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Home -> 5774 -> Re'eh

ראה אנכי נותן לפניכם... ברכה וקללה... את הברכה אשר תשמעו... והקללה אם לא תשמעו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Re'eh, 5774

See, I present before you… a blessing and a curse. The blessing: that you listen… and the curse if you do not listen. (11:26,27,28)

Parashas Re’eh opens with an enjoinment to “see” both blessing and curse. “Seeing” here means intellectual perception, since blessing and curse are not entities which can be observed by corporeal eyes. It requires intelligence to comprehend, distinguish and acknowledge that, indeed, those who are Torah observant Jews are blessed, fulfilled, feel a sense of achievement and spiritual growth. It takes a fool to disregard and purposely overlook the vacuousness and almost daily crises that plagues those who have chosen a lifestyle that caters to the fulfillment of materialistic and physical needs and desires. One who pursues the pleasures of the…

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Home -> 5774 -> Pinchas

בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Pinchas, 5774

When he zealously avenged Me among them. (25:11)

Kanaus, for the most part, is a frightening word. It refers either to someone who is a great tzaddik, whose love for Hashem is so intense that it impels him to act in a manner which some individuals consider extreme; or an extremist, who is always on the lookout for a good fight. There is a fine line which separates the two. This is why it is frightening. Some think that kanaus is a rite of passage, a segway for achieving gadlus baTorah, distinction in the field of Torah. They feel that, unless they have taken down a few misguided…

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Home -> 5774 -> Pinchas

פנחס בן אלעזר בן אהרן הכהן השיב את חמתי מעל בני ישראל בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Pinchas, 5774

Pinchas ben Elazar, ben Aharon HaKohen, turned back My wrath from upon Bnei Yisrael, when he zealously avenged Me among them. (25:11)

In a number of places in Rabbinic literature, Chazal teach that Pinchas and Eliyahu HaNavi were one and the same. This is quite possibly because both earned the title of kanai, zealot. Their courage and decisive action under extreme pressure turned the tide in the nation’s spiritual leadership. Thus, they glorified Hashem’s Name at a time when it was being dragged through the muck. Horav Yaakov Galinsky, zl, quotes the Brisker Rav, zl, who points out another area in which their commonality is apparent. Shortly before his death, Yannai Hamelech told his wife, “Do not be afraid of the Perushim…

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Home -> Pekudei -> 5774

וירא משה את כל המלאכה והנה עשו אתה כאשר צוה ד' כן עשו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5774, Pekudei

Moshe saw the entire work, and behold! They had accomplished it; as G-d had commanded, so they had done. (39:43)

The term eved Hashem, servant of Hashem, is one which is not to be taken lightly. Indeed, this is the appellation by which our quintessential leader and Rebbe of all Klal Yisrael is identified: Moshe, eved Hashem. What is the meaning of this unique term? In his commentary to the above pasuk, Horav S. R. Hirsch, zl, writes, “Moshe inspected all of the work that had been completed, and he observed that the work bore two distinct characteristics, two hallmarks which stood out above the various other attributes. First, Asu osah, “It was they who had done it.” Every aspect…

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Home -> 5774 -> Noach

ויחל נח איש האדמה ויטע כרם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Noach, 5774

Noach, the man of the earth, debased himself and planted a vineyard. (9:20)

The Midrash comments: Vayichal Noach, “He (Noach) was nischalleil, profaned. Why? Vayita kerem, ‘He planted a vine.’” He should have planted something else. Chazal are teaching us that, from the get-go, planting the vineyard was a disgraceful, baneful act. The fact that Noach later drank from the fruits of the vine and became inebriated is merely the consequence of his earlier chillul, profanation. Elsewhere, Chazal state; Vayichal Noach ish ha’adamah, “Since he (Noach) required the earth, he became profaned.”  Originally, he was referred to as Noach ish tzaddik, “the righteous man.” Now that he planted a vineyard, he was transformed…

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Home -> 5774 -> Naso

איש או אישה כי יפליא לנדר נדר נזיר להזיר לד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Naso, 5774

A man or woman who shall disassociate himself by taking a Nazirite vow of abstinence for the sake of Hashem. (6:2)

When we first set eyes on an individual who has chosen a life of crime, human nature tends to focus on the present; he is a criminal, with little or no redeeming value. Rarely do we take the time to question his or her origins: What was his or her family life like as they were growing up? Did he or she go to school? Did he or she have good friends? In other words, we rarely ask where and when he or she went wrong? For the most part, this is due to a preconceived notion that all criminals…

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Home -> 5774 -> Mishpatim

ויבא משה ויספר לעם את כל דברי ד' ואת כל המשפטים. ויען כל העם קול אחד ויאמרו כל הדברים אשר דבר ד' נעשה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Mishpatim, 5774

Moshe came and told the people all the words of Hashem and all the ordinances, and the entire people responded with one voice and they said, “All the words that Hashem has spoken, we will do.” (24:3)

Accepting the Torah was not a simple undertaking for the Jewish People. Here was a people that had previously been living in a country whose citizens were infamous for their profligate decadence; they had been slaves to masters who had redefined the meaning of cruelty; these were a people who were quite distant from religion of any kind, let alone ready to accept a Torah which would totally transform their lives. Yet, when the Torah was offered to them, they accepted it with a resounding declaration of Naase v’nishma, “We will do and we will listen.” What motivated their acceptance?…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5774

ובלעדך לא ירים איש את ידו ואת רגלו בכל ארץ מצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5774, Mikeitz

And, without you, no man may lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. (41:44)

Pharaoh handed exemplary powers of monarchy to Yosef. He retained for himself the power associated with the crown, meaning that he, Pharaoh, granted these powers to Yosef. What Yosef achieved was by his grace. Thus, Yosef, and by extension, the people, would never forget that the true Egyptian monarch was none other than Pharaoh. Nonetheless, this was an incredible step for Pharaoh. The Egyptians did not hold the Jews in the highest esteem. In fact, they reviled the Jews, as evidenced by the chamberlain’s description of Yosef. Yet, Pharaoh was not like that: he recognized greatness; he appreciated wisdom; he…

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Home -> Mikeitz -> 5774

אתה תהיה על ביתי ועל פיך ישק כל עמי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In 5774, Mikeitz

You shall be in charge of my palace and by your command shall my people be sustained. (41:40)

After Yosef successfully interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, the king and his ministers all agreed that Yoef was an unusual individual. They offered him the position of viceroy as a token of their appreciation, and also to prove his effectiveness in executing his plan for the survival of the country. The entire episode is mind-boggling. Yosef was a slave who had been imprisoned on a trumped-up charge of impropriety with his master’s wife. Regardless of his innocence, he certainly did not have a reputation that bode well for ministerial status – let alone viceroy over the entire country. Furthermore, the Egyptian constitution…

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Home -> 5774 -> Metzora

ואשה כי יזיב זב דמה ימים רבים... והזרתם את בני ישראל מטומאתם ולא ימתו מטומאתם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Metzora, 5774

If a woman’s blood flows for many days… You shall separate Bnei Yisrael from their contamination; and they shall not die as a result of their contamination. (15:25,31)

One would think that, as people age, they become more amenable to perform teshuvah, to repent a life lived inappropriately, not in consonance with Torah dictate. Yet, this is not necessarily true. Horav Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, zl, writes that as a person ages, the yetzer hora, evil inclination, puts on a greater battle to lay claim to this individual’s spiritual dysfunction. After leading him astray for a lifetime, he does not want to lose the battle at the very end. I have noticed this in speaking with seniors who agree with what they “hear,” but are not prepared to effect…

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