Emes – Page 24 – Peninim on the Torah

ויאמר ברוך ד' אלקי שם

Sruly Schnair In Noach, 5781

And he said, “Blessed is Hashem, the G-d of Shem. (9:26)

Noach did not directly bless Shem; rather, he said that the G-d/Hashem of Shem be blessed and glorified. By saying this, Noach intimated the mission of Shem/ his descendants, of whom the standard bearer is Klal Yisrael. Their primary goal is to serve Hashem and glorify His Name in the world. Thus, when people bless Hashem, we, His children, are – by extension – blessed. Horav S.R. Hirsch, zl, points out that Hashem is the universal G-d. He is everyone’s G-d. (Indeed, when the accursed Nazi held his gun to the head of the Telzer Rav and asked, “Jew, where…

Home -> 5781 -> Bereishis

ותרא האשה כי טוב העץ למאכל וכי תאוה היא לעינים... ותקח מפריו ותאכל

Sruly Schnair In Bereishis, 5781

And the woman perceived that the tree was good for eating and that it was a delight for the eyes… and she took of its fruit and ate. (3:6)

A horrible tragedy occurred in Telshe, Lithuania, during the tenure of Horav Yosef Yehudah Leib Bloch, zl, as Rosh Yeshivah and Rav (about one hundred years ago). A secular Jewish student with no ties whatsoever to religion rented an attic apartment in town and succumbed to the severe depression that plagued him. Following the incident, the owners of the house in which the deed was done would hear and then see plaster fall from the ceiling. The owner of the house was himself also not an observant Jew, so, at first, he ignored it. (A religious Jew takes nothing at…

Home -> Vayeilech -> 5780

ויאמר ד' אל משה הנך שכב עם אבתיך יקם העם הזה וזנה אחרי אלהי נכר הארץ ... ועזבנו והפר את בריתי אשר כרתי אתו ... ואנכי הסתר אסתיר פני ביום ההוא ... ועתה כתבו לכם את השירה הזאת ולמדה את בני ישראל

Moshe Marcovich In 5780, Vayeilech

Hashem said to Moshe, “Behold, you will lie with your forefathers, but this people will arise and stay after the gods of the nations of the land… and they will forsake Me and annul the covenant that I formed with them… I will distance them and make Myself oblivious to them. So now, write this song for yourselves and teach it to Bnei Yisrael. (31:16,18)

The above pasukim paint a stark picture of the spiritual deterioration that will occur in the period following Moshe Rabbeinu’s petirah, passing. While it did not happen immediately, the dynamics that led to the nation’s freefall from their igra ramah, spiritually-elevated perch, to a bira amikta, nadir of depravity, were apparent. During certain moments in history – even in the last two hundred years, leading up to the present – we have observed an acute distancing from positive spiritual activity. For many, assimilation has almost been a way of life. Within the observant camp, a spiritual tug of war has…

Home -> Vayeilech -> 5780

ואנכי הסתר אסתיר פני ביום ההוא

Moshe Marcovich In 5780, Vayeilech

But I will surely have concealed My face on that day. (31:18)

Hashem will conceal His Presence from us. Indeed, many times Jews feel that Hashem has “disappeared” from their lives. They should know that the Almighty is always present. At times, however, He conceals Himself, making it that much more difficult for us to perceive Him. This only means that we must look harder. Why does the Torah repeat itself – hasteir astir, double concealment? Concealment, by its very definition, is absolute. Something is either hidden, or it is not. If one can easily locate it, it is not really concealed. Horav Reuven Karlinstein, zl, explains that this concealment is unique…

Home -> 5780 -> Ki Seitzei

כי יהיה לאיש בן סורר ומורה איננו שמע בקול אביו ובקול אמו

Moshe Marcovich In Ki Seitzei, 5780

If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son, who does not listen to the voice of his father and the voice of his mother. (21: 18)

The ben sorer u’moreh, wayward and rebellious son, is an anomaly within the parameters of halachah. The Torah punishes only when one actively sins. The Torah does not mete out punishment just because the individual is destined to sin. Yet, the ben sorer is executed al shem sofo, because of what he will ultimately do in the end, later in life, when he cannot get what he wants. He will murder to satisfy his desires. Kill him now, before he takes an innocent life. Truly an anomaly. Ramban posits that the ben sorer warrants two punishments: one for degrading and…

Home -> 5780 -> Shoftim

צדק צדק תרדף

Sruly Schnair In Shoftim, 5780

Righteousness, righteousness shall you pursue. (16:20)

If we know of one imperative that hardly requires an injunction concerning its primacy, it is the pursuit of righteousness. Nonetheless, the Torah not only feels the need to mention it, but to mention it twice; tzedek, tzedek, “righteousness, righteousness.” Everyone is involved in mitzvah performance (or so they claim), but even the execution of the most significant mitzvah must be carried with spiritual and moral integrity. A mitzvah should not be carried out at the expense of others. To appropriate funds for the needy – funds that have been “earned” in a less than reputable manner – is not…

Home -> 5780 -> Shoftim

תמים תהיה עם ד' אלקיך

Sruly Schnair In Shoftim, 5780

You shall be whole hearted with Hashem, your G-d. (18:13)

Rashi explains this to mean that one should follow Hashem with perfect faith, not being concerned about what will occur in the future (as was the custom in those days to seek out the counsel of diviners and astrologers). This means accepting whatever befalls a person with wholeheartedness and absolute conviction, recognizing it as the will of Hashem. Once, during the Middle Ages (as quoted by Horav Eli Munk, zl, in The Call of the Torah), a holy man gave a kemeiah, amulet, to someone who was anxious about the future. He warned him not to open it for an…

Home -> Devarim -> 5780

ותקרבון אלי כלכם ותאמרו נשלחה אנשים לפנינו ויחפרו לנו את הארץ

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Devarim

All of you approached me and said, “Let us send men ahead of us, and let them spy out the land.” (1:22)

The chet ha’meraglim, sin of the spies, is recorded in the annals of our nation’s history as one of its most egregious sins. It was the precursor of what became our national day of mourning, Tishah B’Av. The ring leaders received their due punishment immediately. The rest of the nation, which capitulated to their self-imposed anxiety, saw their punishment carried out over the next thirty-eight years as they perished in the wilderness. What aggravates the sin most is that the spies were all men of repute, distinguished Torah leaders and princes of their individual tribes. How did such spiritual giants…

Home -> 5780 -> Pinchas

קח לך את יהושע בן נון איש אשר רוח בו ... ונתתה מהודך עליו למען ישמעו כל עדת בני ישראל

Sruly Schnair In Pinchas, 5780

Take to yourself Yehoshua ben Nun, a man in whom there is spirit…You shall place some of your splendor upon him, so that the entire assembly of Bnei Yisrael will pay heed. (27:18,20)

Targum Onkelos comments, B’dil di yikablum minei kol k’nishta divnei Yisrael; “So that the entire congregation of Bnei Yisrael will accept him.” Rashi writes, “So that they treat him with respect and fear, in the manner that they treat you.” It is wonderful to have Moshe Rabbeinu’s approval, but is it not superfluous? Once Hashem gave the order, “Take to yourself Yehoshua,” what else was necessary to segue to Yehoshua becoming Moshe’s successor? Is Hashem’s approval insufficient that it was necessary for the people to see that Moshe, too, was on board with this choice? Why did Moshe have to…

Home -> Balak -> Chukas

וישלח מלאכים אל בלעם בן בעור

Sruly Schnair In Chukas, Balak, 5780

He sent agents to Bilaam ben Beor. (22:5)

Is it possible that, concerning all outward appearances, one not only manifests himself as righteous, but he even receives the fringe benefits and special treatment accorded to a tzaddik; yet, he remains throughout a despicable rasha, wicked person, of the lowest order? Yes! Bilaam showed us that it can be done. Bilaam was Hashem’s “gift” to the pagan/gentile world, so that they could not assert that they had no worthy spiritual leadership. Bilaam was on a lofty spiritual plane, a prophet of the highest order. He was the gentile world’s Moshe. So what happened? He refused to purge himself of…

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ויאמר ברוך ד' אלקי שם

And he said, “Blessed is Hashem, the G-d of Shem. (9:26)

ותרא האשה כי טוב העץ למאכל וכי תאוה היא לעינים... ותקח מפריו ותאכל

And the woman perceived that the tree was good for eating and that it was a delight for the eyes… and she took of its fruit and ate. (3:6)

ואנכי הסתר אסתיר פני ביום ההוא

But I will surely have concealed My face on that day. (31:18)

כי יהיה לאיש בן סורר ומורה איננו שמע בקול אביו ובקול אמו

If a man will have a wayward and rebellious son, who does not listen to the voice of his father and the voice of his mother. (21: 18)

צדק צדק תרדף

Righteousness, righteousness shall you pursue. (16:20)

תמים תהיה עם ד' אלקיך

You shall be whole hearted with Hashem, your G-d. (18:13)

ותקרבון אלי כלכם ותאמרו נשלחה אנשים לפנינו ויחפרו לנו את הארץ

All of you approached me and said, “Let us send men ahead of us, and let them spy out the land.” (1:22)

קח לך את יהושע בן נון איש אשר רוח בו ... ונתתה מהודך עליו למען ישמעו כל עדת בני ישראל

Take to yourself Yehoshua ben Nun, a man in whom there is spirit…You shall place some of your splendor upon him, so that the entire assembly of Bnei Yisrael will pay heed. (27:18,20)

וישלח מלאכים אל בלעם בן בעור

He sent agents to Bilaam ben Beor. (22:5)

YEARS

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