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Home -> 5762 -> Beshalach

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Beshalach, 5762

The people contended with Moshe, and they said, “Give us water that we may drink!” Moshe said to them, “Why do you test Hashem?”… Moshe cried out to Hashem saying, “What shall I do for this people? A bit more, and they will stone me!” (17:2,4)

The Torah says that the People “tested” Hashem. Where is this written? We only find that they asked for water. What really is wrong with asking for water when one is thirsty? Is this not the purpose of prayer – to supplicate Hashem for our needs? Furthermore, we find nowhere that Moshe Rabbeinu prayed to Hashem on behalf of the Jews. We do read in the Torah that he felt threatened by them. Why did he not entreat Hashem for water? Horav Yechezkel Levenstein, z.l., explains this with a parable. A student once came to a yeshivah for an entrance bechinah,…

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Home -> 5762 -> Beshalach

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Beshalach, 5762

“Let the people go out and pick each day’s portion on its day, so that I can test them, whether they will follow My teaching or not.” (16:4)

The daily gift of manna, Klal Yisrael’s Heavenly food, was actually  a lesson in Jewish spiritual survival. The Jewish People had witnessed  incredible  miracles  leading  up  to,  and  including,  the exodus from Egypt. Life is all one miracle: an important lesson that so many of us tend to ignore. Many of us go through life with the notion that we are in charge, we make decisions, and we carry out what we have determined is the correct course to follow. It is always “we” or “I”. Whatever happened to Hashem? Why do we always impose upon Him a reason to remind…

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Home -> 5762 -> Bo

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Bo, 5762

“Remember this day on which you departed from Egypt…Today you are leaving in the month of springtime.” (13:3-4)

We are enjoined to remember the liberation from Egypt and to relate it constantly. Interestingly, the Torah seems to emphasize the  fact  that  we  were  redeemed  b’chodesh  ha’aviv,  in  the spring. This is part and parcel of the geulah, liberation. It must be stressed again and again that we left during the spring. Rashi explains that we were redeemed in the spring, at a time when it is not cold or hot, or rainy. Indeed, at a time when the climate is perfect. When we think about it, however, the fact that we left Egypt in the spring is secondary to…

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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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