Attitude – Page 22 – Peninim on the Torah

וגר לא תונה ולא תלחצנו כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים

You shall not taunt or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (22:20)

The Torah shows its concern for the proper treatment of the weak, helpless, abandoned and the stranger/convert, who feel alone, estranged, although they should be welcomed and embraced. It is sad that there exist among us the few who lord over others due to their own insecurities. These people consider themselves better, privileged, powerful when, in fact, they are the ones who are weak and pathetic. The prohibition against any mistreatment of a ger, convert, is prefaced with a serious reminder to look back to our own history, when we were strangers in the land of Egypt. A newcomer to…

Home -> 5781 -> Beshalach

ויצעקו בני ישראל אל ד'

Sruly Schnair In Beshalach, 5781

Bnei Yisrael cried out to Hashem. (14:10)

The Midrash Tanchuma (9) teaches that when Klal Yisrael saw that their situation was dire, they grasped the umnos, “profession,” of their ancestors/Patriarchs and reached out to Hashem through the vehicle of prayer. The efficacy of prayer cannot be overstated. It should not be our last – but rather, our first – resort. A Jew speaks to Hashem, his Father in Heaven, through the medium of prayer. Chazal are teaching us, however, that the Jewish People turned to Hashem in prayer just because the situation was bleak. How is this to be compared to the prayers of our Patriarchs, who…

Home -> 5781 -> Beshalach

התיצבו וראו את ישועת ד'

Sruly Schnair In Beshalach, 5781

Stand fast and see the salvation of Hashem. (14:13)

Ibn Ezra writes: “You shall not wage war. You will see the salvation that Hashem will make for you.” How is it possible for a nation of 600,000 men (over the age of twenty-years old) to just stand there and not fight their aggressors? The answer is that these people knew the Egyptians as their masters who lorded over them. It was impossible for the Jews who knew nothing about warfare to battle their Egyptian masters. Amalek attacked the Jews, and, without Moshe Rabbeinu’s prayers, he would have dealt them a weakening blow. Likewise, these Jewish expatriated slaves could not…

Home -> 5781 -> Beshalach

ויסעו מאילם ויבאו כל עדת בני ישראל אל מדבר סין... בחמשה עשר יום לחדש השני לצאתם מארץ מצרים... וילנו כל עדת בני ישראל על משה ועל אהרן

Sruly Schnair In Beshalach, 5781

As they journeyed from Eilim, and they came, the whole congregation of Bnei Yisrael, unto the wilderness of Sin… on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. Then the whole congregation of Bnei Yisrael murmured against Moshe and Aharon in the wilderness. (16:1,2)

Kol adas Bnei Yisrael, the whole congregation of Bnei Yisrael, explains Horav S. R. Hirsch, zl, refers to the Jewish community in its entirety, in its highest meaning as a community united by its common mission. It is a community which is designated to be the “congregation” of Hashem. Thus, by using such vernacular to describe the Jewish People, the Torah implies from the get-go that the events to be recorded impact the interest of the general mission of the whole Klal Yisrael to the highest degree. It is for this reason that the Torah makes a point of underscoring…

Home -> 5781 -> Vaeira

ושרץ היאר צפרדעים ... ובאו בביתך ... ובעמך ובתנוריך ובמשארותיך

Sruly Schnair In Vaeira, 5781

The river shall swarm with frogs, and they shall ascend and come into your palace … and of your people and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls. (7:28)

The frogs were a hardy bunch who swarmed all over Egypt. No place was considered off limits to them. Even the burning hot ovens did not prevent them from fulfilling Hashem’s command. When the Almighty said, “Go,” they went. It took enormous mesiras nefesh, self-sacrifice, for those frogs to enter the burning oven. For all intents and purposes, it spelled certain death. In the end, they were the only frogs who did not die. Whoever carries out Hashem’s mitzvah comes to no harm. Chazal (Yoma 85:b) teach that years later Chananyah, Mishael and Azaryah entered the fiery cauldron, motivated by…

Home -> Vayechi -> 5781

אל תיראו כי התחת אלקים אני ואתם חשבתם עלי רעה אלקים חשבה לטובה

Sruly Schnair In 5781, Vayechi

“Fear not, for am I instead of G-d? Although you intended the harm, G-d intended it for good. (50:19,20)

In the last few parshiyos, we have been reading about Yaakov Avinu’s sons, the Shivtei Kah, Twelve Tribes of Klal Yisrael, the closest link to our Patriarchs from whom our Nation descends. We refer to them by name and relate their activities; their sale of Yosef, followed by their encounter with the viceroy of Egypt, aka, Yosef; their ensuing remorse over their lack of empathy with his pain; their being supported by Yosef in Egypt; and, finally, their apology and request for absolution for their misdeed. Reading all this, we might lose sight of the greatness of these individuals. They…

Home -> Vayeishev -> 5781

וישב יעקב בארץ מגורי אביו

Sruly Schnair In 5781, Vayeishev

Yaakov settled in the land of his father’s sojourning. (37:1)

Chazal infer from the variation in the text describing Yaakov’s taking up residence, vayeishev, he settled, from that of his father, migurei, sojourning, which implies wandering that Yaakov sought to settle, finally to relax in one place with a roof over his head and not worry about what tomorrow would bring. No one questions that Yaakov Avinu had his fill of struggles and troubles. Would it be so terrible for him to have a little tranquility? Chazal, quoted by Rashi, say: Yaakov bikeish leisheiv b’shalvah, the Patriarch wanted to settle down in tranquility. As a result, Hashem sent the Yosef…

Home -> Vayeishev -> 5781

וישראל אהב את יוסף מכל בניו כי בן זקנים הוא לו ... וישנאו אתו ... ויקנאו בו אחיו

Sruly Schnair In 5781, Vayeishev

Now Yisrael loved Yosef more than all of his sons since he was a child of his old age… so they hated him … so his brothers were jealous of him. (37:3,4,11)

The controversy that ensued between Yosef and his brothers was much deeper than sibling rivalry. Certainly, it was understandable that their father favored the son born to Rachel Imeinu after years of barrenness. Yosef was an exceptional young man who studied Torah with his father and had much in common with him. Under normal circumstances, they would have overlooked their father’s love for Yosef, but they felt that Yosef was a rodef, pursuer, who was bent on destroying them and assuming their spiritual position. They simply could not ignore this. Nonetheless, we wonder how the brothers questioned the daas Torah,…

Home -> 5781 -> Vayishlach

והיה המחנה הנשאר לפליטה

Sruly Schnair In Vayishlach, 5781

Then the remaining camp shall survive. (32:9)

Yaakov Avinu’s plan to save his family was based on a three-pronged preparation: battle, prayer, tribute. On the surface, these courses of action appear to be incongruent to one another, with aggression and servility sending contradictory messages. Obviously, prayer is first and foremost – and the only effective means of success. Without Divine intervention, we have no hope for success. Nonetheless, Yaakov took a practical approach to his encounter, knowing full-well that Eisav was angry and that he felt his anger was justified. Our Patriarch was, however, acutely aware that practical solutions succeed only when it is the will of…

Home -> 5781 -> Vayishlach

ויותר יעקב לבדו ויאבק איש עמו עד עלות השחר... ויגע בכף ירכו... והוא צלע על ירכו

Sruly Schnair In Vayishlach, 5781

Yaakov was left alone and a man fought with him until the break of dawn… and he struck Yaakov’s thigh… and Yaakov was limping. (32:25,26,32)

The encounter between Yaakov Avinu and the mysterious man is fraught with questions. First, how can the Torah say that our Patriarch was left alone? A Jew is never alone. Hashem Yisborach is always with us. Melo kol haaretz k’vodo, “The entire world is filled with His Glory.” Furthermore, Hashem promised Yaakov, V’Anochi eheyeh imach, “I will be with you.” Yaakov might have been distant from human encounter, but he certainly was not alone. Second, in the battle that ensued between Yaakov and the “ish”/angel of Eisav, why did the angel choose specifically to strike Yaakov’s ability to move, i.e….

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וגר לא תונה ולא תלחצנו כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים

You shall not taunt or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (22:20)

ויצעקו בני ישראל אל ד'

Bnei Yisrael cried out to Hashem. (14:10)

התיצבו וראו את ישועת ד'

Stand fast and see the salvation of Hashem. (14:13)

ויסעו מאילם ויבאו כל עדת בני ישראל אל מדבר סין... בחמשה עשר יום לחדש השני לצאתם מארץ מצרים... וילנו כל עדת בני ישראל על משה ועל אהרן

ושרץ היאר צפרדעים ... ובאו בביתך ... ובעמך ובתנוריך ובמשארותיך

The river shall swarm with frogs, and they shall ascend and come into your palace … and of your people and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls. (7:28)

אל תיראו כי התחת אלקים אני ואתם חשבתם עלי רעה אלקים חשבה לטובה

“Fear not, for am I instead of G-d? Although you intended the harm, G-d intended it for good. (50:19,20)

וישב יעקב בארץ מגורי אביו

Yaakov settled in the land of his father’s sojourning. (37:1)

וישראל אהב את יוסף מכל בניו כי בן זקנים הוא לו ... וישנאו אתו ... ויקנאו בו אחיו

Now Yisrael loved Yosef more than all of his sons since he was a child of his old age… so they hated him … so his brothers were jealous of him. (37:3,4,11)

והיה המחנה הנשאר לפליטה

Then the remaining camp shall survive. (32:9)

ויותר יעקב לבדו ויאבק איש עמו עד עלות השחר... ויגע בכף ירכו... והוא צלע על ירכו

Yaakov was left alone and a man fought with him until the break of dawn… and he struck Yaakov’s thigh… and Yaakov was limping. (32:25,26,32)

YEARS

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