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Home -> 5781 -> Toldos

הקל קול יעקב והידים ידי עשו

Sruly Schnair
In Toldos, 5781

The voice is Yaakov’s voice, but the hands are Eisav’s hands. (27:22)

Chazal derive from the above pasuk that when the voice of Yaakov Avinu prevails – when Torah is studied and his descendants are engaged in prayer – the murderous hands of Eisav have no power against us. When we slack off and weaken our vocal power, Eisav and his minions are strengthened.  When we read the pasuk, however, the implication is different. It almost appears as if Yaakov lives by his voice and Eisav by his hands – and there is no counterbalance, such that one rises and the other falls. Furthermore, the word kol (ha’kol) the voice, is written…

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Home -> 5781 -> Toldos

הקל קול יעקב והידים ידי עשו

Sruly Schnair
In Toldos, 5781

The voice is Yaakov’s voice, but the hands are Eisav’s hands. (27:22)

Yitzchak Avinu sensed a contradiction. The manner in which the “son” who stood before him spoke was gentle, pleasant and respectful. Hence, he assumed that it was Yaakov who stood before him. On the other hand, once he felt his hairy arms, he thought it was Eisav. Alternatively, the power of Yaakov’s voice was in his ability to plead with Hashem through the medium of prayer. Eisav was a “hands on” man; he lived with his hands – plundering and murdering. Nothing stood in the way of his hands. One question that weighs heavily on the reader: If Yitzchak questioned…

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Home -> 5781 -> Chayei Sarah

ויקם אברהם מעל פני מתו וידבר אל בני חת

Sruly Schnair
In Chayei Sarah, 5781

Avraham rose up from the presence of his dead, and spoke to the Bnei Cheis. (23:3)

This group of people, Bnei Cheis, is mentioned ten times in the parsha. The Torah is frugal with words and does not use an extra word unless it teaches a lesson or has unique significance. Therefore, the ten-time redundancy of Bnei Cheis (nine times in this parshah and once in Parshas Vayechi) begs elucidation. Chazal explain that these ten mentions correspond to the Ten Commandments, in order to teach the lesson that whoever assists in the business dealings of a tzaddik, righteous person, it is considered as if he carried out the Ten Commandments. This is a powerful statement. We…

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Home -> 5781 -> Chayei Sarah

אשר לא תקח אשה לבני מבנות הכנעני ... כי אל ארצי ואל מולדתי תלך ולקחת אשה לבני ליצחק

Sruly Schnair
In Chayei Sarah, 5781

That you not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanim… Rather, to my land and to my kindred shall you go and take a wife for my son, for Yitzchak. (24:3,4)

The moral profligacy that reigned in Canaan overrode the spiritual perversion that prevailed in Charan. As the D’Rashos HaRan explains, it is possible to penetrate the mind of he who is spiritually perverse, because idolatry is a philosophical issue which can be addressed rationally, so that the individual can understand how his logic has been twisted. In contrast, the moral degeneracy of the Canaanim is more difficult to counter, because the degeneracy becomes imbedded in the psyche of the individual, so that he is unable to comprehend anything outside of his established belief system. Horav Boruch Dov Povarsky, Shlita, supplements…

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Home -> 5781 -> Chayei Sarah

אנכי בדרך נחני ד'

Sruly Schnair
In Chayei Sarah, 5781

As for me, Hashem has guided me on the way. (24:27)

How often do we become frustrated with a situation or a person, to the point that we wonder what is it that Hashem is asking of us? Eliezer was sent on a mission, an impossible mission: to find a suitable mate for Yitzchak (Avinu). Yitzchak was raised by Avraham Avinu and Sarah Imeinu. He was the Olah Temimah, perfect sacrifice. The world “out there” was pagan-oriented, with no moral/ethical compass and even less of a spiritual focus. If Avraham sends, Eliezer goes. The lodestar that guided and maintained him was, Anochi baderech nachani Hashem;“As for me, Hashem has guided me…

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Home -> 5781 -> Chayei Sarah

ויבאה יצחק האהלה שרה אמו ויקח את רבקה ותהי לו לאשה ויאהבה וינחם יצחק אחרי אמו

Sruly Schnair
In Chayei Sarah, 5781

And Yitzchak brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother; he married Rivkah; she became his wife, and he loved her; and thus was Yitzchak consoled after his mother. (24:67)

The Ramban observes that Yitzchak Avinu’s love for Rivkah Imeinu was inspired by her righteousness and the suitability of her maasim tovim, good deeds, which are the only criteria upon which the Torah predicates the love between husband and wife. This is the only form of love that is enduring. Targum Onkeles interprets the pasuk: “When he/Yitzchak saw that her/Rivkah’s actions were similar to those of Sarah, his mother – v’nasiv es Rivkah, he married Rivkah.” Yitzchak’s decision to marry Rivkah, to have her become Klal Yisrael’s second Matriarch, was grounded on her spiritual similarity to his mother. He sought…

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Home -> 5781 -> Vayeira

ויזכר אלקים את אברהם וישלח את לוט מתוך ההפיכה

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeira, 5781

Hashem remembered Avraham; so He sent Lot from amidst the upheaval. (19:29)

Avraham Avinu was a baal chesed, master of kindness. Indeed, the Torah goes to great lengths in describing his devotion to the wayfarer, and how he exerted himself to make sure that whoever came into his home had a pleasureful and satisfying experience. Lot, Avraham’s nephew, also acted with chesed. He moved to Sodom and became a distinguished member of this ignominious community. He moved there because he was into money and everything one can achieve with material bounty. He did, however, retain some of the good qualities that he learned under the influence of his uncle. When the Angels…

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Home -> 5781 -> Vayeira

וישא עיניו וירא והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeira, 5781

He lifted his eyes and saw: And behold! Three men were standing over him. (18:2)

If Lot had learned one thing from his uncle, Avraham Avinu, it was to adhere meticulously to the mitzvah of hachnosas orchim, hospitality to wayfarers – and anyone in need of a bed or a meal. Hachnosas orchim is just one of the many activities that fall under the rubric of chesed. Avraham was the amud ha’chesed, pillar of loving-kindness. Avraham devoted himself to it to the point of self-sacrifice. Chesed also gave him the opportunity to reach out to the pagan world spiritually and to teach the pagans about Hashem. Chazal laud Avraham for his extraordinary dedication to serving…

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Home -> 5781 -> Vayeira

כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeira, 5781

For I have loved him because he commands his children and his household after him. (18:19)

Chinuch ha’banim, educating our children, inculcating them with the moral/ethical values of our Torah expounded by Chazal, is the primary role with which parents are charged. Hashem says that He loves Avraham Avinu because he places education uppermost in his mind. Everything that Avraham did contained an educational aspect. He lived to serve Hashem. We can perform no greater service to the Almighty than one which imbues others and brings them closer to serving Hashem. We can derive a number of lessons from this pasuk. First, one is not included under the rubric of a yarei Hashem, G-d-fearing Jew, unless…

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Home -> 5781 -> Lech Lecha

לך לך מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך

Sruly Schnair
In Lech Lecha, 5781

Go for yourself from your land, from your relatives, and from your father’s house. (12:1)

Rashi adds L’hanaasecha u’l’tovascha, “for your pleasure and your good.” Hashem telling Avraham to pick himself up, leave his home and family, and uproot himself and his wife to a destination that has yet to be “determined” is far from pleasureful and good. The pleasure is serving Hashem; the good is following Hashem’s command. One would be hard-pressed to find anything positive about leaving, unless, of course, one is leaving a miserable place, which was the case in Avraham Avinu’s circumstances. Imrei Shamai cites an incident that occurred concerning Horav Nochum, zl, m’Tchernobel which may be extrapolated to explain how…

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