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Home -> 5762 -> Bo

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Bo, 5762

“This month shall be for you the beginning of the months.” (12:2)

The first mitzvah Klal Yisrael received as a nation was the mitzvah of Kiddush haChodesh, sanctifying the new moon. Indeed, the moon is  the  constellation  by  which  we  reckon  our  Yomim  Tovim, festivals; and Klal Yisrael is compared to the moon. Simply, this is due to  the waxing and waning of the moon every month. As the moon goes through a process of monthly renewal, so, too, does Klal Yisrael have the opportunity and ability to rejuvenate themselves spiritually. Even if a person has feelings of rejection, when he senses within himself a sort of spiritual deterioration,  he can reinvigorate himself…

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Home -> 5762 -> Bo

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Bo, 5762

“One more plague shall I bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; after that, he shall send you forth from here. When he sends forth, it shall be complete; he shall drive you out of here.” (11:1)

Simply, Hashem is conveying to Moshe Rabbeinu that Pharaoh and the Egyptians will have to undergo one more plague. Then the Ten Plagues will be complete, and Pharaoh will have received his due. Sforno, however, renders this pasuk differently. He explains that Pharaoh originally sent Moshe and Aharon away willingly; with his rod of anger, he drove them out from his presence. In a similar manner, he will now be compelled to send them and all of Klal Yisrael away in anguish. The  previous time he had driven away only Moshe and Aharon – and it was only from his…

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Home -> 5762 -> Vaeira

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5762

Say to Aharon, “Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt.” (7:19)

People are always searching for that magic elixir that will grant them everlasting happiness – and they do not succeed in finding it. They go for therapy sessions and take vacations in the most remote and exotic places in the world, yet the secret continues to elude them. Why? Because they are missing a fundamental point, a crucial lesson about life, human nature, and G-d. Without this point, they will never be truly happy. They are missing the attribute of hakoras ha’tov, gratitude. The concept of gratitude is probably the most important lesson a person should internalize and integrate into his…

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Home -> 5762 -> Vaeira

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5762

“And they too – the magicians of Egypt – did so with their incantations.” (7:11)

Why did Hashem choose miracles and wonders that Pharaoh thought he could replicate? It started with the staff  transforming into a serpent; next the river turned into blood; and then the earth issued forth frogs. In each case, Pharaoh’s magicians were able to create a similar ruse – sufficient reason for Pharaoh to think that he had little to fear.  Why not give him a sign that he would remember, so that  he would have no recourse but to listen to Moshe? This goes on throughout Hashem’s “dialogue” with Pharaoh. Even when Klal Yisrael left Egypt, Hashem left one idol, Baal…

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Home -> 5762 -> Vaeira

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5762

“G-d spoke to Moshe…So Moshe spoke accordingly to Bnei Yisrael; but they did not heed Moshe, because of shortness of breath and hard work…Hashem spoke to Moshe and Aharon and commanded them regarding Bnei Yisrael.” (6:2,9,13)

Rashi explains that Hashem commanded Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon to lead the people gently, to sustain them. We wonder how the events described in the text follow one another. First, Hashem gave an introduction regarding the Bris, Covenant, that He established with the Avos, Patriarchs, promising Eretz Yisrael to their descendants. Moshe related this news to Klal Yisrael, who did not listen to him because of the suffering they had endured under Pharaoh. Why, then, did Hashem command Moshe and Aharon to lead the People gently? What was to be gained from leading them gently, if Pharaoh continued to torture them?…

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Home -> Shemos -> 5762

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5762, Shemos

Moshe said to Hashem, “…I am not a man of words…for I am heavy of mouth and heavy of speech.” (4:10)

Rashi teaches us that for seven days Hashem spoke to Moshe, attempting to convince him to go to Egypt and instruct Pharaoh to permit the Jews to leave his country. Seven days is a long time, especially when Hashem is talking. Moshe refused; he felt he was not  worthy, because he had a speech impediment. How could he speak to Pharaoh if he had difficulty communicating orally? Moshe Rabbeinu used this excuse for seven days until Hashem finally became angry with him. Hashem said, “I will be with you, so you have nothing to worry about.” Yet, Moshe did not want…

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Home -> Shemos -> 5762

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5762, Shemos

“Stretch out your hand and grasp its tail.” (4:4)

Hashem prepared Moshe Rabbeinu with signs/miracles to demonstrate to Pharaoh His powers. He was to take the Mateh Elokim,  holy  staff  –  given  to  him  by  Hashem  –  and  throw it before Pharaoh, and it would become a serpent. He was then instructed to grab the serpent’s tail, and it would turn back into the Mateh. We wonder why Hashem insisted that Moshe grasp the serpent by its tail? Does the tail have significance? The Kli Yakar views the entire miracle as a simile, a lesson about Klal Yisrael. The signs that Hashem chose were certainly by design. Each  one had…

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Home -> Shemos -> 5762

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5762, Shemos

“And now, go and I shall dispatch you to Pharaoh and you shall take My people, the Bnei Yisrael, out of Egypt.” (3:10)

Hashem assures Moshe of success despite the odds, the apparent hopelessness of one man triumphing over the strongest power in the world. That is mesiras nefesh, dedication to the point of self-sacrifice, for Klal Yisrael. One endeavors whatever he can on behalf of his people who are incarcerated. The Skulener Rebbe, Horav Elazar Zushe Portugal, z.l., was like that. Nothing stood in his way in his mission to rescue Jews who were in need. He was in Chernowitz, which was under Soviet dominion, in order to assist Soviet Jews who had smuggled  themselves across the border in to Romania. Furthermore,…

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Home -> Shemos -> 5762

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5762, Shemos

“And he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man…He turned this way and that and saw that there was no man…He went out the next day and behold! two Hebrew men were fighting…and he thought, ‘Indeed, the matter is known.’” (2:11-14)

Horav Azariah Figu, z.l., says that Moshe Rabbeinu’s first impression of his Jewish brethren worried him. He went out and saw an Egyptian beating a Jew. His first reaction was to look around to see if there were any other Jews around to help. He was shocked to see that ein ish, “there was no man.” There were Jews, but they did not seem to want to become involved – or perhaps they did not care. Moshe could not believe this sense of indifference to the plight of another Jew. He attributed their lack of involvement to the fact that Jews…

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Home -> Shemos -> 5762

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5762, Shemos

“She opened it, and saw him, the child, and behold! A youth was crying… ‘This is one of the Hebrew boys.’” (2:6)

A child, a youth: is it a child or a youth? Chazal ask this question in the Talmud Sotah 12b. The Torah calls him a yeled, child, and it also calls him a naar, youth. Which is it? He is a child, but his voice is that of a youth. Chazal seem to imply that Moshe Rabbeinu’s voice had the maturity of that of a young boy. We wonder at the Torah’s expression, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.” Why could the Torah not have simply said, “This is a Hebrew boy.” Why does it say, “one of the Hebrew boys”?…

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