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Home -> 5783 -> Emor

וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת מיום הביאכם את עמר התניפה שבע שבתות תמימת תהיינה

Sruly Schnair
In Emor, 5783

You shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the rest day, from the day when you bring the Omer of the waving – seven weeks, they shall be complete. (23:15)

The mitzvah of sefiras haOmer, counting of the Omer, is the injunction to count every day (49 days) from the second day of Pesach, when the Omer is brought, until the fiftieth day, which heralds the Festival of Shavuos. Every single day of sefiras haOmer is an individual period of preparing oneself, refining one’s spiritual attributes, yearning for the moment when we receive the Torah. The seven-week period comprised of forty-nine days follows in the Torah’s tradition of dealing with a transition from a lower to a higher standard of morality, from a primitive, raw condition to one of advanced…

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Home -> 5783 -> Emor

ויניחהו במשמר לפרש להם על פי ד'

Sruly Schnair
In Emor, 5783

They placed him under guard to clarify for themselves through Hashem. (24:12)

The incident of the megadef, blasphemer, is a sad entry in the history of our people. It is not as if we have not had wicked, insecure people whose actions against Hashem warranted swift and extreme punishment. He was, however, the first to act so contemptibly. Thus, the punishment to be meted out to him was uncertain. Hashem had to inform Moshe Rabbeinu what form of execution – if any – he should receive. He was placed in a holding cell until Hashem clarified his punishment. The megadef was not the only sinner spending his time in a cell. The…

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Home -> 5783 -> Acharei Mos

וידבר ד' אל משה אחרי מות שני בני אהרן בקרבתם לפני ד' וימתו

Sruly Schnair
In Acharei Mos, 5783

Hashem spoke to Moshe after the death of Aharon’s two sons, when they approached before Hashem, and they died. (16:1)

The text of this pasuk is redundant, since it mentions the deaths of Nadav and Avihu twice in the same pasuk. Daas Zekeinim m’Baalei Tosfos explain that the Torah mentions death twice, since they left no offspring to continue their legacy. For reasons of their own, they did not marry. Thus, it is considered as if they died twice: once when they left this world; and again because they left no one to carry on the memory of their lives and achievements. Horav Zev Weinberger, zl, cites the Talmud Moed Kattan (24a), “When they told Rabbi Yochanan that Rabbi Chaninah…

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Home -> 5783 -> Acharei Mos

את משפטי תעשו ואת חקתי תשמרו ללכת בהם ... ושמרתם את חקתי ואת משפטי... וחי בהם

Sruly Schnair
In Acharei Mos, 5783

Carry out My laws and safeguard My decrees to follow/go (in) them… You shall observe My decrees and My laws … and by which he shall live. (18:4,5)

The Ksav Sofer writes that a Jew’s primary function is to go forward, not to remain stagnant, relegated to living a life of spiritual status quo. This means, Laleches bahem, to go in them, to grow in them, with Torah and mitzvos serving as the vehicle for spiritual expansion. Horav Aharon Leib Shteinman, zl, was examined by a well-known eye doctor. As part of the examination, the doctor placed drops in Rav Shteinman’s eyes. As the doctor was putting the drops in, Rav Shteinman mused, “Doctor, do you not become bored doing this day in and day out?” The doctor…

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Home -> 5783 -> Kedoshim

איש אמו ואביו תיראו

Sruly Schnair
In Kedoshim, 5783

Every man: Your father and mother shall you revere/fear. (19:3)

Interestingly, in the Aseres HaDibros, Ten Commandments, the Torah commands Kabeid es avicha v’es imecha, “Honor your father and mother” (Shemos 20:12), without adding the word ish, every man.  It is almost as if the Torah were intimating a special command to one who is an ish, that he must fear his parents. What is the difference between kavod, respect, and mora, fear? Horav Yosef Tzvi HaLevi Dunner, zl (Mikdash HaLevi), explains the disparity homiletically. The Torah is teaching us a valuable and vital lesson – one that I think is quite obvious in today’s society. The Torah world, for…

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Home -> 5783 -> Kedoshim

לא תלין פעלת שכיר אתך עד בקר ... לא תקלל חרש

Sruly Schnair
In Kedoshim, 5783

You shall not withhold a worker’s wage with you until morning… You shall not curse the deaf. (19:13,14)

The deaf person will not hear your curses. Nonetheless, one does not curse his fellow. Certainly, if he can hear and is aware of the curse, such deplorable behavior is an anathema for a Jew. The Baal HaTurim expounds on the juxtaposition of withholding wages upon cursing the deaf. Even if one has a valid complaint, i.e. he worked hard through sweat and toil, and he put in a full day’s work. He now wants/needs to get paid. He has no food at home. His children are starving. His earnings were to be used to purchase the vital necessities to…

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Home -> 5783 -> Tazria

וביום השמיני ימול בשר ערלתו

Sruly Schnair
In Tazria, 5783

On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. (12:3)

The custom among Jews is to wish the father of the newly-circumcised infant, K’sheim she’nichnas l’bris, kein yikanes l’Torah, u’lechuppah, u’lmaasim tovim, “As the infant enters into the covenant of Bris Milah, so, too, should he enter into Torah, chuppah/marriage and the performance of good deeds.” Many commentators have offered interpretations of this statement by Chazal (Shabbos 137b) – each one intimating an important lesson. I will share but a few. Tochachas Chaim explains the concept behind k’sheim she’nichnas, “As the (infant) enters into the Bris”: When a father brings his newborn son into the covenant of Avraham Avinu, it…

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Home -> 5783 -> Tazria

נגע צרעת כי תהיה באדם והובא אל הכהן

Sruly Schnair
In Tazria, 5783

If a tzaraas affliction will be in a person, he shall be brought to the Kohen. (13:9)

The Talmud Bava Metzia (59a) relates that David Hamelech bemoaned to Hashem that, following the incident with Bas Sheva, certain men were humiliating him. He added, “Even when they are engaged in (studying) Negaim (Mishnayos discussing various plagues) and Ohalos (Mishnayos dealing with tumah, ritual contamination, in a closed area such as a tent), they come to me and ask, ‘David, what form of execution does bais din give to one who has an immoral liaison with a married woman?’” They were alluding to David’s relationship with Bas Sheva which was legally permissible, but this did not prevent their tongues…

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Home -> 5783 -> Metzora

ואם דל הוא ואין ידו משגת

Sruly Schnair
In Metzora, 5783

If he is poor and his means are not sufficient. (14:21)

The Torah goes out of its way to be sensitive to the needs of one who is impoverished. I refer to one who simply has no means of providing for his family. Poverty is, for the most part, something either we hear about – but do not actually experience – or towards which we conveniently close our eyes because it makes us feel uncomfortable and guilty. This does not mean that it does not exist. Serious pockets of poverty exist all over, especially in families who have made Torah their life’s endeavor. Since, baruch Hashem, most of us remain spectators,…

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Home -> 5783 -> Metzora

להורות ביום הטמא וביום הטהור זאת תורת הצרעת

Sruly Schnair
In Metzora, 5783

To rule on which day it is contaminated and on which day it is purified; this is the law of tzaraas. (14:57)

The one who speaks lashon hora, who slanders with impunity, has a jaundiced view of people. In order to speak negatively about someone, it is natural (and probably necessary) to knock down his personal opinion of the subject of his lashon hora a few notches. He, therefore, has no qualms about humiliating him, because, after all, what is he? While this attitude may not course through the mind of every baal lashon hora, the mere fact that he is callous and unfeeling concerning the feelings of his fellow Jew is an indication that he has a low opinion of him….

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