Attitude – Page 93 – Peninim on the Torah

וירא מנחה כי טוב... ויט שכמו לסבל

He saw that serenity is good… He bowed his shoulder to bear. (49:15)

When one peruses the brachah, blessing, given to Yissachar, it appears as a lesson in contradiction. Yissachar symbolizes the ben Torah who devotes himself to Torah study under all circumstances. One would think that, if he is confronted with peace and serenity, it would be an opportunity for relaxation and rejuvenation; rather, the Torah tells us that the peaceful repose is not Yissachar’s reaction to serenity. Instead of rest, Yissachar girds himself for hard work. Is this not counterproductive? Horav Yeruchem Levovitz, zl, explains that, if one wants to raise a healthy, content and happy child, showering him with material…

Home -> 5775 -> Tzav

ופתח אהל מועד תשבו יומם ולילה שבעת ימים ושמרתם את משמרת ד' ולא תמותו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Tzav, 5775

At the entrance of the Ohel Moed shall you dwell day and night for a seven day period, and you shall protect Hashem’s charge so that you will not die. (8:35)

The Chasam Sofer, as cited by U’masuk Ha’or, interprets this pasuk homiletically to teach us a lesson concerning man’s true focus in life. If a person lives his life in such a manner that he “dwells” in front of the Ohel Moed it means that he never forgets the most important principle of existence in this world: life does not go on forever. One day, each and every one of us will return “home,” from whence we came. If this awareness accompanies our every life’s endeavor, then we will merit to “protect Hashem’s charge, so that you (we) will not…

Home -> 5775 -> Terumah

ועשית שנים כרובים זהב... ונועדתי לך שם ודברתי אתך מעל הכפרת מבין שני הכרובים אשר על ארון העדות

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Terumah, 5775

You shall make two Keruvim of gold… It is there that I will set My meetings with you, and I will speak with you from atop the Cover, from between the Keruvim that are on the Aron HaEidus. (25:18,22)

It is interesting to note the change in the spelling of the word “two.” At first, the Keruvim are referred to as shnayim Keruvim, while later on they are called shnei Keruvim. Rabbeinu Bachya distinguishes between shnayim which means “two,” but does not denote anything more than a quantity of subjects or items. Shnayim is not used when the “two” are of equal status, such as: Shnei Luchos HaEidus, Two Tablets of Testimony, which were the same; shnei seirim, two he-goats, used for the Yom Kippur service, which were also similar to one another. The Keruvim, however, were male and…

Home -> 5775 -> Terumah

ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Terumah, 5775

And let them take for Me a Terumah/portion. (25:2)

The pasuk has been used for much homiletic discourse concerning the attitude one should manifest upon contributing to a worthy cause. In V’chai Bahem from Horav Weiss, zl, the author quotes the well-known concept, posited by the Baal Shem Tov, that the faults a person notices in others are actually his own failings. Since Ein adam ro’eh nigei atzmo, “One does not perceive his own plagues/failings/shortcomings/indiscretions.” We notice everything regarding others, but never that which applies to us. Thus, the pasuk is informing us that, whatever indiscretions one notices in others, are a mirror image of his own failings. Likewise,…

Home -> 5775 -> Metzora

כי תבואו אל ארץ כנען... ונתתי נגע בבית ארץ אחזתכם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Metzora, 5775

When you arrive in the land of Canaan… and I will place a tzaraas affliction upon a house in the land of your possession. (14:34)

V’nasati, “and I will place.” The structure of the pasuk is such that it implies good tidings – when, in fact, it means the destruction of one’s home. Rashi explains that, when the Canaanite inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael saw that their sojourn in the Holy Land was soon coming to an end, they concealed their valuables in the walls of their homes. They were not about to enrich their Jewish victors. In order to avail His People of the Canaanite wealth, Hashem placed an affliction on the part of the wall in which the treasure was hidden. Once the tainted…

Home -> 5775 -> Shoftim

מי האיש הירא ורך הלבב

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5775

Who is the man who is fearful and fainthearted? (20:8)

Prior to selecting those individuals who were to represent the nation in war, we find the Kohen Gadol asking all those who had just made family commitments– a new wife; a new house; a new vineyard– to leave the circle and return home. The Kohen left the scene, and the officers took charge. According to Rabbi Yosi HaGelili, the last declaration, which exhorted he who was afraid to leave, focuses on a person who is not as much a coward as he is afraid of dying. He is fearful of the impact that his sins will make on his successful…

Home -> 5775 -> Shoftim

ואמר אליהם שמע ישראל אתם קרבים היום למלחמה על אויביכם אל ירך לבבכם אל תיראו ואל תחפזו ואל תערצו מפניהם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5775

He shall say to them, “Hear, O Yisrael, today you are coming near to the battle against your enemies; let your heart not be faint; do not be afraid; do not panic and do not be broken before them. (20:3)

Chazal (Talmud Sotah 44) teach that, during a war, it is absolutely prohibited to run from the enemy. While today, outside of Eretz Yisrael, we cannot really say that the Jewish People are involved in a physical war, we are certainly embattled in a spiritual battle against an anti-Semitic world that does not want to see us observing Torah and mitzvos. What a sad commentary it is that anti-Semitic gentiles have a greater perception of the value of Torah and mitzvos to the Jew than do our secular brethren. They have long ago relegated our People’s treasure, Hashem’s Divinely authored…

Home -> Shemos -> 5775

ותראהו את הילד והנה נער בוכה... ותאמר מילדי העברים זה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Shemos

She saw him, the boy, and behold! A youth was crying… and (she) said, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.” (2:6)

Pharaoh’s daughter looked at the infant in the basket and noticed something unusual about the manner in which the infant wept. This made her assume that it was a Jewish infant. What about the infant’s weeping spurred her to think that it was Jewish? The Slonimer Rebbe, zl, explains that, indeed, a marked difference exits between the cry of a Jew and the cry of one who is not. Rather than go right to the distinction, I would like to approach it from the vantage point of Tishah B’Av, our national day of mourning. Every Festival has its cheftzah d’mitzvah,…

Home -> 5775 -> Shemini

ויאמר משה אל אהרן הוא אשר דבר ד' לאמר בקרבי אקדש ועל פני כל העם אכבד וידם אהרן

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shemini, 5775

And Moshe said to Aharon: Of this did Hashem speak, saying: “I will be sanctified through those who are nearest Me; thus, I will honored before the entire people”, and Aharon was silent. (10:3)

Horav Shlomo Levinstein, Shlita, relates that he heard from Rav Eliezer Yehudah Finkel, son of Horav Eliyahu Baruch Finkel, zl, that the Rosh Yeshivah told him the following thought two weeks prior to his petirah, untimely passing. The thought is a powerful insight into Aharon HaKohen’s reaction – or better, non reaction, to the tragic death of two of his sons, Nadav and Avihu. Rashi observes that following the tragedy, Moshe Rabbeinu rendered a powerful eulogy for his nephews. Moshe said to Aharon, “My brother, I knew that Hashem would sanctify His Sanctuary with His beloved close ones. I figured…

Home -> 5775 -> Shelach

ואמרו אל יושב הארץ הזאת שמעו כי אתה ד' בקרב העם הזה. ועננך עמד עליהם ובעמוד ענן אתה הלך לפניהם יומם ובעמוד אש לילה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shelach, 5775

And they will say about the inhabitants of the Land, “They have heard that You, Hashem are in the midst of this people… and that Your cloud stands over them, and that in a pillar of cloud You go before them by day, and in a pillar of fire at night.” (14:14)

The above pasuk underscores Hashem’s overwhelming love for the Jewish People, as perceived by the gentile nations. While it is unquestionably true, their perception of His love is interestingly based on a vision of chesed, kindness, which, albeit impressive, requires elucidation. “You, Hashem, are in the midst of this people”: The nations are impacted by Hashem’s close relationship with us. How do they see this closeness? What unique manifestation of love impacts them most? “That Your cloud stands over them, and that in a pillar of cloud You go before them”: The Ananei HaKavod, Clouds of Glory, protected the Jews…

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וירא מנחה כי טוב... ויט שכמו לסבל

He saw that serenity is good… He bowed his shoulder to bear. (49:15)

ופתח אהל מועד תשבו יומם ולילה שבעת ימים ושמרתם את משמרת ד' ולא תמותו

At the entrance of the Ohel Moed shall you dwell day and night for a seven day period, and you shall protect Hashem’s charge so that you will not die. (8:35)

ועשית שנים כרובים זהב... ונועדתי לך שם ודברתי אתך מעל הכפרת מבין שני הכרובים אשר על ארון העדות

You shall make two Keruvim of gold… It is there that I will set My meetings with you, and I will speak with you from atop the Cover, from between the Keruvim that are on the Aron HaEidus. (25:18,22)

ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו

And let them take for Me a Terumah/portion. (25:2)

כי תבואו אל ארץ כנען... ונתתי נגע בבית ארץ אחזתכם

When you arrive in the land of Canaan… and I will place a tzaraas affliction upon a house in the land of your possession. (14:34)

מי האיש הירא ורך הלבב

Who is the man who is fearful and fainthearted? (20:8)

ואמר אליהם שמע ישראל אתם קרבים היום למלחמה על אויביכם אל ירך לבבכם אל תיראו ואל תחפזו ואל תערצו מפניהם

He shall say to them, “Hear, O Yisrael, today you are coming near to the battle against your enemies; let your heart not be faint; do not be afraid; do not panic and do not be broken before them. (20:3)

ותראהו את הילד והנה נער בוכה... ותאמר מילדי העברים זה

She saw him, the boy, and behold! A youth was crying… and (she) said, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.” (2:6)

ויאמר משה אל אהרן הוא אשר דבר ד' לאמר בקרבי אקדש ועל פני כל העם אכבד וידם אהרן

And Moshe said to Aharon: Of this did Hashem speak, saying: “I will be sanctified through those who are nearest Me; thus, I will honored before the entire people”, and Aharon was silent. (10:3)

ואמרו אל יושב הארץ הזאת שמעו כי אתה ד' בקרב העם הזה. ועננך עמד עליהם ובעמוד ענן אתה הלך לפניהם יומם ובעמוד אש לילה

And they will say about the inhabitants of the Land, “They have heard that You, Hashem are in the midst of this people… and that Your cloud stands over them, and that in a pillar of cloud You go before them by day, and in a pillar of fire at night.” (14:14)

YEARS

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