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Home -> 5777 -> Chayei Sarah

ויבא אברהם לספד לשרה ולבכתה... ויקם אברהם מעל פני מתו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Chayei Sarah, 5777

Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her. Avraham rose up from the presence of the dead. (23:2,3)

Surely, at the first formal funeral mentioned in the Torah, the Father of our nation must have delivered a profound eulogy for our nation’s first Matriarch. The first Jewish couple had been through so much. Having been married for decades without a child must have had a powerful effect on their relationship. Yet, the pasuk simply states that he came to eulogize, followed by the phrase, “rose up from the presence of the dead.” Should he not have said something more personal? The Tiferes Shlomo quotes the Midrash which explains that, as Avraham Avinu was about to eulogize Sarah, the…

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Home -> 5777 -> Bo

והגדת לבנך ביום ההוא לאמר בעבור זה עשה ד' לי בצאתי ממצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Bo, 5777

And you shall tell your son on that day, saying,” It is because of this that Hashem acted on my behalf when I left Egypt.” (13:8)

In the Haggadah, this is the father’s response to his errant son, the ben rasha, wicked son. He makes a derisive statement, and his father responds with a litany underscoring his historical connection with yetzias Mitzrayim, the Egyptian exodus. Does the response really clarify anything in the wicked son’s mind? For that matter, is the wicked son really seeking an answer? When someone reaches the point of derision, nothing anyone says really matters to him. He is interested only in “hit and run,” ridiculing and skewering the subject of his derision and leaving, supposedly satisfied that he has shot his…

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Home -> 5777 -> Bo

והגדת לבנך ביום ההוא לאמר בעבור זה עשה ד' לי בצאתי ממצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Bo, 5777

And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, “It is because of this that Hashem acted on my behalf when I left Egypt.” (13:8)

As presented in the Haggadah, this pasuk is both the response to the ben rasha, wicked son, and to the lack of questioning by the she’eino yodea lishol, child who does not realize or know that there is much to question concerning the Pesach observance. The parents of such a child must endeavor to pique his curiosity. They have an obligation to guide and teach him that he is not like everyone else. He has a destiny, a historic mission, to carry on the legacy of the Exodus and its seminal standing as the critical commencement of our becoming a…

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Home -> 5777 -> Bo

והיה כי יאמרו אליכם בניכם מה העבודה הזאת לכם?

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Bo, 5777

And it shall be that when your children say to you, “What is this service to You?” (12:26)

The Mechilta considers this to be the question presented by the ben rasha, wicked son. He has removed Hashem from the service, refusing to recognize that what the rest of the family is doing is Divinely ordained. The wicked son has essentially removed himself from the community. This is a common excuse: “I do not have to do this, because I am not Orthodox.” Being Orthodox is not a choice. Reneging Orthodoxy is also not a choice. One either follows the law, or he does not. Excuses to justify one’s errant behavior, to assuage one’s guilt, are meaningless. On the…

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Home -> 5777 -> Bo

החודש הזה לכם ראש חדשים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Bo, 5777

This month shall be for you the beginning of the months. (12:2)

Time is our most precious Divine gift. Time is life. When we give someone our time, we are giving him a part of our life. The time we give up is a part of our life, which we can no longer retrieve. Thus, it is best that we take great care in how we spend that time. The quantity and quality of time we spend with our children manifests how much we value our relationship with them. If our relationship is all about talk, but does not involve our input of time, it is a sad commentary on that relationship….

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Home -> 5777 -> Beshalach

ויצא העם ולקטו דבר יום ביומו למען אנסנו הילך בתורתי אם לא

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Beshalach, 5777

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

The Manna that descended from Heaven daily like clockwork was a test from Hashem. Would they receive the Manna daily, or would it suddenly stop and leave them without sustenance? Would they not put Manna away for the next day? Would they not seek it on Shabbos? Would a lack of food impede their relationship with Hashem? Would they become so complacent in their food expectancy that they would balk if it did not arrive as usual in a timely fashion? We have become so accustomed to receiving our daily fare that we cannot imagine what it would be like…

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Home -> 5777 -> Beshalach

ויאמר ד' אל משה מה תצעק אלי דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Beshalach, 5777

Hashem said to Moshe, “Why do you cry out to me? Speak to Bnei Yisrael and let them journey forth.” (14:15)

The Talmud Sotah 36 quotes Rabbi Meir who relates that when the tribes stood at the banks of the Red Sea, a debate arose among them concerning who would enter the waters first. Each one vied for the honor of being the rosh, head, leader, who would set the example for the rest of the nation to follow. Rabbi Yehudah disputed this interpretation, asserting that being first was the last thing on their minds. On the contrary, they each eschewed being first, leaving the “honors” for the other tribe. They both agree that it was Nachshon ben Aminadav of the…

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Home -> 5777 -> Beshalach

וד' הולך לפניהם יומם בעמוד ענן... ולילה בעמוד אש... ללכת יומם ולילה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Beshalach, 5777

G-d went with them by day in a Pillar of Cloud… and by night in a Pillar of Fire… so that they could travel by day and by night. (13:21)

When Klal Yisrael traveled in the Wilderness, they were protected by miraculous forces with which Hashem provided them. A Pillar of Cloud paved the way for them by day, and a Pillar of Fire lit up the road for them at night. Thus, the Jews were hampered neither by obstacles on the road, nor by the darkness of night. The pesukim seem to underscore the need for the people to travel at night, as opposed to straightforward day travel. On the other hand, the Torah later (ibid 19:5) states: “And I bore them on eagles’ wings, and I brought them…

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Home -> 5777 -> Bereishis

לא טוב היות האדם לבדו אעשה לו עזר כנגדו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Bereishis, 5777

It is not good that man be alone, I will make him a helper corresponding to him. (2:18)

Eizer k’negdo is translated as – “a helper corresponding to him.” K’negdo usually means opposite him. How is this reconciled? Chazal teach: Zacha – naasis lo eizer; lo zachah – k’negdo, “If the man is worthy, the woman will be a helper; if he is not worthy, she will be against him.” The ideal marriage is not necessarily one of total agreement in all matters. Obviously, a good relationship has to allow for a difference of opinion. By their basic nature and temperament, man and woman are different; thus, they might have discrepant or differing views on various subjects. It…

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Home -> 5776 -> Bereishis

בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Bereishis, 5776

In the beginning of G-d’s creating the heavens and the earth. (1:1)

The opening pesukim of Sefer Bereishis detail the process of Creation. This process progressed over a period of six Creation days. The last day was yom Shabbos kodesh, the holy Shabbos, a day on which Hashem rested from Creation. It was after these days of Creation that the natural clock of time with which we identify began. The Talmud Rosh Hashanah, 32a, explains that the word bereishis, in the beginning, is much more than a chronological term which describes when it all began;  rather, the word bereishis is the word which Hashem employed to commence creation itself. Horav Tzadok HaKohen,…

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