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Home -> 5777 -> Terumah

ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Terumah, 5777

They shall make a Sanctuary for Me so that I may dwell among them. (25:8)

The Alshich HaKadosh, zl, notes the use of the word, b’socham, in them, rather than b’socho, in it. This teaches that every Jew must serve as a veritable Mishkan, Sanctuary, for Hashem. Every Jew is a mikdash me’at, miniature sanctuary. This should be our self-view, and likewise, the way we look at others. While one can accept this idea concerning gedolei Yisrael, individuals who truly represent Kavod Shomayim, the glory of Heaven, what about the ordinary person? Is the ordinary person also a mikdash me’at? First, the term “ordinary” is too general a term. I refer rather to someone who…

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Home -> 5777 -> Terumah

ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו תקחו את תרומתי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Terumah, 5777

And have them take for Me a terumah offering. From every man whose heart impels him to generosity, you shall take My terumah offering. (25:2)

Rashi writes that the words, v’yikchu li, “and take for Me,” indicate that the contributors for the Mishkan must be dedicated lishmah, exclusively for Hashem’s Name. From the fact that the Torah follows up the v’yikchu li with asher yidvenu libo, whose heart impels him to generosity, we may suggest that the determining factor in li, “for me,” is that it is motivated by the heart. The heart is the seat of one’s emotions and, thus, expresses his truthful feelings. Nidvas ha’lev, a contribution from the bottom of one’s heart, is an honest contribution. The concept of lishmah was a…

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Home -> Shemos -> 5777

ותפתח ותראהו את הילד והנה נער בכה ותחמל עליו ותאמר מילדי העברים זה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Shemos

“She opened it and saw the boy, and behold! A youth was crying. She took pity on him and said, ‘This is one of the Hebrew boys.’” (2:6)

Sequentially, it would have made sense to write that the infant was a Hebrew child first and only afterwards (despite the child’s ancestry) that she took pity on him. One would think that the child’s Jewish identity was the most significant aspect of the pasuk – not her act of compassion. Horav Nissan Alpert, zl, feels that the reversed sequence teaches us an important lesson, one which (I feel) we should all apply to our personal lives. Upon seeing someone in pain, an organization in serious need, we are confronted with two immediate reactions: empathy, compassion to reach out and…

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Home -> Shemos -> 5777

ותפתח ותראהו את הילד והנה נער בכה ותחמול עליו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Shemos

She opened it and saw him, the boy, and behold! A youth was crying. She took pity on him. (2:6)

Horav Nachman Breslover, zl, teaches that everything has good and bad, positive and negative, aspects. Tears/crying are/is no different. Some tears emanate from atzvus, depression, despair, hopelessness, which are “motivated” by the sitra acharah, evil inclination, under the auspices of Satan. In such an instance, a person weeps for something entrenched in the yetzer hora – a passion, a desire, something that rightfully does not belong to him. Yet, he seeks to have it – and when Hashem is not forthcoming with filling his taavah, desire, he cries bitterly. When Eisav did not obtain his father’s blessing, he raised his…

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Home -> Shemos -> 5777

ותיראן המילדת את האלקים ולא עשו כאשר דבר אליהן מלך מצרים ותחיין את הילדים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Shemos

But the midwives feared G-d and they did not do as the king of Egypt spoke to them, and they caused the boys to live. (1:17)

Pharaoh had to stem the tide of the Jewish population explosion. Infanticide was his proposal. He could not prevent conception, but he could see to it that the infants never saw the light of day. The two Jewish midwives feared Hashem and rejected Pharaoh’s orders, claiming that, by the time they arrived, the children had already been born. These midwives were, like so many of the other Jewish women, nashim tzidkaniyos, righteous women, who placed their commitment to Hashem above everything. Their faith in the Almighty motivated their actions, despite the pressing question: To what kind of world and to…

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Home -> Shemos -> 5777

ויקם מלך חדש על מצרים אשר לא ידע את יוסף

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Shemos

A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Yosef. (1:8)

When did the Egyptian exile begin? Most would have us think that the shibud Mitzrayim, Egyptian exile, commenced with the death of Yosef and his brothers. The Torah records Yosef’s passing and immediately adds that a new Pharaoh came into the picture who had no knowledge of Yosef – or the debt of gratitude the country owed him. It would seem that this was the early stirrings of the exile. Surely, during the golden era of Egypt, when Yosef was viceroy in charge of the entire country, exile was the farthest thought from the minds of the people. Chazal do…

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Home -> 5777 -> Noach

בעצם היום הזה בא נח... אל התבה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Noach, 5777

On that very day Noach came… into the Ark. (7:13)

Can you imagine being too lazy to repent – even when you see clearly in black and white that the punishment for your sins is imminent? This is exactly what took place when Noach entered the Teivah, Ark. Rashi quotes the Sifri (Ha’azinu, Bereishis Rabbah) that Hashem made a point to have Noach enter the Ark b’etzem hayom, in midday, in full view of everyone. Apparently, Noach’s compatriats were determined to prevent him from entering the Ark and saving himself. They declared that they would destroy the Ark and kill Noach. Hashem showed them that man is powerless before G-d….

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Home -> 5777 -> Noach

ויהי הגשם על הארץ ארבעים יום וארבעים לילה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Noach, 5777

And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. (7:12)

When something happens in Thailand, does it have anything to do with us? We hear about an earthquake across the globe, does it impact us? Can we learn something from this tragedy? A Jewish businessman who lived in China took a business trip to Poland. One could not be in Poland and not take a day off to visit with the saintly Chafetz Chaim. The man rearranged his schedule so that he could detour to Radin. Perhaps he would be fortunate to receive a blessing from this saintly leader of world Jewry. The man arrived in Radin and immediately proceeded…

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Home -> 5777 -> Noach

ויאמר ד' לנח בא אתה... אל התבה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Noach, 5777

Hashem said to Noach come… into the Ark. (7:1)

The Baal Shem Tov, zl, notes that the Hebrew word for “word” is teivah. Hashem’s instruction to Noach to come into the Teivah can be interpreted as: “Come into the word”; enter within the words of Torah and tefillah, Torah study and prayer. In the words, you will find refuge; you will find sanctuary within the wisdom of Torah, comfort and solace within the words of prayer. Here you will be protected from the raging floodwaters of life. An important lesson may be derived from this exposition. When Noach entered the Ark, it enveloped him. He was ensconced within the…

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Home -> 5777 -> Noach

נח איש צדיק תמים היה בדורותיו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Noach, 5777

Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generations. (6:9)

The Talmud Avodah Zarah (6a) distinguishes between the appellations tzaddik, righteous man, and tamim, perfect, in that tamim is applied to derachav, ways/demeanor, while tzaddik is used to describe maasav, deeds. Rashi supplements this, explaining that tamim b’derachav means that one is anav u’shefal ruach, low, meek, humble, while tzaddik b’maasav means that he distances himself from any form of chamas, theft. From Rashi, we derive that tzaddik is a term used to describe one who takes great pains to be careful with other people’s money. Heaven forbid that he make use of another person’s money without his permission or…

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