Bracha – Page 10 – Peninim on the Torah

ותדבר מרים ואהרן במשה על אודות האשה הכושית אשר לקח

Miriam and Aharon spoke against Moshe regarding the Cushite woman which he took. (12:1)

Rashi quotes Midrash Tanchuma (Parashas Tzav 13) which asks, “From where did Miriam know that Moshe Rabbeinu had separated from Tzipporah?” (Miriam complained about Moshe moving out of his family tent. The reason given was that he never knew when Hashem would speak with him. Thus, he had to maintain his purity at all times. Miriam rendered, “Was Moshe the only one who spoke with Hashem? They, too, received His word – yet, they did not separate from their spouses.”) The Midrash says that Miriam heard Tzipporah say, “Woe is to those who are called to prophecy, just like my…

Home -> Bamidbar -> 5783

משפחת בני קהת יחנו על המשכן תימנה

Sruly Schnair In 5783, Bamidbar

The families of the children of Kehas would encamp on the side of the Mishkan to the south. (3:29)

Rashi explains that specifically concerning Bnei Kehas, the Torah underscores that they were to the south side of the Mishkan, indicating that a special significance was attributed to the southern campsite of Bnei Kehas. He quotes Chazal (Succos 56b) that posit, Oy l’rasha v’oy lishcheinav. The tribe of Reuven encamped on the south next to Kehas, rendering Reuven vulnerable to the negative influence of Korach who descended from Kehas. As a result, the sons of Reuven, Dasan and Aviram, followed by the 250 heads of the Sanhedrin, joined the Korach controversy, which ultimately led to their untimely deaths. Rashi’s lashon,…

Home -> 5783 -> Kedoshim

איש אמו ואביו תיראו

Sruly Schnair In Kedoshim, 5783

Every man: Your father and mother shall you revere/fear. (19:3)

Interestingly, in the Aseres HaDibros, Ten Commandments, the Torah commands Kabeid es avicha v’es imecha, “Honor your father and mother” (Shemos 20:12), without adding the word ish, every man. It is almost as if the Torah were intimating a special command to one who is an ish, that he must fear his parents. What is the difference between kavod, respect, and mora, fear? Horav Yosef Tzvi HaLevi Dunner, zl (Mikdash HaLevi), explains the disparity homiletically. The Torah is teaching us a valuable and vital lesson – one that I think is quite obvious in today’s society. The Torah world, for…

Home -> 5783 -> Tazria

וביום השמיני ימול בשר ערלתו

Sruly Schnair In Tazria, 5783

On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. (12:3)

The custom among Jews is to wish the father of the newly-circumcised infant, K’sheim she’nichnas l’bris, kein yikanes l’Torah, u’lechuppah, u’lmaasim tovim, “As the infant enters into the covenant of Bris Milah, so, too, should he enter into Torah, chuppah/marriage and the performance of good deeds.” Many commentators have offered interpretations of this statement by Chazal (Shabbos 137b) – each one intimating an important lesson. I will share but a few. Tochachas Chaim explains the concept behind k’sheim she’nichnas, “As the (infant) enters into the Bris”: When a father brings his newborn son into the covenant of Avraham Avinu, it…

Home -> 5783 -> Metzora

להורות ביום הטמא וביום הטהור זאת תורת הצרעת

Sruly Schnair In Metzora, 5783

To rule on which day it is contaminated and on which day it is purified; this is the law of tzaraas. (14:57)

The one who speaks lashon hora, who slanders with impunity, has a jaundiced view of people. In order to speak negatively about someone, it is natural (and probably necessary) to knock down his personal opinion of the subject of his lashon hora a few notches. He, therefore, has no qualms about humiliating him, because, after all, what is he? While this attitude may not course through the mind of every baal lashon hora, the mere fact that he is callous and unfeeling concerning the feelings of his fellow Jew is an indication that he has a low opinion of him….

Home -> 5783 -> Yisro

אנכי ד' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים מבית עבדים

Sruly Schnair In Yisro, 5783

I am Hashem, Your G-d, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. (20:2)

Kabbalas haTorah, the Giving/Receiving of the Torah, was the crown of Creation. As the Abir Yaakov (Horav Yaakov Abuchatzeira, zl) writes, the purpose of Creation is to recognize Hashem’s Monarchy. It is understandable that the world cannot exist without Torah, which guides us how to serve Hashem. In this sense, the world was not completed until Klal Yisrael received/accepted the Torah on Har Sinai. With this in mind, the Abir Yaakov explains the first pesukim of the Torah: Bereishis bara Elokim, “In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth…darkness was on the face of the depths, and the…

Home -> 5783 -> Beshalach

הנני ממטיר לכם לחם מן השמים... למען אנסנו הילך בתורתי אם לא

Sruly Schnair In Beshalach, 5783

Behold! I shall rain down for you food from Heaven… so that I can test them, whether they will follow My teaching or not. (16:4)

Heavenly bread, or sustenance from Heaven, was to be the test that determined the faith and trust of the Jew. Would he listen by observing Shabbos, trusting that the amount of food necessary to feed his family would arrive in a timely manner? Would he follow Hashem even if, at the end of the day, he had no food available for the next day? Last, would he now devote all his free time to matters of the spirit – Torah study and mitzvah observance? The test continues to this very day. Some individuals contend that they trust in Hashem; He…

Home -> Vayechi -> 5783

וימאן אביו ויאמר ידעתי בני ידעתי

Sruly Schnair In 5783, Vayechi

But his father refused, saying, “I Know, my son, I know.” (48:19)

Yosef made a move to show his father that Menashe was his older son; thus, he warranted the blessing on the right/stronger side. One would have expected Yaakov Avinu to simply inform him that Ephraim will ultimately be the greater of the two. Why does he preface his response with Yadaati, b’ni, yadaati? Horav Yisrael Aharon Kupshitz, Shlita (Torah Ohr, quoted by Horav Eliezer Turk, Shlita), comments that the Torah is teaching us an important principle with regard to our seeking advice from a gadol, Torah giant. We must never forget that the reason he is where he is, and…

Home -> Vayechi -> 5783

ויברכם... בך יברך ישראל לאמר ישמך אלקים כאפרים וכמנשה

Sruly Schnair In 5783, Vayechi

So he blessed them… saying, “By you shall Yisrael bless saying, ‘May G-d make you like Ephraim and like Menashe.’” (48:20)

Yaakov Avinu blessed his grandsons with what has become the standard of blessing. Horav Yechezkel, zl, m’Kuzmir, notes that the word becha, by you, is singular, as if the speaker is addressing one person, which is not the case. Both Menashe and Ephraim were present during this blessing; thus, bach refers to both of them. The Kuzmirer explains that bach alludes to complete unity in which two individuals – in this instance, Menashe and Ephraim – who are unified in complete harmony as one person. Only when perfect amity prevails can brachah, blessing, radiate to Klal Yisrael. When Yosef presented…

Home -> 5783 -> Vayishlach

קטנתי מכל החסדים ... כי במקלי עברתי את הירדן הזה

Sruly Schnair In Vayishlach, 5783

I have been diminished by all the kindnesses… for with my staff I crossed this Yarden. (32:11)

At first glance, with a cursory reading of the pasuk, one is availed a window in Yaakov Avinu’s “rags to riches” story. He crossed the Yarden alone with nothing but his makel, staff, and today he is blessed with a large, productive family and all the material assets that he needs! Targum Onkelos adds a twist to the translation of these words, which gives us pause to reconsider what the Patriarch is saying. Arei yechidi avris yas Yardena ha’dein, “I crossed this Yarden alone.” Yaakov was not lamenting his economic state, but rather his emotional one, the loneliness that engulfed…

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ותדבר מרים ואהרן במשה על אודות האשה הכושית אשר לקח

Miriam and Aharon spoke against Moshe regarding the Cushite woman which he took. (12:1)

משפחת בני קהת יחנו על המשכן תימנה

The families of the children of Kehas would encamp on the side of the Mishkan to the south. (3:29)

איש אמו ואביו תיראו

Every man: Your father and mother shall you revere/fear. (19:3)

וביום השמיני ימול בשר ערלתו

On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. (12:3)

להורות ביום הטמא וביום הטהור זאת תורת הצרעת

To rule on which day it is contaminated and on which day it is purified; this is the law of tzaraas. (14:57)

אנכי ד' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים מבית עבדים

I am Hashem, Your G-d, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. (20:2)

הנני ממטיר לכם לחם מן השמים... למען אנסנו הילך בתורתי אם לא

Behold! I shall rain down for you food from Heaven… so that I can test them, whether they will follow My teaching or not. (16:4)

וימאן אביו ויאמר ידעתי בני ידעתי

But his father refused, saying, “I Know, my son, I know.” (48:19)

ויברכם... בך יברך ישראל לאמר ישמך אלקים כאפרים וכמנשה

So he blessed them… saying, “By you shall Yisrael bless saying, ‘May G-d make you like Ephraim and like Menashe.’” (48:20)

קטנתי מכל החסדים ... כי במקלי עברתי את הירדן הזה

I have been diminished by all the kindnesses… for with my staff I crossed this Yarden. (32:11)

YEARS

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