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Home -> 5785 -> Beha'alosecha

ויאמרו האנשים ההמה אליו אנחנו טמאים לנפש אדם למה נגרע לבלתי הקריב את קרבן ד' במועדו

Sruly Schnair
In Beha'alosecha, 5785

Those men said to him, “We are contaminated through a human corpse. Why should we be diminished by not offering Hashem’s korban in its appointed time?” (9:7)

These men had become ritually contaminated, a status which precludes them from participating in the Korban Pesach. This was an epic spiritual experience from which they did not want to be excluded. So intense was their desire to participate, they petitioned Moshe Rabbeinu to somehow include them. In recognition of their nobility and unparalleled sheifah, aspiration/yearning for this mitzvah, Hashem appointed them to be the medium through whom He would reveal the new mitzvah of Pesach Sheini, which would be offered one month after the appointed time for Pesach. The normal course of the Torah was to issue mitzvos through…

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Home -> 5785 -> Beha'alosecha

מי יאכילנו בשר... זכרנו את הדגה

Sruly Schnair
In Beha'alosecha, 5785

Who will feed us meat…? We remember the fish. (11:4,5)

The people clamored for meat. It is not as if they were being fed steak in Egypt, but, in the wilderness as free men, they felt that they had a right to ask for meat. If so, why did they add, “We remember the fish.” If they were asking for meat, why did they introduce the fact that they had eaten fish in Egypt? Horav Levi Yitzchak Berditchever, zl, explains that, with the manna, they were able to taste any food they liked. There was one contingency: it had to be a food with whose taste they were familiar. By…

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Home -> 5785 -> Beha'alosecha

והאיש משה ענו מאד מכל האדם אשר על פני האדמה

Sruly Schnair
In Beha'alosecha, 5785

Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth. (12:3)

The Chafetz Chaim commented on the pasuk in Iyov 3:18, Katan v’gadal shom hu, “Small and great are equal there” (in the World of Truth). In the next world, all external differences disappear. The distinctions we make in this world between wealthy and poor, strong and weak, influential and unnoticed, are irrelevant in Olam Habba. In this world, the barometer for determining who is “considered” great and who is small is a superficial measure. Society elevates those who appear successful, while those who seem as insignificant go unnoticed. This is an illusion. In the World of Truth, the only barometer…

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Home -> 5785 -> Beha'alosecha

משה ענו מכל האדם אשר על פני האדמה והאיש

Sruly Schnair
In Beha'alosecha, 5785

Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth. (12:3)

Humility is one of the most fundamental and exalted character traits which define a person’s true character. It does not negate recognizing one’s talents, acumen, and achievements, but rather, attributes everything to Hashem. The humble person understands that one’s strengths are merely tools Hashem has given him for a higher purpose. Moshe Rabbeinu saw himself as fulfilling a Divine mission. He was well aware of his distinction and accomplishments, but he attributed it all to Hashem Who had sent him on a Divine mission. Humility is not about thinking less of yourself, but rather, about thinking of yourself less and…

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Home -> 5785 -> Naso

ואחר ישתה הנזיר יין

Sruly Schnair
In Naso, 5785

Afterward the Nazir may drink wine. (6:20)

A fundamental principle of spiritual growth is: Inspiration is fleeting, but what truly matters is how we internalize the experience/inspiration and allow it to shape our actions over time. A person may attend a powerful shiur or shmuess, ethical discourse in which the speaker’s oratory is remarkable. The listener is overcome with emotion and experiences a personal wake-up call that shakes him to his core. How long does it last before his emotion dissipates? We have all been there. If a few days pass and business proceeds as usual, it is an indication that the inspiration was like the passing…

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Home -> 5785 -> Naso

ביום השני הקריב נתנאל בן צוער נשיא יששכר

Sruly Schnair
In Naso, 5785

On the second day, Nesanel ben Tzuar offered, the nasi/leader of Yissachar. (7:18)

Noticeably, the tribes of Yissachar and Zevulun – representing the one who studies Torah, and his supporter – precede Reuven, the firstborn. Horav Yaakov Hillel, Shlita, wonders about the placement of the klei, vessels, of the Mishkan. The Aron HaKodesh was placed in the innermost area, the Kodesh HaKodoshim, of the Mishkan. On the other side (external) of the Paroches, Curtain, which separated the Kodesh from the Kodesh HaKodoshim, stood the Menorah on the southern corner. Opposite it, on the northern side, was placed the Shulchan, Table. The Menorah clearly symbolizes the light of Torah (ki ner mitzvah v’Torah ohr),…

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Home -> 5785 -> Naso

פר אחד בן בקר איל אחד כבש אחד בן שנתו לעולה

Sruly Schnair
In Naso, 5785

One young bull, one ram, one sheep in its first year for an elevation-offering. (7:21)

Rashi comments concerning the allusion of the individual korbanos to the Avos, Patriarchs. The young bull alludes to Avraham Avinu, who used a young bull as part of his act of chesed, kindness, in welcoming three guests to his tent. The ram refers to Yitzchak Avinu, whom Avraham replaced on the Altar with a ram. This was part of Yitzchak’s unprecedented act of mesiras nefesh, self-sacrifice. The sheep alludes to Yaakov Avinu who tended sheep during his stay with Lavan. The Torah underscores Yaakov’s honesty in making certain that he took nothing for himself that did not belong to him….

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Home -> Bamidbar -> 5785

וידבר ד' אל משה במדבר סיני

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Bamidbar

Hashem spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai. (1:1)

Chazal (Bamidbar Rabbah 1:7) explain that Hashem chose the wilderness as the site where He would give the Torah, by design. It is not that we received the Torah in the wilderness, because we just happened to be there. Rather we were there because this is where Hashem wanted us to receive the Torah. Horav Moshe Shternbuch, Shlita, explains the simile of wilderness as a place where there is no baalus, ownership. Likewise, one who learns Torah, one who seeks to grow and achieve in the field of Torah, must render himself like a wilderness, by relinquishing control, possession over…

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Home -> Bamidbar -> 5785

ואת כל העדה הקהילו... ויתילדו על משפחתם לבית אבתם

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Bamidbar

They assembled the entire congregation… and they declared the lineage according to their families, according to their father’s households. (1:18)

Rashi explains va’yisyaldu as, “They declared their lineage.” This means they brought documents proving their lineage (as part of Am Yisrael). Kedushas Levi presents an alternative explanation in which the word va’yisyaldu is translated literally as indicating leidah, birth. As is well-known, the nations of the world trace their lineage matrilineally, after their mothers [Rus Rabbah 2:13]. Rabbi Meir comforted Avnimus HaGardi when his mother died. However, a short time later, when Avnimus’ father died, the gentile was not actively mourning his father. Rabbi Meir explained that from the standpoint of lineage, a non-Jewish idolater has no status from his…

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Home -> Bamidbar -> 5785

ויתילדו על משפחתם לבית אבתם

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Bamidbar

And they declared the lineage according to their families, according to their father’s households. (1:18)

The Yalkut relates, when the Jewish People received the Torah, the nations of the world were filled with envy. They wondered what was it about the Jews that catalyzed Hashem’s closeness to them? [Perhaps it was not the actual Torah that we received which concerned them. They really had no desire for the Torah with its demands and restrictions. They envied the relationship we had with Hashem. They refused to accept the notion that it was a two-way street. When we accept Hashem’s mitzvos, we establish a relationship during which we move closer to Hashem. The obtuseness of the nations…

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