Chinuch – Page 4 – Peninim on the Torah

קח את מטך והשלך לפני פרעה

Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh. (7:9)

What “merit” did the mateh, staff, have that it was used as the medium for carrying out some of the plagues against Pharaoh and the Egyptian people? Rabbi Go’el Alkarif suggests a powerful mussar, ethical lesson, to be derived from here. Prior to Horav Yisrael Salanter’s public emergence as the preeminent founder of the mussar movement, he lived quietly in Memel, Germany, with an idea, an idea that would transform the Jewish world. His innovation was to focus on mussar also. In addition to studying Gemorah, Jews should also work on their middos, character traits, refining and honing them, so…

Home -> Mikeitz -> 5783

ויאמר פרעה אל יוסף... אין נבון וחכם כמוך

Sruly Schnair In 5783, Mikeitz

Pharaoh said to Yosef… “There can be no one so discerning and wise as you.” (41:39)

Pharaoh mentions navon, discerning, before chacham, wise. In Devarim 1:13, concerning the appointment of judges, the Torah writes, Havu lachem anashim chachamim u’nevonim, “Provide for yourselves distinguished men who are wise and discerning (well-known).” What is the reason for the disparity? Horav Moshe Shternbuch, Shlita, explains chochmah as basic wisdom, knowledge that one receives from his forebears – without personal embellishment or supplementation. Tevunah, discernment, is what one understands on his own, thus enabling him to add to the knowledge that he has acquired. With this principle in mind, we can understand the difference between the Jewish and the non-Jewish…

Home -> 5782 -> Shoftim

מקרב אחיך תשים עליך מלך לא תוכל לתת עליך איש נכרי אשר לא אחיך הוא

Sruly Schnair In Shoftim, 5782

From among your brethren shall you set a king over yourself, you cannot place over yourself a foreign man who is not your brother. (17:15)

The Sefer HaChinuch writes that we may not establish one who is not m’zera Yisrael (having the blood DNA of the seed of Yisrael) over us as a king. This applies even if the person is a ger tzedek, righteous convert. The shoresh ha’mitzvah, root of the mitzvah, is due to the fact that zera Yisrael are rachmanim, merciful. It is critical that he show mercy to all Jews and not impose upon them a heavy yoke which they are unable to bear. He should love truth, justice and righteousness, which are qualities that descendants of Avraham Avinu possess. The…

Home -> Matos -> 5782

נקם נקמת בני ישראל מאת המדינים

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Matos

Take vengeance for Bnei Yisrael against the Midyanim. (31:2)

The Torah is commanding Klal Yisrael to initiate a campaign of vengeance against the Midyanim, in order to put a stop to their pernicious influence on the Jewish people. Noticeably, the Torah uses strong language in issuing this command: Take vengeance. The Midyanim sent their young women to pervert the Jewish men. This action provoked a zealous and violent response by Pinchas. Klal Yisrael, as a nation, had never previously retaliated when subjected to physical aggression. We fought back, but never acted in vengeance. We acted passively, withdrawing from the fray. We neither seek — nor approve of — violent…

Home -> Masei -> 5782

ולארץ לא יכפר לדם אשר שפך בה כי אם בדם שפכו

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Masei

The land will not have atonement for the blood that was spilled in it, except through the blood of the one who spilled it. (35:33)

Why does the land require atonement? Did it sin in any way concerning the murder? Is it guilty of some form of murder? Horav Zaidel Epstein, zl, explains that the strictures of the complaint against the land is in its passive response to the murder. It acted with indifference, with cool detachment, as if the murder were nothing at all. The land should have cried out and made demands. Who ever heard of the land expressing its emotion with regard to a wanton act of murder? The Mashgiach refers us to Hashem’s curse of Kayin’s act of murdering his brother. …

Home -> 5782 -> Korach

וידעתם כי נאצו האנשים האלה את ד'

Sruly Schnair In Korach, 5782

Then you shall know that these men provoked Hashem. (16:30)

The best way to extricate oneself from machlokes is to circumvent it. When a person suffers an indignity, or when someone whom we respect and love suffers an indignity or is slandered, our knee-jerk reaction is to put the other fellow in his place. We want to teach him a lesson, so that he would never again be cavalier with another’s emotions. That, in and of itself, is the beginning of machlokes. The best way to stop a machlokes is to prevent it from starting. The following two stories are about individuals, both holy, both whom I had the z’chus…

Home -> 5782 -> Beha'alosecha

על פי ד' יסעו בני ישראל ועל פי ד' יחנו

Sruly Schnair In Beha'alosecha, 5782

According to the word of Hashem would Bnei Yisrael journey, and, according to the word of Hashem, they would encamp. (9:18)

Hashem orchestrated and guided Klal Yisrael’s journey through the wilderness. He employed the medium of the cloud that rested above the Mishkan as a signal. When the cloud began to move, it was a Heavenly signal to pull out. It was time to fold the tents and pack their belongings for the next trip. They traveled until the cloud stopped, which was their signal to pitch tents and unpack. No set time was established for how long they remained in each camp. At times, it could be months and even years – or it could be mere days. Regardless of…

Home -> 5782 -> Metzora

ונתתי נגע צרעת בבית ארץ אחזתכם... ונתץ את הבית את אבניו ואת עציו ואת כל עפר הבית

Sruly Schnair In Metzora, 5782

When you arrive in the land of Canaan that I gave you as a possession… He shall demolish the house – its stones, its timber, and all the mortar of the house. (14:34,45)

A balance must be maintained between reward and punishment. With regard to nigei batim, an affliction that strikes a house, the owner must call the Kohen to determine if, in fact, it is tamei, ritually contaminated. Prior to making his tamei pronouncement, the Kohen orders that everything be removed from the house, which must now be demolished. Otherwise, whatever is in the house will be declared tamei as well. The lesson we derive from here is that the punishment one administers should not be overly aggressive, certainly not more noteworthy than the infraction. A balance should exist. Prior to punishing…

Home -> 5782 -> Tazria

וביום השמיני ימול בשר ערלתו

Sruly Schnair In Tazria, 5782

On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. (12:3)

The eighth day following birth plays a critical role concerning both a human male and a sacrifice. It also is the day that the Kohanim were inducted into service at the Sanctuary. [Aharon and his sons were instructed to wait in the Ohel Moed for seven full days while Moshe Rabbeinu performed the inauguration service. The inauguration service concluded with the induction of Aharon and his sons as Kohanim on the eighth day.] What is so special about the eighth day? Horav Moshe Feinstein, zl, cites the Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 27:10) which states that both an animal and a human…

Home -> Pekudei -> 5782

אלה פקודי המשכן

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Pekudei

These are the reckonings of the Mishkan. (38:21)

Building a “home” for the Shechinah, Divine Presence, here on earth was apparently top priority for the nascent Jewish nation. They had received the Torah at Sinai amid a Revelation unparalleled in history. The Mishkan was to be the continuum of that Revelation, a place where Jews could relate to Hashem “dwelling” in their midst. Hashem commands us to make a Sanctuary for Him, after which He will reside within us. If our lives outside the Temple environs are consecrated by the understanding, purity and devotion taught within the Sanctuary, then the Mishkan serves as the source for the Mishkan…

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קח את מטך והשלך לפני פרעה

Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh. (7:9)

ויאמר פרעה אל יוסף... אין נבון וחכם כמוך

Pharaoh said to Yosef… “There can be no one so discerning and wise as you.” (41:39)

מקרב אחיך תשים עליך מלך לא תוכל לתת עליך איש נכרי אשר לא אחיך הוא

From among your brethren shall you set a king over yourself, you cannot place over yourself a foreign man who is not your brother. (17:15)

נקם נקמת בני ישראל מאת המדינים

Take vengeance for Bnei Yisrael against the Midyanim. (31:2)

ולארץ לא יכפר לדם אשר שפך בה כי אם בדם שפכו

The land will not have atonement for the blood that was spilled in it, except through the blood of the one who spilled it. (35:33)

וידעתם כי נאצו האנשים האלה את ד'

Then you shall know that these men provoked Hashem. (16:30)

על פי ד' יסעו בני ישראל ועל פי ד' יחנו

According to the word of Hashem would Bnei Yisrael journey, and, according to the word of Hashem, they would encamp. (9:18)

ונתתי נגע צרעת בבית ארץ אחזתכם... ונתץ את הבית את אבניו ואת עציו ואת כל עפר הבית

When you arrive in the land of Canaan that I gave you as a possession… He shall demolish the house – its stones, its timber, and all the mortar of the house. (14:34,45)

וביום השמיני ימול בשר ערלתו

On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. (12:3)

אלה פקודי המשכן

These are the reckonings of the Mishkan. (38:21)

YEARS

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