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Home -> 5775 -> Lech Lecha

ויאמר מלך סדם אל אברם תן לי הנפש והרכוש קח לך... אם מחוט ועד שרוך נעל ואם אקח מכל אשר לך ולא תאמר אני העשרתי את אברם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Lech Lecha, 5775

The King of Sodom said to Avram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself…” If so much as a thread or a shoe strap; or if I will take from anything that is yours! So you shall not say, “It is I who have made Avram wealthy.” (14:21,23)

Avraham Avinu was the victor in the war, and to the victor go the spoils. The king of Sodom agreed to give him whatever material booty he requested, as long as he left the people. Avraham replied that he could keep his money: “Hashem has promised to make me rich.” As Rashi explains, “I do not need you to sustain me. Hashem takes care of His own. It is a nice speech, a wonderful and magnanimous gesture on the part of the Patriarch, but he was not receiving a gift from the king of Sodom. He was receiving the spoils…

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Home -> 5775 -> Korach

ויקח קרח

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Korach, 5775

And Korach took. (16:1)

Was Korach a fool? Absolutely not. Did he lack yiraas Shomayim, fear of Heaven? No. indeed, Chazal teach that Korach was a chacham gadol, very wise man, a pikeach, clever and astute person. He was among those Leviim who carried the Aron HaKodesh, Holy Ark. What happened to all of this chochmah, pikchus and yiraas Shomayim? His eye deceived him. He saw a great and distinguished lineage descending from him. Shmuel HaNavi, the great prophet, was one of his descendants. Such lineage can turn anyone’s head. First of all, Korach was correct in what he saw. He was the progenitor…

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Home -> Ki Sisa -> 5775

וישמע יהושע את קול העם ברעה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5775, Ki Sisa

Yehoshua heard the sound of the people in its shouting. (32:17)

Targum Yonasan ben Uziel comments on this pasuk: Kad meyabvin b’chedvah kami egla, “as (the people) they cried with joy before the Calf.” Crying generally is an expression of sorrow – not joy. Why does Targum Yonasan describe the joy of the people as being expressed through tears? Joy and crying are not synonymous expressions. When one is sad – he cries. We see this in the Torah’s description of a Kol anos, a distressing sound (32:18). On the other hand, the people exhibited joy by dancing (32:19) and “shouting” (see Rashi 32:17). How do we reconcile this joy, if…

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Home -> Ki Sisa -> 5775

ונתנו איש כפר נפשו לד'... זה יתנו כל העבר על הפקדים מחצית השקל... העשיר לא ירבה והדל לא ימעיט ממחצית השקל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5775, Ki Sisa

Every man shall give Hashem an atonement for his soul… This shall they give – everyone who passes through the census – a half-shekel… The wealthy shall not increase and the destitute shall not decrease from half a shekel. (30:12, 13, 15)

The Jewish census was taken by having the people contribute an item which would then be counted. In this instance, when the nation was counted in the wilderness, they were instructed to each give a half-shekel coin which was later used for the construction and maintenance of the Mishkan. Participation in this census via the half-shekel coin was mandatory on each and every Jew, who was to give an equal amount – a half-shekel. This was mandated regardless of financial ability or lack thereof – everyone gave the same. Why a half-shekel? Why did everyone contribute an equal amount? A…

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Home -> 5775 -> Ki Seitzei

זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק... ואתה עיף ויגע ולא ירא אלקים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Ki Seitzei, 5775

Remember what Amalek did to you… when you were faint and exhausted, and he did not fear G-d. (25:17,19)

Amalek was not the only nation that attacked the Jews. The Canaanites, Sichon and Og also acted in much the same reprehensible manner. Yet, Amalek is the only one about whom the Torah attests was V’lo yarei Elokim, “And he did not fear G-d.” Why is Amalek singled out more than any other one of our enemies, in terms of being unafraid of G-d? The Brisker Rav, zl, explains this, basing his thesis on a statement of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai in the Talmud Bava Kamma 79b. The students of the great Tanna asked him why the Torah is more…

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Home -> 5775 -> Emor

ויצא בן אשה ישראלית והוא בן איש מצרי... וינצו במחנה בן הישראלית ואיש הישראלי ויקב בן האשה הישראלית את השם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Emor, 5775

The son of a Yisraelite woman went out – and he was the son of an Egyptian man… they fought in the camp, the son of the Yisraelite woman and Yisraelite man. The son of the Yisraelite woman pronounced the Name and blasphemed. (24:10,11)

Rarely do we see such an explosion of un-Jewish depravity as evinced by the blasphemer. Indeed, had his mother not been the only Jewish woman to have committed her own act of transgression with the Egyptian, this blasphemy would not have occurred. The mother planted the seed of infamy; the son executed his ignoble heritage that became his mother’s legacy to him. Indeed, the mother’s name is recorded for posterity in the Torah only after her son sinned. Parents must realize that, while they may ignore the personal ramifications of their ignominious behavior, they cannot disregard its effect on their…

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Home -> 5775 -> Eikev

ואכלת ושבעת וברכת את ד' אלקיך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Eikev, 5775

You will eat and you will be satisfied, and bless Hashem, your G-d. (8:10)

When a person eats or drinks, he prefaces his eating with a blessing and, upon completion, he once again offers his blessing. What if a person has no desire to eat, he is just not hungry, or he does not particularly care for the food that is being served? One would think that he has no obligation to eat. One does not eat just to avail himself the opportunity to recite a blessing – or should he eat just for the blessing? The following episode should enlighten us. The Bobover Rebbe, Horav Shlomo, zl, related that, when he was a…

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Home -> Devarim -> 5775

ותקרבון אלי כלכם ותאמרו נשלחה אנשים לפנינו ויחפרו לנו את הארץ

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5775, Devarim

You approached me, all of you, and said, “Let us send men ahead of us and let them spy out the land.” (1:22)

Rashi describes the contrasting scenario in which the people came to Moshe Rabbeinu and “suggested” that spies be sent to reconnoiter Eretz Yisrael. “And you approached me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders…” This was a reference to the decorum manifest by the people when they accepted the Torah. That approach was proper. The young honored the elders and sent them ahead of them. And the elders honored the heads of the tribes by allowing them to precede them. In this case, however, “You approached me, all of you as a rabble, with the young pushing the…

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Home -> Devarim -> 5775

איכה אשא לבדי טרחכם ומשאכם וריבכם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5775, Devarim

“How can I carry by myself your contentiousness, your burdens and your quarrels?” (1:12)

The nation of Moshe Rabbeinu was not an easy people to lead. Apparently, they needed to be trained in the ways and means of peoplehood – with the first requisite lesson being respect for leadership. Rashi identifies Moshe’s three complaints. The first was contentiousness. The people were difficult to deal with, especially during litigation. If a litigant saw his rival prevailing, he insisted on a trial delay, with the claim that he has other witnesses to testify in his behalf ,or additional proof to support his position. Alternatively, he might have demanded his right to call for more judges on…

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Home -> 5775 -> Chayei Sarah

עבד אברהם אנכי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Chayei Sarah, 5775

I am the servant of Avraham. (24:34)

Eliezer was entrusted with a mission of the most crucial importance: finding the next Matriarch, the woman who, together with Yitzchak Avinu, would be charged with forming and maintaining the next link in Klal Yisrael. It was no easy task, and, clearly, without Divine manipulation, the success of this mission would not have been realized. Obviously, the selection of Eliezer to execute this mission is indicative of his virtue and sanctity. Avraham Avinu was acutely aware that nothing is achieved without Divine interplay, and Hashem would not interact with a person of base character. Chazal, however, teach us that there…

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