Chinuch – Page 6 – Peninim on the Torah

ויברך אותם משה

And Moshe blessed them. (39:43)

Rashi teaches that Moshe Rabbeinu’s blessing was: “Yehi ratzon, May it be His will that the Shechinah rest on the work of your hands; Vihi noam, May the pleasantness of our G-d be upon us.” What greater blessing can there be than knowing that Hashem’s Shechinah, His Divine Presence, rests upon his work? One can have no greater prize than having the Divine Presence crown his finished product. How did the people warrant such an extraordinary blessing? They were sincere in their contributing. Their donations – whether it was their best material or themselves – was all l’shem Shomayim, for…

Home -> 5781 -> Yisro

והגבלת את העם סביב... כל הנוגע בהר מות יומת

Sruly Schnair In Yisro, 5781

You shall set boundaries for the people roundabout…Whoever will touch the mountain will surely die. (19:12)

Nogea means to touch inappropriately or to reach up/out. It is the act of going beyond one’s domain into that of another. One may extend himself indecorously or even correctly, but, in any event, he goes beyond himself into another otherwise inaccessible area. He reaches/touches elsewhere. The Jewish People were warned not to touch the mountain. It was off-limits to them. It was theoretically beyond their reach, out of the sphere of their purview. The Chafetz Chaim, zl, cited this pasuk in a letter admonishing the head of a medical conference against tampering with the Torah-study of yeshivah students. Apparently,…

Home -> 5781 -> Beshalach

התיצבו וראו את ישועת ד'

Sruly Schnair In Beshalach, 5781

Stand fast and see the salvation of Hashem. (14:13)

Ibn Ezra writes: “You shall not wage war. You will see the salvation that Hashem will make for you.” How is it possible for a nation of 600,000 men (over the age of twenty-years old) to just stand there and not fight their aggressors? The answer is that these people knew the Egyptians as their masters who lorded over them. It was impossible for the Jews who knew nothing about warfare to battle their Egyptian masters. Amalek attacked the Jews, and, without Moshe Rabbeinu’s prayers, he would have dealt them a weakening blow. Likewise, these Jewish expatriated slaves could not…

Home -> 5781 -> Bo

והגדת לבנך ביום ההוא לאמר בעבור זה עשה ד' לי בצאתי ממצרים

Sruly Schnair In Bo, 5781

And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, “It is because of this that Hashem acted on my behalf when I left Egypt.” (13:8)

No religious ceremony focuses more on the inclusion of children as does the Seder meal. Cloaked in profound esoteric meaning, the Seder is brought down to an elementary level in order to engender youthful participation. Indeed, we have activities and traditions that cater to youthful imagination, all for the purpose of motivating a child’s questions and the adults’ reply. The reason for this display is that Pesach commemorates our liberation and the path to nationhood, which we embarked on at Har Sinai when we accepted the Torah. In order to ensure that Pesach and its eternal message remains an integral…

Home -> Vayechi -> 5781

בך יבורך ישראל לאמר ישימך אלקים כאפרים וכמנשה

Sruly Schnair In 5781, Vayechi

By you shall Yisrael bless saying, “May G-d make you like Ephraim and Menashe.” (48:20)

Yaakov Avinu assured Yosef that, throughout the ages, Jewish parents would bless their sons that they grow up to be like Ephraim and Menashe. Why should these two grandsons of Yaakov, children raised in the pagan, hedonistic society that Egypt epitomized, be the paradigms of Jewish parents’ hopes for their children? At first blush, the mere fact that they “made it” in Egypt speaks volumes about them and their upbringing. If so, Yaakov would be speaking only with regard to the galus Jew, who is challenged by the non-Jewish, assimilationist environment. This is obviously not the case. Yaakov spoke to…

Home -> Vayigash -> 5781

ואת יהודה שלח לפניו ... להורות לפניו גשנה

Sruly Schnair In 5781, Vayigash

He sent Yehudah ahead of him… to prepare ahead of him in Goshen. (46:28)

Rashi quotes the well-known Chazal: Yaakov Avinu sent Yehudah to prepare the way for the family. He sent Yehudah to establish a bais Talmud, house of Torah study, a yeshivah, from where Torah would be disseminated. No one questions that Yehudah was a capable leader, a spokesman for the family, but was he appropriate to be a Rosh Yeshivah? Levi and Yissachar were the two brothers who devoted their days and nights to spiritual pursuits. One would have expected that Yaakov would have selected either or both of them to be his emissaries to build a makom Torah. The answer…

Home -> 5781 -> Vayeira

כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5781

For I have loved him because he commands his children and his household after him. (18:19)

Chinuch ha’banim, educating our children, inculcating them with the moral/ethical values of our Torah expounded by Chazal, is the primary role with which parents are charged. Hashem says that He loves Avraham Avinu because he places education uppermost in his mind. Everything that Avraham did contained an educational aspect. He lived to serve Hashem. We can perform no greater service to the Almighty than one which imbues others and brings them closer to serving Hashem. We can derive a number of lessons from this pasuk. First, one is not included under the rubric of a yarei Hashem, G-d-fearing Jew, unless…

Home -> 5780 -> Eikev

ולמדתם אתם את בניכם לדבר בם

Sruly Schnair In Eikev, 5780

You shall teach them to your children to discuss them. (11:19)

The Bnei Yissachar, Horav Tzvi Elimelech Shapiro, zl, cites (Takanos Tamchin D’Oraisa) Chazal (Bava Basra 21a) who credit Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Gamla with being the innovator of universal Torah education for all children. He was concerned for orphans who had no parent to teach them Torah. He set up Torah teachers in every province and district so that all children, regardless of parents or financial ability, would be availed Torah instruction. Chazal laud him for having ensured that the Jewish People would not forget the Torah. In the Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 245:7, it is ruled that communal monies may…

Home -> Behar -> 5780

ונתתי גשמיכם בעתם ונתנה הארץ יבולה ועץ השדה יתן פריו

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Behar, Bechukosai

Then I will provide your rains in their time and the land will give its produce and the tree of the field will give its fruit. (26:4)

“Rains in their time” means the time most convenient for people – such as Friday nights when people are generally at home or close by. When we get “wet,” it is for a reason. Hashem defrays anything that might prove to be a nuisance from inconveniencing us. The Midrash, however, adds that, at times, an entire community or even a city might have rain in the merit of one person who needs the benefit it provides. Chazal go so far as to posit that, at times, Hashem may send rain for the benefit of one field, even one blade of…

Home -> 5780 -> Tzav

צו את אהרן ואת בניו לאמר זאת תורת העולה

Sruly Schnair In Tzav, 5780

Command Aharon and his sons, saying: “This is the law of the Elevation /Burnt offering.” (6:2)

When a commandment regarding the korbanos, offerings, was presented to the nation/Kohanim/Priests, it was introduced with the word v’amarta, “and you shall say,” or dabeir, “speak.” This is the first time that the emphatic term tzav, command, is employed. Chazal teach, that in circumstances which involve a loss of money greater urgency is required, so that the Kohanim act zealously in the performance of their duties and that they transmit this urgency and need for zealousness to the ensuing generations. (The commentators render a number of explanations which shed light on the monetary loss associated with the Korban Olah, Burnt-Offering….

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ויברך אותם משה

And Moshe blessed them. (39:43)

והגבלת את העם סביב... כל הנוגע בהר מות יומת

You shall set boundaries for the people roundabout…Whoever will touch the mountain will surely die. (19:12)

התיצבו וראו את ישועת ד'

Stand fast and see the salvation of Hashem. (14:13)

והגדת לבנך ביום ההוא לאמר בעבור זה עשה ד' לי בצאתי ממצרים

And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, “It is because of this that Hashem acted on my behalf when I left Egypt.” (13:8)

בך יבורך ישראל לאמר ישימך אלקים כאפרים וכמנשה

By you shall Yisrael bless saying, “May G-d make you like Ephraim and Menashe.” (48:20)

ואת יהודה שלח לפניו ... להורות לפניו גשנה

He sent Yehudah ahead of him… to prepare ahead of him in Goshen. (46:28)

כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו

For I have loved him because he commands his children and his household after him. (18:19)

ולמדתם אתם את בניכם לדבר בם

You shall teach them to your children to discuss them. (11:19)

ונתתי גשמיכם בעתם ונתנה הארץ יבולה ועץ השדה יתן פריו

Then I will provide your rains in their time and the land will give its produce and the tree of the field will give its fruit. (26:4)

צו את אהרן ואת בניו לאמר זאת תורת העולה

Command Aharon and his sons, saying: “This is the law of the Elevation /Burnt offering.” (6:2)

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