Chesed – Page 23 – Peninim on the Torah

You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations from whom you shall take possession worshipped their gods… You shall not do so to Hashem, your G-d. (12:2,4)

Rashi quotes the Sifrei (61), which offers a homiletic rendering of this pasuk: “Would it enter one’s mind that the Jews (Israel) would shatter their Altars?” What, then, does the Torah mean when it writes, “You shall not do this to Hashem, your G-d?” We would never do to our holy places what we are being commanded to do to the shrines of the idol worshipers. “Rabbi Yishmael taught that Israel (Jews) should [be careful] not to do [deeds] like their deeds (i.e., commit sins that will cause them to be exiled) and [thus] your sins would cause the Bais…

Home -> 5771 -> Va'eschanan

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Va'eschanan, 5771

And you shall not steal. (5:17)

We live in a day and age during which the idea of theft has lost much of its aura of malevolence. Stealing used to be an anathema. Regrettably, people have discovered loopholes whereby what used to be evil no longer carries such a negative stigma. Horav Sholom Schwadron, zl, relates the story of a distinguished student of the Arizal, a wealthy businessman who owned two factories in Tzfas. In one factory, he employed only men; in the other factory, only women. One day, the student visited his revered Rebbe. When he entered the room, the Rebbe said, “I see on…

Home -> 5771 -> Chukas

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5771

If a man will die in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anything that is in the tent shall be contaminated/impure for seven days. (19:14)

We view a rasha, wicked person, with disdain, when actually it is the sin that we should hate, not the sinner. We do not realize that regardless of a person’s transgressions, his neshamah, soul, is endowed with kedushah, holiness. Horav Tuvia HaLevi, zl, one of the talmidei Arizal, applies this idea to explain why a Jewish corpse is metamei, ritually contaminates, anyone who comes in contact with it, more so than the corpse of a gentile. A Jewish corpse is metamei both b’ohel and b’maga, by standing over it (whereby you are creating an “ohel”) or touching it, while a…

Home -> Behar -> 5771

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Behar

If your brother becomes impoverished. (25:39)

Everyone wants to be charitable, to share with those who are less fortunate than he is. It is one of those mitzvos that make us feel good. After all, what could be wrong with helping another Jew? Perhaps that is the first mistake: “helping another Jew.” Tzedakah, popularly known as charity, is not just about helping someone else, but rather about feeling that person’s pain. When one “helps,” he is still separated from the beneficiary. He is fine, but the “other guy” is in need. True tzedakah does not distinguish between “me” and “him;” “us” and “them.” Tzedakah binds the…

Home -> 5771 -> Tetzaveh

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Tetzaveh, 5771

Aharon and his sons shall arrange it… before Hashem an eternal decree for their generations, from the Bnei Yisrael. (27:21)

There is an inspiring Midrash whose commentary on the pasuk “illuminates” for us the significance of, and proper attitude to the middah, character trait, of ha’koras ha’tov, gratitude. Hashem says, “I ask you to light the Menorah for Me not because I need the light. I want you to light it for Me as I illuminated for you (in the Wilderness). Thus, I will elevate your esteem in the eyes of the nations of the world, for they will then say, ‘Yisrael is lighting for the One Who lights for all.’” The Midrash continues by offering an analogy to a…

Home -> 5771 -> Mishpatim

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Mishpatim, 5771

Distance yourself from a false word. (23:7)

The admonition against uttering a falsehood, is quite different from other prohibitive mitzvos. Nowhere does it state that one must distance himself from the aveirah, sin. Proximity to the sin, or area which might bring one to sin may not be advisable, but there does not seem to be a specific exhortation against it. Falsehood, however, seems to be very dangerous. It has such a strong gravitational pull that simply being in its immediate environment is dangerous and can influence one to sin. Why is it different than maachalos asuros, forbidden foods, which do not carry such a stringency that one…

Home -> Shemos -> 5771

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Shemos

It happened in those days that Moshe grew up and went out to his brethren and observed their burdens. (2:11)

Although raised amidst the majesty and splendor of Egyptian royalty, Moshe Rabbeinu remained the son of Amram and Yocheved. Raised as an Egyptian prince, but cognizant of his Jewish roots, Moshe remained totally committed and sensitive to his Jewish brethren. When he matured, growing up into a position of responsibility, he made it a point to go out and see – to observe – the plight of his brethren, to see their suffering and grieve with them. What is meant by “seeing” their suffering? Is it not sufficient simply to be aware of the misery? Does observing it firsthand make a difference?…

Home -> Vayechi -> 5771

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Vayechi

“So now, please forgive the spiteful deeds of the servants of your father’s G-d.” And Yosef wept when they spoke to him. (50:17)

Yaakov Avinu had passed from this world. Feeling a sense of foreboding, the brothers asked Yosef to forgive them for what they had done to him. They recalled the suffering which had resulted from his sale to a degenerate nation that relegated him to live in miserable dungeons with individuals of base character. Their choice of words (“so now”) intimates that from now on – since Yaakov’s death – they will be seeking Yosef’s forgiveness. What does Yaakov’s passing have to do with the need for forgiveness? In his volume, A Vort From Rav Pam, Rabbi Shalom Smith quotes the Rosh…

Home -> Vayeishev -> 5771

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Vayeishev

Reuven heard, and he rescued him from their hand. (37:21)

Reuven slowed the process, ultimately convincing his brothers not to be guilty of cold-blooded murder. Chazal teach that Reuven acted nonchalantly concerning his act of saving Yosef, not giving it the importance that it deserved. They say that had Reuven been aware that Hashem would write in His Torah that Reuven was to be credited with saving Yosef, he would have taken Yosef right then and there and carried him on his shoulders back home to Yaakov Avinu. Reuven acted properly, but did not give his actions much thought. A similar statement is made concerning Boaz, who gave Rus some…

Home -> 5771 -> Toldos

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5771

Yaakov was a wholesome man, abiding in tents. (25:27)

Yaakov Avinu was morally and ethically wholesome, attributes attested to by the Torah. He is characterized as “abiding in tents.” Rashi explains that this is a reference to Yaakov’s total devotion to spending his time in the tents of Torah, under the direction of Shem and Eiver. Yaakov did not simply “learn.” He studied with a passion, totally devoted to the Torah. During the fourteen years that Yaakov spent in yeshivah engrossed in Torah study, he did not willingly go to sleep in a bed. This does not mean that he was superhuman. Yaakov slept only when sleep overtook him….

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You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations from whom you shall take possession worshipped their gods… You shall not do so to Hashem, your G-d. (12:2,4)

And you shall not steal. (5:17)

If a man will die in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anything that is in the tent shall be contaminated/impure for seven days. (19:14)

If your brother becomes impoverished. (25:39)

Aharon and his sons shall arrange it… before Hashem an eternal decree for their generations, from the Bnei Yisrael. (27:21)

Distance yourself from a false word. (23:7)

It happened in those days that Moshe grew up and went out to his brethren and observed their burdens. (2:11)

“So now, please forgive the spiteful deeds of the servants of your father’s G-d.” And Yosef wept when they spoke to him. (50:17)

Reuven heard, and he rescued him from their hand. (37:21)

Yaakov was a wholesome man, abiding in tents. (25:27)

YEARS

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