Bracha – Page 51 – Peninim on the Torah

ועיני לאה רכות

Leah’s eyes were tender. (29:17)

Rashi comments that Leah Imeinu’s eyes were tender due to her incessant weeping. She thought that,as she was the older sister; it would be her lot to fall into the hands of Eisav for the purpose of marriage. This was clearly a reason to cry. Tears play a significant role in our relationship with the Almighty, especially in the area of prayer; indeed, weeping is considered a form of supplication. In one of the most moving elegies of the Selichos prayers, we ask Hashem: Yehi ratzon, “May it be Your will, You who hear the sound of weeping, that You…

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ויקרע יעקב שמלתיו וישם שק במתניו ויתאבל על בנו ימים רבים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Vayeishev

Then Yaakov rent his garments and placed sackcloth on his loins; he mourned for his son many days. (37:34)

Rashi teaches that yamim rabim, many days, amounts to a period of twenty-two years. This time frame coincides with the twenty-two years that Yaakov Avinu was away from home, thereby preventing him from properly carrying out the mitzvah of kibud av v’eim, honoring one’s father and mother. While we certainly are not in a position to understand the underlying reason for Yaakov’s behavior, there is clearly a powerful lesson to be derived from here. This is despite the fact that Yaakov’s decision to leave home was originally suggested, encouraged and approved by his mother, Rivkah Imeinu. Yet, Yaakov is held…

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וימכרו יוסף לישמעאלים בעשרים כסף

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Vayeishev

And they sold Yosef to the Yishmaelim for twenty pieces of silver. (37:28)

Twenty silver pieces amounts to five shekalim, the same amount we use to redeem our firstborn sons. Chazal teach us that this amount of money atones for the brothers’ sin of selling Yosef. Additionally, since each brother’s share of the “take” amounted to two dinarim, the equivalent of a half-shekel, Jews annually give a half-shekel for the upkeep of the Bais Hamikdash. Since we no longer have the Bais Hamikdash, the Machatzis hashekel, half shekel, is contributed annually on Purim to charity. The Shivtei Kah, brothers who sold Yosef, represent Klal Yisrael. Thus, the onus of their guilt is on…

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כל אלה שבטי ישראל שנים עשר... ויברך אותם איש אשר כברכתו ברך אתם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Vayechi

All these are the twelve tribes of Yisrael… and he (Yaakov) blessed them. Everyone according to his blessing did he bless them. (49:28)

Changing one’s direction in life is difficult. Once one has either chosen a specific path, or has ended up living a certain lifestyle because it just evolved, he finds change difficult. Many factors are involved. Complacency often prevails; and depression, the mounting feeling that “change” is something one cannot handle or in which will not be successful, is a powerful deterrent. Therefore, we often remain in a bind, doing the same thing, sticking to the same mold – and being miserable. Horav Yeruchem Levovitz, zl, derives a lesson from Yaakov Avinu which will invariably save the day for many of…

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ואני נתתי לך שכם אחד על אחיך אשר לקחתי מיד האמרי בחרבי ובקשתי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Vayechi

And as for me, I have given you Shechem – one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Emori with my sword and with my bow. (48:22)

Rashi offers two interpretations of Yaakov Avinu’s conquest of Shechem. The first interpretation is that Shechem is a reference to the city of Shechem, which Yaakov conquered through the agency of Shimon and Levi. After the two brothers slew the inhabitants of Shechem, the surrounding nations rose up against Yaakov, who returned their warfare and miraculously emerged victorious. Therefore, charbi u’b’kashti, sword and bow, are realistic weapons which enabled the Patriarch to best his enemies. The second interpretation maintains that Yaakov refers to the birthright, the double portion, he wrested away from Eisav, who is here referred to as the…

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ויברכם ביום ההוא לאמר בך יברך ישראל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Vayechi

So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you shall Yisrael bless.” (48:20)

And so it has become the case throughout the generations. Parents bless their children; Menasheh and Efraim serve as the paradigms of blessing. Does bayom ha’hu, “that day,” refer to a specific time? That day means that any day on which parents bless their children, Menasheh and Efraim will be their example. Horav Asher, zl, m’Karlin, interprets bayom ha’hu homiletically. Yaakov Avinu blessed his grandchildren that they should focus their endeavors on “that day.” Never push off until tomorrow what can be done today. The idea of pushing things off l’machar, tomorrow, is Amalek’s way of acting. By tomorrow, one…

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והמלאכה היתה דים לכל המלאכה לעשות אתה והותר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Vayakhel

And the work (of bringing materials for the building) was just enough, to make all the works (of the Mishkan), and there was left over. (36:7)

When we read this pasuk we are struck with an anomaly in its interpretation. The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh asks: Are these two expressions – dayom, “just enough;” and v’hoseir, “left over” – actually exclusive of one another? If there was “just enough,” then there could not have been anything “left over”; and if there is something “left over,” then clearly there was more than “just enough.” The Sfas Emes approaches this from a number of perspectives. We will select one which teaches a valuable lesson in avodas Hashem, service to the Almighty. In the Midrash Tanchuma, Chazal state that the…

Home -> V'zos HaBrachah -> 5773

שמח זבולן בצאתך ויששכר באהלך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, V'zos HaBrachah

Rejoice, O’ Zevulun, in your excursions, and Yissachar in your tent. (33:18)

The definition of a good life is relative. Clearly, there are those who have very few material comforts, yet they never complain. After all, they do not sense a need for anything more than what they have. In contrast, there are those who seem to have everything, but it is never enough. Yissachar and Zevulun characterize a utopian approach to Torah living. Yissachar devotes all of his time to Torah study. His material needs are addressed by his devoted brother, Zevulun, whose day is spent toiling in the world of commerce. Why is this considered utopia? Zevulun understands the need…

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אולי ימשני אבי והייתי בעיניו כמתעתע

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5773

Perhaps my father will feel me, and shall seem to him as a deceiver. (27:12)

Chazal derive from the Torah’s use of the word k’masatea, as a deceiver, that one who disguises his speech, so that he would not be recognized, is considered as if he worships idols. The Meiri explains that machlif b’diburo, the term used by Chazal for one who disguises his speech, applies equally to one who does not keep his word. They cite the pasuk in Yirmiyahu 10:15, which employs the root of titua: heimah maaseh tatuim, “They (idol worship) are vanity, the work of deception,” as support for this statement. The connection between Yaakov Avinu’s act of “misrepresentation” and idol…

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ויזד יעקב נזיד ויבוא עשו מן השדה והוא עיף. ויאמר עשו אל יעקב הלעיטני נא מן האדם הזה...ויעקב נתן לעשו לחם ונזיד עדשים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5773

Yaakov simmered a stew, and Eisav came in from the field and he was exhausted. Eisav said to Yaakov, “Pour into me, now, some of that very red stuff. Yaakov gave Eisav bread and lentil stew.” (25:29, 30:34)

Eisav asked for soup. Yaakov Avinu was a magnanimous host, and he gave him soup and bread! Why did Yaakov give Eisav bread in addition to the soup? This question was asked of Horav Chaim Kanievsky, Shlita, who rendered a halachic response. There is a question in Meseches Berachos concerning which brachah one should recite on beans that have been cooked for a long time. Should it be Borei pri ha’adamah, since beans grow from the ground; or, because they have been cooked so long, should the berachah be, She’ha’kol ni’heh’yeh b’devaro? To avoid any halachic issues, one should wash…

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ועיני לאה רכות

Leah’s eyes were tender. (29:17)

ויקרע יעקב שמלתיו וישם שק במתניו ויתאבל על בנו ימים רבים

Then Yaakov rent his garments and placed sackcloth on his loins; he mourned for his son many days. (37:34)

וימכרו יוסף לישמעאלים בעשרים כסף

And they sold Yosef to the Yishmaelim for twenty pieces of silver. (37:28)

כל אלה שבטי ישראל שנים עשר... ויברך אותם איש אשר כברכתו ברך אתם

All these are the twelve tribes of Yisrael… and he (Yaakov) blessed them. Everyone according to his blessing did he bless them. (49:28)

ואני נתתי לך שכם אחד על אחיך אשר לקחתי מיד האמרי בחרבי ובקשתי

And as for me, I have given you Shechem – one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Emori with my sword and with my bow. (48:22)

ויברכם ביום ההוא לאמר בך יברך ישראל

So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you shall Yisrael bless.” (48:20)

והמלאכה היתה דים לכל המלאכה לעשות אתה והותר

And the work (of bringing materials for the building) was just enough, to make all the works (of the Mishkan), and there was left over. (36:7)

שמח זבולן בצאתך ויששכר באהלך

Rejoice, O’ Zevulun, in your excursions, and Yissachar in your tent. (33:18)

אולי ימשני אבי והייתי בעיניו כמתעתע

Perhaps my father will feel me, and shall seem to him as a deceiver. (27:12)

ויזד יעקב נזיד ויבוא עשו מן השדה והוא עיף. ויאמר עשו אל יעקב הלעיטני נא מן האדם הזה...ויעקב נתן לעשו לחם ונזיד עדשים

Yaakov simmered a stew, and Eisav came in from the field and he was exhausted. Eisav said to Yaakov, “Pour into me, now, some of that very red stuff. Yaakov gave Eisav bread and lentil stew.” (25:29, 30:34)

YEARS

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