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Home -> 5782 -> Ki Savo

וענית ואמרת לפני ד' אלקיך

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Savo, 5782

Then you shall call out and say before Hashem, your G-d. (26:5)

Bikkurim, offering the first fruits to the Kohen, symbolizes the Jew dedicating everything in his possession to Hashem. (Incidentally, our greatest possession is “ourselves.” Thus, we should keep in mind that we should wholly dedicate to Hashem, all of “ourselves”.) As part of the Bikkurim ritual, the one who brings the first fruits makes a declaration recording our history and salvation from such ignominious scoundrels as Lavan – who attempted to uproot the very underpinnings of our people by destroying Yaakov Avinu – to Pharaoh, the despot who enslaved us for over two centuries. He relates how we prayed, cried,…

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Home -> 5782 -> Ki Savo

ובאו עליך כל הקללות האלה ... כי לא שמעת בקול ד' אלקיך לשמרמצותיו וחקתיו אשר צוך.

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Savo, 5782

All these curses will come upon you … because you will not have hearkened to the voice of Hashem, your G-d, to observe His commandments and decrees that He commanded you. (28:45)

Halfway through the Tochachah, Rebuke, in the midst of the frightening curses, the Torah gives us two reasons for this formidable punishment: We did not listen to Hashem (i.e. did not perform His mitzvos); we did not serve Him with joy. Understandably, not listening, disregarding Hashem’s command, blatantly not observing His ordinances, is reason for such severe punishment. Should a Jew who serves Hashem without joy, whose observance is lackluster, be held in such contempt as to deserve these curses? Perhaps, we may suggest that the Torah is presenting only one reason: our lack of observance. The Torah, however, immediately…

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Home -> 5782 -> Ki Savo

תחת אשר לא עבדת את ד' אלקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Savo, 5782

Because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, amid gladness and goodness of heart. (28:47)

Simply, this pasuk admonishes us for a lack of joy in performing mitzvos. We perform mitzvos, but without interest, excitement, passion and, most of all, joy. Is this a valid reason to become the victim of all these curses? One would think that observance should be the deciding factor. Yet, we see that indifferent observance is almost worse than nonobservance. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to quote and offer personal exegesis to explain the dynamics of joy and its inherent significance in determining the validity and worthiness of one’s mitzvah observance. I would like to take a…

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Home -> 5782 -> Ki Seitzei

כי תצא למלחמה על איביך... ושבית שביו

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Seitzei, 5782

When you go out to war against your enemies… And you will capture its captivity. (21:10)

Every Jew fights a war, a battle for his spiritual future. The enemy is the yetzer hora, evil inclination, who is cunning and tireless. He will not give up until he wins, or is taken captive under the control of the person whom he has attempted to ensnare in his web of deceit. Parashas Ki Seitzei is replete with lessons and ideas on how to live appropriately, the values we should maintain, the ethical imperatives which should guide our lives and the moral compass to which we should adhere. In short, the parshah teaches us how to be an observant…

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Home -> 5782 -> Ki Seitzei

איננו שמע בקול אביו ובקול אמו

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Seitzei, 5782

Who does not hearken to the voice of his father and the voice of his mother. (21:18)

The parshah which deals with the ben sorer u’moreh, the wayward and rebellious child, is one of the most difficult parshiyos to address. As a rule, pikuach nefesh, saving a Jewish life, pushes aside Shabbos. Yet, the young ben sorer – who so far has not committed an act of defiance that carries capital punishment – is sentenced to death, due to what he might (possibly will) do one day when he is unable to satisfy his desires. He could take an innocent life. Apparently, the Torah, with its far-reaching perspective, views his execution as necessary, as it is better…

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Home -> 5782 -> Ki Seitzei

וכי והיה באיש חטא משפט מות והומת ... לא תלין נבלתו על העץ... כי קללת אלקים תלוי

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Seitzei, 5782

If a man shall have committed a sin whose judgment is death, he shall be put to death …His body shall not remain for the night on the gallows… For a hanging person is a curse of G-d. (21:22,23)

We see from the above halachah how exceptional we are to Hashem. For one who has committed a capital offense, the punishment is meted out via stoning. (He committed idolatry or blasphemy.) The corpse is then hung on a gallows, but must be taken down and buried before nightfall, since a human being is created in the image of Hashem. (Indeed, Hashem calls us His children.) Thus, the hanging corpse is an affront to Hashem. Rashi likens this to the twin brother of the king who was executed for an act of thievery. An innocent onlooker who passes by might…

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Home -> 5782 -> Ki Seitzei

זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק ... תמחה את זכר עמלק מתחת השמים

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Seitzei, 5782

Remember what Amalek did to you… you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from beneath the heaven. (25: 17,19)

The parshah begins with a war against our enemies and concludes with the war we are to wage constantly against our archenemy: Amalek. Horav Chaim Shmuelevitz, zl, asserts that Amalek is not merely one solitary nation. Amalek is a concept, symbolizing any group of people bent on destroying the Jew’s relationship with Hashem. They employ every weapon, every idea, that puts questions in the mind of the Jew, to cool off his passion to serve Hashem, to ever so slightly convince him to water down his obedience to the Almighty. Amalek convinces us (or forces us) to believe that we…

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Home -> 5782 -> Shoftim

שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך ... ושפטו את העם משפט צדק ...צדק, צדק תרדף

Sruly Schnair
In Shoftim, 5782

Judges and officers shall you appoint… and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment… righteous, righteous shall you pursue. (16:18,20)

We are enjoined to establish a justice system in which righteousness is the criterion by which justice is determined and by which reward and punishment is to be meted out.  While justice is a concept ingrained in all humanity, the Jewish religion places a premium on justice and considers it the foundation of our existence.  Hashem is the Ultimate Judge, the Arbiter who determines what is right and what is wrong.  A society that adheres to rewarding good and punishing bad is a just society.  A society which disregards good and bad is corrupt.  Justice is the lodestar by which…

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Home -> 5782 -> Shoftim

כי השחד יעור עיני חכמים ויסלף דברי צדיקים

Sruly Schnair
In Shoftim, 5782

For the bribe will blind the eyes of the wise and make just words crooked. (16:19)

We think that shochad, bribery, is about taking money to sway judgment.  As Horav Shlomo Levenstein, Shlita, points out, it is not always about accepting money.  Any favor that, when granted, makes the beneficiary /judge feel indebted is considered a bribe.  Indeed, as we see from the following story (“In the Footsteps of the Maggid,” by Rabbi Paysach Krohn), one can never be too careful with regard to the far-reaching effects of taking a bribe/accepting a favor. Horav Eliyahu Meir Bloch, zl, together with his brother-in-law, Horav Chaim Mordechai Katz, zl, founded Telshe Yeshiva in America.  The Rosh Yeshivah had…

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Home -> 5782 -> Shoftim

ועשית על פי הדבר אשר יגידו לך ... לא תסור מן הדבר אשר יגידו לך ימין ושמאל

Sruly Schnair
In Shoftim, 5782

You shall do according to the word that they will tell you … You shall not deviate from the word that they will tell you, right or left. (17: 10,11)

As faithful Jews we adhere to emunas chachamim, faith in our sages – in the sages of each individual generation.  Some, although observant, have difficulty accepting the interpretations of the Torah leaders concerning what they believe is fact.  In a correspondence to such a misled Jew, Horav Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, zl (Michtav M’Eliyahu), addresses the disputant who claimed that the Holocaust might have been at least partially averted had the Torah leaders of Eastern Europe encouraged the masses to emigrate to Eretz Yisrael.  He explains that the Torah teaches us to submit in all moral judgment and outlook, even to…

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