Attitude – Page 10 – Peninim on the Torah

כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו ושמרו דרך ד' לעשות צדקה ומשפט

For I have loved him, because he commands his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of Hashem, doing charity and justice. (18:19)

Avraham Avinu is known as the amud, pillar, of chesed. He went beyond the call of duty in order to provide for the needs of those who were not as fortunate as he. It was this character trait which he introduced and inculcated into the psyche of his descendants. Chesed takes on many forms. It all depends on the attitude of the benefactor. For the most part, they see a need, and they immediately respond. Then there are those who innovate, who think before they act, who understand that chesed goes deeper than fulfilling a need. One must acknowledge the…

Home -> 5784 -> Vayeira

ויהי אחר הדברים האלה והאלקים נסה אברהם

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5784

And it happened after these things that G-d tested Avraham. (22:1)

The Akeidah, Binding of Yitzchak, is considered the seminal nisayon, trial, with which Hashem challenged Avraham Avinu. The question is obvious: All one has to do is peruse Jewish history to see that mesiras nefesh, for a Jew to sacrifice his life, has almost been a way of life, a culture with which we have been inculcated. Veritably, all instances of mesiras nefesh nurture their strength from Akeidas Yitzchak, but still, our ancestry did not always have Neviim, prophets, and Torah leaders who inspired and guided them concerning relinquishing their lives al Kiddush Hashem. Avraham Avinu received his mission from…

Home -> 5784 -> Lech Lecha

לך לך מארצך

Sruly Schnair In Lech Lecha, 5784

Go for yourself, from your land. (12:1)

The purpose of the life of Avraham Avinu was to set the tenor for how a Jew should live. His life story begins with Lech lecha, “Go for yourself.” He was instructed to separate himself from the society at large and forge a new approach to living – the Jewish/Torah way of life. What best characterizes this way of life? Horav Moshe Eismann, Shlita, relates a short vignette which, by extrapolation, can serve as the guiding principle by which we are to live in the context of a society that is totally foreign (or should be) to our standard of…

Home -> V'zos HaBrachah -> 5784

ויבכו בני ישראל את משה... ויתמו ימי בכי אבל משה. ויהושע בן נון מלא רוח חכמה כי סמך משה ידיו עליו

Sruly Schnair In 5784, V'zos HaBrachah

ויבכו בני ישראל את משה… ויתמו ימי בכי אבל משה. ויהושע בן נון מלא רוח חכמה כי סמך משה ידיו עליו

When a Torah giant is niftar, passes away, it leaves a void which cannot be filled. The next tzaddik, righteous person, will establish his own position, approach and following. He will not replace his predecessor. Each Torah giant is on his own individual spiritual plane and has his own unique impact on his followers. Moshe Rabbeinu took leave of his beloved nation. The void that the Bnei Yisrael felt was immediately filled by Yehoshua, Hashem’s hand-picked successor to Moshe. While Yehoshua was a capable leader who navigated the nation throughout their war with the seven nations and the apportioning of…

Home -> Ha'azinu -> 5783

זכור ימות עולם בינו שנות דור ודור

Sruly Schnair In 5783, Ha'azinu

Remember the days of yore, understand the years of generation after generation. (32:7)

Moshe Rabbeinu pleads with the Jewish nation to wake up from its self-imposed slumber and ponder the lessons to be gleaned from the past. A refusal to delve into the occurrences of the past and what preceded various adversities, a lack of perspective, has become the basis of much human error. We are blessed with gedolei Torah, Torah sages, whose perspective on the past is honed by a wisdom borne of penetrating analysis of Torah and the wisdom and Divine Assistance that results from such immersion in it. Furthermore, as has been noted by many, we have no Hebrew word…

Home -> 5783 -> Ki Savo

ולקחת מראשית כל פרי האדמה אשר תביא מארצך

Sruly Schnair In Ki Savo, 5783

That you shall take of the first of every fruit of the ground that you bring in from your land. (26:2)

The mitzvah of Bikkurim, bringing the first fruits to the Bais Hamikdash, teaches us the significance of hakoras hatov, recognizing the good/benefits we receive and paying gratitude to our benefactor – which, in the case of Bikkurim, is Hashem. While anyone who possesses a modicum of common sense understands the importance of gratitude, we do not realize how far the obligation for gratitude goes and how one who does not live with hakoras hatov as a way of life is considered a deficient human being. The Ramchal (Mesillas Yesharim 8) underscores the importance of every human being aware of and…

Home -> 5783 -> Ki Seitzei

אשר קרך בדרך ויזנב בך כל הנחשלים אחריך ואתה עוף ויגע ולא ירא אלקים

Sruly Schnair In Ki Seitzei, 5783

That he happened upon you on the way, and he struck those of you who were hindermost, all the weaklings at your rear, when you were faint and exhausted, and did not fear G-d. (25:18)

We must endeavor to understand in what area Amalek stood out from among all of the other nations who were our enemies. Indeed, we had no friends – only those who paid lip service out of fear, but certainly not out of love or admiration. We were always tolerated, rarely respected, and hardly ever admired. This is quite possibly out of envy. We are Hashem’s chosen people who have, despite the greatest odds and untold persecution, survived and thrived, growing, contributing and not acting obsequiously. We have a noble heritage and an exalted destiny. We do not bow to anyone…

Home -> 5783 -> Re'eh

ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה את הברכה אשר תשמעו... והקללה אם לא תשמעו

Sruly Schnair In Re'eh, 5783

See I present before you a blessing and a curse. The blessing that you listen… The curse, if you do not listen. (11:26,27)

Our parshah begins by informing us of our mandate to choose between blessing and curse, good and evil. The blessing is the result of our listening to Hashem’s Torah; the curse is the consequence of our not listening. The obvious question is: Who in his right mind would choose curse over blessing? The simple explanation is that it is not an issue of choice; rather, the Torah alludes to the idea that, on the surface, some of our actions present as a blessing, while actually concealing beneath their external façade less than satisfactory options. In other words, blessing and curse…

Home -> 5783 -> Re'eh

רק חזק לבלתי אכל הדם כי הדם הוא הנפש. ולא תאכל הנפש עם הבשר

Sruly Schnair In Re'eh, 5783

Only be strong not to eat blood – for the blood, it is life – and you should not eat the life with the meat. (12:23)

Rashi comments: “You may not eat meat that was torn from a living animal.” The Torah prohibits us from eating eiver min ha’chai, a limb cut from a living animal. The Sefer HaChinuch offers the shoresh, root, of the mitzvah, that we not train ourselves in the trait of cruelty, which is a most disgusting trait. Indeed, we can perform no greater cruelty than to cut a limb off a living animal and eat it. The Chinuch continues with a mussar, ethical character, directive. “I have already written numerous times concerning the great benefit that we derive in our acquisition…

Home -> 5783 -> Eikev

כי על כל מוצא פי ד' יחיה ... וזכרת את ד' אלקיך כי הוא הנתן לך כח לעשות חיל

Sruly Schnair In Eikev, 5783

Rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of Hashem does man live… That it was He (Hashem) who gives you the strength to make wealth. (8:3,18)

The Torah reiterates numerous times (of which the above pesukim are a mere sample) that everything – large or small – comes from Hashem. Man endeavors, but Hashem decides the end result. The first step toward living with faith and trust in the Almighty is acknowledging that He is the only reality. Everything else is a façade. The department of education oversaw a county which had, among its schools, a private yeshivah high school. The superintendent had serious issues with the school’s general studies program, or lack thereof. In order to receive a federal subsidy, the school was required to…

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Back to Home -> Vayeira ->

כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו ושמרו דרך ד' לעשות צדקה ומשפט

For I have loved him, because he commands his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of Hashem, doing charity and justice. (18:19)

ויהי אחר הדברים האלה והאלקים נסה אברהם

And it happened after these things that G-d tested Avraham. (22:1)

לך לך מארצך

Go for yourself, from your land. (12:1)

ויבכו בני ישראל את משה... ויתמו ימי בכי אבל משה. ויהושע בן נון מלא רוח חכמה כי סמך משה ידיו עליו

ויבכו בני ישראל את משה… ויתמו ימי בכי אבל משה. ויהושע בן נון מלא רוח חכמה כי סמך משה ידיו עליו

זכור ימות עולם בינו שנות דור ודור

Remember the days of yore, understand the years of generation after generation. (32:7)

ולקחת מראשית כל פרי האדמה אשר תביא מארצך

That you shall take of the first of every fruit of the ground that you bring in from your land. (26:2)

אשר קרך בדרך ויזנב בך כל הנחשלים אחריך ואתה עוף ויגע ולא ירא אלקים

That he happened upon you on the way, and he struck those of you who were hindermost, all the weaklings at your rear, when you were faint and exhausted, and did not fear G-d. (25:18)

ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה את הברכה אשר תשמעו... והקללה אם לא תשמעו

See I present before you a blessing and a curse. The blessing that you listen… The curse, if you do not listen. (11:26,27)

רק חזק לבלתי אכל הדם כי הדם הוא הנפש. ולא תאכל הנפש עם הבשר

Only be strong not to eat blood – for the blood, it is life – and you should not eat the life with the meat. (12:23)

כי על כל מוצא פי ד' יחיה ... וזכרת את ד' אלקיך כי הוא הנתן לך כח לעשות חיל

Rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of Hashem does man live… That it was He (Hashem) who gives you the strength to make wealth. (8:3,18)

YEARS

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