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Home -> 5775 -> Chukas

וישב העם בקדש ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Chukas, 5775

And the people settled in Kadesh. Miriam died there and she was buried there. (20:1)

As a result of their involvement in the Mei Merivah, waters of strife, Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen were not permitted to enter Eretz Yisrael (Moshe hit the rock instead of speaking to it, as Hashem had instructed him. The reason that this was considered a breach in obedience which warranted his losing out on Eretz Yisrael is far too complex a topic to be addressed within the limitations of this paper.) Miriam HaNeviah also died in the wilderness. Why did she lose out on the opportunity of a lifetime? Horav Avigdor HaLevi Nebentzhal, Shlita, suggests that Miriam inadvertently played…

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Home -> 5775 -> Chukas

זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל כל הבא אל האהל וכל אשר באהל יטמא שבעת ימים... ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם... ויראו כל העדה כי גוע אהרן ויבכו את אהרן

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Chukas, 5775

This is the law when a man dies in a tent. Everyone coming into the tent and everything in it shall be tamei, ritually unclean, seven days… and Miriam died there and was buried there…and when all the people saw that Aharon had died, they wept for Aharon for thirty days. (19:14; 20:1,29)

The parsha addresses a number of pertinent issues, among which are the laws of tumah and taharah, ritual contamination and purity, following contact with death and the deaths of the righteous; namely, the death of Miriam HaNeviah and Aharon HaKohen. Life is filled with ambiguity, and death is the greatest paradox of all. This notion is perhaps underscored in the Torah’s order of the purification process for one who has come in contact with the deceased. On the third and seventh day, the ritually unclean person is sprinkled with a solution of pure water mixed with the ashes of the…

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Home -> 5775 -> Chukas

ויקחו אליך פרה אדומה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Chukas, 5775

And they shall take to you a Red Cow. (19:2)

The Parah Adumah, Red Cow (heifer), is considered the quintessential chok, mitzvah whose reason defies human rationale. There is an aspect to this mitzvah, which although paradoxical in nature, is symbolically perceivable. Indeed, at first glance, the Parah Adumah incorporates two opposites. On the one hand, it must be totally red: even two black hairs render it invalid. This is puzzling, since the color red is usually identified with sin. Red is the symbol of blood. The Navi Yeshayahu (1:18) says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are as red as…

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Home -> 5775 -> Chayei Sarah

עבד אברהם אנכי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Chayei Sarah, 5775

I am the servant of Avraham. (24:34)

Eliezer was entrusted with a mission of the most crucial importance: finding the next Matriarch, the woman who, together with Yitzchak Avinu, would be charged with forming and maintaining the next link in Klal Yisrael. It was no easy task, and, clearly, without Divine manipulation, the success of this mission would not have been realized. Obviously, the selection of Eliezer to execute this mission is indicative of his virtue and sanctity. Avraham Avinu was acutely aware that nothing is achieved without Divine interplay, and Hashem would not interact with a person of base character. Chazal, however, teach us that there…

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Home -> 5775 -> Chayei Sarah

ויהי כאשר ושני כלו הגמלים לשתות ויקח האיש נזם זהב בקע משקלו ושני צמידים על ידיה עשרה זהב משקלם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Chayei Sarah, 5775

And it was, when the camels finished drinking, that the man took a nose ring whose weight was a beka, and two bracelets for her hands, whose weight was ten measures. (24:22)

The Torah goes to great lengths in describing Eliezer’s journey to Aram Naharayim in search of a suitable wife for Yitzchak Avinu. When Eliezer saw the outstanding display of chesed, loving kindness, manifested by Rivkah Imeinu, he realized that she had the refined character traits that were necessary for the next Matriarch of the Jewish Nation. Eliezer gave her gifts, a nose ring and two bracelets. The Torah underscores the weight of these pieces of jewelry, due to their allusion to the half-shekel collected from the people for the building of the Mishkan, and the ten measures, which allude to…

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Home -> 5775 -> Chayei Sarah

וירץ העבד לקראתה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Chayei Sarah, 5775

The servant ran towards her. (24:17)

Rashi explains that Eliezer ran towards Rivkah Imeinu when he saw the water rising towards her. Clearly, this was an outstanding display of the supernatural. Rivkah must have been an impressive young woman to have merited such “reverence.” If this is the case, why did Eliezer feel the need to test her to see how she would react when he asked for water for his camels? What greater indication of her suitability for Yitzchak Avinu did he need than seeing nature altered for her? The well-known explanation, attributed to Horav Yechezkel, zl, m’Kozmir, is that a person is judged according…

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Home -> 5775 -> Chayei Sarah

ואברהם זקן בא בימים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Chayei Sarah, 5775

Now Avraham was old, well on in years. (24:1)

Did Avraham Avinu suddenly become old? The Midrash Tanchuma teaches that when Sarah Imeinu died, Avraham began to age. Horav Mordechai Eliyahu, zl, explains that as long as Sarah stood by the Patriarch’s side, he did not sense that he had aged. She encouraged and spurred him to continue his holy work. When his life’s companion, his major source of inspiration, was taken from him, Avraham no longer had by his side that spiritual force that motivated him to maintain his youthful endeavors. The Rishon L’Tzion adds that this unique ability to galvanize the individual to aspire for greater success…

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Home -> 5775 -> Chayei Sarah

נתתי כסף השדה קח ממני

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Chayei Sarah, 5775

I give the price of the field, (take) accept it from me . (23:13)

The Talmud Kiddushin 2a questions the source for money, kessef, serving as a means for achieving kiddushin, betrothal, of a woman. The Talmud explains that a woman is actually niknis, acquired; thus, the act of kiddushin is essentially a kinyan, act of acquisition. The Talmud asks, “From where do we know that ‘money’ is a valid method of kiddushin?” “We derive kichah/kichah misdei Efron.” (Through the use of a gezeirah shavah, one of the thirteen hermeneutic principles for expounding the Torah, through which a similar word or phrase occurs in two otherwise unrelated passages in the Torah, they are linked…

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Home -> 5775 -> Bo

והיה לאות על ידכה ולטוטפות בין עיניך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Bo, 5775

And it shall be a sign upon your arm, and an ornament between your eyes. (13:16)

The four Scriptural passages contained in the Tefillin are basic to Judaism. They address the concepts of the Oneness of G-d, reward and punishment, and the obligation of a Jew to observe all of the mitzvos of the Torah. Also contained therein is a reminder of the Exodus which catalyzed our freedom from tyranny, leading up to our acceptance of the Torah and eventual initiation as Hashem’s People. Thus, wearing Tefillin daily is an affirmation of our belief in all of the above. A Jew who does not put on Tefillin is referred to as a poshei Yisrael b’gufo, Jewish…

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Home -> 5775 -> Beshalach

וכל בכור אדם בבניך תפדה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Beshalach, 5775

And you shall redeem every human first born among your sons. (13:13)

The mitzvah of Pidyon HaBen is a rite of passage mitzvah in which the firstborn son is redeemed for five silver coins. This is an important mitzvah, in that the child/b’chor/firstborn is like a Kohen, since the priesthood was once the domain of the firstborn. They lost it, and it was transferred over to Shevet/Tribe of Levi, of which the Kohanim became the replacement b’chorim. Thus, every firstborn harbors a degree of sanctity which must be redeemed, since he cannot use it. In the following incident, we see exactly how important the mitzvah of Pidyon HaBen really is. Rav Meir…

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