Chesed – Page 32 – Peninim on the Torah

והודעת להם את הדרך ילכו בה ואת המעשה אשר יעשון

You shall make known to them the path in which they should go and the deeds that they should do. (18:20)

Haderech yeilchu bah, “The path in which they should go.” Yeilchu, “they should go,” is a reference to visiting the sick. By virtue of simply “going” to visit someone who is ill, even if he does nothing, the individual has already fulfilled the mitzvah. What is it about simply visiting that provides mitzvah fulfillment? Obviously, the optimum mitzvah is spending time, talking. Calming the patient– encouraging and engendering hope — is what the patient needs, but the mitzvah at its basic is fulfilled merely with a visit. Perhaps by understanding the immediate consequences of illness we can better comprehend why…

Home -> 5776 -> Yisro

ברוך ד' אשר הציל אתכם מיד מצרים ומיד פרעה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5776

Blessed is Hashem Who has rescued you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of Pharaoh. (18:10)

The Talmud Sanhedrin 94a makes a striking statement: “It was taught in the name of Rabbi Papyas, g’nai hu l’Moshe, it is a shame for Moshe and the 600,000 Jews that they had never uttered, Baruch (Hashem), until Yisro came and said, Baruch Hashem asher hitzil eschem.’” This is a strong statement which begs elucidation. Clearly, Klal Yisrael had praised Hashem when they sang the Shirah amid great joy, praising Hashem for the spectacular miracles and wonders which He had wrought. They did not say the words, “Baruch Hashem.” Does that warrant that their inaction be termed a g’nai, shame?…

Home -> V'zos HaBrachah -> 5776

ולא קם נביא עוד בישראל כמשה אשר ידעו ד' פנים אל פנים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5776, V'zos HaBrachah

Never again has there been in Yisrael a prophet like Moshe, whom Hashem had known face to face. (34:10)

Moshe Rabbeinu merited an outstanding epitaph: the greatest prophet; an individual who spoke panim el panim, face to face, with Hashem. Yet, despite these accolades, Moshe was considered the most humble person to walk the face of the earth. To maintain one’s humility in the face of such incredible, singular praise is in and of itself an uncommon virtue. Surely, Moshe was acutely aware of his eminence. How did he maintain such humility? Veritably, the question applies to so many of our gedolim, Torah giants. These were men of unusual brilliance, who achieved unprecedented heights in Torah achievement. Yet, they…

Home -> V'zos HaBrachah -> 5776

וימת שם משה עבד ד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5776, V'zos HaBrachah

So Moshe, servant of Hashem, died there. (34:5)

The Talmud Kiddushin 22a states that before an eved Ivri, Hebrew bondsman, can have his ear bored with an awl, so that he be allowed to continue his servitude beyond the normal six years, he must twice say the required words, “I love my master, my wife, and my children. I shall not go free!” Since the vernacular in the Torah is, V’im amor yomar ha’eved, “But if the bondsman shall say” (Shemos 21:5), the words, amor yomar, imply that he says this twice. In his commentary to the Talmud, Horav Elchanon Wasserman, zl, (Kovetz Shiurim) cites the words of…

Home -> Vayeilech -> 5776

ועתה כתבו לכם את השירה הזאת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5776, Vayeilech

So now, write this song. (31:19)

The Talmud Megillah 3A relates the conversation that occurred between Yehoshua bin Nun and a Heavenly angel that visited him. The purpose of citing the conversation is to prove that limud haTorah, the study of Torah, is more stringent than sacrificial service: “The angel said to Yehoshua, ‘This afternoon, you neglected to offer the Korban Tamid Shel Bein Ha’Arbaim, daily afternoon sacrifice, and now (after dark) you neglected the study of Torah.’ (This conversation took place during the battle for Yericho, shortly after Bnei Yisrael entered the Land and performed circumcisions on the men who had not been circumcised in…

Home -> 5776 -> Vayeitzei

ויגש יעקב ויגל את האבן מעל פי הבאר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vayeitzei, 5776

He stepped near and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well. (29:10)

Rashi teaches that Yaakov Avinu was able to roll the stone off the well with the same ease as one removes a stopper from a bottle opening. Are Chazal that impressed with Yaakov’s physical strength that they feel it is a necessary lesson to impart to us? Are we that interested in our Patriarch’s physical prowess? Furthermore, in Tefillas Geshem, we say, Yichad lev v’gal even mi’pi be’er mayim… Baavuro al timna mayim, “He dedicated his heart and rolled a stone off the mouth of a well of water… For his sake, do not hold water back!” What merit does…

Home -> 5776 -> Vayeira

וימל אברהם את יצחק בנו בן שמונת ימים כאשר צוה אתו אלקים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vayeira, 5776

And Avraham circumcised his son, Yitzchak, when he was eight days old, as Hashem had commanded him. (21:4)

For the Jew, Bris Milah, circumcision, is much more than a rite of passage; it defines him. This applies to a halachic bris, performed by a bona fide mohel. It does not apply to the surgical procedure performed by one is who not of the Jewish faith – either by birth or by practice. The Jewish child that has been ritually circumcised shares an inextricable bond with the Almighty that transcends any form of physical ligature. In his commentary to Chumash, Horav Aryeh Leib Heyman, zl, very beautifully explains this relationship. He notes that the Torah does not mention Avraham…

Home -> 5776 -> Vayeira

וירא אליו ד' ... והוא ישב פתח האהל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vayeira, 5776

Hashem appeared to him…while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent. (18:1)

Rashi’s commentary to this pasuk is well known. Hashem appeared to Avraham Avinu, visiting him during the Patriarch’s recuperation from his Bris Milah. It was the third day following the circumcision, a day which is especially painful, so Hashem was mevaker choleh, visited the sick. Rashi’s source is Chazal, who laud the exalted nature of this mitzvah. While everyone agrees that this mitzvah is meaningful, both to the beneficiary and benefactor, it is also a source of incredible reward to the individual who fulfills it. The Sefer HaMiddos writes concerning the mitzvah of bikur cholim: “In the merit of bikur…

Home -> Vayakhel -> 5776

ויבואו האנשים על הנשים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5776, Vayakhel

The men came with the women. (35:22)

Rashi translates the phrase, al ha’nashim, on the women, as with the women. Targum Onkelos, however, translates it as al neshaya, on the women. This implies that the men brought the donations on the women, suggesting that the men accompanied their wives to the collection center, after which the women removed their jewelry and contributed it to the Mishkan. Why did they follow this procedure? Could the men not just have brought the jewelry on their own? Horav Moshe Feinstein, zl, derives an important insight from here. The women wanted to show that they were wearing the jewelry, that it…

Home -> 5776 -> Terumah

ויעתר יצחק לד' לנכח אשתו כי עקרה היא ויעתר לו ד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Terumah, 5776

Yitzchak entreated Hashem opposite his wife, because she was barren. Hashem allowed Himself to be entreated by him. (25:21)

Rashi explains that Hashem listened to Yitzchak’s plea over that of Rivkah, because there is no comparison between the effect of the prayer offered by a tzaddik ben tzaddik, righteous person who is the son of a righteous person, to that of a tzaddik ben rasha, righteous person whose father was evil. Rashi’s explanation is well-known, and it sets the standard for tefillah: A person’s righteous lineage makes a difference. This obviously presents a question to the rational mind: Is the efficacy of the prayers of someone whose roots are murky intrinsically limited? One would assume that the tefillos of…

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והודעת להם את הדרך ילכו בה ואת המעשה אשר יעשון

You shall make known to them the path in which they should go and the deeds that they should do. (18:20)

ברוך ד' אשר הציל אתכם מיד מצרים ומיד פרעה

Blessed is Hashem Who has rescued you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of Pharaoh. (18:10)

ולא קם נביא עוד בישראל כמשה אשר ידעו ד' פנים אל פנים

Never again has there been in Yisrael a prophet like Moshe, whom Hashem had known face to face. (34:10)

וימת שם משה עבד ד'

So Moshe, servant of Hashem, died there. (34:5)

ועתה כתבו לכם את השירה הזאת

So now, write this song. (31:19)

ויגש יעקב ויגל את האבן מעל פי הבאר

He stepped near and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well. (29:10)

וימל אברהם את יצחק בנו בן שמונת ימים כאשר צוה אתו אלקים

And Avraham circumcised his son, Yitzchak, when he was eight days old, as Hashem had commanded him. (21:4)

וירא אליו ד' ... והוא ישב פתח האהל

Hashem appeared to him…while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent. (18:1)

ויבואו האנשים על הנשים

The men came with the women. (35:22)

ויעתר יצחק לד' לנכח אשתו כי עקרה היא ויעתר לו ד'

Yitzchak entreated Hashem opposite his wife, because she was barren. Hashem allowed Himself to be entreated by him. (25:21)

YEARS

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