Attitude – Page 86 – Peninim on the Torah

ויסעו ממדבר סיני ויחנו בקברות התאוה. ויסעו מקברות התאוה ויחנו בחצרות. ויסעו מחצרות ויחנו ברתמה. ויסעו מרתמה ויחנו ברמן פרץ. ויסעו מרמן פרץ ויחנו בלבנה.

They journeyed from the Wilderness of Sinai and encamped in Kivros Hataavah. They journeyed from Kivros Hataavah and encamped in Chatzeiros. They journeyed from Chatzeiros and encamped in Rismah. They journeyed from Rismah and encamped in Rimmon-Peretz. They journeyed from Rimmon-Peretz and encamped in Livnah (33:16-20).

The commentators, each in his own inimitable manner, suggest that the names of the various encampments are allusions to the various shortcomings or consequences to inappropriate behavior manifest by the Jewish nation during their trek through the wilderness. Rashi interprets these places as referring to specific sins committed by the people. The Chasam Sofer indicates that the above names are consequences, resulting from distancing oneself from Torah study. The Talmud Succah 52b makes a formidable statement: Yitzro shel adam misgaber alav b’chol yom u’mevakeish l’hamiso, “A man’s evil inclination threatens every day to overpower him, and seeks to kill him:…

Home -> Ki Sisa -> 5773

והיה כצאת משה אל האהל יקומו כל העם ונצבו איש פתח אהלו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Ki Sisa

Whenever Moshe would go out to the Tent, the entire people would stand up and remain standing, everyone at the entrance of his tent. (33:8)

Midrash Tanchuma derives from here that one must stand up and show respect to an old man, a scholar, Av Bais Din; Head of the Rabbinical Court, and a king. He must remain at attention until the individual whom he is honoring walks out of sight. One Tanna adds that as a result of this halachah, if one of these individuals would notice a large group of people near his intended walking path, he should alter his route, so not to disturb them, since they would have to stop whatever they were doing in order to show him respect. A…

Home -> Ki Sisa -> 5773

אנא חטא העם הזה חטאה גדולה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Ki Sisa

I implore! This people have committed a grievous sin. (32:31)

What did Moshe Rabbeinu mean by this statement? Of course the people had committed a grave sin. There was no question about this. On the contrary, by restating the offense, he was essentially adding insult to injury. In his Ohaiv Yisrael, the Apter Rav, zl, explains that when a person commits an aveirah, sin, the greatest punishment is the realization that he has sinned against Hashem. This does not come immediately, but, after introspection, he becomes cognitive of Hashem’s eminence; and thus, the sin which he has committed takes on a different guise. How could he have sinned against the…

Home -> Ki Sisa -> 5773

ויעשהו עגל מסכה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Ki Sisa

And (they) fashioned it into a molten calf. (32:4)

Aharon HaKohen knew that Moshe Rabbeinu would return at the designated time. The people were impatient, thinking that their leader was not returning. To stall for time, Aharon instructed them to bring their gold, which he, in turn, threw into the fire. The Egyptian sorcerers, included amongst the eirav rav, mixed multitude, who joined the Jewish People when they left Egypt, employed their knowledge of the occult to create the calf. The Talmud Sotah 13a says that an amulet with the letters ali shor, “rise up ox,” engraved on it was in the possession of the Jewish People. Moshe had…

Home -> 5773 -> Ki Seitzei

כי ד' אלקיך מתהלך בקרב מחנך... והיה מחנך קדוש ולא יראה בך ערות דבר ושב מאחריך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5773

For Hashem, your G-d, walks in the midst of your camp… so your camp shall be holy, so that He will not see a shameful thing among you and turn away from behind you. (23:15)

Dressing and acting appropriately are prerequisites for Torah-oriented behavior. “Your camp shall be holy” applies not only to the “camp” in the wilderness; it also applies to our homes, schools, shuls – wherever observant Jews congregate. One’s personal camp should not be ignored either. This means that, although one may be respectful of the laws of tznius, modesty/chastity, upon entering a holy edifice, he should not forget that he is himself a holy camp. Thus, how one dresses represents his attitude with regard to Hashem. To dress in an immodest manner is to put G-d to shame and cause Him…

Home -> 5773 -> Ki Savo

הסכת ושמע ישראל היום הנה נהיית לעם לה' אלקיך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5773

Be attentive and hear, O’ Yisrael: This day you have become a people to Hashem, your G-d. (27:9)

Something seems out of place. We are standing forty years after the Revelation, forty years after Klal Yisrael’s resounding acceptance of the Torah amid a resonating declaration of Naase v’Nishma, “We will do and we will listen!” Why does the Torah say that hayom – “this day,” you became a nation? Had this not occurred forty years earlier? The Talmud Brachos 63b asks this obvious question. Chazal respond that while the Torah had actually been given forty years earlier, it is so valued and appreciated by those who study it, it is as if they had just received it today….

Home -> 5773 -> Emor

שור או כשב או עז כי יולד... ירצה לקרבן אשה לד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Emor, 5773

When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born… it is acceptable for a fire-offering to Hashem. (22:27)

The Yalkut Shimoni teaches us why the above three animals (ox, sheep, goat) were selected to serve as Korbanos, sacrifices. The ox was chosen in the merit of Avraham Avinu who, in the course of preparing dinner for his “Heavenly” guests, ran to bring for them an ox. [V’el ha’bakar ratz Avraham, “And to the ox Avraham ran” (Bereishis 18:7)]. Yitzchak Avinu’s z’chus, merit, catalyzed the designation of the sheep as a sacrifice. [Va’yar v’hinei ayil neechaz ba’svach b’karnav, “And he raised his eyes and saw, and behold! A ram, afterwards caught in the thicket” (Bereishis 22:13)]. When Yaakov Avinu…

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אמור אל הכהנים בני אהרן

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Emor, 5773

Say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon. (21:1)

The Kohanim represent our nation’s spiritual elite. Their greatness is hereditary; thus, their responsibility to convey the compelling nature of their lineage and station in life to the next generation, is consequential. It is, therefore, noteworthy that they were excluded from the monarchy, as was the rest of the nation. On his deathbed, Yaakov Avinu, blessed each of his sons. He turned to Yehudah and said, Lo yasur shevet miYehudah, “The scepter shall not depart from Yehudah” (Bereishis 49:10). While this blessing did not take effect immediately, since Shaul Hamelech, our nation’s first monarch, heralded from the tribe of Binyamin…

Home -> 5773 -> Eikev

ועתה ישראל מה ד' אלקיך שואל מעמך כי אם ליראה את ד' אלקיך ללכת בכל דרכיו ולאהבה אותו ולעבוד את ד' אלקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Eikev, 5773

Now, O’ Yisrael, what does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you? Only to fear Hashem, your G-d, to go in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve Hashem, your G-d, with all your heart and all your soul. (10:12)

In the Talmud Menachos 43b, Chazal derive from this pasuk that a Jew is obligated to recite one hundred brachos, blessings, daily. This is derived from the word, Mah, before the words, Hashem Elokecha sh’oel meimach, “What – does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you?” The “mah” is interpreted to mean meah, which means one hundred. Midrash Tanchuma, Korach 12, adds that David Hamelech initiated the decree to recite one hundred blessings daily as a merit to save the nation from continuing to lose one hundred men each day. Apparently, as explained by the Tur Orach Chaim 46, one hundred…

Home -> Devarim -> 5773

כי ירשה לעשו נתתי את הר שעיר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Devarim

For an inheritance to the children of Eisav I have 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 take, it may, from a practical point of view, 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 reason 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 with…

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ויסעו ממדבר סיני ויחנו בקברות התאוה. ויסעו מקברות התאוה ויחנו בחצרות. ויסעו מחצרות ויחנו ברתמה. ויסעו מרתמה ויחנו ברמן פרץ. ויסעו מרמן פרץ ויחנו בלבנה.

והיה כצאת משה אל האהל יקומו כל העם ונצבו איש פתח אהלו

Whenever Moshe would go out to the Tent, the entire people would stand up and remain standing, everyone at the entrance of his tent. (33:8)

אנא חטא העם הזה חטאה גדולה

I implore! This people have committed a grievous sin. (32:31)

ויעשהו עגל מסכה

And (they) fashioned it into a molten calf. (32:4)

כי ד' אלקיך מתהלך בקרב מחנך... והיה מחנך קדוש ולא יראה בך ערות דבר ושב מאחריך

For Hashem, your G-d, walks in the midst of your camp… so your camp shall be holy, so that He will not see a shameful thing among you and turn away from behind you. (23:15)

הסכת ושמע ישראל היום הנה נהיית לעם לה' אלקיך

Be attentive and hear, O’ Yisrael: This day you have become a people to Hashem, your G-d. (27:9)

שור או כשב או עז כי יולד... ירצה לקרבן אשה לד'

When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born… it is acceptable for a fire-offering to Hashem. (22:27)

אמור אל הכהנים בני אהרן

Say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon. (21:1)

ועתה ישראל מה ד' אלקיך שואל מעמך כי אם ליראה את ד' אלקיך ללכת בכל דרכיו ולאהבה אותו ולעבוד את ד' אלקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך

Now, O’ Yisrael, what does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you? Only to fear Hashem, your G-d, to go in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve Hashem, your G-d, with all your heart and all your soul. (10:12)

כי ירשה לעשו נתתי את הר שעיר

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

YEARS

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