Achievement – Page 16 – Peninim on the Torah

For as an inheritance to Eisav have I given Mount Seir. (2:5)

The old cliché goes; Es is shver tzu zein a Yid, “It is difficult to be a Jew.” While this is a wrong attitude for a Jew to have, from a practical point of view, it may be considered true. Living an observant lifestyle takes a certain amount of conviction, resolution and forbearance. What we fail to acknowledge is that the cliché might have some validity – there may be a good explanation for the manifold challenges that a Jew confronts in life. Horav Aharon Bakst, zl, explains this as a reason for the distinction between Yaakov Avinu and Eisav…

Home -> 5771 -> Pinchas

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Pinchas, 5771

Only by lot shall the land be divided; according to the names of their fathers’ tribes shall they inherit. According to the lot shall one’s inheritance be divided between the many and the few. (26:55,56)

The land was divided by a system which clearly treats the land as an estate left by the preceding generation, the yotzei Mitzrayim, Jews who participated in the Egyptian exodus. Each of the fathers of those who left Egypt was designated to receive a portion in the Holy Land equivalent to the number of grandsons twenty years of age and older who would eventually enter Eretz Yisrael. This estate could be inherited only by those of the sons who were more than twenty years old when they left Egypt. These sons, in turn, could bequeath the land to those of…

Home -> 5771 -> Shelach

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5771

In this wilderness shall your carcasses drop. (14:29)

During their forty-year trek through the Wilderness, Klal Yisrael breached their relationship with Hashem, as they committed a number of transgressions. Yet, the Almighty punished the actual perpetrator(s) and forgave the rest of the populace. These were not simple sins. The chet ha’eigel, sin of the Golden Calf, was no simple transgression. Shortly after they left Egypt, Klal Yisrael committed a sin of grave proportions, as they turned their backs on Hashem, Who had done so much for them. They were scared; their leader, Moshe Rabbeinu, was late in descending the mountain, so they sinned. This was no excuse. Yet,…

Home -> 5771 -> Beha'alosecha

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Beha'alosecha, 5771

Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble. (12:3)

Humility is built upon a person’s assessment of himself. It has nothing to do with his being able to speak up or take a stand on behalf of what is right. A humble person is well aware of his personal ability and successes in life. He just feels that he could have done so much more. As far as his ability is concerned, he considers himself lacking in achievement. With his G-d-given talents, he should have been that much greater. As a result of this self-assessment, one carries himself in a manner incongruous with that of a person who is…

Home -> Bamidbar -> 5771

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Bamidbar

And you shall appoint the Leviim over the Mishkan of the Testimony. (1:50)

The Baal HaTurim notes an intriguing Mesorah concerning the word hafkeid, appoint. There is one other hafkeid in Tanach: Hafkeid alav rasha, “Appoint a wicked man over him” (Tehillim 109:6). What relationship is there between the two hafkeids? Appointing the Leviim to a position of distinction, and signifying one as wicked, are hardly parallel. The explanation of the Baal HaTurim seems to intensify the ambiguity concerning the correlation of the two pesukim. He says that this supports a statement made by Chazal, “One does not become a pakid (hafkeid), overseer – rise to a position of importance and responsibility below…

Home -> 5771 -> Mishpatim

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Mishpatim, 5771

Distance yourself from a false word. (23:7)

The admonition against uttering a falsehood, is quite different from other prohibitive mitzvos. Nowhere does it state that one must distance himself from the aveirah, sin. Proximity to the sin, or area which might bring one to sin may not be advisable, but there does not seem to be a specific exhortation against it. Falsehood, however, seems to be very dangerous. It has such a strong gravitational pull that simply being in its immediate environment is dangerous and can influence one to sin. Why is it different than maachalos asuros, forbidden foods, which do not carry such a stringency that one…

Home -> Mikeitz -> 5771

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Mikeitz

It was the end of two years to the day. (41:1)

Horav Meir, zl, m’Premishlan, related that his father had once experienced aliyas neshamah, during which his holy soul took leave of its physical container and ascended into the Heavenly sphere. He “noticed” that two “people” were being brought into Heaven; one was quite young, while the other appeared to be very old. Strangely, in Heaven, they referred to the young man as a senior citizen, while, concerning the old man, the converse was true. His father questioned this. After all, this is the Olam Ha’Emes, World of Truth. One’s age should be registered in accordance with his biological journey on…

Home -> 5771 -> Vayeitzei

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vayeitzei, 5771

Lavan had two daughters. The name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger one was Rachel. (29:16)

When Boaz married Rus, the elders and the assemblage conferred upon them the following blessing: “May Hashem make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and like Leah, both of whom built up the house of Yisrael” (Rus 4:11). The word shteihem, “both of them,” seems redundant, since, if we are mentioning only Rachel and Leah, obviously there are two/both of them. Horav Aryeh Leib Heyman, zl, cites a number of places in Tanach which have a similar redundancy, whereby names and a total number are mentioned. We find this especially significant concerning the two he-goats used for…

Home -> 5771 -> Toldos

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5771

Yaakov was a wholesome man, abiding in tents. (25:27)

Yaakov Avinu was morally and ethically wholesome, attributes attested to by the Torah. He is characterized as “abiding in tents.” Rashi explains that this is a reference to Yaakov’s total devotion to spending his time in the tents of Torah, under the direction of Shem and Eiver. Yaakov did not simply “learn.” He studied with a passion, totally devoted to the Torah. During the fourteen years that Yaakov spent in yeshivah engrossed in Torah study, he did not willingly go to sleep in a bed. This does not mean that he was superhuman. Yaakov slept only when sleep overtook him….

Home -> 5771 -> Chayei Sarah

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5771

And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her. (23:2)

In his Sefer Chareidim, Horav Elazar Azkari, zl, writes, “It is a mitzvah to eulogize an adam kasher, a proper, upright man, as it is written, ‘And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her.’” This is part of gemillas chassadim, acts of lovingkindness. While it is the correct and proper thing to do, the sequence of events in the Parshah seems out of order. One would think that the first reaction to hearing the news of someone’s sudden passing would be weeping. Only later, after the emotion of the day has settled, does the mourner eulogize the individual, which appears…

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For as an inheritance to Eisav have I given Mount Seir. (2:5)

Only by lot shall the land be divided; according to the names of their fathers’ tribes shall they inherit. According to the lot shall one’s inheritance be divided between the many and the few. (26:55,56)

In this wilderness shall your carcasses drop. (14:29)

Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble. (12:3)

And you shall appoint the Leviim over the Mishkan of the Testimony. (1:50)

Distance yourself from a false word. (23:7)

It was the end of two years to the day. (41:1)

Lavan had two daughters. The name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger one was Rachel. (29:16)

Yaakov was a wholesome man, abiding in tents. (25:27)

And Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her. (23:2)

YEARS

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