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ואהבת לרעך כמוך

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

Rabbi Akiva declares that the mitzvah of ahavas Yisrael, to love one’s fellow as himself, is the fundamental rule of the Torah. Hillel paraphrased this mitzvah, Man d’alach sani l’chaveircha lo saavid, “What is hateful to you, do not do unto others.” When a gentile came to Hillel and asked to be converted “while I stand on one leg,” he responded with the above rule. The question is asked why Hillel did not use the pasuk, V’ahavata l’reiacha kamocha, to respond to the gentile. The Chidushei HaRim explains that, since the fellow was still a gentile, he was unable to…

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קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני

You shall be holy, for holy am I. (19:2)

Regardless of how we translate kedushah, holiness, it clearly represents a state of being which is above and beyond the usual. One may be good – wonderful – virtuous, whatever other adjective that comes to mind, but it does not mean that he is holy. It represents the next step. Once one has achieved all of the other appellations which define upstanding behavior – then there is kedushah, holiness. Interestingly, Kedoshim tiheyu, “You shall be holy,” is a mitzvah which is addressed to all of Klal Yisrael – not just a select few. Every Jew is enjoined to achieve a…

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כמעשה ארץ מצרים אשר ישבתם בה לא תעשו וכמעשה ארץ כנען אשר אני מביא אתכם שמה לא תעשו

Do not perform the practice of the land of Egypt in which you dwelled; and do not perform the practice of the land of Canaan to which I bring you. (18:3)

Canaan and Egypt were the two most morally depraved lands in the world. Furthermore, both the area in which the Jewish People lived in Egypt and the area in which they were destined to settle in Canaan were the worst parts of these degenerate countries. The influence of these decadent cultures can be overwhelming. Thus, the Torah warns us to be alert to the dangers which lure the unknowing into an abyss of decadence and immorality. The Ksav Sofer distinguishes between the evil perpetrated by the Egyptians and the degeneracy which was the way of life in Canaan. The Egyptians…

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שלח ביד איש עתי המדברה

And sent it with a designated man to the wilderness. (16:22)

The man who was appointed by the bais din to lead the he-goat to the wilderness was appointed the day before Yom Kippur. Chazal (Talmud Yoma 663) teach that he was accompanied on this journey by the yakirei Yerushalayim, dear ones, distinguished members of Yerushalayim’s elite, who would drop what they were doing – just to accompany the ish iti on this unique journey. Imagine what these men were relinquishing. They could have remained in the Azarah and been spectators, observing the Kohen Gadol perform the Yom Kippur service. This inspirational experience would have impacted their lives forever. Yet, they…

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ונתתי נגע צרעת בבית ארץ אחזתכם

And I will place a tzaraas affliction upon a house in the land of your possession. (14:34)

Chazal teach that, when Klal Yisrael was informed that their homes in Eretz Yisrael would be visited with plagues, it was actually good news. Apparently, when the Emorites who had inhabited the Holy Land heard that the Jews were coming, they hid all of their treasures in the walls of the houses. For forty years, as the Jews sojourned in the wilderness, the Emorites occupied themselves with hiding their gold and silver, lest the Jews find them. Now, when a Jew acts in such a manner that he deserves that a plague be delivered upon his house, it will ultimately…

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כי תבואו אל ארץ כנען אשר אני נותן לכם לאחוזה וננתי נגע צרעת בבית ארץ אחוזתכם

When you arrive in the land of Canaan that I give you as a possession, and I will place a tzaraas affliction upon a house. In the land of your possession (14:34)

Rashi teaches us that Moshe Rabbeinu brought good tidings when he informed the people that they would be subject to nigei battim, plagues that would strike their homes. Apparently, when the Emorites heard that the Jews were coming to attack them, they hid their gold, silver and jewelry in the walls of their homes. As a result of the negaim, the homes had to be dismantled, exposing the hidden treasures. To recap, the individual who acted inappropriately was punished with the destruction of his home. As a result of the punishment, he became the lucky winner of a hidden treasure…

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וטבל אותם ואת הצפור החיה בדם הצפור השחוטה... וטהרו ושלח את הצפור החיה על פני השדה

And he shall dip them and the live bird into the blood of the bird that was slaughtered… he shall purify him and he shall set the live bird free upon the open field. (14:6,7)

What else should he do with the live bird? It makes sense that if one bird dies and the other bird lives, the live bird be turned loose to live out its life. Simply, the reason the Torah underscores the freedom of the live bird is that originally it had been designated as a sacrifice. In the end, it worked out that it was not used for this purpose. I might think that once the term korban, sacrifice, has been designated on a bird, it has been spiritually elevated, thus prohibited for mundane use. The Torah is teaching us that,…

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וצוה הכהן ולקח למטהר שתי צפרים חיות טהורות ועץ ארז ושני תולעת ואזוב... ושחט את הצפור האחת אל כלי חרש על מים חיים

The Kohen shall command, and for the person being purified there shall be taken two live, clean birds, cedar wood and crimson wool and hyssop… and the one bird shall be slaughtered into an earthenware vessel over spring water. (14:4, 5)

Horav Nosson Gestetner, zl, observes that the taharas, purification process, of the metzora involves the four yesodos, foundations, types of Creation: domeim, inanimate; tzomeiach, growing vegetation; chai, living creature; medaber, human who has the power of speech. The water and earthenware vessel are domemim, inanimate objects. The cedar wood and hyssop represent the tzomeiach, growing vegetation. The bird and crimson wool dyed from the blood of a worm, correspond to chai, living creatures. The Kohen who performs the purification is the medaber, symbolizes the human speaking creature. The lesson for us is straightforward: one who speaks lashon hora defiles every…

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זאת תהיה תורת המצורע ביום טהרתו והובא אל הכהן

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

This pasuk is rendered homiletically by the Roshei Besamim, based on a statement made by the Zohar HaKadosh (Parashas Pekudei). The Zohar states that the merit of prayer and study of the individual who prays to Hashem without kavanah, proper intention and devotion, or studies Torah she’lo lishmah, not purely for the sake of learning Torah, hangs in limbo in a specially designated spiritual sphere. The first time that he prays with proper kavanah, or learns for the appropriate purpose of lishmah, this prayer or Torah-study will gather all of those other tefillos which hang in limbo and elevate them…

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זאת תהיה תורת המצורע

This shall be the law of the Metzora. (14:2)

Imagine working an entire lifetime on a project, building up a company from scratch until it is a global player, only to lose everything due to a simple, foolish error. It would be devastating. The Chovas HaLevavos writes that, when an individual speaks lashon hora against someone – even if the “someone” is evil – the one who speaks forfeits all of his mitzvos, which are, in turn, given to the person against whom he has spoken. The speaker becomes the sorry “beneficiary” of the slandered person. It seems like an unfair trade, but, unfortunately, it is what it is….

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