Emes – Page 55 – Peninim on the Torah

Take a census (lit. raise the heads) of the sons of Gershon, them as well (after counting Kehas). (4:22)

Shlomo Ha’melech writes, Yekarah hee mi’peninim v’chol chafa’tzecha lo yishvu bah, “It (the Torah) is dearer (more precious) than pearls, and all your desires cannot compare to it” (Mishlei 3:15). Following the census of the Jewish People, Hashem asked Moshe Rabbeinu to count Shevet Levi separately. Their count was carried out according to their sequence at birth: Gershon, Kehas, Merari. However, after their tasks within the Bais HaMikdash were designated, the sequence changed – Kehas, as the bearer of the Aron Kodesh, preceded Gershon, who carried the Curtains. The Midrash establishes the order of the counting of the Leviim according to…

Home -> Bamidbar -> 5771

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Bamidbar

And you shall appoint the Leviim over the Mishkan of the Testimony. (1:50)

The Baal HaTurim notes an intriguing Mesorah concerning the word hafkeid, appoint. There is one other hafkeid in Tanach: Hafkeid alav rasha, “Appoint a wicked man over him” (Tehillim 109:6). What relationship is there between the two hafkeids? Appointing the Leviim to a position of distinction, and signifying one as wicked, are hardly parallel. The explanation of the Baal HaTurim seems to intensify the ambiguity concerning the correlation of the two pesukim. He says that this supports a statement made by Chazal, “One does not become a pakid (hafkeid), overseer – rise to a position of importance and responsibility below…

Home -> Bechukosai -> 5771

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Bechukosai

If you will follow My decrees and observe My commandments and perform them. (26:3)

The opening words of the pasuk – Im bechukosai teilechu, “If you will follow My decrees” – are not addressing the subject of mitzvah observance, since the words that immediately follow are, v’es mitzvosai tishmeru, “and observe My commandments.” Rashi’s observation is well-known: Apparently, Im bechukosai teileichu teaches that one must be amal, exert himself and toil in Torah. In other words, Torah study that is simple “learning,” is insufficient to protect a person. In order to fulfill Hashem’s mandate concerning Torah study, he must labor when he studies and learn with fervor, passion and enthusiasm. This is a nice…

Home -> 5771 -> Emor

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Emor, 5771

I will be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael. (22:32)

If one peruses history, he notes that the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem, Sanctifying Hashem’s Name, has applied to children as well. In other words, parents who were prepared to sacrifice themselves to sanctify Hashem’s Name were, likewise, prepared to do the same for their children. During the Crusades, it was not unusual for parents to take the lives of their children prior to killing themselves, just so that the murderers would not defile their bodies. Why are children not exempt from the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem? The only reason that mitzvos apply to children is chinuch, educating them in the…

Home -> 5771 -> Kedoshim

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Kedoshim, 5771

You shall not make a cut in your flesh for the dead…My Shabbosos you shall observe and My Sanctuary shall you revere. I am Hashem. Do not turn to [the sorcery of] the Ovos and Yidonim (those who claim to speak with the dead). (19:28, 30, 31)

There is no way of getting around it: the death of a loved one is one of life’s most crippling experiences. This is especially true of a parent’s death – regardless of his or her age. Respect for parents and the deceased has long been one of the hallmarks of Judaism. When a parent passes on to the World of Truth, the surviving family reacts with grief, followed by public displays of reverence. The family observes shivah, the seven-day mourning period. Sons recite Kaddish for eleven months following a parent’s death. It is a time when one is able to…

Home -> 5771 -> Acharei Mos

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Acharei Mos, 5771

No one, no one of you shall approach any close relative to uncover nakedness… And you shall not give any of your progeny to pass through for Molech… I am Hashem. (18:6,21)

After enumerating a list of sexual aberrations, the Torah concludes with an exhortation not to give one’s child “to pass through for [the] Molech [god].” Horav S.R. Hirsch, zl, explains the rationale for this juxtaposition. He suggests a practical reason for the prohibition of the laws concerning ervah, physical relations with close relatives. He explains that a relationship between husband and wife should be predicated upon bonds of mutual love, which is the result of marriage. Any relationship which has been linked prior to marriage by bonds of mutual attachment and affection, or of familial love, precludes the link founded in…

Home -> 5771 -> Metzora

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Metzora, 5771

This shall be the law of the metzora. (14:2)

Parshiyos Tazria and Metzora are dedicated primarily to the deleterious effects of an uncontrolled, slanderous tongue. Various plagues which strike the human body – and even the individual’s house and possessions – are all attributed in some way to lashon hara, evil speech, and its “derivatives.” The Torah does not come out and clearly present the connection between lashon hara and tzaraas; rather, it alludes to it in Sefer Devarim 24:8, 9: “Beware of a tzaraas affliction, to be very careful and to act… Remember what Hashem, your G-d, did to Miriam.” According to Rashi, a distinct connection exists between…

Home -> 5771 -> Shemini

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shemini, 5771

“I will be sanctified through those who are close to Me, and thus, I will be honored before the entire people.” (10:3)

Rashi offers the accepted interpretation of this pasuk. When Hashem imposes His attribute of Strict Justice, even on those closest to Him, He is feared and honored. People say, if this is how Hashem punishes those who are close to Him, surely the punishment in store for those who disobey Him is far worse. Well, at least this is how it should be – how the world should react when tragedy strikes Hashem’s intimate ones. The Torah expects an intelligent person to derive a positive lesson from an act of G-d which appears to the human eye to have a…

Home -> 5771 -> Shemini

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shemini, 5771

And Nadav and Avihu, the two sons of Aharon, each took his fire pan…and they brought before Hashem an alien fire that He had not commanded them. (10:1)

Asher lo tzivah osam, “That He had not commanded them.” Herein lies the error of Nadav and Avihu – two individuals whose piety brought them into the league of Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen. Yet, they did not make it, and were struck down, because they performed what they thought was a great service. The Chidushei HaRim derives from the words; “that He had not commanded them,” that man’s claim to distinction in serving Hashem is only relevant to the extent that he carries out Hashem’s command, that he executes His Will. Nadav and Avihu were very righteous, and they…

Home -> 5771 -> Shemini

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shemini, 5771

“This is the thing that Hashem has commanded you to do; then the glory of Hashem will appear to you.” (9:6)

The adage that the “main thing is to be a Jew in one’s heart” is popular among those who have acculturated themselves to the prevalent gentile culture and society. According to this approach, mitzvah performance and a Torah oriented lifestyle are unnecessary. G-d’s primary objective is that Jews maintain Jewish hearts. This means that one believes in Hashem. In his heart, he is an Orthodox Jew. In practice, however, he is far from the Orthodox perspective. They often quote the Rabbinic dictum, Rachmana liba ba’i, “Hashem desires that a Jew have a pure heart.” Also, machshavah tovah Hakadosh Baruch Hu…

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Take a census (lit. raise the heads) of the sons of Gershon, them as well (after counting Kehas). (4:22)

And you shall appoint the Leviim over the Mishkan of the Testimony. (1:50)

If you will follow My decrees and observe My commandments and perform them. (26:3)

I will be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael. (22:32)

You shall not make a cut in your flesh for the dead…My Shabbosos you shall observe and My Sanctuary shall you revere. I am Hashem. Do not turn to [the sorcery of] the Ovos and Yidonim (those who claim to speak with the dead). (19:28, 30, 31)

No one, no one of you shall approach any close relative to uncover nakedness… And you shall not give any of your progeny to pass through for Molech… I am Hashem. (18:6,21)

This shall be the law of the metzora. (14:2)

“I will be sanctified through those who are close to Me, and thus, I will be honored before the entire people.” (10:3)

And Nadav and Avihu, the two sons of Aharon, each took his fire pan…and they brought before Hashem an alien fire that He had not commanded them. (10:1)

“This is the thing that Hashem has commanded you to do; then the glory of Hashem will appear to you.” (9:6)

YEARS

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