Commitment – Page 10 – Peninim on the Torah

כי לא כנשים כמצריות העבריות ... בטרם תבוא אליהן המילדת וילדו

Because the Hebrew women are unlike the Egyptian women … before the midwife comes to them, they have given birth. (1:19)

Pharaoh had instructed Shifrah and Puah, the Jewish midwives, to murder the male infants. They, of course, did not listen to the evil despot, claiming that by the time they arrived at the homes of the Jewish women, the children had been born. Horav Shabsi Frankel, zl, quotes an original thought from his father-in-law, Horav Yosef Nechemiah Kornitzer, zl, which presents us with a deeper meaning to the dialogue that ensued between Pharaoh and the me’yaldos, midwives. Understandably, these holy women were not prepared to commit the unthinkable. Their task was to bring on life, not to shorten it. They…

Home -> 5783 -> Vayeitzei

ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע ... ויפגע במקום וילן שם

Sruly Schnair In Vayeitzei, 5783

Yaakov departed from Beer Sheva … He encountered the place and spent the night. (28:10,11)

Chazal (Megillah 17a) glean from the word sham, there, that this was the first time the Patriarch lay down to sleep. He had spent the past fourteen years “hidden” within the yeshivah of Shem and Eivar. I use the word “hidden” to underscore that Yaakov Avinu became a part of the yeshivah in such a manner that no one even knew he was there. He studied day and night, focused on one thing: learning Torah. The question that should be addressed is how Chazal knew that Yaakov was in the yeshivah. Simply put, after calculating Yaakov’s age at present and…

Home -> 5783 -> Vayeitzei

וייקץ יעקב משנתו ויאמר אכן יש ד' במקום הזה ואנכי לא ידעתי

Sruly Schnair In Vayeitzei, 5783

Yaakov awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely Hashem is present in this place and I did not know.” (28:16)

Rashi explains that after discovering the level of holiness of the place in which he presently was, Yaakov Avinu was lamenting having slept. How does one dare to sleep in such a holy place? The Brisker Rav, zl, would become emotional when thinking about Yaakov’s reaction to discovering that he was in a consecrated place. The Patriarch had escaped from his brother, Eisav, who was bent on killing him. On the way, he was waylaid by Elifaz, who took away all of his money. Therefore, since he had just received a prophecy that assured him, U’shemarticha b’chol asher teilech; “I…

Home -> 5783 -> Chayei Sarah

ויהיו חיי שרה מאה שנה ועשרים שנה ושבע שנים

Sruly Schnair In Chayei Sarah, 5783

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

Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 58:3) relate an intriguing story. Rabbi Akiva was giving a profound, intricate shiur, lecture. He noticed that his students were drifting off. In order to arouse them from their “slumber,” he presented them with a question (more like a riddle): Why did Esther merit to reign over 127 countries? He answered: She was a descendant of Sarah Imeinu who had lived 127 years. The question is rhetorical; the answer is beguiling. What does one have to do with the other? It is not as if Esther actually reigned over 127 countries. She was married to King Achashveirosh…

Home -> 5783 -> Lech Lecha

אל תירא אברם אנכי מגן לך

Sruly Schnair In Lech Lecha, 5783

Fear not, Avram, I am a shield for you. (15:1)

We are referred to as Bnei Avraham Avinu, children of the Patriarch Avraham, because we inherited from the father of our people a national character trait. The Chiddushei HaRim writes that the term Magen Avraham, shield of Avraham, is a guarantee from Hashem that the nekudah, characteristic, which defined Avraham would be bequeathed to each and every one of his descendants. The Patriarch was referred to as Avraham HaIvri, because he stood his ground on one eiver, side, while the rest of the world was on the other side. This applies to Avraham’s ability to withstand societal coercion, family pressure…

Home -> 5783 -> Lech Lecha

והאמין בד' ויחשביה לו לצדקה

Sruly Schnair In Lech Lecha, 5783

And he trusted in Hashem, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. (15:6)

Avraham Avinu was rishon v’rosh l’maaminim, first and foremost of the believers in Hashem. Discovering on his own that this world did not just happen and that every moment of its existence – and the existence of every creation – is providentially guided by Hashem, he devoted his life to spreading this concept to a world to whom this idea was foreign. His descendants, the Jewish People, have maintained his teachings with emunah in Hashem, the pre-emanate foundation of our dogma. Throughout (what presented themselves as) the worst moments in our tumultuous history, we have continued and maintained our faith…

Home -> 5783 -> Noach

ואתה קח לך מכל מאכל אשר יאכל ואספת אליך

Sruly Schnair In Noach, 5783

And as for you, take yourself of every food that is eaten and gather it into yourself. (6:21)

If the animals walked into the Ark on their own without having to be herded in, why could their food not, likewise, arrive on its own? Why did Noach have to go out and gather food for all the animals – enough to last them a year? The Brisker Rav, zl, explains that Noach required a special command to gather food, for, otherwise, he may very well have thought that just as the animals came of their own volition, their food should have “arrived” in the same manner. Thus, Hashem informed Noach that the animals would come on their own;…

Home -> 5783 -> Noach

ויאמר אלקים אל נח זאת אות הברית אשר הקמתי ביני ובין כל בשר על הארץ

Sruly Schnair In Noach, 5783

And Hashem said to Noach, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have confirmed between Me and all flesh that is upon the earth.” (9:17)

Sforno comments that the bow is a sign for the righteous Jews to commence praying for the generation. The mere fact that the bow appears is a Heavenly message that something is amiss. The people have subverted their spiritual dimension, with punishment being the Heavenly response – unless the righteous pray for Heavenly compassion. The rainbow is the sign of the covenant which Hashem made with mankind: “It is incumbent upon you (Noach), and those like you, to bestir yourselves when you see it, to rouse the people to repent and understand that they must better themselves.” (Sforno) The rainbow…

Home -> 5782 -> Ki Savo

ובאו עליך כל הקללות האלה ... כי לא שמעת בקול ד' אלקיך לשמרמצותיו וחקתיו אשר צוך.

Sruly Schnair In Ki Savo, 5782

All these curses will come upon you … because you will not have hearkened to the voice of Hashem, your G-d, to observe His commandments and decrees that He commanded you. (28:45)

Halfway through the Tochachah, Rebuke, in the midst of the frightening curses, the Torah gives us two reasons for this formidable punishment: We did not listen to Hashem (i.e. did not perform His mitzvos); we did not serve Him with joy. Understandably, not listening, disregarding Hashem’s command, blatantly not observing His ordinances, is reason for such severe punishment. Should a Jew who serves Hashem without joy, whose observance is lackluster, be held in such contempt as to deserve these curses? Perhaps, we may suggest that the Torah is presenting only one reason: our lack of observance. The Torah, however, immediately…

Home -> 5782 -> Ki Seitzei

זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק ... תמחה את זכר עמלק מתחת השמים

Sruly Schnair In Ki Seitzei, 5782

Remember what Amalek did to you… you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from beneath the heaven. (25: 17,19)

The parshah begins with a war against our enemies and concludes with the war we are to wage constantly against our archenemy: Amalek. Horav Chaim Shmuelevitz, zl, asserts that Amalek is not merely one solitary nation. Amalek is a concept, symbolizing any group of people bent on destroying the Jew’s relationship with Hashem. They employ every weapon, every idea, that puts questions in the mind of the Jew, to cool off his passion to serve Hashem, to ever so slightly convince him to water down his obedience to the Almighty. Amalek convinces us (or forces us) to believe that we…

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כי לא כנשים כמצריות העבריות ... בטרם תבוא אליהן המילדת וילדו

Because the Hebrew women are unlike the Egyptian women … before the midwife comes to them, they have given birth. (1:19)

ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע ... ויפגע במקום וילן שם

Yaakov departed from Beer Sheva … He encountered the place and spent the night. (28:10,11)

וייקץ יעקב משנתו ויאמר אכן יש ד' במקום הזה ואנכי לא ידעתי

Yaakov awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely Hashem is present in this place and I did not know.” (28:16)

ויהיו חיי שרה מאה שנה ועשרים שנה ושבע שנים

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

אל תירא אברם אנכי מגן לך

Fear not, Avram, I am a shield for you. (15:1)

והאמין בד' ויחשביה לו לצדקה

And he trusted in Hashem, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. (15:6)

ואתה קח לך מכל מאכל אשר יאכל ואספת אליך

And as for you, take yourself of every food that is eaten and gather it into yourself. (6:21)

ויאמר אלקים אל נח זאת אות הברית אשר הקמתי ביני ובין כל בשר על הארץ

And Hashem said to Noach, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have confirmed between Me and all flesh that is upon the earth.” (9:17)

ובאו עליך כל הקללות האלה ... כי לא שמעת בקול ד' אלקיך לשמרמצותיו וחקתיו אשר צוך.

All these curses will come upon you … because you will not have hearkened to the voice of Hashem, your G-d, to observe His commandments and decrees that He commanded you. (28:45)

זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק ... תמחה את זכר עמלק מתחת השמים

Remember what Amalek did to you… you shall wipe out the memory of Amalek from beneath the heaven. (25: 17,19)

YEARS

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