Commitment – Page 33 – Peninim on the Torah

You shall be holy for Me;……and I have separated you from the peoples to be Mine. (20:26)

Rashi cites Chazal who explain this pasuk in the following manner: If you keep yourselves separate from the nations and their life styles, you will be Mine; otherwise, you will belong to Nebuchanetzar and his ilk. Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya adds, one should not say, “I do not eat pig because I do not like pig meat.” Rather, one should say, I would like to eat pig meat, but Hashem has prohibited me from eating it and has commanded me to separate from the other nations to be His, and only His” Horav Eliyahu Meir Bloch, zl, remarks that essentially…

Home -> Vayakhel -> 5777

ראו קרא ד' בשם בצלאל בן אורי בן חור למטה יהודה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Vayakhel

“See, Hashem has proclaimed by name, Betzalel ben Uri ben Chur of the Tribe of Yehudah.” (35:30)

In recording Betzalel’s pedigree the Torah atypically goes back two generations – to Betzalel’s grandfather, Chur. This is unusual, since the Torah usually records only the name of the father. Obviously, Chur played a significant role in Hashem’s choice of Betzalel to head the work on the Mishkan. The Mishkan was referred to as Mishkan Ha’Eidus, the Mishkan of the Testimony, since it served as a testament that Hashem had forgiven Klal Yisrael for their involvement in the cheit ha’eigel, sin of the Golden Calf. Therefore, it was necessary that Betzalel not have any vestige of relationship with the Golden…

Home -> 5777 -> Va'eschanan

אנכי ד' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Va'eschanan, 5777

I am Hashem, your G-d, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt. (5:6)

The Aseres HaDibros, Ten Commandments, the foundation of the entire Torah, begins with these words.. The Shlah HaKadosh writes that the Aseres HaDibros is comprised of 620 words, of which 613 correspond to the taryag, 613, mitzvos. And the last seven correspond to the seven mitzvos d’Rabbanan, Rabbinic mitzvos (berachos; Shabbos candles; eiruv; netilas yadayim; Chanukah; Purim; Hallel). Horav Elimelech Biderman, Shlita, suggests that the final words, v’chol asher l’reicha, “And everything that belongs to your fellow” (regarding the prohibition of, Lo sachmod, “Do not covet”), is a summary of the entire Torah. V’chol asher l’reiecha means that one is…

Home -> 5777 -> Tzav

והרים את הדשן... ושמו אצל המזבח... והוצא את הדשן

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Tzav, 5777

He shall raise the ashes and place it next to the Mizbayach… He shall remove the ashes. (6:3,4)

The avodah in the Mishkan/Bais Hamikdash followed a daily routine. It was a clearly defined, Divinely-ordained, unchanging pattern of service. It began with the Terumas HaDeshen, the removal of the sacrificial ash from the previous day’s offerings, followed by the placing of wood, so that the fire on the Mizbayach, Altar, continued to burn. The first sacrifice of the day, as well as the last sacrifice, was the Korban Tamid. Tamid means consistent, which is a perfect way to describe the Korban. It was a constant. When activities are carried out in a particular order, unchanging, repeated daily, it might…

Home -> 5777 -> Shemini

ואחיכם כל בית ישראל יבכו את השרפה אשר שרף ד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shemini, 5777

And your brethren, the entire House of Yisrael, shall bewail the conflagration which Hashem ignited. (10:6)

When we look around today at the Torah world, we are amazed that in a short period of time of some seventy years, we have gone from a nation of broken Jewry, to a world of Torah study unlike anything in previous times. While the numbers of committed, scholarly Torah Jews have probably increased with the level of Torah study and erudition achieved in our yeshivos unlike anything one can remember, the quality of Jewish commitment, the abrogation of materialism that bespoke the average European Jews, is no longer. We may know more and daven longer and understand what we…

Home -> 5777 -> Re'eh

ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Re'eh, 5777

Behold! I set before you today the blessing and the curse. (11:26)

“It is either/or,” writes Targum Yonasan: Ana mesader kadameichou birkesa v’chilufta, “I arranged for you today a blessing and its opposite. Sforno writes, “Perceive that your affairs are not of an intermediate nature – as is the case concerning other nations. The fate of other nations is not marked by full prosperity or complete devastation – as is ours. Theirs is not a condition of extremes: of blessing and curse.” The lot of Hashem’s People, His children, is destined to be the most uncommon, in which there will be no middle course. We will either be blessed or cursed. Klal…

Home -> Vayeilech -> 5777

ויקרא משה ליהושע ויאמר אליו לעיני כל ישראל חזק ואמץ כי אתה תבוא את העם הזה אל הארץ

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Vayeilech

Moshe summoned Yehoshua and said to him before the eyes of all Yisrael, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall come with this People to the Land.” (31:7)

Moshe Rabbeinu summoned Yehoshua in front of all Klal Yisrael in order to build Yehoshua’s esteem. Let everyone see and note that Yehoshua has been designated as Moshe Rabbeinu’s heir and successor. Moshe was the quintessential leader, but taking the people into Eretz Yisrael was not an option that was available to him. Yaan lo he’emantem Bee l’hakdisheini; “Because you did not believe in Me, to sanctify Me” (Bamidbar 20:12): Certainly, Moshe believed in Hashem, but, as the Kli Yakar explains, shelo geramtem l’haamin li, “Because you did not cause others to believe in Me.” Moshe should have realized (explains…

Home -> 5777 -> Nitzavim

ראה נתתי לפניך היום את החיים ואת הטוב ואת המות ואת הרע... ובחרת בחיים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5777

See – that I have placed before you today the life and the good, and the death and the evil… and you shall choose life. (30:15,19)

Some of us think that once one is born into a frum, observant family and educated in a fine Torah-oriented and conducive environment, it is smooth sailing from there. Well – it is not. The choices exist on a daily –almost constant – basis, and one’s commitment must be made anew – everyday. So says Horav Moshe Feinstein, zl, in his commentary to the above pasuk: “Hayom – today – each and every day of our lives, the yetzer hora, evil-inclination, attempts to lure us with his guile. Just because he was not successful ‘yesterday,’ it does not prevent him…

Home -> 5777 -> Emor

ויצא בן אשה ישראלית והוא בן איש מצרי... ושם אמו שלומית בת דברי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Emor, 5777

The son of a Yisraeli woman went out – and he was the son of an Egyptian man… the name of his mother was Shlomis bas Divri. (24:10,11)

Chazal (Midrash Rabbah, Vayikra 32) state that Klal Yisrael was redeemed from Egypt due to its high standard of morality. Indeed, not one Jewish man or woman was involved with an Egyptian, except for Shlomis bas Divri, who is singled out in the Torah. This is our Torah’s way of teaching that no other Jew or Jewess had sinned. A powerful statement, attested to by the Torah. How did they do it? It is not as if Klal Yisrael was perfect. Veritably, the people clung steadfast to certain traditions and lifestyles, but to rise above the moral turpitude that was…

Home -> 5777 -> Eikev

מה ד' אלקיך שואל מעמך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Eikev, 5777

What does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you? (10:12)

Horav Yeruchem Levovitz, zl, views ahavas Hashem, love for Hashem, as the yesod, foundation, of the entire Torah. To love Hashem is not a mitzvas asei, positive commandment; rather, it is the principle upon which hinges all of the mitzvos of the Torah. Every mitzvah is just another aspect of our love for Hashem; mitzvos are our expression of love. When we carry out a mitzvah, we are demonstrating our unabiding love for the Almighty. This love is reciprocal, because we understand and acknowledge Hashem’s love for us. A Jew’s commitment to Judaism — the very same commitment that impelled…

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You shall be holy for Me;……and I have separated you from the peoples to be Mine. (20:26)

ראו קרא ד' בשם בצלאל בן אורי בן חור למטה יהודה

“See, Hashem has proclaimed by name, Betzalel ben Uri ben Chur of the Tribe of Yehudah.” (35:30)

אנכי ד' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים

I am Hashem, your G-d, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt. (5:6)

והרים את הדשן... ושמו אצל המזבח... והוצא את הדשן

He shall raise the ashes and place it next to the Mizbayach… He shall remove the ashes. (6:3,4)

ואחיכם כל בית ישראל יבכו את השרפה אשר שרף ד'

And your brethren, the entire House of Yisrael, shall bewail the conflagration which Hashem ignited. (10:6)

ראה אנכי נתן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה

Behold! I set before you today the blessing and the curse. (11:26)

ויקרא משה ליהושע ויאמר אליו לעיני כל ישראל חזק ואמץ כי אתה תבוא את העם הזה אל הארץ

Moshe summoned Yehoshua and said to him before the eyes of all Yisrael, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall come with this People to the Land.” (31:7)

ראה נתתי לפניך היום את החיים ואת הטוב ואת המות ואת הרע... ובחרת בחיים

See – that I have placed before you today the life and the good, and the death and the evil… and you shall choose life. (30:15,19)

ויצא בן אשה ישראלית והוא בן איש מצרי... ושם אמו שלומית בת דברי

The son of a Yisraeli woman went out – and he was the son of an Egyptian man… the name of his mother was Shlomis bas Divri. (24:10,11)

מה ד' אלקיך שואל מעמך

What does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you? (10:12)

YEARS

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