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And Moshe, the servant of Hashem, died there…and He (Hashem) buried him.” (34:5,6)

In His glory, Hashem  buried Moshe Rabbeinu.  The Midrash relates how it happened that Moshe merited for Hashem to personally take charge of his burial.  During the final days prior to the exodus from Egypt, while everyone was occupying themselves with “relieving” the Egyptians of their money, Moshe sought to fulfill the promise made many years earlier to Yosef:  that his bones would be taken out of Egypt.  Moshe spent three days and nights searching throughout the country,  looking everywhere in the hope that he would locate Yosef’s coffin.  According to one tradition,  Serach bas Asher approached Moshe to ask…

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And He (Hashem) called to Moshe and He spoke to him from the Ohel Moed. (1:1)

The Yalkut comments that actually Moshe had been given ten names, each expressing a different attribute.  Yet, Hashem called him by one name–Moshe.  The Almighty chose the name that was given to Moshe by Bisyah bas Pharaoh,  which refers to her drawing him  from the water:  “ki min ha’mayim meshisihu,” “for I have drawn him from the water.”  This became the name by which Klal Yisrael’s quintessential leader, the Almighty’s eved ne’eman–faithful servant, was to be called.  Why?  Was there no other name that described Moshe’s character, devotion, self-sacrifice, leadership ability, teaching skills, etc.?  Also, the name “Moshe” does not…

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Avraham came forward and said, “Will You also stamp out the righteous along with the wicked?” (18:23)

Avraham’s love for all people is exemplified in its noblest form as he intercedes on behalf of the people of Sodom.  Even the wicked inhabitants of Sodom were worthy of his sympathy.  He prayed to Hashem to spare them from impending doom.  Avraham Avinu’s most significant strength was his total devotion to Hashem.  Representing the greatest aspect of his personality, this trait caused Hashem to say that during the ten generations from Noach until Avraham, He spoke to no one other than Avraham.   Avraham’s commitment, to the point of self-sacrifice, was definitely  the zenith of his life’s achievement.  Chazal,…

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And Yitzchak was forty years old when he took Rivkah, daughter of Besuel the Arami from Paddan Aram, sister of Lavan the Arami (25:20)

Rashi remarks that although Rivkah’s background was well-known, the Torah repeats it to reinforce its praise of her.   She was the daughter of a wicked man and the sister of a wicked man; she was raised in an environment that was wicked.  Yet, she was able to maintain herself on a high level of virtue, remaining uninfluenced by  her environment.  We may question this statement.  Is there nothing else about Rivkah that evokes praise for her?  In Parashas Chayei Sarah, the Torah lauds  her remarkable sensitivity and her commitment to performing acts of loving-kindness.  The Torah teaches us that…

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And the pig, for its hoof is split and its hoof is completely separated, but it does not chew its cud, it is unclean to you. (11:7)

We are presently considered to be in the exile of Edom, the nation whom Chazal have compared to the pig.  Just as the pig stretches out its kosher sign, its leg, claiming that it is kosher, so does the Edomite government boast of its just laws and democracy, while concealing its immoral and depraved behavior.  We are subject to the influence of the culture and society we live in.  How often have our own people fallen prey to the sham that constitutes today’s society.  History has demonstrated time and time again that the “pig” shows its true colors and lashes…

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Remember the days of yore, understand the years of generation after generation. Ask your fathers and they will tell you… when the Supreme One gave the nations their inheritance… He set the borders of the peoples according to the numbers of the Bnei Yisrael. (32:7,8)

In recounting Jewish history, Moshe notes that after the Mabul, flood, surviving generations attempted to build the Tower of Bavel.  Hashem scattered them, dividing them into seventy nations. Each nation had its own distinct language, corresponding to the number of Bnei Yisrael, the seventy members of Yaakov Avinu’s family who later went down to Egypt.  The Shem M’Shmuel remarks that the correspondence between the seventy souls in Yaakov’s family and the seventy nations of the world is significant in Jewish thought.  Although today there are certainly more than seventy nations, after the Mabul initially seventy nations emerged.  Likewise, when Yaakov’s…

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Enough of your dwelling on this mountain. (1:6)

A year had passed in which  Klal Yisrael was situated at Har Sinai.  It became time to move on to Eretz Yisrael.  The Midrash defines the word “rav” as “abundance”; Klal Yisrael’s encampment at Har Sinai brought  much benefit to them: the Torah, the Mishkan, the Zekeinim and other leaders.  The Kli Yakar views the summons to leave Har Sinai as a practical lesson in  attitude toward Torah.  Moshe observed Klal Yisrael lingering at Har Sinai. They had become content with the Torah as a book of thought, a wonderful collection of laws brilliantly formulated by their Divine Author.  They…

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Let it be that the maiden to whom I shall say, “Please tip over the jug so I may drink,” and who replies, “Drink, and I will even water your camels,” her will You have designated for Your servant Yitzchak. (24:14)

Eliezer established a criteria for a suitable mate for Yitzchak.  He would request of her an act of chesed, kindness. If her response exceeded his request, it would indicate that she was truly a baalas chesed.  The wife for Yitzchak, the future Matriarch of Klal Yisrael, must be an individual whose character refinement is innate.   Rivkah displayed a level of chesed that was exemplary.  We may wonder why her willingness to draw water for the camels was so remarkable that it demonstrated her admirable quality of chesed.  What was so special about it? We suggest that the answer lies…

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If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter in your proximity, you shall strengthen him (25:35)

Rashi says, do not wait until he has fallen and must be picked up.  It is difficult to raise up someone who is down — completely.  Rather, one should support him, trying to catch him when he is faltering.  Give him sustenance; lend him a helping hand, give him the courage to continue.  Horav E. M. Shach, Shlita, comments that chesed, kindness, begins with understanding and forethought.  We should look around and study the plight of those around us, and with an intelligent eye try to see what it is our friend needs and how we can be of assistance. …

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You shall be holy for Me;……and I have separated you from the peoples to be Mine. (20:26)

Rashi cites Chazal who explain this pasuk in the following manner:  If you keep yourselves separate from the nations and their life styles, you will be Mine; otherwise, you will belong to Nebuchanetzar and his ilk.  Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya adds, one should not say, “I do not eat pig because I do not like pig meat.” Rather, one should say, I would like to eat pig meat, but Hashem has  prohibited me from eating it and has commanded me to separate from the other nations to be His, and only His”  Horav Eliyahu Meir Bloch, zl, remarks that essentially…

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