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Home -> 5777 -> Mishpatim

ורצע אדניו את אזנו במרצע ועבדו לעלם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Mishpatim, 5777

And his master shall bore through his ear with the awl; He then serves his master forever. (21:6)

Why was the ear selected over any other limb of the body? Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai explains that, if the ear heard at Har Sinai, “You shall not steal!” and the owner of that ear none- the-less went ahead and stole, his ear should be pierced. Why should the ear be singled out, given that the hands and feet were involved in an act of theft? They should be pierced! It is almost as if the ear was held responsible for the theft. Horav Tzvi Pesach Frank, zl, explains that the Giving of the Torah was not a one-time, isolated…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5777

וקל שקי יתן לכם רחמים לפני האיש

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Mikeitz

And many Keil Shakkai grant you mercy before the man. (43:14)

  The Midrash Tanchuma questions why Yaakov Avinu blessed his sons using the Name Keil Shakkai. They explain that our Patriarch endured much adversity in his life. While yet in the womb, he fought with his twin brother, Eisav. It was not easy growing up with such a brother, having to look over his shoulder constantly to see if Eisav was planning a terror attack against him. Finally, when the opportunity materialized, Yaakov escaped home, only to land in the home of his corrupt uncle, Lavan. After twenty years of swindling and deceit, Yaakov once again escaped. Three days later,…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5777

על כן באה אלינו הצרה הזאת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Mikeitz

This is why this anguish has come upon us. (42:21)

Yosef challenged his brothers, declaring that they were spies. They, of course, denied his allegations. As proof to their insistence that they were all brothers, Yosef demanded that they leave one brother in Egypt as “security,” while the rest would return home and come back with Benyamin. The brothers now realized that all was not well. Something was wrong. Hashem was sending them a message. The word eileinu, which is translated “upon us,” really means “to us.” The pasuk should rather have been written with the word aleinu, which means upon/on us. In his Lekutei MoHaran, Horav Nachman Breslover, zl,…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5777

וירא יעקב כי יש שבר במצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Mikeitz

Yaakov perceived that there were provisions in Egypt. (42:1)

When the Baal HaTanya, zl, was taken to prison in St. Petersburg, he asked one of his Chassidim to take a kvittel, written petition asking for a blessing, to his mechutan (father of child’s spouse) and close friend, Horav Levi Yitzchak Berdichever, zl. The Berditchever asked the messenger for Rav Shneur Zalman’s mother’s name. The chasid did not know. Rav Levi Yitzchak took out a Chumash and made a goral, lot, a means of turning pages in such a manner that the last page will have a pasuk which reveals the answer to one’s question. Obviously, only a Torah scholar…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5777

ויקרא יוסף את שם הבכור מנשה כי נשני אלקים את כל עמלי ואת כל בית אבי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Mikeitz

Yosef called the name of the firstborn Menashe, for “G-d has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.” (41:51)

Is forgetting one’s youth, his home, his parents, something to be happy about? Yosef seems to have emphasized “forgetting” to the point that he named his firstborn Menashe. Horav Yosef  Nechemiah Kornitzer, zl, Rav of Cracow, explains that educating children is not about rebuke and pointing out what to do and what not to do. Children learn best when they have a positive role model in their parents. Seeing how a father speaks, his choice of words, how he interacts with others, his total demeanor, is probably the most effective manner of teaching a child how to act. Our actions…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5777

וייטב הדבר בעיני פרעה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Mikeitz

The matter appeared good in Pharaoh’s eyes. (41:37)

Pharaoh accepted Yosef’s interpretation of his dreams. It is not as if Pharaoh did not have his own wise men who were quite articulate in interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams. He heard what they had to say, but it was not to his liking. The dreams were not speaking to him personally. After all, he was a king, an individual responsible for an entire country. Instead, Pharaoh was enamored with Yosef’s interpretation. A clever king understands that the vision which he sees is not personal. It must embrace an entire country and must influence the lives of his subjects. Yosef told Pharaoh…

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Home -> 5777 -> Lech Lecha

והאמין בד' ויחשבה לו צדקה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Lech Lecha, 5777

And he trusted in Hashem, and He reckoned with it to him as righteous. (15:6)

On a recent trip to an area, which was completely foreign to me, I was forced to rely totally on my GPS to guide me, literally every step of the way. I did not know when a turn was coming up, when I should just go straight. I was at the mercy of my GPS. As Jews, we, too, have a GPS system that guides us through life. It is called emunah, faith. Without emunah, we do not function; we are unable to function. It is our lodestar, our beacon of light, our guide which takes us by the hand…

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Home -> 5777 -> Lech Lecha

ויהי ריב בין רעי מקנה אברם ובין רעי מקנה לוט ויאמר אברם אל לוט אל נא תהי מריבה ביני וביניך ובין רעי ובין רעיך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Lech Lecha, 5777

And there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Avram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock… so Avram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen.” (13:7, 8)

Some people love to quarrel. It gives them something to do. Decent people, however, understand that strife is destructive, regardless of the motivation. If one is in a community, no matter the size, and a quarrel begins to ensue, he should distance himself from there as if from a contagious plague – because that is what quarrels lead to. At first, the Torah writes that a riv, quarrel, commenced between Avram’s herdsmen and those of Lot. When Avram spoke to Lot, he referred to the quarrel as a merivah. Why the change in spelling? The Shlah Hakadosh explains that this…

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Home -> 5777 -> Lech Lecha

וילך למסעיו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Lech Lecha, 5777

He proceeded on his journeys. (13:3)

L’masaav, on his journeys, implies that Avraham Avinu took a specific, planned itinerary. It was not a haphazard trip. Chazal teach that our Patriarch lodged in the same places that hosted him on his original trip to Egypt. Our sages derive a lesson in mentchlichkeit, human decency, proper etiquette, from this idea. One should stick to his usual lodgings. There is no reason, –nor is it appropriate – to switch from one’s customary lodgings unless he has suffered harassment and anguish there. Otherwise, he inadvertently gives the impression that he was displeased with his lodgings, which could cause a financial…

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Home -> 5777 -> Lech Lecha

ויאמר ד' אל אברם לך לך מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Lech Lecha, 5777

Hashem said to Avram, “Go for yourself from your land, from your relatives, and from your father’s home. (12:1)

Although the Torah relates the birth of Avraham Avinu at the end of Parashas Noach, we are introduced to the Patriarch in Parashas Lech Lecha. In Derech Hashem, the Maharal explains that originally the plan of Creation was that all human beings would share equally in fulfilling the Divine mission and that the Torah would be given to all mankind. Twenty generations of failure from Adam to Noach to Avraham precluded this reality from occurring. Thus, the title of Hashem’s Chosen People was given to the nation that earned it: Avraham, followed by his progeny. They would receive the Torah;…

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