Emes – Page 13 – Peninim on the Torah

ולא ירבה לו נשים ולא יסור לבבו

And he (the Melech Yisrael, Jewish king) shall not have too many wives, so that his heart will not turn him astray. (17:17)

Apparently, with his extraordinary wisdom, Shlomo Hamelech felt that this prohibition did not apply to him. He had his reasons for marrying seven-hundred wives and keeping three-hundred concubines. The Torah teaches that numerous wives would have an adverse effect on the king’s exclusive devotion to Hashem. Shlomo felt that he could rise above the prohibition and its consequences. He was wrong. While all this is history, why did Shlomo fail? His superior wisdom should have protected him. When he said, “I will have many wives, and they will not sway me from my utter devotion to Hashem,” he knew what…

Home -> 5783 -> Eikev

כי על כל מוצא פי ד' יחיה ... וזכרת את ד' אלקיך כי הוא הנתן לך כח לעשות חיל

Sruly Schnair In Eikev, 5783

Rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of Hashem does man live… That it was He (Hashem) who gives you the strength to make wealth. (8:3,18)

The Torah reiterates numerous times (of which the above pesukim are a mere sample) that everything – large or small – comes from Hashem. Man endeavors, but Hashem decides the end result. The first step toward living with faith and trust in the Almighty is acknowledging that He is the only reality. Everything else is a façade. The department of education oversaw a county which had, among its schools, a private yeshivah high school. The superintendent had serious issues with the school’s general studies program, or lack thereof. In order to receive a federal subsidy, the school was required to…

Home -> 5783 -> Eikev

זכר אל תשכח את אשר הקצפת את ד' אלקיך במדבר ... ממרים הייתם עם ד'

Sruly Schnair In Eikev, 5783

Remember, do not forget that you provoked Hashem, your G-d, in the wilderness… You have been rebels against Hashem. (9:7)

Moshe Rabbeinu lists some of the indiscretions and unacceptable behavior of Klal Yisrael during their wilderness journey. They are enjoined to remember, to never lose sight of these infractions. Their past sinful behavior must be expunged from their characters, lest it return to haunt them later. The only way to prevent recurrent problems is to ingrain in one’s mind the past, their deficiencies, and how they acted. Remembering the sin of the Golden Calf is on top of the list of iniquitous behavior which led to open rebellion. Thus, it is included among the Sheish Zechiros, Six Remembrances, incumbent upon…

Home -> Devarim -> 5783

אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה

Sruly Schnair In 5783, Devarim

These are the words that Moshe spoke. (1:1)

There is a telling (Midrash Rabbah 1:1) commentary at the beginning of this parsha. “Before Moshe received the Torah he said, Lo ish devarim anochi, ‘I am not a man of words’ (Shemos 4:10). Once he had received the Torah, however, his tongue was healed, and he started to speak: ‘These are the words that Moshe spoke.’” Torah heals; words of Torah transform the speaker. The power of speech distinguishes man from his animal counterpart. Hashem gave man life by blowing into him nefesh chayah, a living soul, which Targum Onkelos translates as ruach mimalelah, a speaking spirit. When a…

Home -> Devarim -> 5783

ותקרבון אלי כלכם ותאמרו נשלחה אנשים לפנינו ויחפרו לנו את הארץ

Sruly Schnair In 5783, Devarim

You drew near to me, all of you, and said, “Let us send men ahead of us and they shall spy out the Land for us.” (1:22)

The episode of the meraglim, spies, was the tragic game-changer for the nascent nation, as their reaction to the spies’ reports catalyzed the decree that they would not enter the Land. That night was Tishah B’Av, the calendar date which was to become our national day of mourning. In as much as the reports which the meraglim brought back were true, injecting their own personal opinions concerning the nation’s ability to overcome the challenges they would confront was their downfall. They conveniently forgot the Hashem factor. The Almighty had taken them out of Egypt, triumphed over Amalek, sustained them miraculously;…

Home -> 5783 -> Balak

ויפתח ד' את פי האתון ותאמר לבלעם מה עשיתי לך

Sruly Schnair In Balak, 5783

Hashem opened the mouth of the she-donkey and it said to Bilaam, “What have I done to you?” (22:28)

Bilaam struck his donkey three times – unaware that it was Hashem who was impeding Bilaam’s path. The donkey just stood and refused to go forward. Bilaam was clueless to this, therefore, like most arrogant people who are incapable of accepting the truth, he lashed out at his donkey. Three words – “What have I done to you?” was all the donkey said in admonishing Bilaam. His reaction was, “If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you!” (Ibid. 22:29). All Bilaam could think of was the donkey’s impertinence to him. After all, he was the greatest…

Home -> 5783 -> Shelach

ויהי בני ישראל במדבר וימצאו איש מקושש עצים ביום השבת ... ויניחו אתו במשמר כי לא פרש מה יעשה לו

Sruly Schnair In Shelach, 5783

Bnei Yisrael were in the wilderness and they found a man gathering wood on Shabbos day…They placed him in custody because what should be done with him had not been clarified. (15:32,34)

Rashi explains that, in fact, they knew that one who desecrates Shabbos is liable for the death penalty. They did not know, however, which one of the four punishments should be meted out for chillul Shabbos. While they waited for Moshe Rabbeinu to issue his ruling, the perpetrator was remanded into custody. Horav Gamliel Rabinowitz, Shlita, quotes Horav Aharon Katzenelbogen, zl, who presents an insightful exposition concerning the mekoshesh’s lockup. Earlier in the parshah, the Torah relates the nation’s reaction to Yehoshua and Calev’s support of Eretz Yisrael. They disputed the other ten meraglim, spies, and contended that Eretz Yisrael…

Home -> Behar -> 5783

ולא תונו איש את עמיתו

Sruly Schnair In 5783, Behar

Each of you shall not wrong his fellow Jew. (25:17)

The Chafetz Chaim observes the famous maxim: The world thinks that the fool is a fool only with regard to other people’s interests. However, Ven es kumpt tzu zich, “When it involves himself, his own interests, he suddenly becomes quite clever.” Conversely, when it comes to one’s personal vested interests, the otherwise clever man may act foolishly. When one allows his petty prejudices and self-serving opinions to drive his actions and control his life – he is a fool. The sage expounds on our pasuk, noting the added word, V’lo sonu Ish es amiso: The word es is extra. He…

Home -> Bechukosai -> 5783

ונסתם ואין רדף אתכם

Sruly Schnair In 5783, Bechukosai

You will flee, though none chase after you. (26:17)

Fear of an unknown enemy (or demons, in today’s vernacular) is a terrible curse. It is a miserable way to live. To be beset by imagined fears and phobias takes a toll on a person. His life comes to a halt, his cognitive lucidity off balance, because he is afraid to do anything out of fear of consequences. The systems upon which a person’s basic needs are built are interrupted, often taking down the “victim” and those who have the misfortune to be in his proximity. A modern-day term for describing fear of an unknown enemy which one has convinced…

Home -> 5783 -> Shemini

ואל בני ישראל תדבר לאמר קחו שעיר עזים לחטאת ועגל וכבש ... לעולה

Sruly Schnair In Shemini, 5783

And to Bnei Yisrael speak as follows: Take a he-goat for a sin-offering and a calf and a sheep… for an elevation offering. (9:3)

The Sifra identifies the sins for which the eigal, calf, and the se’ir izzim, he-goat, atoned. The eigal was offered to expiate the sin of the golden calf. The goat served as an atonement for the sin of selling Yosef as a slave and slaughtering a goat in order to dip Yosef’s multi-colored tunic into its blood. Understandably, the sin of the Golden Calf was the catalyst for the Mishkan which atoned for it. What does mechiras Yosef, the sale of Yosef, have to do with the eighth day of milluim, inauguration, of the Mishkan? Some form of identification was…

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ולא ירבה לו נשים ולא יסור לבבו

And he (the Melech Yisrael, Jewish king) shall not have too many wives, so that his heart will not turn him astray. (17:17)

כי על כל מוצא פי ד' יחיה ... וזכרת את ד' אלקיך כי הוא הנתן לך כח לעשות חיל

Rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of Hashem does man live… That it was He (Hashem) who gives you the strength to make wealth. (8:3,18)

זכר אל תשכח את אשר הקצפת את ד' אלקיך במדבר ... ממרים הייתם עם ד'

Remember, do not forget that you provoked Hashem, your G-d, in the wilderness… You have been rebels against Hashem. (9:7)

אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה

These are the words that Moshe spoke. (1:1)

ותקרבון אלי כלכם ותאמרו נשלחה אנשים לפנינו ויחפרו לנו את הארץ

You drew near to me, all of you, and said, “Let us send men ahead of us and they shall spy out the Land for us.” (1:22)

ויפתח ד' את פי האתון ותאמר לבלעם מה עשיתי לך

Hashem opened the mouth of the she-donkey and it said to Bilaam, “What have I done to you?” (22:28)

ויהי בני ישראל במדבר וימצאו איש מקושש עצים ביום השבת ... ויניחו אתו במשמר כי לא פרש מה יעשה לו

Bnei Yisrael were in the wilderness and they found a man gathering wood on Shabbos day…They placed him in custody because what should be done with him had not been clarified. (15:32,34)

ולא תונו איש את עמיתו

Each of you shall not wrong his fellow Jew. (25:17)

ונסתם ואין רדף אתכם

You will flee, though none chase after you. (26:17)

ואל בני ישראל תדבר לאמר קחו שעיר עזים לחטאת ועגל וכבש ... לעולה

And to Bnei Yisrael speak as follows: Take a he-goat for a sin-offering and a calf and a sheep… for an elevation offering. (9:3)

YEARS

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