Peninim on the Torah

והיה כל הנשוך וראה אתו וחי

And it will be that anyone who had been bitten will look at it and live. (21:8)

The ungrateful slanderers who defamed the manna were treated to a unique form of punishment. They were bitten by serpents whose venom caused their victims to feel that they were burning. The nachash ha’kadmoni, primeval serpent, had slandered Hashem to Chavah and received a fitting curse that it would no longer experience the enjoyment of tasting food. The punishment was fitting, because the manna which these ingrates had slandered was multi-flavored; a person could, indeed, experience any flavor that his heart desired. The sinners repented and sought penance for their deed. Moshe Rabbeinu fashioned a copper serpent, which healed a…

Home -> 5776 -> Chukas

ויראו כל העדה כי גוע אהרן ויבכו את אהרן שלשים יום כל בית ישראל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5776

When the entire assembly saw that Aharon had perished, they wept for Aharon thirty days, the entire House of Yisrael. (20:29)

Chazal teach that following Aharon HaKohen’s passing, all male children were given the name “Aharon” after the holy man whose life was devoted to promoting peace among Jews and marital harmony among husband and wife. Many a family was acutely aware of the role that Aharon played in sustaining their marriage. Out of respect and appreciation — and probably as a sort of remembrance of the fragility of relationships and how this man saved theirs — they named their sons Aharon. Horav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Shlita, relates that he was once approached by a young couple who had undergone marital issues…

Home -> 5776 -> Chukas

זאת התורה אדם כי יומת באהל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5776

This is the teaching regarding a man who will die in a tent. (19:14)

There is a well-known statement made by Chazal (Shabbos 83b) that the Torah endures only at the hands of one who is prepared to give up his life for it. This concept is derived from the above pasuk, with the ohel/tent serving as a reference to the ohaloh shel Torah, the tent of Torah, the bais ha’medrash. Chazal (Berachos 61B) relate that the wicked Roman government decreed that people should not engage in Torah study. This did not stop Rabbi Akiva, who continued his regular schedule of learning and teaching Torah. When questioned by Pappus ben Yehudah, “Are you not…

Home -> 5776 -> Chukas

זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5776

This is the teaching regarding a man who will die in a tent. (19:14)

Chazal interpret this pasuk as setting the standard for how a person should learn Torah: Ein divrei Torah miskaymin ela b’mi she’meimis atzmo alehah; “Torah is preserved/will endure only by he who kills himself over it”. In other words, one must expend utter dedication to Torah study. He must literally give himself totally to the Torah. His physical dimension should take a back seat to his devotion to Torah. His very life should be meaningless without the Torah. Without Torah, he is as if deceased. These are strong words to anyone who does not understand the meaning of Torah to…

Home -> 5776 -> Chayei Sarah

ויען לבן ובתואל ויאמרו מד' יצא הדבר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5776

Then Lavan and Besuel answered, and said, “The matter stemmed from Hashem.” (24:50)

In the Talmud Moed Kattan 18b, Chazal view this response (although it came from Lavan and Besuel) as a clear indication that Hashem pre-ordains man’s proper mate. Otherwise, the Torah would not have recorded these words. Any true, believing Jew is acutely aware of Hashem’s management of the marriage process. One who does not see Hashem’s guiding hand in this process either suffers from some form of myopia or, worse, lacks the capability to discern the events that take place in life. Much has been derived from this parsha concerning the manner and approach one should take towards shidduchim, matrimonial…

Home -> 5776 -> Chayei Sarah

ותמהר ותער כדה אל השוקת ותרץ עוד אל הבאר לשאוב

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5776

So she hurried and emptied her jug into the trough and kept running to the well to draw water. (24:20)

The Shlah Hakadosh notes the exceptional kavod habriyos, human dignity, evinced by Rivkah Imeinu. First, Eliezer drank from the jug, leaving over some water. Rivkah was now in a quandary concerning what to do with the remaining water. If she gave the water in the jug to the camels, it would indicate that she held animals and humans in the same esteem. If she poured it out on the ground, it would impugn Eliezer’s dignity. This is where her wisdom came into play. She began to run with the jug, in such a manner that it would cause the water…

Home -> 5776 -> Chayei Sarah

אשר לא תקח אשה לבני מבנות הכנעני אשר אנכי יושב בקרבו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5776

That you not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among who I dwell. (24:3)

Avraham Avinu was adamant in insisting that Eliezer not take a wife for Yitzchak (Avinu) from the daughters of Canaan. He would rather that Eliezer travel to Charan, Avraham’s birthplace, to seek a wife for Yitzchak. Being the ben yachid, only son, of Avraham and Sarah Imeinu, Yitzchak carried a tremendous legacy on his shoulders. The next generation which he, together with his future wife, would progenate must be able to carry on the Abrahamitic way of life and its commitment to serving Hashem. To ensure this, Yitzchak could not marry just anyone. Avraham felt that the girls of Canaan…

Home -> 5776 -> Bo

ויהי בחצי הלילה וד' הכה כל בכור בארץ מצרים מבכור פרעה הישב על כסאו עד בכור השבי אשר בבית הבור.

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bo, 5776

It was on midnight that Hashem smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of every captive who was in the dungeon. (12:29)

We have reached the last of the ten makkos, plagues. This is the end of the line. Every firstborn – kol b’chor – implies that any firstborn who had the misfortune to be in Egypt at the time of the makkos bechoros, plague of the firstborn, also died. If: he was not an Egyptian; he was a tourist visiting the country; he was a temporary resident on business; he was not an Egyptian, but rather a member of a different nation – if he had a firstborn, or if he was a firstborn, he suffered the same fate as the…

Home -> 5776 -> Bo

והיתה צעקה גדולה בכל ארץ מצרים אשר כמהו לא נהייתה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bo, 5776

There shall be a great outcry in the entire land of Egypt, such as there never has been. (11:6)

That there will be a loud crying is understandable. Every Egyptian home sustained the loss of its firstborn. It is a normal response to sudden death. Why was it necessary to inform the Egyptians beforehand that there would be a great outcry? What else? Horav Yechezkel Levenstein, zl, explains that the Torah is teaching us an important lesson. The great outcry which would accompany the deaths of the Egyptian firstborn, an outcry which would seize and overwhelm the entire country, was not the result of a natural reaction to sudden tragedy. This outcry was part of the middah k’neged middah,…

Home -> 5776 -> Bo

וידעתם כי אני ד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bo, 5776

That you may know that I am Hashem. (10:2)

We live in an era which may be characterized as “inexplicable.” When we look around the world and we open our minds to confront reality, it is obvious that Klal Yisrael – both as a nation in general and the individual Jew in particular – is not winning a popularity contest. Indeed, this is the way it was in Egypt. The Egyptians despised the Jews. Yet, they were not prepared to let us leave their country. “Good riddance” was not enough for them. Their deep-rooted hatred for us and for everything that we represented stoked their desire to keep us…

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והיה כל הנשוך וראה אתו וחי

And it will be that anyone who had been bitten will look at it and live. (21:8)

ויראו כל העדה כי גוע אהרן ויבכו את אהרן שלשים יום כל בית ישראל

When the entire assembly saw that Aharon had perished, they wept for Aharon thirty days, the entire House of Yisrael. (20:29)

זאת התורה אדם כי יומת באהל

This is the teaching regarding a man who will die in a tent. (19:14)

זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל

This is the teaching regarding a man who will die in a tent. (19:14)

ויען לבן ובתואל ויאמרו מד' יצא הדבר

Then Lavan and Besuel answered, and said, “The matter stemmed from Hashem.” (24:50)

ותמהר ותער כדה אל השוקת ותרץ עוד אל הבאר לשאוב

So she hurried and emptied her jug into the trough and kept running to the well to draw water. (24:20)

אשר לא תקח אשה לבני מבנות הכנעני אשר אנכי יושב בקרבו

That you not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among who I dwell. (24:3)

ויהי בחצי הלילה וד' הכה כל בכור בארץ מצרים מבכור פרעה הישב על כסאו עד בכור השבי אשר בבית הבור.

It was on midnight that Hashem smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of every captive who was in the dungeon. (12:29)

והיתה צעקה גדולה בכל ארץ מצרים אשר כמהו לא נהייתה

There shall be a great outcry in the entire land of Egypt, such as there never has been. (11:6)

וידעתם כי אני ד'

That you may know that I am Hashem. (10:2)

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