Chesed – Page 29 – Peninim on the Torah

ויאמר אין קול ענות גבורה ואין קול ענות חלושה קול ענות אנכי שמע

He said, “It is not the sound of shouting of might nor the sound of shouting of weakness; a distressing sound do I hear.” (32:18)

Yehoshua informed Moshe Rabbeinu that he heard the sound of battle in the Jewish camp. Moshe Rabbeinu replied that battle sounds consist of either the sound of victory or the sound of defeat. The sound that he heard was much different. It was the sound of blasphemy and vilification, which distresses the soul of everyone who hears it. In other words, Klal Yisrael had sinned, and the sounds that they were hearing were the sounds of blasphemy. The Chafetz Chaim, zl, explains that Moshe was actually critiquing Yehoshua for not yet being able to discern between sounds. A leader must…

Home -> Ha'azinu -> 5773

זכור ימות העולם בינו שנות דור ודור

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Ha'azinu

Remember the days of old, consider the years of each generation. (Devarim 32:7)

Remembrance is a major part of Jewish service to Hashem. Much of our tradition is based upon remembering what once was, our highs and lows, joys and travails. Most important, however, is the ability to see the Yad Hashem, guiding Hand of G-d, throughout all that occurs. The Bostoner Rebbe, zl, put remembrance into perspective when he said, “Remembrance is important, but we must know what to remember. Even concerning those tragedies closest to our own time, such as the Holocaust, are we to remember the pain – or the self-sacrifice – what its victims died for – or what…

Home -> Ha'azinu -> 5773

יערף כמטר לקחי תזל כטל אמרתי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Ha'azinu

Let My teachings descend like the rain, may My utterance flow like the dew. (32:1)

The Torah is compared to rain which descends from the heavens, reviving the seeds buried within the earth. The Sefas Emes notes a relationship between adamah, earth, and rain vis-à-vis Adam HaRishon, primordial man, his offspring, and the Torah which is compared to rain. The earth filled with seed is potential vegetation, grass, etc. It is only when rain descends on the adamah that this potential is released and the seeds begin to sprout and produce. Likewise, adam, man, created from adamah, is filled with tremendous potential. Will he realize his potential, or will it continue to lay dormant? Torah…

Home -> 5773 -> Chukas

אדם כי ימות באהל ...כל הבא אל האהל וכל אשר באהל יטמא שבעת ימים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5773

A man who would die in a tent: Anything that enters the tent and anything that is in the tent shall be contaminated 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 or touching it, while a gentile corpse does not defile b’ohel….

Home -> 5773 -> Chayei Sarah

ויהיו חיי שרה מאה שנה ועשרים שנה ושבע שנים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5773

Sarah’s life was one hundred years, twenty years, and seven years. (23:1)

The Torah informs us that Sarah Imeinu lived to be one hundred twenty seven years old. We are now aware of the Matriarch’s longevity, but what about her life? Very little is recorded concerning her actual life, what happened, what she did, what type of person she was: simple questions whose answers would characterize the first Matriarch. We have some idea concerning her outreach activities. Chazal teach that Sarah converted the women, while Avraham Avinu converted the men. They derive this from the pasuk, V’es ha’nefesh asher asu b’Charan, “And the souls which they made in Charan” (Bereishis 12:5). Sarah…

Home -> 5773 -> Beshalach

ובני ישראל אכלו את המן ארבעים שנה...את המן אכלו עד באם אל קצה ארץ כנען

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Beshalach, 5773

Bnei Yisrael ate the manna for forty years…They ate the manna until their arrival at the border of the land of Canaan. (16:35)

In the Mechilta, Chazal teach that, Lo nitnah Torah lidrosh ela l’ochlei man, “The Torah was given to be expounded only by mann-eaters.” This means that there were positive reasons for the Torah to have been given to Klal Yisrael while they were in the midst of their forty-year sojourn to the Promised Land. The wilderness was an integral part of this experience. The Torah had to be given in the desolate wilderness. It is not just because Egypt’s prevailing environment was filled with spiritual bankruptcy and defilement. It was because to live in the desert is to defy the…

Home -> Bamidbar -> 5773

איש על דגלו באתת לבית אבותם יחנו בני ישראל מנגד סביב לאהל מועד יחנו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Bamidbar

Bnei Yisrael shall encamp, each man by his banner, according to the insignias of their fathers’ household, at a distance surrounding the Ohel Moed shall they encamp. (2:2)

The words mineged, which is usually defined as “opposite,” and saviv, which means “surrounding,” contrast one another. Were the Jews opposite the Ohel Moed, or were they camped surrounding it? Veritably, these terms complement one another, as explained by Horav Chaim Toyto, Shlita, with the following story. An observant physician from Germany decided that he wanted to visit the blossoming Torah world of Lithuanian Jewry. After all, he was a frum, observant, doctor who meticulously adhered to all the mitzvos. He wanted to see what about Lithuanian yeshivah life differed from his lifestyle. One can imagine the culture shock when…

Home -> Bamidbar -> 5773

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Bamidbar

Bnei Yisrael shall encamp, each man by his banner, according to the insignias of their fathers’ household, at a distance surrounding the Ohel Moed shall they encamp. (2:2)

The words mineged, which is usually defined as “opposite,” and saviv, which means “surrounding,” contrast one another. Were the Jews opposite the Ohel Moed, or were they camped surrounding it? Veritably, these terms complement one another, as explained by Horav Chaim Toyto, Shlita, with the following story. An observant physician from Germany decided that he wanted to visit the blossoming Torah world of Lithuanian Jewry. After all, he was a frum, observant, doctor who meticulously adhered to all the mitzvos. He wanted to see what about Lithuanian yeshivah life differed from his lifestyle. One can imagine the culture shock when…

Home -> 5753 -> Terumah

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Terumah, 5753

“And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall pass from end to end.” (26:28)

The Targum Yonason explains that this middle bar originated from Avraham’s famous “inn” from which he would provide food and drink for wayfarers. The angels cut it down and threw it into the sea, where it floated until it was retrieved by Moshe. Horav E. Muller, Shlita, notes the significance of this statement. Everyone was requested to contribute their heartfelt donation towards the construction of the Mishkan. In order to maintain this structure, however, it was essential to have as the middle bar a pole which was derived from a house which exemplified the highest level of chesed. The Mishkan,…

Home -> 5751 -> Shemini

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shemini, 5751

“And the chasidah (stork) (11:19)

The Talmud explains that the chasidah was given this name due to its natural instinct of doing chesed (kindness) with other members of its species (Chulin 63a). The Rambam in the Morhe Nevuchim and the Ramban in his commentary on this parsha explain that the characteristics of the food that one eats will ultimately be absorbed into the nature of the person who eats them. The prohibition of eating the chasidah is therefore puzzling, since this bird performs acts of kindness. It would seem that partaking of it should be encouraged. The initial response is that the chasidah performs its…

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ויאמר אין קול ענות גבורה ואין קול ענות חלושה קול ענות אנכי שמע

He said, “It is not the sound of shouting of might nor the sound of shouting of weakness; a distressing sound do I hear.” (32:18)

זכור ימות העולם בינו שנות דור ודור

Remember the days of old, consider the years of each generation. (Devarim 32:7)

יערף כמטר לקחי תזל כטל אמרתי

Let My teachings descend like the rain, may My utterance flow like the dew. (32:1)

אדם כי ימות באהל ...כל הבא אל האהל וכל אשר באהל יטמא שבעת ימים

A man who would die in a tent: Anything that enters the tent and anything that is in the tent shall be contaminated for seven days. (19:14)

ויהיו חיי שרה מאה שנה ועשרים שנה ושבע שנים

Sarah’s life was one hundred years, twenty years, and seven years. (23:1)

ובני ישראל אכלו את המן ארבעים שנה...את המן אכלו עד באם אל קצה ארץ כנען

Bnei Yisrael ate the manna for forty years…They ate the manna until their arrival at the border of the land of Canaan. (16:35)

איש על דגלו באתת לבית אבותם יחנו בני ישראל מנגד סביב לאהל מועד יחנו

Bnei Yisrael shall encamp, each man by his banner, according to the insignias of their fathers’ household, at a distance surrounding the Ohel Moed shall they encamp. (2:2)

Bnei Yisrael shall encamp, each man by his banner, according to the insignias of their fathers’ household, at a distance surrounding the Ohel Moed shall they encamp. (2:2)

“And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall pass from end to end.” (26:28)

“And the chasidah (stork) (11:19)

YEARS

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