Attitude – Page 77 – Peninim on the Torah

ונתן לך רחמים ורחמך והרבך כאשר נשבע לאבתיך

And He will give you mercy and be merciful to you and multiply you, as He swore to your forefathers. (13:18)

When someone is charged with carrying out an execution, it can have a strong negative effect on his sensitivities. After all, it means taking the life of another human being. This emotion is exacerbated when it involves the mass execution of an entire Jewish city of men, women, children — even livestock. Such action takes its toll on the most compassionate person, rendering him callous to suffering. Thus, Hashem promises the nation that the executioners, who carry out this most difficult punishment, will be infused with a Heavenly-sponsored dose of compassion to counteract the soulless nature of their work. Once…

Home -> 5774 -> Pinchas

בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Pinchas, 5774

When he zealously avenged Me among them. (25:11)

Kanaus, for the most part, is a frightening word. It refers either to someone who is a great tzaddik, whose love for Hashem is so intense that it impels him to act in a manner which some individuals consider extreme; or an extremist, who is always on the lookout for a good fight. There is a fine line which separates the two. This is why it is frightening. Some think that kanaus is a rite of passage, a segway for achieving gadlus baTorah, distinction in the field of Torah. They feel that, unless they have taken down a few misguided…

Home -> 5774 -> Naso

כל ימי נדר נזרו... קדש יהיה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Naso, 5774

All the days of the vow of his nezirus… holy shall he be. (6:5)

The Nazir is unique in that his body becomes consecrated to Hashem. He becomes kadosh, holy, b’kedushas ha’guf, his actual body becomes holy. He is not permitted to become ritually impure to a corpse, even to his closest seven relatives. Why? Ki neizar Elokav al Rosho, “For the crown of his G-d is upon his head” (ibid 6:7). What is the meaning of being the “receptacle” for Hashem’s crown? Why would this be a reason for prohibiting him from becoming contaminated to a corpse? Is he holier than the Kohen who is permitted to become tamei, contaminated, to his seven…

Home -> 5774 -> Mishpatim

אם חבל תחבל שמלת רעך עד בא השמש תשיבנו לו. כי היא כסותה לבדה הוא שמלותו לערו במה ישכב והיה כי יצעק אלי ושמעתי כי חנון אני

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Mishpatim, 5774

If you take your fellow’s garment as security, until sunset shall you return it to him. For it alone is his clothing, it is his garment for his skin – in what should he lie down? So it will be that if he cries out to Me, I shall listen, for I am compassionate. (22:25,26)

Rarely do we find the Torah explaining the reason behind a mitzvah so thoroughly as it does in this case. Theoretically, the Torah is presenting an argument for returning the borrower’s garment before nightfall. Indeed, the Torah goes so far as to give three reasons for returning the garment: it is his only garment; “it covers his skin”; “in what shall he lie down?” One would expect the rav who was making an appeal on behalf of the less fortunate members of his community to emphasize these points. This, however, is not the Torah’s way. It presents the law without…

Home -> Mikeitz -> 5774

ןעתה ירא פרעה איש נבון וחכם וישיתהו על ארץ מצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Mikeitz

Now let Pharaoh seek out a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. (41:33)

We wonder at Yosef’s unsolicited advice. Pharaoh had asked him to interpret his dreams: no more, no less. What prompted Yosef to advise the monarch on how to implement a solution to the dream’s formidable message? Horav Eli Munk, zl, feels that Yosef believed in the portent of his dreams; thus, he felt that now – finally – the long-awaited realization of his dreams had finally arrived. This was a unique opportunity for him to seize the moment and offer some unsolicited advice. He might be presenting himself as presumptuous, but it was worth the gamble. While this might be…

Home -> 5774 -> Metzora

זאת תהיה תורת המצורע

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Metzora, 5774

This shall be the law of the metzora. (14:2)

The tongue has no mind. It expresses the feelings that the individual has in his heart. A positive person, whose outlook on life and people is positive, invariably speaks only good – because this is what he sees. This is what he feels in his heart. A negative person, whose view on life and people is jaundiced, speaks lashon hora, evil speech, because this is all that he knows. In other words, the best protection against lashon hora is a positive outlook. A primary component for maintaining a positive view on people is to respect others. This is increasingly difficult…

Home -> Matos -> 5774

והנה קמתם תחת אבתיכם תרבות אנשים חטאים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Matos

Behold! You have risen up in place of your fathers, a society of sinful people. (32:14)

At the end of Talmud Sukkah (56b) Chazal teach that the mishmor, watch, of Bilgah always divides in the south. This means: The incoming watch divides the Lechem HaPanim, Showbread, in the north, since most offerings were slaughtered in the northern side of the courtyard. Thus, it was apparent that they were the incoming mishmor. The outgoing watch divided the Lechem HaPanim in the south, so that it should be clear that they were leaving. The family of Bilgah always divided in the south as the result of an incident involving Miriam, the daughter of one of the Kohanim of…

Home -> Masei -> 5774

וישמע הכנעני מלך ערד... בבא בני ישראל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Masei

The Canaanite King of Arad heard… of the approach of Bnei Yisrael. (33:40)

Rashi teaches that the king of Arad heard of the passing of Aharon HaKohen, thereby signaling the end of the protective barrier of Ananei HaKavod, the Pillars of Cloud. They felt that it was a message that the Jewish People were now vulnerable to attack. Apparently, when the king of Arad attacked, the Jewish People had no idea that it was linked to the passing of Aharon HaKohen. Indeed, they attributed Aharon’s death to his participation in the sin of Mei Merivah, the waters of strife, when the stone was hit instead of being spoken to. The attack from Arad…

Home -> 5774 -> Lech Lecha

ויבא אל הגר ותהר ותרא כי הרתה ותקל גברתה בעיניה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5774

He consorted with Hagar and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was lowered in her esteem. (16:7)

It happens all of the time: one strikes it rich and suddenly it is all about him; he is the worthy; he is righteous and worthy of blessing. Horav Gamliel Rabinowitz, Shlita, explains that such a person follows in the footsteps of Hagar. As soon as she conceived, she began to boast brazenly, “Since so many years have passed without my mistress having children, she obviously is not as righteous as she seems. I conceived immediately!” Herein is revealed the difference between Jew and gentile. When Hagar saw that Hashem had showered her with His benevolence, her attitude should have…

Home -> 5774 -> Korach

וישמע משה ויפל על פניו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Korach, 5774

And Moshe heard and fell on his face. (16:4)

Moshe Rabbeinu had heard it all. This was the final straw. As Rashi explains, She’kvar zeh b’yadam sirchon revii, “This was already the fourth foulness that the Jews had committed.” They had worshipped the Golden Calf – after which Moshe prayed for them. They were misonenim, complained for no good reason, just for the sake of complaining; again, Moshe prayed for them. They heeded the false and slanderous reports of the meraglim, spies, and wept bitterly for no reason; Moshe again prayed for them. This was the fourth time that the nation had defied Hashem. It was too much. Moshe…

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ונתן לך רחמים ורחמך והרבך כאשר נשבע לאבתיך

And He will give you mercy and be merciful to you and multiply you, as He swore to your forefathers. (13:18)

בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם

When he zealously avenged Me among them. (25:11)

כל ימי נדר נזרו... קדש יהיה

All the days of the vow of his nezirus… holy shall he be. (6:5)

אם חבל תחבל שמלת רעך עד בא השמש תשיבנו לו. כי היא כסותה לבדה הוא שמלותו לערו במה ישכב והיה כי יצעק אלי ושמעתי כי חנון אני

If you take your fellow’s garment as security, until sunset shall you return it to him. For it alone is his clothing, it is his garment for his skin – in what should he lie down? So it will be that if he cries out to Me, I shall listen, for I am compassionate. (22:25,26)

ןעתה ירא פרעה איש נבון וחכם וישיתהו על ארץ מצרים

Now let Pharaoh seek out a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. (41:33)

זאת תהיה תורת המצורע

This shall be the law of the metzora. (14:2)

והנה קמתם תחת אבתיכם תרבות אנשים חטאים

Behold! You have risen up in place of your fathers, a society of sinful people. (32:14)

וישמע הכנעני מלך ערד... בבא בני ישראל

The Canaanite King of Arad heard… of the approach of Bnei Yisrael. (33:40)

ויבא אל הגר ותהר ותרא כי הרתה ותקל גברתה בעיניה

He consorted with Hagar and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was lowered in her esteem. (16:7)

וישמע משה ויפל על פניו

And Moshe heard and fell on his face. (16:4)

YEARS

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