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Home -> Masei -> 5783

אלה מסעי בני ישראל אשר יצאו מארץ מצרים

Sruly Schnair
In 5783, Masei

These are the sojourns of Bnei Yisrael who went forth from the land of Egypt. (33:1)

Parashas Masei concludes Klal Yisrael’s forty-year sojourn in the wilderness. Many of the individuals in the nation who now stood before Moshe Rabbeinu, poised to enter into the Promised Land, were but children when they left Egypt, while others of them had been born after the liberation. Their parents, who had slaved for Pharaoh and had been redeemed from Egypt, were no longer alive. They paid a heavy price for their insubordination. They had been raised in a culture that was morally deviant and spiritually bankrupt, yet, they merited being liberated from that country. Apparently, they did not have the…

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Home -> Masei -> 5783

ומצרים מקברים... ובאלהיהם עשה ד' שפטים

Sruly Schnair
In 5783, Masei

And the Egyptians were burying (those among them whom Hashem had struck)… and on their gods Hashem had inflicted punishment. (33:4)

The Torah begins by informing us that the Jewish people left Egypt “with an upraised hand to the eyes of the Egyptians.” It then apprises us of the Egyptians burying their dead and continues to let us know that, not only did the firstborn perish, but Hashem also destroyed their idols. Can we derive a message from the juxtaposition of these two punishments? To explain the connection between the two punishments, we cite Rabbeinu Bachya who writes (commentary to Shemos 12:12) that, while Hashem, indeed, destroyed the Egyptian idols at night (the same time that He smote the firstborn), the…

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Home -> 5783 -> Pinchas

וירא פנחס... ויקם מתוך העדה...פנחס בן אלעזר בן אהרן הכהן השיב את חמת

Sruly Schnair
In Pinchas, 5783

Pinchas… and rose up from the midst of the people, and took a spear. (25:7)…Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon HaKohen turned back my wrath. (25:11)

It appears that Pinchas’ rising up from among the people contributed to his ultimate success. Indeed, we recite in the Selichos, Mi she’anah l’Pinchas b’kumo mitoch ha’eidah; “May He – Who answered Pinchas when he rose up from the midst of the people.” Why should his rising up from the midst of the people carry such weight? Horav Tzvi Kushelevsky, Shlita, explains that “rising up from the midst of the people” is reference to Pinchas’ acting independently, with no support or assistance. No one rallied him on. He had only detractors. Indeed, if Zimri and Kosbi would have stopped their…

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Home -> 5783 -> Pinchas

פנחס בן אלעזר בן אהרן הכהן השיב את חמתי מעל בני ישראל בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם ולא כליתי את בני ישראל בקנאתו

Sruly Schnair
In Pinchas, 5783

Pinchas ben Elazar, ben Aharon HaKohen, turned back My wrath from upon Bnei Yisrael, when he zealously avenged Me among them, so I did not consume Bnei Yisrael in My vengeance. (25:11)

All of Klal Yisrael stood by staring in shock and revulsion, as Zimri blatantly debased himself with a Midyanite woman. They were revolted by this public defamation of our moral code; nonetheless, they did nothing. They stood there almost in passive acquiescence. This, explains Sforno, was the reason they required atonement. To witness such a despicable act and not protest taints the onlooker to the point that he, on some level, is considered an accomplice in the sin. While this is true, one wonders how they could have taken it upon themselves to protest when the gadol hador, the preeminent…

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Home -> 5783 -> Pinchas

אשר יצא לפניהם ואשר יבא לפניהם

Sruly Schnair
In Pinchas, 5783

Who shall go out before them and come in before them. (27:17)

Moshe Rabbeinu asked Hashem to appoint his successor – one who would seamlessly move into the position of leadership, both in the practical sense in his ability to address the spiritual needs of the Jewish nation. Among the criteria which Moshe suggested was that the leader be one who would lead from the front – leading the men into battle and successfully leading them home. It is understandable that a leader be at the fore front in the battlefield to encourage his men, letting them know that he, too, is fighting alongside together. Why is it necessary for the leader…

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Home -> 5783 -> Pinchas

“Take to yourself Yehoshua bin Nun, a man in whom there is spirit, and lean your hand upon him.” (27:18)

Sruly Schnair
In Pinchas, 5783

קח לך את יהושע בן נון איש אשר רוח בו וסמכת את ידך עליו

In his commentary, Rashi notes the difference between Hashem’s instructions to Moshe Rabbeinu as to the manner of semichah, leaning/placing his hand on Yehoshua, and the actual performance in which Moshe placed both hands upon Yehoshua. Rashi writes: “He leaned his hands” – generously, much more than he had been commanded. For Hashem said to him, “And lean your hand, and he leaned with both hands – like a vessel which is full and brimming over and filled him generously with his wisdom.” Rashi clearly writes that Moshe gave extra wisdom of his own to Yehoshua. The Talmud (Bava Kamma…

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Home -> 5783 -> Chukas

יען לא האמנתם בי להקדישני לעיני בני ישראל

Sruly Schnair
In Chukas, 5783

Because you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of Bnei Yisrael. (20:12)

Due to the nature of the sin of mei merivah, waters of strife, its ramifications for Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen, and, by extension, Klal Yisrael, it is understandable that multiple commentators weigh in on the subject. We will focus on Rashi’s commentary, which is the most basic, and, thus, one to which we can all relate from a practical point of view. Rashi (both here and in Sefer Devarim 32:51) explains that they sinned by striking the rock, when Hashem had instructed them to speak to it. Had they spoken to the rock and water emerged from it, Hashem’s…

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Home -> 5783 -> Chukas

ויראו כל העדה כי גוע אהרן

Sruly Schnair
In Chukas, 5783

And all the nation saw that Aharon was dead. (20:29)

When Miriam Ha’Neviah died, her loss to the nation became apparent, as the well (B’eirah shel Miriam) dried up. Likewise, when Aharon HaKohen died, his death was marked by an external manifestation; with the removal of the protective Ananei HaKavod, Pillars of Cloud, which traveled with them throughout their journeys. Chazal teach that there were three parnasim, providers, in whose merit Klal Yisrael benefited. Miriam, in whose merit they were sustained with water; Aharon, in whose merit the nation traveled without fear, as the clouds fended off any danger or obstacle; and Moshe Rabbeinu, in whose merit we were sustained…

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Home -> 5783 -> Balak

ויאמר אל עבדי בלק אם יתן לי בלק מלא ביתו כסף וזהב לא אוכל לעבר את פי ד'

Sruly Schnair
In Balak, 5783

He (Bilaam) said to the servants of Balak, “If, Balak, will give me his household of silver and gold, I cannot transgress the word of Hashem.” (22:18)

Rashi notes that, by speaking of a houseful of gold and silver – implying that if he could transgress the word of Hashem he would accept no less – Bilaam showed his true colors. He was arrogant and greedy, obsessed with furthering his immoral lifestyle. One of the well-known Mishnayos in Pirkei Avos addresses the deficient character traits of Bilaam ha’rasha, as opposed to those of Avraham Avinu. The thought of comparing the two is ludicrous, since Bilaam was, and remains, a symbol of greed and moral profligacy, and the actions of Avraham, the Patriarch of our nations, concerning the…

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Home -> 5783 -> Balak

ויפתח ד' את פי האתון ותאמר לבלעם מה עשיתי לך

Sruly Schnair
In Balak, 5783

Hashem opened the mouth of the she-donkey and it said to Bilaam, “What have I done to you?” (22:28)

Bilaam struck his donkey three times – unaware that it was Hashem who was impeding Bilaam’s path. The donkey just stood and refused to go forward. Bilaam was clueless to this, therefore, like most arrogant people who are incapable of accepting the truth, he lashed out at his donkey. Three words – “What have I done to you?” was all the donkey said in admonishing Bilaam. His reaction was, “If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you!” (Ibid. 22:29). All Bilaam could think of was the donkey’s impertinence to him. After all, he was the greatest…

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