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Home -> 5778 -> Beha'alosecha

ויהי בנסוע הארון

Moshe Marcovich
In Beha'alosecha, 5778

When the Aron would travel. (10:35)

The well-known pesukim, which are recited when the Torah is removed from the Aron Kodesh, are placed in our parsha and are separated from the rest of the parsha by two inverted nuns. Chazal (Shabbos 115b) teach, “Hashem placed a symbol before and following these pesukim in order to underscore that this is not the rightful place for these pesukim to be recorded in the Torah.” The more appropriate place is in Parashas Bamidbar where the Torah records the nation’s masaos, journeys. Why were they placed here? Chazal explain that the Torah seeks to differentiate the first puranios, punishments, from…

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Home -> 5778 -> Acharei Mos

ושמרתם את חקתי ואת משפטי אשר יעשה אתם האדם וחי בהם

Moshe Marcovich
In Acharei Mos, 5778

You shall observe My decrees and My laws, which man shall carry out and by which he shall live. (18:5)

The Talmud (Yoma 85B) expounds on the words, v’chai bahem, “and live by them,” that pikuach nefesh, saving a life, takes precedence over all mitzvos, except for the three cardinal sins: murder; idolworship; adultery (and shmad, when gentiles force a Jew to choose between Hashem and his own life). Under such circumstances, one forfeits his life. Rashi interprets v’chai bahem to mean that, as a result of one’s adherence to mitzvos, he will achieve eternal life in Olam Habba, the World to Come. Horav Hillel Vitkind, zl, explains v’chai bahem homiletically as applying a mussar, character refinement, approach. A person…

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Home -> 5754 -> Lech Lecha

Moshe Marcovich
In Lech Lecha, 5754

And I will bless you and make your name great and you will be a blessing. (12:2)

Rashi cites the Midrash which explains that “And you will be a blessing” refers to the Shemone Esrai blessing which is concluded with Avraham’s name, Magen Avraham, as opposed to Yitzchak and Yaakov. Prior to World War II, Rabbi S. Shkop z.t.l. rendered a homiletic exposition of this pasuk in relationship to contemporary world events.  Eastern European Jewry was greatly affected by the turbulent times. Jewish youth especially were becoming alienated from Torah. Yeshiva enrollment in most areas was rapidly diminishing. It had reached the point that there was fear that the wh The Midrash responds to this suggestion in the negative….

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Home -> 5778 -> Metzora

זאת תהיה תורת המצורע

Moshe Marcovich
In Metzora, 5778

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

The term metzora is comprised of the construct motzi-ra, brings out bad (about his fellow). This is a baal lashon hora. The Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh teaches that one who speaks negatively about his fellow is still called a baal lashon hora, even if what he says is the truth. When one sins, he is called a baal aveirah, baal lashon hora; the word baal means husband of. Why is this? Furthermore, when a boy reaches the age of thirteen, he is called a bar-mitzvah, bar, meaning son of. With regard to mitzvos, one is called a son, while concerning one’s relationship…

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Home -> 5757 -> Naso

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Naso, 5757

A man or woman who shall do something wondrous by taking a Nazarite vow of abstinence for the sake of Hashem. (6:2)

Why would someone choose to become a nazir?  It may be the result of a  harmful experience associated with drinking wine.  Alternatively, it may be the product  of a conviction that one should abstain from mundane pleasures.  The individual feels that he is too involved with himself.  Consequently, he goes to the extreme, taking a vow to abstain from his usual pleasures.  The nazir must make sure  that he does not defile his nezirus by coming in contact with a dead body.  If this does happen, the nazir becomes tamei, ritually unclean. He must go through a purification process after…

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Home -> 5757 -> Eikev

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Eikev, 5757

You shall teach them to your children to discuss them. (11:19)

Rashi comments that  Chazal have inferred from this pasuk that when a child begins to talk, his father should converse with him in lashon hakodesh, Hebrew, and should begin to teach him Torah.  If he does not teach him Torah, it is viewed as if he had ______ buried him.  This is implied by the juxtaposition to the next pasuk, in which the Torah states, “In order to prolong your days and the days of your children.”  The mitzvah of limud haTorah takes on a new perspective when it applies to a father’s obligation to educate his children.  A father…

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Home -> 5756 -> Shemini

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Shemini, 5756

“To distinguish between the contaminated and the pure.” (11:47)

In the last pasuk of the parsha, the Torah elaborates the underlying motif of Judaism and the mandate for every Jew to follow. We are charged to study and learn how to distinguish between that which is ritually defiled and that which is pure. In theory this is clearly our goal, but practical application is possible only through study. One may desire to be observant. If he is not proficient, however, in the code precise observance remains elusive. Rashi interprets the concept of havdalah, the ability to discern between pure and defiled (kosher and non-kosher), as applying to more than…

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Home -> 5771 -> Nitzavim

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Nitzavim, 5771

And you will return unto Hashem, your G-d, and listen to His voice, according to everything that I command you today. (30:2)

Ideal repentance is not motivated by fear, but by love, preceded by an intellectual appreciation of what a Torah way of life revolving around a profound belief in Hashem can do for a person. Unquestionably, Teshuvah, return/repentance, is a major step for anyone to undertake. This is, of course, especially true when one returns from a life of total assimilation and alienation. A word of warning, however, is in order: Teshuvah is much more than a step. It is a lifelong process that must continually grow as one’s commitment becomes stronger and more concrete. All too often, people begin the…

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Home -> 5774 -> Vayeitzei

ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vayeitzei, 5774

Yaakov departed from Beer-Sheva and went toward Charan. (28:10)

In the previous parsha, we read that Yaakov Avinu incurred the implacable wrath of his brother, Eisav, because he appropriated the blessings. Eisav was quite upset, and he swore to kill Yaakov in the proper place and time. This parsha begins with Yaakov leaving home on his way to seek a wife at his Uncle Lavan’s house. Between the time that Yaakov received instructions from his parents concerning leaving home for Charan, and the actual commencement of his journey, the Torah interrupts the story by informing us that, when Eisav saw that his father disapproved of Canaanite women, he decided…

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Home -> 5773 -> Vayishlach

ויאמר שלחני כי עלה השחר ויאמר לא אשלחך כי אם ברכתני

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vayishlach, 5773

Then he said, “Let me go, for dawn has broken.” And he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” (32:27)

What was the purpose of the debate/fight that took place between Yaakov Avinu and Eisav’s guardian angel? Perhaps the answer lies at the end of the narrative when Yaakov refused to allow the angel to leave unless he would first bless him. The commentators explain this blessing as a demand from Yaakov that the angel concede to him that he had received Yitzchak Avinu’s blessings by right. Once and for all, Eisav’s complaint that Yaakov stole the blessings must be quieted. While it may be a nice gesture, what was to be gained by the angel’s blessing? Was this the…

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