Commitment – Page 21 – Peninim on the Torah

לא תבערו אש בכל משבתוכם ביום השבת

You shall not kindle fire in any of your dwellings on the Shabbos day. (35:3)

The Torah can be understood only through the interpretive eyes of the Oral Law. This prohibition is a classic example of this verity. Chazal teach that only the creation of fire and use of it for cooking or baking are prohibited. There is, however, no prohibition against enjoying its benefits, such as light and heat. The Tzedukim, Saducees, forbade all use of fire. Thus, Shabbos was a day during which they sat in the dark and consumed cold food. (How fitting that one who does not allow the Torah (as given on Har Sinai – both written and oral) to…

Home -> 5779 -> Terumah

ועשית מנרת זהב טהור מקשה תיעשה המנורה

Sruly Schnair In Terumah, 5779

You shall make a Menorah of pure gold, hammered out shall the Menorah be made. (25:31)

Chazal (Midrash Tanchuma) teach that Moshe Rabbeinu had difficulty visualizing the completed Menorah. Hashem showed him a Menorah of fire. Moshe still had difficulty in making it. Hashem then instructed Moshe to hurl an ingot of gold into the fire – and a completed Menorah emerged. This Midrash is laden with commentary addressing Moshe’s difficulty, in as much as we only find two other places in the Torah in which Moshe experienced difficulty understanding Hashem’s command. Obviously, the idea of a Menorah fashioned of fire has a profound message. I came across an inspiring story concerning Chanukah which I think…

Home -> 5778 -> Beshalach

והמים להם חמה מימינם ומשמאלם

Sruly Schnair In Beshalach, 5778

The water was a wall for them, on their right and on their left. (14:29)

Actually, the Red Sea was divided into twelve parts, allowing each tribe to walk though separately. The Sfas Emes explains that Hashem did this to teach them that each individual tribe has its own singular mission and, thus, deserves the miracle of the Splitting of the Red Sea for its own sake. In Sefer Tehillim 136:13, David Hamelech records the miracle, L’Gozeir Yam Suf ligzarim, “Who splits/divides the Red Sea into parts.” Surprisingly, the pasuk is written in the present tense, as if Hashem continually splits the Red Sea. (Veritably, the commentators translate it in the past tense, but l’gozeir…

Home -> Shemos -> 5779

ויהי כי יראו המילדות את האלקים ויעש להם בתים

Sruly Schnair In 5779, Shemos

Because the midwives feared G-d, He gave them houses. (1:21)

Rashi explains that these houses were the houses of Kehunah, Leviyah and Malchus. Horav Yisrael Belsky, zl, expounds on Rashi, demonstrating that what appears to be a homiletic interpretation (bayis/house is a structure of wood and stone – not a family. Thus, one must apply an interpretive approach in order to translate bayis to be a family) is actually the definitive meaning of the word. The Torah here defines bayis as the continuation/extension of the family unit: Bais Aharon barchu es Hashem, “House of Aharon, bless Hashem.” When we say this, we are expressing the fundamental nature of the descendants…

Home -> Shemos -> 5779

ותפתח ותראהו את הילד והנה נער בכה ותמחל עליו ותאמר מילדי העברים זה

Sruly Schnair In 5779, Shemos

She opened it and saw him, and behold! A youth was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.” (2:6)

Rashi explains the transformation in the description of the child in the basket from yeled, boy (infant, young child), to naar, youth (implying that he was far from infancy), by asserting that while the child was an infant, his voice was that of a youth. Why did Hashem change the tenor of the infant’s voice to make it seem as if it were emanating from someone much older? The commentators offer a number of explanations, many of which have appeared over the years on these pages. Horav Tzvi Hirsch Ferber, zl, who was Rav in London’s West End over a…

Home -> Mikeitz -> 5779

ויקרא פרעה שם יוסף צפנת פענח ויתן לו את אסנת בת פוטיפרע כהן און לאשה ויצא יוסף על ארץ מצרים

Sruly Schnair In 5779, Mikeitz

Pharaoh called Yosef’s name Tzafnas-Paneach and he gave him Osnas bas Potiphera, chief of On, as a wife. Thus, Yosef emerged in charge of the land of Egypt. (41:45)

Pharaoh was confronted with a major policy decision. A brilliant young man stood before him, who had the ability not only to save the country, but also to fill Pharaoh’s coffers with enormous wealth. The problem was that not only was he a slave – he was also a Hebrew. This would not sit well with his pagan populace. While they thought little of their slave population – they reviled Jews! What was Pharaoh to do? How was he to concoct an extreme makeover of Yosef and transform him into an “acceptable” Egyptian? The Torah gives us the answer when…

Home -> 5779 -> Vayishlach

ויאמר יעקב אל שמעון ואל לוי עכרתם אתי להבאישני בישב הארץ... ויאמרו הכזונה יעשה את אחתנו

Sruly Schnair In Vayishlach, 5779

Yaakov said to Shimon and to Levi, “You have discomposed me, making me odious among the inhabitants of the land…” And they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?” (34:30,31)

Yaakov Avinu rebuked his two sons for putting their lives and the lives of their entire family at risk when they killed all of the people of the city of Shechem. Shimon and Levi replied, Ha’k’zonah yaaseh es achoseinu? “Shall he treat our sister like a harlot?” We do not find Yaakov countering their argument, an indication that he conceded to their claim. Chazal teach that on the Degel, Banner/Flag, of the Tribe of Shimon, there is an allusion to the maaseh Shechem, the incident of Shechem. Apparently, if their revenge had been out of place, Yaakov could not have…

Home -> 5779 -> Vayeitzei

ויען לבן ויאמר אל יעקב הבנות בנתי והבנים בני... וכל אשר אתה ראה לי הוא

Sruly Schnair In Vayeitzei, 5779

Then Lavan spoke up and said to Yaakov… “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children…And all that you see is mine.” (31:43)

With an arrogance that is simultaneously astounding and becoming, Lavan lashes into Yaakov Avinu with a diatribe, asserting himself to be the victim and Yaakov to be the aggressor. We are accustomed to it. Throughout the generations, we have contributed to the success of our host nations and, at the end of the day, not only did we not receive our due, but we were also blamed for attempting to undermine them. In Maamar Yechezkel, authored by Horav Yechezkel, zl, m’Kuzmir, he cites his father, Horav Tzvi Hirsch, zl, who explains the word roeh (v’chol asher atah roeh, “All that…

Home -> 5779 -> Toldos

ויהי עשו איש יודע ציד איש שדה ויעקב איש תם יושב אהלים

Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5779

And Eisav became one who knows trapping, a man of the field; but Yaakov was a wholesome man, abiding in tents. (25:27)

The Torah’s characterization of the differences between Yaakov Avinu and Eisav ha’rasha seems minor in contrast to the actual stark differences between the two. Yaakov was holy, righteous, the pillar of Torah and truth, the third leg of the Heavenly chariot. Eisav was the epitome of evil, the archenemy of our people. Yet, the Torah chose to underscore the fact that Eisav was a man of the field, yoshev batel, did nothing all day, wasted his time. Yaakov, however, was a wholesome man who spent his day in spiritual ascendance, studying Torah. Apparently, herein lay the difference between the two….

Home -> 5779 -> Chayei Sarah

ואמר אל אדני אלי לא תלך האשה אחרי

Sruly Schnair In Chayei Sarah, 5779

And I said to my master, “Perhaps the woman will not follow me?” (24:39)

Life is not always a bed of roses. Disappointments are part of the Heavenly-designed world in which we live. How one reacts and responds to disappointments is the barometer of his acknowledgement that it is Hashem – not he – who runs the world. Accepting disappointment — and, in fact, growing from it — is the mark of a great person. When Avraham Avinu sent his trusted student/servant, Eliezer, on a mission to find a suitable mate for his son, Yitzchak (Avinu), he set forth one critical criterion which was non-negotiable: Under no circumstances was Yitzchak permitted to live with…

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Back to Home -> 5779 ->

לא תבערו אש בכל משבתוכם ביום השבת

You shall not kindle fire in any of your dwellings on the Shabbos day. (35:3)

ועשית מנרת זהב טהור מקשה תיעשה המנורה

You shall make a Menorah of pure gold, hammered out shall the Menorah be made. (25:31)

והמים להם חמה מימינם ומשמאלם

The water was a wall for them, on their right and on their left. (14:29)

ויהי כי יראו המילדות את האלקים ויעש להם בתים

Because the midwives feared G-d, He gave them houses. (1:21)

ותפתח ותראהו את הילד והנה נער בכה ותמחל עליו ותאמר מילדי העברים זה

She opened it and saw him, and behold! A youth was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.” (2:6)

ויקרא פרעה שם יוסף צפנת פענח ויתן לו את אסנת בת פוטיפרע כהן און לאשה ויצא יוסף על ארץ מצרים

Pharaoh called Yosef’s name Tzafnas-Paneach and he gave him Osnas bas Potiphera, chief of On, as a wife. Thus, Yosef emerged in charge of the land of Egypt. (41:45)

ויאמר יעקב אל שמעון ואל לוי עכרתם אתי להבאישני בישב הארץ... ויאמרו הכזונה יעשה את אחתנו

Yaakov said to Shimon and to Levi, “You have discomposed me, making me odious among the inhabitants of the land…” And they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?” (34:30,31)

ויען לבן ויאמר אל יעקב הבנות בנתי והבנים בני... וכל אשר אתה ראה לי הוא

Then Lavan spoke up and said to Yaakov… “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children…And all that you see is mine.” (31:43)

ויהי עשו איש יודע ציד איש שדה ויעקב איש תם יושב אהלים

And Eisav became one who knows trapping, a man of the field; but Yaakov was a wholesome man, abiding in tents. (25:27)

ואמר אל אדני אלי לא תלך האשה אחרי

And I said to my master, “Perhaps the woman will not follow me?” (24:39)

YEARS

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