Derech Eretz – Page 58 – Peninim on the Torah

כי יקח איש אשה חדשה... ושמח את אשתו אשר לקח

When a man marries a new wife… he shall gladden his wife whom he has married. (24:5)

During the first year of marriage man is exempt from being drafted into the army, because he is supposed to stay home to “gladden his wife.” The Torah writes, V’seemach es ishto, “He shall gladden his wife.” Rashi comments, “This pasuk is interpreted by Targum Onkelos as, v’yachdei yas itsei, “he shall gladden his wife,” but one who translates the pasuk as, v’yechdai im itsei, “he shall gladden with his wife,” is in error because this is not the translation of v’seemach, but rather, of v’samach.” In Rabbi Sholom Smith’s, A Vort From Rav Pam, he quotes the Rosh Yeshivah,…

Home -> 5773 -> Ki Seitzei

כי ד' אלקיך מתהלך בקרב מחנך... והיה מחנך קדוש ולא יראה בך ערות דבר ושב מאחריך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Seitzei, 5773

For Hashem, your G-d, walks in the midst of your camp… so your camp shall be holy, so that He will not see a shameful thing among you and turn away from behind you. (23:15)

Dressing and acting appropriately are prerequisites for Torah-oriented behavior. “Your camp shall be holy” applies not only to the “camp” in the wilderness; it also applies to our homes, schools, shuls – wherever observant Jews congregate. One’s personal camp should not be ignored either. This means that, although one may be respectful of the laws of tznius, modesty/chastity, upon entering a holy edifice, he should not forget that he is himself a holy camp. Thus, how one dresses represents his attitude with regard to Hashem. To dress in an immodest manner is to put G-d to shame and cause Him…

Home -> 5773 -> Ki Savo

ארור האיש אשר יעשה פסל ומסכה... ושם בסתר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Ki Savo, 5773

Cursed is the man who makes a graven or molten image… and sets it up in secret. (27:15)

Hypocrisy is a moral failing, which, upon being added to sinful behavior, makes the act even more repugnant, thus deserving of a curse. The Torah enumerates a group of sins which, as a rule, elude the attention of human courts of justice. These sins, upon which the added curse has been placed, are of a kind that remains covert due to their nature. Horav S.R. Hirsch, zl, observes that the Torah adds the word ba’seisar, in secret, in the beginning and end of the series of curses, to emphasize that it is especially the undisclosed character of these particular offenses…

Home -> Ha'azinu -> 5773

כי גוי אבד עצות המה ואין בהם תבונה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Ha'azinu

For they are a nation bereft of counsel, and there is no discernment in them. (32:28)

One would think that an individual who is unable to render sound advice lacks discernment. There is a reason we refer to it as “sage” advice. One who “can” renders advice. One who is unable to determine, make distinction, perceive, is not one whom we seek out for advice. If so, the pasuk is redundant. “For they are a nation bereft of counsel” – means that they are too foolish for their indiscretions. Why does the Torah add that “there is no discernment in them”? Obviously, they are not rocket scientists if they cannot figure out the course of events….

Home -> 5773 -> Emor

ולאחתו הבתולה הקרובה אליו אשר לא היתה לאיש לה יטמא

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Emor, 5773

And to his virgin sister who is close to him, who has not been wed to a man; to her shall he contaminate himself. (21:3)

Chazal teach that it is a mitzvah for a Kohen to defile himself to the seven close relatives. Indeed, as Chazal say, if the Kohen refuses to ritually contaminate himself to any of them, we compel him to do so (Zevachim 100a). In a way, this is a form of sacrifice. A Kohen who is sincere about his station in life might get carried away. He might feel that, even for a close relative, it is just not worth it. He has heretofore maintained his purity. Why should he ruin his spotless record? Obviously, such a Kohen has no clue…

Home -> 5773 -> Eikev

ואתפוש בשני הלוחות מעל שתי ידי ואשברם לעיניכם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Eikev, 5773

I took hold of both of the Tablets, and I cast them from my hands, and I broke them before your eyes. (9:17)

A powerful lesson can be derived from this pasuk, which describes Moshe Rabbeinu’s act of shattering of the Luchos not simply as a negative act or an act of weakness, but rather, as a forceful, compelling, even positive act. Horav Yaakov Kamenetzky, zl, comments that, were it not for the Torah’s unembellished description, one might harbor the thought that Moshe was so overcome with shock in seeing the Golden Calf that he dropped the Luchos. Perhaps another scenario would be that they were too heavy. Moshe’s strength came from the People. Their merit infused him. Once they fell off their…

Home -> 5773 -> Chukas

אדם כי ימות באהל ...כל הבא אל האהל וכל אשר באהל יטמא שבעת ימים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5773

A man who would die in a tent: Anything that enters the tent and anything that is in the tent shall be contaminated for seven days. (19:14)

We view a rasha, wicked person, with disdain, when actually it is the sin that we should hate, not the sinner. We do not realize that regardless of a person’s transgressions, his neshamah, soul, is endowed with kedushah, holiness. Horav Tuvia HaLevi, zl, one of the talmidei Arizal, applies this idea to explain why a Jewish corpse is metamei, ritually contaminates, anyone who comes in contact with it, more so than the corpse of a gentile. A Jewish corpse is metamei both b’ohel and b’maga, by standing over it or touching it, while a gentile corpse does not defile b’ohel….

Home -> 5773 -> Chayei Sarah

ויקברו אתו יצחק וישמעאל בניו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5773

His sons Yitzchak and Yishmael buried him. (25:9)

Rashi quotes Chazal in the Talmud Bava Basra 16b, who derive from the above pasuk which places Yitzchak before Yishmael that Yishmael repented his ways. The errant son told Yitzchak to precede him. This display of respect is an indicator of Yishmael’s spiritual well-being, resulting from his repentance. Apparently, the fact that Yishmael had come from a distance to attend the funeral was not a strong enough indication that he had changed. It was the fact that he allowed his younger brother, the one who “replaced” him as Avraham Avinu’s “son,” to precede him that serves as a proof of…

Home -> 5773 -> Bo

ואמרתם זבח פסח הוא לד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bo, 5773

It is a Pesach feast-offering to Hashem. (12:27)

The above pasuk is used as the response to the wise son in the Haggadah. The highlight of the Seder for many people is the recitation of the section addressing the arba banim, four sons. It allows us to reflect upon the individual natures and proclivities of different people and to analyze “what went wrong.” Why does one boy become a chacham, wise man, while another boy in the same class, from a similar family, becomes a rasha? It is in the genes, or is there more to it? I do not think that anyone has a definitive answer to…

Home -> 5773 -> Beshalach

וחמשים עלו בני ישראל מארץ מצרים...ויקח משה את עצמות יוסף עמו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Beshalach, 5773

Bnei Yisrael were armed when they went up from Egypt… And Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him. (13:18, 19)

Rashi explains chamushim to mean “armed.” In an alternative exposition, Rashi quotes the Midrash which posits that chamushim is derived from chomesh,“a fifth.” This implies that actually only one fifth of the Jewish People left Egypt. Apparently, the bulk of the nation was prepared to adopt the Egyptian lifestyle. They did not want to be slaves, but they were not yet prepared to leave the country. They died during the three-day plague of darkness. In his Shemen Hatov, Horav Zev Weinberger, Shlita, quotes Horav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, zl, of Yerushalayim, who offered an insightful explanation of chamushim, armed. Of what…

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Back to Home -> Ki Seitzei ->

כי יקח איש אשה חדשה... ושמח את אשתו אשר לקח

When a man marries a new wife… he shall gladden his wife whom he has married. (24:5)

כי ד' אלקיך מתהלך בקרב מחנך... והיה מחנך קדוש ולא יראה בך ערות דבר ושב מאחריך

For Hashem, your G-d, walks in the midst of your camp… so your camp shall be holy, so that He will not see a shameful thing among you and turn away from behind you. (23:15)

ארור האיש אשר יעשה פסל ומסכה... ושם בסתר

Cursed is the man who makes a graven or molten image… and sets it up in secret. (27:15)

כי גוי אבד עצות המה ואין בהם תבונה

For they are a nation bereft of counsel, and there is no discernment in them. (32:28)

ולאחתו הבתולה הקרובה אליו אשר לא היתה לאיש לה יטמא

And to his virgin sister who is close to him, who has not been wed to a man; to her shall he contaminate himself. (21:3)

ואתפוש בשני הלוחות מעל שתי ידי ואשברם לעיניכם

I took hold of both of the Tablets, and I cast them from my hands, and I broke them before your eyes. (9:17)

אדם כי ימות באהל ...כל הבא אל האהל וכל אשר באהל יטמא שבעת ימים

A man who would die in a tent: Anything that enters the tent and anything that is in the tent shall be contaminated for seven days. (19:14)

ויקברו אתו יצחק וישמעאל בניו

His sons Yitzchak and Yishmael buried him. (25:9)

ואמרתם זבח פסח הוא לד'

It is a Pesach feast-offering to Hashem. (12:27)

וחמשים עלו בני ישראל מארץ מצרים...ויקח משה את עצמות יוסף עמו

Bnei Yisrael were armed when they went up from Egypt… And Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him. (13:18, 19)

YEARS

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