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Home -> Vayechi -> 5777

ואני בבואי מפדן מתה עלי רחל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Vayechi

But as for me, when I came from Paddam, Rachel died on me. (48:7)

Rashi explains that Yaakov Avinu was validating his burial of Rachel Imeinu outside of Eretz Yisrael, because it was Hashem’s decree that she be “available” to assist her descendants. “When Nevuzaraden will exile them, they will pass by her grave and Rachel will go out and pray on their behalf.” There is a very telling story connected with this pasuk. Although the story has very little direct connection with the pasuk, it does give us insight into the mind and heart of a secular Jew who, for all intents and purposes, never had any exposure to real Torah learning and…

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Home -> Vayechi -> 5777

ויקרבו ימי ישראל למות ויקרא לבנו ליוסף

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5777, Vayechi

The time approached for Yisrael to die, so he called for his son, Yosef. (47:29)

Religion believes that life has purpose; each person’s existence has a clear raison d’etre. One who has no religion does not ascribe to a system of principles and beliefs; he lives a random, carefree life of abandon, without purpose or meaning. One who lacks religion lacks purpose; hence, he has no identity. The secular culture surrounding us – which is the result of a society where decadence is no longer taboo, but in vogue – has little use for religion. From the average “Joe” to the most powerful politicians and world leaders, religion will, at its best, receive nothing more…

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Home -> 5777 -> Vaeira

הירא את דבר ד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5777

Who among the servants of Pharaoh feared the word of G-d. (9:20)

The Torah tells us that the G-d-fearing Egyptians brought their animals indoors for fear of the hail which would strike the country. Chazal derive from here Tov she’b’nechashim ratzutz es mocho, “The best of snakes, smash his head.” (In other words, there is no such thing as a good snake.) Chazal base this statement on the fact that, when Pharaoh required chariots and horses, he had to obtain these horses from someone. Since all of Egypt’s animals had been killed, from where could Pharaoh have gotten the animals? Apparently, the G-d-fearing Egyptians who had saved their animals by listening to…

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Home -> 5777 -> Vaeira

הן בני ישראל לא שמעו אלי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5777

Behold! Bnei Yisrael have not listened to me. (6:12)

Moshe Rabbeinu raised the issue of his inability to speak well. Furthermore, he thought that the people had lost confidence in him, because his earlier intercession with Pharaoh had catalyzed greater work for them. Nonetheless, despite Klal Yisrael’s probable unenthusiastic response to him, Hashem still sent Moshe to them. Why?  If they would not listen, perhaps it would be best that he not come. We must remember that consecrated words do not simply go into oblivion. When someone of the calibre of Moshe speaks, his words are not wasted – ever. If they do not penetrate the ears of the…

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Home -> 5777 -> Vaeira

ולא שמעו אל משה מקוצר רוח ומעבודה קשה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5777

They did not heed Moshe, because of shortness of breath and hard work. (6:9)

Shortness of breath, lack of spirit, and backbreaking work devastates a person, so that he does not respond favorably to assurances that he will achieve salvation. When a person is wasted, it is difficult to get him to listen – regardless of the positive nature of the message. The lack of spirit and hard work seem out of sequence relative to one another. One loses spirit as a result of overwork – not the other way around. Why does the Torah precede hard work with a lack of spirit? Perhaps spirit refers to spirituality. When a person is connected to…

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Home -> 5777 -> Vaeira

ולא שמעו אל משה מקוצר רוח ומעבודה קשה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5777

But they did not heed Moshe, because of shortness of breath and hard work. (6:9)

Imagine that a person is afflicted, persecuted, the victim of a vicious and cruel despot who has enslaved him for years. One would think that if someone would come along and tell him that it will soon be over– he will be able to leave — he would jump for joy and begin counting the minutes until the cuffs would be off and he could finally say good-bye to his life of misery. Yet, we see here that, when Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen told Klal Yisrael that it was finally all over, they paid no attention to them. They…

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Home -> 5777 -> Vaeira

ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5777

And I will take you to Myself as a people. (6:7)

The destiny and concomitant exclusivity of Klal Yisrael are described in these few words. Hashem took us to Him as a nation via the medium of the Torah, which we accepted. Horav S. R. Hirsch, zl, observes that people have thoughtlessly grouped the Jewish religion together with the religions of the other nations of the world, when, in fact, our religion encompasses many elements beyond those commonly regarded to be integral to religion. The above verse – Li l’am, “To Myself as a People,” clearly delineates that Judaism as established by Hashem is, indeed, not a religion at all; rather,…

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Home -> 5777 -> Toldos

ויאמר אליו הנה משמני הארץ יהיה מושבך ומטל השמים מעל ויתן לך האלקים מטל השמים ומשמני הארץ

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Toldos, 5777

And may G-d give you of the dew of the heavens and of the fatness of the earth. (27:28) – Behold, of the fatness of the earth shall be your dwelling and of the dew of the heaven above. (27:39)

Two blessings: Yaakov Avinu received the first one from his father, Yitzchak Avinu. Eisav received the second blessing after he discovered that Yaakov had preceded him in blessing. At face value, both blessings are material in nature and quite similar. Both sons were promised blessings from the fat of the land and dew from the Heavens above. Chazal, however, detect what appears on the surface to be a stylistic difference in the syntax of the pasuk. Being that verse (28) begins the text of the blessing, which is a new topic, the conjunction vov – v’yitein, and (may G-d) give,…

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Home -> 5777 -> Toldos

ויאמר יעקב אל אביו אנכי עשו בכורך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Toldos, 5777

Yaakov said to his father, “It is I, Eisav your firstborn.” (27: 19)

If one studies Chumash only on a cursory level, merely translating the pesukim, he will leave in a state of ambiguity when confronting the lives of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs. This is especially true upon studying the life of Yitzchak Avinu and his relationship with his twins – Yaakov and Eisav. On the one hand, we are taught that Yitzchak was the olah temimah, perfect sacrifice, the individual who most represented total selflessness to Hashem, the Patriarch who is singular in Fear of Heaven. On the other hand, we find this same holy Patriarch falling for Eisav’s ruse. Did he…

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Home -> 5777 -> Toldos

ויהי כי זקן יצחק ותכהין עיניו מראות

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Toldos, 5777

And it was when Yitzchak became old, and his eyes dimmed from seeing. (27:1)

Rashi explains that Yitzchak Avinu’s premature vision loss was due to the smoke that Eisav’s wives raised when they burned incense for their idols. Alternatively, when he was bound upon the Altar of the Akeidah, as Avraham Avinu was about to slaughter him, the Heavens opened up and the Ministering Angels saw what was happening to him. They began to cry, their tears descending and falling on Yitzchak’s eyes, causing them to dim later in life. In his hesped, eulogy, for his son, who had died an untimely death, Horav Shmuel Birnbaum, zl, asked why was it necessary for the…

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