Chinuch – Page 5 – Peninim on the Torah

כי תקנה עבד עברי

When you acquire a Hebrew bondsman. (21:2)

The Torah selected the laws concerning the purchase of an eved Ivri and the master/servant relationship between the master and his Hebrew bondsman to be the opening mitzvah following the nation’s receiving the Torah at Har Sinai. This Revelation and Giving of the Torah culminated their redemption from Egypt and their becoming Hashem’s select people. In order to understand the preeminence of this mitzvah and its overarching significance for molding the national character of Klal Yisrael, I cite the commentary of the Sefer Chinuch. The mitzvah of eved Ivri is the adjudication of the law concerning the Hebrew bondsman: to…

Home -> 5782 -> Vaeira

הם המדברים אל פרעה... להוציא את בני ישראל ממצרים הוא משה ואהרן

Sruly Schnair In Vaeira, 5782

They are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh… to take Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt; this was Moshe and Aharon. (6:27)

The Torah introduces the partnership of Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen as Klal Yisrael’s designated leaders who were Divinely charged to lead the Jewish People from Egypt. It was through them that Pharaoh and his people were meted out the Ten Plagues. The Torah introduces them here with a genealogical backdrop, beginning with their great-grandfather, Levi, his children and grandchildren, culminating with Moshe and Aharon. This would have been sufficient. The Torah, however, adds, “This was Moshe and Aharon,” which, on the surface, appears to be a superfluous statement. Of course, they are Moshe and Aharon. Who else? Rashi explains…

Home -> Shemos -> 5782

ותרא את התיבה בתוך הסוף ותשלח את אמתה ותקחה

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Shemos

She saw the basket among the reeds, and she sent her maidservant and she took it. (2:5)

Rashi cites Chazal (Shemos Rabbah 1:21), who expound that amah (translated above as maidservant) means arm (she stretched out her arm), and, according to their interpretation, her forearm became long (stretched) many amos (cubits) to enable her to reach the basket and draw the basket out of the water. Bisyah’s (daughter of Pharaoh) behavior begs elucidation. Apparently, she was a few cubits away from the basket. What possessed her to think that she could just stretch out her hand and reach the basket? She experienced a miracle, since, by natural convention, she should not have been able to reach the…

Home -> 5782 -> Vayishlach

ויאבק איש עמו עד עלות השחר

Sruly Schnair In Vayishlach, 5782

And a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. (32:25)

It was in middle of the night that Yaakov Avinu encountered a “man” who fought with him until he was bested by the Patriarch. We know that this was no ordinary man – and no ordinary fight. This was none other than Eisav’s Heavenly angel, and the battle was one which represented the forces of evil against the forces of good. The angel representing Eisav lost the fight, but, throughout the millennia, he has not thrown in the towel, as he has attempted at every available juncture to turn the tide against Yaakov’s descendants. The question that confronts the reader…

Home -> Ha'azinu -> 5782

זכור ימות עולם בינו שנות דר ודר

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Ha'azinu

Remember the days of old/world history, study the generational epochs. (32:7)

A number of years back, during the recession that had a major impact on the financial markets and resulted in devastating blows on the finances of many bnei Torah, the question was posed to Horav Eliyahu Svei, zl: Why? These were bnei Torah who had done well financially and, being exemplary bnei Torah, they used the profits of their investments well. They supported yeshivos and promoted all forms of Torah chinuch. Their money was used to fund chesed organizations that helped individuals in need. Thus, it came as a surprise when their fortunes suffered a reversal. Why did Hashem take…

Home -> 5781 -> Nitzavim

אם יהיה נדחך בקצה השמים משם יקבצך ד' אלקיך

Sruly Schnair In Nitzavim, 5781

If your dispersed will be at the ends of Heaven, from there Hashem, your G-d, will gather you in. (30:4)

Horav Yechezkel Levinstein, zl, interprets this pasuk pragmatically. If your dispersed will have a relationship with spirituality in such a manner that they just cling to the ends of Heaven, where they have a faint positive acknowledgment of spirituality, of Yiddishkeit, of Torah, of mitzvos – this will be considered sufficient for their ingathering and redemption. The Sefarim HaKedoshim teach that this is why the human body contains a small bone which does not decompose. It is from this tiny, indescribable bone that the person will be resurrected during Techiyas HaMeisim, Resurrection of the Dead. Thus, from there b’ktzei ha’Shomayim,…

Home -> 5781 -> Ki Savo

וירא את ענינו ואת עמלנו ואת לחצנו

Sruly Schnair In Ki Savo, 5781

And He saw our affliction, our travail, and our oppression. (26:7)

In the Haggadah, Chazal expound, “V’es amaleinu, our affliction – eilu ha’banim, this refers to our children.” Ibn Ezra and Ritva support this idea. One wonders why Chazal would expound a pasuk in a manner totally inconsistent with the vernacular of the pasuk. The Torah addresses the cruel and brutal labor to which the Jews were subjected in Egypt. How do children enter into the equation? Horav Shlomo Zalmen Auerbach, zl (quoted in V’Zos HaTorah by Horav Eliyahu Schlesinger), observes that the word amal is always used in connection to the toil that a person expends for something that he…

Home -> 5781 -> Pinchas

אבינו מת במדבר והוא לא היה בתוך העדה הנועדים על ד' בעדת קרח

Sruly Schnair In Pinchas, 5781

Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among the assembly that was gathering against Hashem in the assembly of Korach. (27:3)

The daughters of Tzlafchad approached Moshe Rabbeinu concerning their father’s inheritance. Moshe replied that he would present their case to Hashem. Our quintessential leader rarely had an issue with proffering an immediate response to a Halachic query. Why was he reluctant to answer Bnos Tzlafchad? Furthermore, the women added a caveat to their identity of Tzlafachad, claiming that he had not been a member of Korach’s mob of usurpers. Their father was not guilty of impugning Moshe’s authority. What did this introduction have to do with the case? The Minchas Chinuch, who asks this question, replies practically by employing an…

Home -> 5781 -> Naso

ויקריבו הנשאים את חנכת המזבח ביום המשח אתו

Sruly Schnair In Naso, 5781

And the Nesiim offered up a dedication of the Altar on the day it was consecrated. (7:10)

Chazal (Midrash) teach that even though the offerings of the twelve Nesiim were identical, each individual offering alluded to the singular mission of its tribe; thus, the offering of each Nasi represented a unique spiritual message. Indeed, the Torah could have saved much “ink” by including all the korbanos of the Nesiim under one collective banner: “This is what all of the Nesiim offered.” Actually, why did the Nesiim choose to offer identical korbanos? One would think they each wanted to express the uniqueness and individuality of his own tribe. The Ramban quotes the Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 13:13), which (in…

Home -> Vayakhel -> 5781

ראו קרא ד' בשם בצלאל בן אורי בן חור

Sruly Schnair In 5781, Vayakhel

See, Hashem has proclaimed by name, Betzalel, ben Uri, ben Chur. (35:30)

It was necessary for Moshe Rabbeinu to announce that Hashem had selected Betzalel, his sister’s grandson, to be the Mishkan’s chief artisan. As a result, the usual malcontents, who derive their greatest pleasure from finding fault and expressing their dissatisfaction, should be aware that it was Hashem’s decision – not Moshe’s. Why was Betzalel selected for this august position? Chazal (Tanchuma Vayakhel 4) explain that Hashem wanted to reward Betzalel’s grandfather, Chur, who had given up his life Al Kiddush Hashem when he stood up to the sinners that committed idol worship with the Golden Calf. Hailing from the tribe…

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כי תקנה עבד עברי

When you acquire a Hebrew bondsman. (21:2)

הם המדברים אל פרעה... להוציא את בני ישראל ממצרים הוא משה ואהרן

They are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh… to take Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt; this was Moshe and Aharon. (6:27)

ותרא את התיבה בתוך הסוף ותשלח את אמתה ותקחה

She saw the basket among the reeds, and she sent her maidservant and she took it. (2:5)

ויאבק איש עמו עד עלות השחר

And a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. (32:25)

זכור ימות עולם בינו שנות דר ודר

Remember the days of old/world history, study the generational epochs. (32:7)

אם יהיה נדחך בקצה השמים משם יקבצך ד' אלקיך

If your dispersed will be at the ends of Heaven, from there Hashem, your G-d, will gather you in. (30:4)

וירא את ענינו ואת עמלנו ואת לחצנו

And He saw our affliction, our travail, and our oppression. (26:7)

אבינו מת במדבר והוא לא היה בתוך העדה הנועדים על ד' בעדת קרח

Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among the assembly that was gathering against Hashem in the assembly of Korach. (27:3)

ויקריבו הנשאים את חנכת המזבח ביום המשח אתו

And the Nesiim offered up a dedication of the Altar on the day it was consecrated. (7:10)

ראו קרא ד' בשם בצלאל בן אורי בן חור

See, Hashem has proclaimed by name, Betzalel, ben Uri, ben Chur. (35:30)

YEARS

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