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Home -> 5783 -> Kedoshim

לא תלין פעלת שכיר אתך עד בקר ... לא תקלל חרש

Sruly Schnair
In Kedoshim, 5783

You shall not withhold a worker’s wage with you until morning… You shall not curse the deaf. (19:13,14)

The deaf person will not hear your curses. Nonetheless, one does not curse his fellow. Certainly, if he can hear and is aware of the curse, such deplorable behavior is an anathema for a Jew. The Baal HaTurim expounds on the juxtaposition of withholding wages upon cursing the deaf. Even if one has a valid complaint, i.e. he worked hard through sweat and toil, and he put in a full day’s work. He now wants/needs to get paid. He has no food at home. His children are starving. His earnings were to be used to purchase the vital necessities to…

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Home -> 5783 -> Vaeira

ולא יכלו החרטמים לעמד לפני משה מפני השחין ... ויחזק ד' את לב פרעה

Sruly Schnair
In Vaeira, 5783

The necromancers could not stand before Moshe because of the boils … Hashem strengthened the heart of Pharaoh. (9:11,12)

Concerning the previous plagues, the Torah writes that Pharaoh personally strengthened/hardened his heart. Regarding makkas shechin, boils, the Torah attests, Va’yichazek Hashem es lev Pharaoh, “Hashem strengthened Pharaoh’s heart.” What had transpired to catalyze this change? Ramban explains that as long as he was surrounded by his magicians, Pharaoh was ashamed to concede the truth: he had lost control. Hashem was stronger. The Jewish people should be permitted to leave. Pharaoh the rasha, wicked, would never allow anyone to observe him in a moment of weakness. It might denigrate their perception of him as a deity. When Egypt was stricken…

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Home -> Shemos -> 5783

ועתה הנה צעקת בני ישראל באה אלי

Sruly Schnair
In 5783, Shemos

And now, behold! The outcry of Bnei Yisrael has come to Me. (3:9)

There is tefillah, prayer, and there is tze’akah, crying out, yelling or effusive prayer laden with emotion and expression. Tze’akah is the prayer one offers when he is literally up against the wall with nowhere to go. He sees no way out, no form of salvation. Imagine one is walking in a forest when he suddenly chances upon a bear. He screams. Will the scream make a difference? Bears are really not moved by the screams of a human being. Nonetheless, when one realizes that this is it, he has no way out – he screams. Klal Yisrael was in…

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Home -> 5783 -> Vayeitzei

ויפגע במקום וילן שם

Sruly Schnair
In Vayeitzei, 5783

He encountered the place and spent the night there. (28:11)

This was no ordinary place. It was Har HaMoriah, where Avraham Avinu bound Yitzchak (Avinu) on the Mizbayach, Altar, which would later serve as the site of the Bais Hamikdash. Chazal interpret the word vayifga, “he encountered,” as “he prayed.” Yaakov Avinu’s encounter was of a spiritual nature. He encountered Hashem. Since it was evening, this is when the Patriarch initiated Tefillas Arvis, the Evening Prayer. Chazal (Chullin 91:13) teach that originally Yaakov had passed the place without giving it a second thought. When he reached Charan, he realized that he had passed the place where his father and grandfather…

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Home -> 5783 -> Toldos

ויעתר לו ד' ותהר רבקה אשתו

Sruly Schnair
In Toldos, 5783

Hashem allowed Himself to be entreated by him, and his wife, Rivkah, conceived. (25:21)

Yitzchak Avinu and Rivkah Imeinu both prayed for a child. Hashem replied affirmatively to Yitzchak’s prayer – rather than to Rivkah’s. Rashi explains: “There is no comparison between the prayer of a tzaddik ben tzaddik, the righteous child of a righteous person, to that of a tzaddik ben rasha, a righteous person, the child of a wicked person.” The question is well-known; the answer is also well-known; the “why” however, is not. One would think that after all that Rivkah endured in the home of her youth, she would achieve greater recognition. She achieved tzaddeikes status, despite being the daughter…

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Home -> 5783 -> Chayei Sarah

ויהיו חיי שרה מאה שנה ועשרים שנה ושבע שנים

Sruly Schnair
In Chayei Sarah, 5783

Sarah’s lifetime was one hundred years, twenty years, and seven years. (23:1)

Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 58:3) relate an intriguing story. Rabbi Akiva was giving a profound, intricate shiur, lecture. He noticed that his students were drifting off. In order to arouse them from their “slumber,” he presented them with a question (more like a riddle): Why did Esther merit to reign over 127 countries? He answered: She was a descendant of Sarah Imeinu who had lived 127 years. The question is rhetorical; the answer is beguiling. What does one have to do with the other? It is not as if Esther actually reigned over 127 countries. She was married to King Achashveirosh…

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Home -> 5783 -> Chayei Sarah

ויקם אברהם מעל פני מתו וידבר אל בני חת

Sruly Schnair
In Chayei Sarah, 5783

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

The Torah is circumspect concerning its text, spelling of each word and overall locution. No word is superfluous, no spelling is ignored. Chazal derive volumes of halachah from every nuance, every seeming redundancy. As the message of its Divine Author, nothing in the Torah is to be taken capriciously. As such, it is intriguing to note that the words, bnei Cheis (children of Cheis), are mentioned nine times in our parshah and once in Parashas Vayechi (49:32). It is not as if these were laudable people. They were idolaters who were greedy and selfish – among other things. Yet, the…

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Home -> 5783 -> Bereishis

בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ

Sruly Schnair
In Bereishis, 5783

In the beginning of G-d’s creating the heavens and the earth. (1:1)

Rashi comments, “All the potentials of heaven and earth were created on Day One, but Hashem commanded each to actualize on a designated day. The heavens had been created on the first day, but they were still in a state of flux. On the second day, when Hashem said, ‘Let there be a rakia, firmament,’ the heavens solidified, thereby creating a separation between the waters above (clouds) and the waters below.” We wonder why there had to be a process whereby the heavens required a day to congeal. Also, Hashem created light on the first day, but He did not…

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Home -> 5782 -> Ki Seitzei

זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק ... תמחה את זכר עמלק מתחת השמים

Sruly Schnair
In Ki Seitzei, 5782

Remember what Amalek did to you… you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from beneath the heaven. (25: 17,19)

The parshah begins with a war against our enemies and concludes with the war we are to wage constantly against our archenemy: Amalek. Horav Chaim Shmuelevitz, zl, asserts that Amalek is not merely one solitary nation. Amalek is a concept, symbolizing any group of people bent on destroying the Jew’s relationship with Hashem. They employ every weapon, every idea, that puts questions in the mind of the Jew, to cool off his passion to serve Hashem, to ever so slightly convince him to water down his obedience to the Almighty. Amalek convinces us (or forces us) to believe that we…

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Home -> 5782 -> Eikev

ועתה ישראל מה ד' אלקיך שאל מעמך כי אם ליראה את ד' אלקיך

Sruly Schnair
In Eikev, 5782

Now, O Yisrael, what does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you? Only to fear Hashem, your G-d. (10:12)

Chazal (Berachos 32B) derive from this pasuk (in which Hashem asks us to fear Him) that everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven.  Everything in a person’s nature and circumstance in life — such as his height, complexion, financial success and his intelligence — are in Hashem’s hands.  Whether or not one is G-d-fearing (and, by extension, all aspects of spiritual growth), however, is man’s decision.  It is not forced upon him.  Fear of Hashem is part of man’s free-will.  The Talmud asks: Is fear of Heaven a small thing?  They respond that, yes, for…

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