Emes – Page 90 – Peninim on the Torah

“The children agitated within her.” (25:22)

Rashi relates the source of Rivkah’s “agitation.” When she walked by a bais ha’medrash, Yaakov would push to come out; and when she walked by a house of idol worship, Eisav would fight to leave. She was concerned: What kind of a child am I bearing? If one moment he attempts to go to the bais ha’medrash and the next moment he is gravitating to the idols, he must be a confused child. When she was told that she was carrying twins, each with his own unique proclivities – one to Torah and the other to idol worship – she was…

Home -> 5762 -> Vayeira

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vayeira, 5762

“Because I said, ‘(Only) there is no fear of G-d in this place and they will kill me on account of (to take) my wife.’” (20:11)

Horav Elchanan Wasserman, z.l., had occasion to be in Germany a number of years prior to the Nazi implementation of their Master Plan. At the time, Germany was considered among the most progressive and intellectual nations. Its culture and nobility presented a paradigm for others to emulate. As we know, however, it was all superficial. Something was missing from this cold, dispassionate culture. The Jews were an “accepted” part of society. This, of course, led to assimilation. Little did they know the tragic events, the cataclysmic horrors, that were lurking right around the corner. Rav Elchanan delivered a lecture to the…

Home -> 5762 -> Lech Lecha

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5762

“Her mistress was lowered in her esteem.” (16:4)

Aagar’s lack of emunah, belief, in Divine Providence, coupled with her insensitivity to others, resulted in her brazenness. She arrogantly called attention to the fact that she was able to conceive and bear Avraham’s child, while Sarah, her mistress, despite having been with Avraham for so many years, still had no success in bearing a child. Obviously, from her perspective, she was more righteous than Sarah. Her first reaction was to claim superiority. Never did she allow herself to entertain the notion that there was a reason for Sarah’s barrenness. It certainly could not have been Sarah’s lack of virtue. A…

Home -> 5762 -> Lech Lecha

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5762

“And when Avram heard that his kinsman (his nephew, Lot) was taken captive, he armed his disciples who had been born in his house.” (14:14)

Empathy for another person is a character trait we should learn from Avraham Avinu. As soon as he heard that his nephew, Lot, was taken captive, he immediately assembled a small army and risked his life to save him. From a cursory perspective, it seems like the right thing to do. My nephew is in trouble – I go out to save him. Is that what we do? How often do we find a way to rationalize away our responsibility to our fellow man? Avraham had every reason to turn his back on Lot. It is not as if Lot did…

Home -> 5773 -> Balak

תמות נפשי מות ישרים ותהי אחריתי כמהו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Balak, 5773

“May my soul die the death of the upright, and my end be like his.” (23:10)

It is the old story. The wicked want to live a life of abandon, yet, they want to die as the righteous and upright. The Chafetz Chaim, zl, explains that Bilaam did not want to live like a Jew. After all, Torah Judaism makes “difficult” demands on a person. Morality, ethicality, spiritual integrity: these are not simple qualities to which someone like Bilaam is able to adhere. He wants to have his cake and eat it. For a Jew, on the other hand, it is much simpler to deal with death than life. The Jew views death as a bridge…

Home -> 5773 -> Kedoshim

הוכח תוכיח את עמיתך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Kedoshim, 5773

You shall reprove your fellow. (19:17)

The redundancy of the words, ho’cheach tochiach, gives us something to ponder. Clearly, the Torah is placing emphasis on the mitzvah of tochachah, rebuke, but is it necessary to repeat the words to prove a point – or, is the Torah conveying another message? In his Drushim, the Ben Ish Chai explains this idea with an incident that occurred concerning a clever thief. A fellow was caught stealing in a country in which there was a zero tolerance law regarding theft. Anyone who was caught stealing was sentenced to death. There was no reprieve, no commutation. The form of punishment…

Home -> 5773 -> Acharei Mos

אחרי מות שני בני אהרן בקרבתם לפני ד' וימתו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Acharei Mos, 5773

After the death of Aharon’s two sons. (16:1)

The Midrash states four reasons for the untimely, tragic deaths of Nadav and Avihu. Among these is the idea that, Lo natlu eitzah, zeh mi’zeh, “They did not take counsel one from another.” Ish machtaso, “Each man his firepan” (Vayikra 10:1) intimates that each one acted on his own without consulting the other. It was as if each one were to say, “I know what to do; I have no reason to mull it over with anyone else.” Horav Arye Leib Bakst, zl, posits that this is how we should understand the failing of Rabbi Akiva’s disciples, who also died…

Home -> 5772 -> Kedoshim

ושרט לנפש לא תתנו בבשרכם...את שבתתי תשמרו ומקדשי תיראו אני ד'. אל תפנו אל האבת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Kedoshim, 5772

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). (Vayikra 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 for the death of a parent – 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 the death of a parent. It is a time when…

Home -> 5772 -> Acharei Mos

איש איש אל כל שאר בשרו לא תקברו לגלות ערוב...ומזרעך לא תתן להעביר למלך ...אני ד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Acharei Mos, 5772

No one, no one of you shall approach any kin of his flesh to uncover nakedness…and you shall not give any of your progeny to pass it to the Molech… I am Hashem. (18:6,21)

After enumerating a list of sexual aberrations, the Torah concludes with an exhortation not to pass one’s child to the mMolech 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, explaining 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 – and based…

Home -> 5759 -> Pinchas

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Pinchas, 5759

Therefore say, “behold, I give him My covenant — the peace. (25:12)

The Targum Yonasan says that Hashem granted Pinchas transcendence over death. He was transformed into Eliyahu Ha’navi, who will be the harbinger of the Final Redemption. Indeed, the Zohar Hakadosh writes that the Angel of Death has no dominion over he who is for the Name of Hashem, as he does over the average human being. Obviously, this statement has a deeper meaning than meets the eye. Why was Pinchas selected for this unique position? Horav Eliyahu Schlesinger, Shlita, cites a pasuk in this parsha (27:16) in which Moshe asks Hashem to appoint his successor, “May Hashem, G-d of spirits…

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“The children agitated within her.” (25:22)

“Because I said, ‘(Only) there is no fear of G-d in this place and they will kill me on account of (to take) my wife.’” (20:11)

“Her mistress was lowered in her esteem.” (16:4)

“And when Avram heard that his kinsman (his nephew, Lot) was taken captive, he armed his disciples who had been born in his house.” (14:14)

תמות נפשי מות ישרים ותהי אחריתי כמהו

“May my soul die the death of the upright, and my end be like his.” (23:10)

הוכח תוכיח את עמיתך

You shall reprove your fellow. (19:17)

אחרי מות שני בני אהרן בקרבתם לפני ד' וימתו

After the death of Aharon’s two sons. (16:1)

ושרט לנפש לא תתנו בבשרכם...את שבתתי תשמרו ומקדשי תיראו אני ד'. אל תפנו אל האבת

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). (Vayikra 19:28, 30, 31)

איש איש אל כל שאר בשרו לא תקברו לגלות ערוב...ומזרעך לא תתן להעביר למלך ...אני ד'

No one, no one of you shall approach any kin of his flesh to uncover nakedness…and you shall not give any of your progeny to pass it to the Molech… I am Hashem. (18:6,21)

Therefore say, “behold, I give him My covenant — the peace. (25:12)

YEARS

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