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Home -> 5783 -> Shoftim

ולא ירבה לו נשים ולא יסור לבבו

Sruly Schnair
In Shoftim, 5783

And he (the Melech Yisrael, Jewish king) shall not have too many wives, so that his heart will not turn him astray. (17:17)

Apparently, with his extraordinary wisdom, Shlomo Hamelech felt that this prohibition did not apply to him. He had his reasons for marrying seven-hundred wives and keeping three-hundred concubines. The Torah teaches that numerous wives would have an adverse effect on the king’s exclusive devotion to Hashem. Shlomo felt that he could rise above the prohibition and its consequences. He was wrong. While all this is history, why did Shlomo fail? His superior wisdom should have protected him. When he said, “I will have many wives, and they will not sway me from my utter devotion to Hashem,” he knew what…

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Home -> 5783 -> Shoftim

מי האיש הירא ורך הלבב ילך וישב לביתו

Sruly Schnair
In Shoftim, 5783

Who is the man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house. (20:8)

Chazal (Sotah 44a) cite two opinions concerning the fearful and fainthearted soldier who must return home from the battlefield, lest his distress demoralize the other soldiers. Rabbi Akiva is of the opinion that the Torah is referring to the cowardly person, who, after the Kohen’s assurances of Hashem’s support in the battlefield, is still overwhelmed with apprehension. He will have a negative effect on others. Let him go home and relax – if he can. His faith in Hashem is, at best, weak, and thus, not deserving of a miracle that he survive the battle. Rabbi Yosi HaGlili contends that…

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Home -> 5783 -> Shoftim

כפר לעמך ישראל אשר פדית

Sruly Schnair
In Shoftim, 5783

Atone for Your people, Yisrael, that You have redeemed. (21:8)

Simply, asher Padissa, “Which You redeemed,” is an appellation which applies to Klal Yisrael throughout the generations. We are, and will continue to be, the nation who Hashem redeemed and continues to redeem from bondage and adversity. Hashem redeemed us from Egypt, which, as mentioned in the Haggadah Shel Pesach, was the preeminent liberation of our people. Had our ancestors not been redeemed, we would today still be in Egypt enslaved to a contemporary Pharaoh. Thus, asher Padissa is a reference to our redemption throughout the ages as a result of that first redemption from Egypt. Ibn Ezra contends that…

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Home -> 5783 -> Re'eh

ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה

Sruly Schnair
In Re'eh, 5783

See, I set before you today a blessing and a curse. (11:26)

Noticeably, the pasuk begins with the singular re’eh, “see,” and continues with lifneichem, “before you,” in the plural. The Chasam Sofer cites Chazal (Kiddushin 40b) who teach: “Every person should view himself and the entire world as being half guilty and half meritorious. One mitzvah that he performs can tip the scale to the side of merit. If he commits a sin, however, he tips the scale (both personally and globally) to the side of guilt.” Thus, with every act, one must ask himself, “Do I really want to do this? With this act, I might be destroying myself and…

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Home -> 5783 -> Re'eh

ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה את הברכה אשר תשמעו... והקללה אם לא תשמעו

Sruly Schnair
In Re'eh, 5783

See I present before you a blessing and a curse. The blessing that you listen… The curse, if you do not listen. (11:26,27)

Our parshah begins by informing us of our mandate to choose between blessing and curse, good and evil. The blessing is the result of our listening to Hashem’s Torah; the curse is the consequence of our not listening. The obvious question is: Who in his right mind would choose curse over blessing? The simple explanation is that it is not an issue of choice; rather, the Torah alludes to the idea that, on the surface, some of our actions present as a blessing, while actually concealing beneath their external façade less than satisfactory options. In other words, blessing and curse…

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Home -> 5783 -> Re'eh

רק חזק לבלתי אכל הדם כי הדם הוא הנפש. ולא תאכל הנפש עם הבשר

Sruly Schnair
In Re'eh, 5783

Only be strong not to eat blood – for the blood, it is life – and you should not eat the life with the meat. (12:23)

Rashi comments: “You may not eat meat that was torn from a living animal.” The Torah prohibits us from eating eiver min ha’chai, a limb cut from a living animal. The Sefer HaChinuch offers the shoresh, root, of the mitzvah, that we not train ourselves in the trait of cruelty, which is a most disgusting trait. Indeed, we can perform no greater cruelty than to cut a limb off a living animal and eat it. The Chinuch continues with a mussar, ethical character, directive. “I have already written numerous times concerning the great benefit that we derive in our acquisition…

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Home -> 5783 -> Eikev

כי על כל מוצא פי ד' יחיה ... וזכרת את ד' אלקיך כי הוא הנתן לך כח לעשות חיל

Sruly Schnair
In Eikev, 5783

Rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of Hashem does man live… That it was He (Hashem) who gives you the strength to make wealth. (8:3,18)

The Torah reiterates numerous times (of which the above pesukim are a mere sample) that everything – large or small – comes from Hashem. Man endeavors, but Hashem decides the end result. The first step toward living with faith and trust in the Almighty is acknowledging that He is the only reality. Everything else is a façade. The department of education oversaw a county which had, among its schools, a private yeshivah high school. The superintendent had serious issues with the school’s general studies program, or lack thereof. In order to receive a federal subsidy, the school was required to…

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Home -> 5783 -> Eikev

זכר אל תשכח את אשר הקצפת את ד' אלקיך במדבר ... ממרים הייתם עם ד'

Sruly Schnair
In Eikev, 5783

Remember, do not forget that you provoked Hashem, your G-d, in the wilderness… You have been rebels against Hashem. (9:7)

Moshe Rabbeinu lists some of the indiscretions and unacceptable behavior of Klal Yisrael during their wilderness journey. They are enjoined to remember, to never lose sight of these infractions. Their past sinful behavior must be expunged from their characters, lest it return to haunt them later. The only way to prevent recurrent problems is to ingrain in one’s mind the past, their deficiencies, and how they acted. Remembering the sin of the Golden Calf is on top of the list of iniquitous behavior which led to open rebellion. Thus, it is included among the Sheish Zechiros, Six Remembrances, incumbent upon…

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Home -> 5783 -> Eikev

ועתה ישראל מה ד' אלקיך שאל מעמך כי אם ליראה

Sruly Schnair
In Eikev, 5783

Now, O’ Yisrael, what does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you? Only to fear. (10:12)

Horav Chaim Soloveitchik, zl, offers an outstanding insight into the enjoinment that one fear Hashem. Every moment of one’s life one must ask himself, “What does Hashem ask of me – now?” An hour later, he should ask himself again, “Now, what does Hashem ask of me?” This is the depth of the meaning of v’atah, now. Every moment of one’s life, throughout every circumstance, the question that he should ask is: “What does the Almighty want of me now? How should I act in this situation?” Fear of Hashem is a way of life. One does not simply punch…

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Home -> 5783 -> Va'eschanan

ואתחנן אל ד' בעת ההיא

Sruly Schnair
In Va'eschanan, 5783

I implored Hashem at that time. (3:23)

In a homiletic rendering of the pasuk, Horav Moshe Leib Sassover, zl, explains that Moshe Rabbeinu prayed to Hashem that He should strengthen his bitachon, trust, in Him. He prayed that he should only concern himself with b’eis ha’hee, at that time – at that specific time; he prayed for the present without expressing concern for the future. This is much like the famous quote attributed to Ibn Ezra: Ha’avar ayin; v’ha’asid adayin; v’ha’hoveh k’heref ayin; daagah minayin? “The past no longer exists; the future is not yet a reality; the present is but a fleeting moment. Why, then, should…

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