achieve the greatest success with the sinner. In the Mishnah Negaim  2:3, Chazal state that in a house which is dark – and, therefore, difficult for the Kohen to see the nega, plague – we do not open the windows to increase the light and make the nega more accessible. We can derive a profound lesson from this halachah. It is a message to the Kohanim, rabbanim, and anyone whose function it is to rebuke, to reproach, to guide and mentor: Do not search…

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Home -> 5762 -> Metzora

ועץ ארז ושני תולעת ואזב

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Metzora, 5762

“Cedarwood, crimson thread and hyssop.” (14:4)

The sin of lashon hara has its roots in arrogance. The sinner possesses a moral flaw, a character deficiency which allows him to think  that  he  is  better,  more  intelligent  and  more  virtuous than others. He is the savior that is going to rid the world of those whom he perceives to be corrupt. He overlooks one thing: his own haughtiness, which breeds contempt for others, provokes him to think ill of them, catalyzing him to speak callously about them. The teshuvah, repentance, process takes this into consideration by making him bring cedarwood, crimson thread and hyssop along with his sacrifice,…

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Home -> 5762 -> Metzora

זאת תהיה תורת המצרע ביום טהרתו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Metzora, 5762

“This shall be the law of the metzora on the day of his purification.” (14:2)

One who is determined to correct the sin of lashon hara is confronted with two paradoxical issues. On the one hand, Chazal teach us that the Torah goes out of its way not to reveal any failing whatsoever, even in regard to an inanimate object. The Midrash teaches us that Hashem did not reveal the specie of the Eitz HaDaas, Tree of Knowledge, because an aveirah, sin, was actualized through it. We see this idea in regard to an animal with whom a woman had an immoral  relationship: it is killed. While we understand that the woman should be put to…

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Home -> 5762 -> Metzora

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Metzora, 5762

“This shall be the law of the metzora on the day of his purification: he shall be brought to the Kohen.” (14:2)

The Kohen has the first and last word in regard to negaim, plagues. Toras Kohanim states that it is a gezeiras haKasuv, Biblical edict, that  the  rendering  of  tumah  and  taharah,  impurity  or  purity, is solely in the hands of the Kohanim. Sforno adds that the Kohanim are the ones who teach and guide the people in the spiritual dimension. Interfacing with them all will encourage the metzora, afflicted sinner, to repent and mend his ways. While the Kohen is the decisor concerning negaim, Chazal say that “one can see/inspect all negaim, except his own.” Even a simple, clean-cut plague cannot…

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