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Home -> 5781 -> Nitzavim

ושבת עד ד' אלקיך

Sruly Schnair
In Nitzavim, 5781

And you will return unto Hashem, your G-d. (30:2)

“And you will return to Hashem.” Is this not obvious? If one has experienced a deficit in the spiritual sphere of his life, it would be understandable that his return be unto Hashem. I think the Torah is conveying a powerful message with regard to teshuvah. It is not unusual for one who is dealing with personal and familial issues to blame it on Hashem and renege his observance as a means of avoiding or assuaging his own painful burdens. In such a circumstance, returning to Hashem will be difficult, since “returning” means going back to one’s point of departure…

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Home -> 5781 -> Nitzavim

ושב ד' אלקיך את שבותך

Sruly Schnair
In Nitzavim, 5781

Then Hashem will bring back your captivity. (30:3)

Rashi comments: “Our sages derived from here that the Shechinah resides among Klal Yisrael when they are in exile.” Why is the word shvuscha, your captivity, used instead of the more practical galuscha, your exile? Horav Lazer Brody, Shlita, suggests that shvuscha refers to a specific exilee, the tinok she’nishbah, child taken captive. In our modern day vernacular, this refers to the assimilated Jew who never had a chance to learn about the beauty of Judaism and its observance, who has been, so to speak, taken captive by the culture in which he was raised. Without the opportunity to learn…

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Home -> 5781 -> Nitzavim

אם יהיה נדחך בקצה השמים משם יקבצך ד' אלקיך

Sruly Schnair
In Nitzavim, 5781

If your dispersed will be at the ends of Heaven, from there Hashem, your G-d, will gather you in. (30:4)

Horav Yechezkel Levinstein, zl, interprets this pasuk pragmatically. If your dispersed will have a relationship with spirituality in such a manner that they just cling to the ends of Heaven, where they have a faint positive acknowledgment of spirituality, of Yiddishkeit, of Torah, of mitzvos – this will be considered sufficient for their ingathering and redemption. The Sefarim HaKedoshim teach that this is why the human body contains a small bone which does not decompose. It is from this tiny, indescribable bone that the person will be resurrected during Techiyas HaMeisim, Resurrection of the Dead. Thus, from there b’ktzei ha’Shomayim,…

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Home -> 5781 -> Ki Savo

ואמרת אליו הגדתי היום לד' אלקיך כי באתי אל הארץ אשר נשבע ד' לאבתינו לתת לנו

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Savo, 5781

And you shall say to him, “I declare today to Hashem, your G-d, that I have come to the Land that Hashem swore to our forefathers to give to us.” (26:3)

The landowner brings his fruits to Yerushalayim, to the Kohen, and makes his declaration acknowledging that whatever material bounty he has been fortunate to attain is due solely to Hashem’s beneficence. Thus, concerning the words, “And you shall say to him,” Rashi comments, “To show that you are not unappreciative.” The Sifri explains the need to direct this declaration to the Kohen, for it is only by acknowledging to another that Hashem has fulfilled His promise that one expresses his gratitude. Furthermore, as noted by the Bais Yisrael, zl, the pasuk begins, V’amarta, “You shall say” and follows in pasuk…

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Home -> 5781 -> Ki Savo

וירא את ענינו ואת עמלנו ואת לחצנו

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Savo, 5781

And He saw our affliction, our travail, and our oppression. (26:7)

In the Haggadah, Chazal expound, “V’es amaleinu, our affliction – eilu ha’banim, this refers to our children.” Ibn Ezra and Ritva support this idea. One wonders why Chazal would expound a pasuk in a manner totally inconsistent with the vernacular of the pasuk. The Torah addresses the cruel and brutal labor to which the Jews were subjected in Egypt. How do children enter into the equation? Horav Shlomo Zalmen Auerbach, zl (quoted in V’Zos HaTorah by Horav Eliyahu Schlesinger), observes that the word amal is always used in connection to the toil that a person expends for something that he…

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Home -> 5781 -> Ki Savo

ונתנך ד' לראש ולא לזנב והיית רק למעלה ולא תהיה למטה

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Savo, 5781

Hashem shall place you as a head and not as a tail; you shall be only above, and you shall not be below. (28:13)

The Ramban explains that the two terms are not repetitious. It is possible to be a leader to some and a follower of others. Hashem promises that if Klal Yisrael is worthy, they will follow no one. They will be highly respected – by everyone. Horav Ezriel Hildeshaimer, zl, explains that a person who grows up amid luxury, who is used to and comforted by the finer things in life, will invariably not be impressed when he is “bumped up,” elevated to another class of living. He has had so much exposure to a grandiose lifestyle, that a little more…

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Home -> 5781 -> Ki Savo

תחת אשר לא עבדת את ד' אלקיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב מרב כל

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Savo, 5781

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

If we ever have needed clear, incontrovertible proof that a joyful attitude in life is important, we have it in this pasuk. Furthermore, the Torah is teaching us that mitzvah performance sans joy is of little significance. In fact, it leads a person to renege his observance eventually. Proof positive is the fact that the Torah attributes the cause of the ninety-eight curses, maledictions, punishments to our lack of joy in mitzvah observance. We translate simchah as joy. In contrast to happiness, which is a state of being, joy is a state of the moment. One can be surrounded with…

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Home -> 5781 -> Ki Seitzei

ותפשו בו אביו ואמו... ואמרו בננו זה סורר ומורה

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Seitzei, 5781

Then his father and mother shall grasp him… They shall say… “This son of ours is wayward and rebellious.” (21:19,20)

The Mishnah in Sanhedrin (71a) states that both parents must be on the same page with regard to their son’s behavior – or lack thereof. If the father claims that he is incorrigible and the mother disagrees, or vice versa, the boy is not deemed a ben sorer u’moreh. Furthermore, he is executed after being found guilty only if neither parent forgives him. If, however, even after he has been warned and has received malkos, lashes, he sins again, if his parents forgive him, he is not put to death. This idea requires elucidation. He is executed because of how…

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Home -> 5781 -> Ki Seitzei

ובערת הרע מקרבך וכל ישראל ישמעו ויראו

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Seitzei, 5781

And you shall destroy the evil from your midst; and all of Yisrael shall hear, and they shall fear. (21:21)

Rashi comments: A ben sorer u’moreh, wayward and rebellious son, is put to death due to his end. The Torah foresaw the culmination of his way of thinking. He will eventually exhaust his father’s money, and, in order to maintain his habit, will be compelled to steal. A time will come when stealing will not come easily. At this point, he will resort to murder. Chazal teach: Let him die as an innocent person (before he kills someone) and not die as a guilty person. This refers to an inconsistency in a prior episode in the Torah, when the infant…

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Home -> 5781 -> Ki Seitzei

השב תשיבם לאחיך

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Seitzei, 5781

You shall surely return them to you brother. (22:1)

Horav Shmuel Hominer, zl (Eved HaMelech), writes that included in the mitzvah of Hasheiv teshiveim, the obligation to return a lost article to its rightful owner, likewise applies with regard to the spiritual sphere. One Jew is responsible for the other. Therefore, if my brother is plagued with a spiritual shortcoming, my attitude should not be: “How does this involve me? He is responsible for his life. I am responsible for mine.” It does not work that way. We are responsible for one another. One should not ignore his fellow’s plight by turning a blind eye to his spiritual failings….

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