Commitment – Page 22 – Peninim on the Torah

וישלח אברהם את ידו ויקח את המאכלת לשחט את בנו

Avraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slaughter his son. (22:10)

A dear friend who became observant late in life, after raising his children to be devoutly secular Jews with little or no Jewish identity, was told by his daughter, “What bothers me most about your commitment to Orthodoxy is that you care more about G-d than you do about me!” A powerful accusation – if one is not Orthodox. One whose life is wholly regulated by the Torah understands that it is all about G-d. He comes first. This does not in any way suggest that frum people do not have feelings for family. If anything, they place a higher…

Home -> 5779 -> Vayeira

אל תשלח ידך אל הנער... כי עתה ידעתי כי ירא אלקים אתה

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5779

Do not stretch out your hand against the lad… for now I know that you are a G-d-fearing man. (22:12)

What was so special about “now”? What did Avraham Avinu do “now” that made such a strong impression, that so underscored his fear of G-d? The Malbim explains that actually Avraham had been tested twice. The primary objective of the nisayon, test, of Akeidas Yitzchak was to see whether Avraham would carry out the mitzvah purely for the sake of Hashem: Would this mitzvah be the execution of the will of the Almighty – or would Avraham perform the Akeidah for ulterior (regardless of how minute and insignificant) motives? Would the Patriarch have a personal agenda included in his act…

Home -> 5779 -> Noach

קנים תעשה את התבה

Sruly Schnair In Noach, 5779

Make the Ark with compartments. (6:14)

The simple explanation of this pasuk is that the Ark was built with various compartments to house its many “travelers.” Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 31:9) interpret kinnim as being derived from ken, a nest, referring to the birds which are offered by the metzora, spiritual leper, as penance for the sins that catalyzed the contraction of his disease. They comment, “As the ken metzora purifies the leper, so, too, does the Teivah, Ark, purify its passengers.” This is a reference to its human cargo, Noach and his family. Horav Reuven Karlinstein, zl, explains that the purification of the Teivah refers to…

Home -> V'zos HaBrachah -> 5778

תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה קהלת יעקב

Sruly Schnair In 5778, V'zos HaBrachah

The Torah that Moshe commanded us is the heritage of the Congregation of Yaakov. (33:4)

The Torah belongs to the Jewish People. It is our inalienable possession, having been transmitted throughout time from generation to generation, heralding back to the Revelation at Sinai and continuing on until the advent of Moshiach Tziddkeinu. How profound is this statement! Yet, it is the first sentence that a father teaches his child as soon as the child is able to speak. The child understands very little at this tender age. Nonetheless, Chazal (Succah 42a) felt it important to convey this message to the child, so that it would become ingrained in his mind via the constant oral repetition….

Home -> Vayeilech -> 5778

ועתה כתבו לכם את השירה הזאת

Sruly Schnair In 5778, Vayeilech

So now, write this song for yourselves. (31:19)

Simply, this “song” is a reference to Shiras Ha’azinu, which foreshadows Klal Yisrael’s future. Chazal, however, interpret this “song” as applying to the entire Torah, thereby redefining Torah from a book of law, ethics and way of life, to the song of the Jewish people. Horav Yosef Kahaneman, zl, the Ponevezer Rav, explains that the Torah should be the Jew’s song of life that reaches into his innermost emotions and accompanies him throughout his life’s journey. Torah celebrates with him during his moments of joy and mourns with him as he traverses periods of pain and travail. It is his…

Home -> 5778 -> Nitzavim

כי הוא חייך ואורך ימיך

Sruly Schnair In Nitzavim, 5778

For He is your life and length of your days. (30:20)

Torah is our life, without which we are unable to survive. In a famous dialogue between Papus ben Yehudah and Rabbi Akiva (Berachos 61a), the Tanna expressed this idea. It was during the period when the ruling pagan government forbade Torah study. Their decree, which – if ignored – was punishable by death, did not seem to matter to Rabbi Akiva, who maintained his normal routine of studying and teaching Torah. When Papus ben Yehudah questioned his actions, Rabbi Akiva compared it to the wily fox who saw fish swimming quickly from place to place. He asked them from whom…

Home -> 5778 -> Nitzavim

כי המצוה הזאת אשר אנכי מצוך... לא נפלאת היה ממך ולא רחוקה היא... כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו

Sruly Schnair In Nitzavim, 5778

For this commandment that I command you today – it is not hidden from and it is not distant… rather, the matter is very near to you – in your mouth and in your heart – to perform it. (30: 11,14)

This mitzvah? To which mitzvah is the Torah referring? What mitzvah might we think is distant, inaccessible to the average person? Rashi implies that the Torah refers to the mitzvah of limud haTorah, Torah study. Many people err in thinking that Torah erudition is beyond them – almost impossible to master. While it is true that Torah knowledge has no limit, nonetheless, through constant diligent study, one can achieve a high degree of Torah scholarship. Torah is Divinely authored, thus making it impossible for the human mind to grasp its profundities without Divine intervention. When Hashem sees that a Jew…

Home -> Pekudei -> 5756

Sruly Schnair In 5756, Pekudei

“And they made the holy vestments … as Hashem had commanded Moshe.” (39:1)

The phrase “As Hashem had commanded Moshe,” is written eighteen times in the parsha. Chazal note the Torah’s emphasis on the people’s strict compliance with Hashem’s command. We may wonder at the significance of this phrase. Can one do other than “as Hashem commanded”? If one is told to perform a duty in a specific manner, then he should execute said activity in the prescribed manner — as he was told. Is that unreasonable to expect? When we explore the tendencies of human nature, we note that even when people are instructed to do something in a specific manner, when all…

Home -> Ki Sisa -> 5756

Sruly Schnair In 5756, Ki Sisa

“The people saw that Moshe had delayed in descending the mountain, and the people gathered around Aharon and said to him, ‘Rise up, make for us gods… for this man Moshe… we do not know what became of him.'” (32:1)

In the Yalkut Shimoni, Chazal relate a dialogue that transpired between the Satan and Bnei Yisrael on the fortieth day after Moshe went up the mountain. “Where is Moshe your teacher?” asked the Satan of Bnei Yisrael. “He went up the mountain,” they responded. Undaunted by the people’s faith in their leader, the Satan attempted to convince them that he was late in returning and had probably died. After all, could a human being survive forty days without bread or water? Yet, they maintained their devotion to Moshe despite the Satan’s efforts to dissuade them. In a final attempt to…

Home -> 5756 -> Beshalach

Sruly Schnair In Beshalach, 5756

“And it was when Moshe held up his hand that Yisrael prevailed .” (17:11)

Rashi comments that Moshe’s hands became heavy as a form of punishment, because he did not personally involve himself in the mitzvah of battling Amalek. According to Rashi these pesukim seem inconsistent with one another. On the one hand, Moshe raised his hand, turning the tide and effecting Klal Yisrael’s victory. On the other hand, Moshe is criticized for his atzlus, indolence, in not personally being involved in the war. How are these two ideas to be reconciled? Horav Eliyahu Meir Bloch, z.l., infers from this pasuk a profound insight into the responsibility of a manhig Yisrael, Torah leader. One…

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וישלח אברהם את ידו ויקח את המאכלת לשחט את בנו

Avraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slaughter his son. (22:10)

אל תשלח ידך אל הנער... כי עתה ידעתי כי ירא אלקים אתה

Do not stretch out your hand against the lad… for now I know that you are a G-d-fearing man. (22:12)

קנים תעשה את התבה

Make the Ark with compartments. (6:14)

תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה קהלת יעקב

The Torah that Moshe commanded us is the heritage of the Congregation of Yaakov. (33:4)

ועתה כתבו לכם את השירה הזאת

So now, write this song for yourselves. (31:19)

כי הוא חייך ואורך ימיך

For He is your life and length of your days. (30:20)

כי המצוה הזאת אשר אנכי מצוך... לא נפלאת היה ממך ולא רחוקה היא... כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו

For this commandment that I command you today – it is not hidden from and it is not distant… rather, the matter is very near to you – in your mouth and in your heart – to perform it. (30: 11,14)

“And they made the holy vestments … as Hashem had commanded Moshe.” (39:1)

“The people saw that Moshe had delayed in descending the mountain, and the people gathered around Aharon and said to him, ‘Rise up, make for us gods… for this man Moshe… we do not know what became of him.'” (32:1)

“And it was when Moshe held up his hand that Yisrael prevailed .” (17:11)

YEARS

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