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Home -> 5758 -> Shemini

Moshe Marcovich
In Shemini, 5758

You shall hallow yourselves and be holy, for I am Hashem who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your G-d. (11:44,45)

Hashem adjures us to sanctify ourselves, to act differently, to be kadosh, because He brought us up  from Egypt.  We were raised up from the murky depths of depravity which symbolized the land of Egypt.  We are to be separate.   We are to be different.  We are to distinguish ourselves in the way that we live; in the way that we act among ourselves and in the manner that we interface with others.  We suggest that Chazal are teaching us an important lesson.  How are we to respond and execute this distinction?  Are we to be reclusive, hiding from…

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Home -> 5758 -> Re'eh

Moshe Marcovich
In Re'eh, 5758

You shall not cut yourselves and you shall not make a bald spot between your eyes for a dead person. (14:1)

Our relationship with Hashem demands that we adhere to a strict code of discipline, as expressed in the Torah and interpreted and expounded by our Torah leadership.  The discipline of Torah governs our entire life.  The Torah addresses every aspect of life’s endeavor.  We are called banim la’Makom, children of the Almighty.  Can there be a greater appelation, a more honored relationship?  Such closeness, however, also  carries with it an inherent responsibility.  When one mourns  a loved one, thus  confronting  his own mortality, a Jew manifests great discipline.  Halachah  desginates time limits during which one may and should express his…

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Home -> 5758 -> Pinchas

Moshe Marcovich
In Pinchas, 5758

And let the assembly of Hashem not be like sheep that have no shepherd. (27:17)

Moshe pleads with Hashem to name his successor who would lead Bnei Yisrael.  In closing,  he entreats Hashem not to permit Bnei Yisrael to be left without  leadership.  One would think that in the desert the Jewish People  were bereft of competent leadership.  True, Moshe would be gone,  but he left behind him those who learned leadership skills directly from him: Yehoshua, his student par excellence;  Pinchas,  the zealot who had the courage to stand up to a nasi who had publicly desecrated Hashem’s Name; Elazar,  the son of Aharon HaKohen, the Kohen Gadol who was the paradigm of sanctity; …

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Home -> 5758 -> Noach

Moshe Marcovich
In Noach, 5758

These are the generations of Noach, Noach was a righteous man. (6:9)

The Torah begins by stating that it will list  the “generations” of Noach. Instead, it proceeds  to relate that Noach was a righteous man.  Are we discussing  his offspring or his good deeds?  Rashi cites the Midrash that infers from this pasuk  that the primary generation, the principle legacy of a righteous person, is his good deeds.  This is what he bequeaths to the next generation.  Horav Moshe Feinstein, zl, remarks that offspring and good deeds should be analogous.  No good deed should be viewed as inconsequential.  The same love that one manifests toward his offspring should, likewise, be demonstrated…

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Home -> 5758 -> Nitzavim

Moshe Marcovich
In Nitzavim, 5758

The hidden (sins) are for Hashem, our G-d, but the revealed (sins) are for us and our children. (29:28)

Simply, we are not  responsible for the hidden sinners, for those who conceal their evil.  We will, however, be called to task for the actions of those who openly rebel.  We are all responsible to maintain the integrity of Klal Yisrael.  We suggest another interpretation of this pasuk.  Those thoughts that are concealed within us, thoughts which we are astute enough not to express, belong to the Almighty.  They exercise no influence on those around us, they hurt no one but ourselves.  They are between us and G-d.  Our revealed actions reflect  the thoughts that we could not or did…

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Home -> 5758 -> Nitzavim

Moshe Marcovich
In Nitzavim, 5758

You are standing today, all of you, before Hashem, your G-d, the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers…from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water. (29:9,10)

Since the Torah says “kulchem — all of you“, it obviously includes everyone from the  “wood chopper” to the “water drawer.”  Why is it necessary to reiterate the various classes or positions held by individual Jews?  Horav Elyakim Schlesinger, Shlita, suggests that the covenant did not necessarily bind only the klal, the collective community of Klal Yisrael, but also each individual Jew, regardless of his station in life.  If ever a breakdown in the spiritual fabric of Klal Yisrael would occur, if the leadership for some reason errs, the covenant would be sustained via the individual Jew. The Brisker Rav,…

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Home -> 5758 -> Mishpatim

Moshe Marcovich
In Mishpatim, 5758

And his master shall bore through his ear with the awl, and he shall serve him forever. (21:6)

The Torah does express respect for the Jew who spurns his freedom and chooses to remain an eved.  His conscription to another Jew is an act of self-degradation.  His decision to continue in servitude involves a ceremony in which  his ear is bored with an awl.  The Torah says he is  to remain a servant “forever.”  In this context, the word “forever” means until Yovel, the jubilee/fiftieth year.  This is the end of a cycle, a time at which  properties that changed hands during this cycle revert back to their original owners.  At this time, all Jewish servants are  freed….

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Home -> 5758 -> Ki Seitzei

Moshe Marcovich
In Ki Seitzei, 5758

It is too much for you, O offspring of Levi…It is not enough for you that the G-d of Yisrael has segregated you from the Assembly of Yisrael to draw you near to Himself. (16:7,9)

Moshe Rabbeinu turned to Korach’s supporters from shevet Levi.  He told them they had already received great honor, so they should not be demanding more.  Once, after finishing his shiur at Yeshivas Slabodka, Horav Yechezkel Abramsky, zl, turned to his students and said emphatically, “You should know that you study Torah unimpeded by any pursuits.  You are the greatest mezakei horabim, source for bestowing merit for Klal Yisrael. On you, rests the world.  You give courage and faith to Klal Yisrael. Indeed, you are on the highest spiritual plane in Klal Yisrael.” This was the underlying message that Moshe communicated…

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Home -> 5758 -> Ki Seitzei

Moshe Marcovich
In Ki Seitzei, 5758

Korach the son of Yitzhar the son of Kehas the son of Levi took (16:1)

The Torah purposely omits Yaakov’s name from this pasuk.  He was Korach’s great-grandfather, but as a result of the dispute, he  implored Hashem to exclude his name from Korach’s pedigree.  He did not want his name connected with  machlokes, controversy.  Did Yaakov think for one moment that people would forget the Patriarch from whom Korach had descended?  What did he gain by having his name excluded? Horav Eliyahu Lopian, zl, comments that in recounting an individual’s lineage, we rarely go back further than the father; we surely never mention  the great-grandfather.   The Torah makes an exception, however, when it…

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Home -> 5758 -> Ki Seitzei

Moshe Marcovich
In Ki Seitzei, 5758

This son of ours is disobedient and rebellious; he does not listen to our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.

The Torah deems the ben sorer u’moreh to be  incorrigible. Consequently, he  is put to death for his intractable behavior.  What has he done that is so bad,  that it is  considered to be incorrigible?  In his initimable style, Horav S.R. Hirsch, zl,  analyzes the laws of ben sorer u’moreh as a primer for parents to learn valuable lessons in child-rearing.  He defines “sorer” as turning away, implying a persistent straying from the prescribed path he is to follow.  “Moreh,” on the other hand, is a stronger,  more aggressive term which implies a self-willed personality.  An individual with this personality…

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