Emunah – Peninim on the Torah

ונתתם ממנו את תרומת ד' לאהרן הכהן

And you shall give from it a gift of Hashem to Aharon HaKohen. (18:28)

Chazal (Sanhedrin 90b) prove from the above pasuk that Techiyas Ha’Meisim, the Resurrection of the Dead, is supported min haTorah. The Torah enjoins the people to give their Terumah to Aharon HaKohen. Will Aharon live forever? He did not even enter into the Holy Land. This teaches us that he will one day be resurrected, and Klal Yisrael will again give him their Terumah. In Kovetz Maamarim (Onsham shel baalei middos megunos), Horav Elchonon Wasserman, zl, cites Chazal (Kesubos 111b) who teach that Techiyas Ha’Meisim has one criterion that should not be ignored. Unless one studies/has studied Torah or supported…

Home -> Behar -> 5785

ושבתה הארץ שבת לד'

Sruly Schnair In 5785, Behar

The Land shall observe a Shabbos rest for Hashem. (25:2)

The Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 84) offers three reasons by which to understand the mitzvah of Shemittah: first, to teach the Jew to maintain his emunah, faith in Hashem, second, to imbue him with the middah, character trait, of vatranus, yielding/selflessness/forbearance; third, to have bitachon, trust in Hashem, that He will “come through” and provide for his needs. [I underscore “needs” as opposed to “wants.” A Jew has what he needs. Wanting is a different class. Hashem provides for our needs. He determines our needs.] In other words, a Jew is to be faithful to the Almighty and to trust in…

Home -> 5783 -> Shoftim

ולא ירבה לו נשים ולא יסור לבבו

Sruly Schnair In Shoftim, 5783

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 -> Mikeitz -> 5782

ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Mikeitz

It happened at the end of two years to the day. (41:1)

Chazal (Midrash Rabbah 89:3) quote a pasuk in Sefer Tehillim (40:5) which they feel relates to Yosef’s still being incarcerated two years after the release of the chamberlain: Ashrei ha’gever asher sam Hashem mivtacho;“Praiseworthy is the man who has made Hashem his trust.” This alludes to Yosef, who as a result of asking the chamberlain twice to remember him, had two years added to his imprisonment.” Chazal’s statement begs elucidation. It begins by intimating that Yosef was the exemplar of bitachon, trust, in the Almighty, then concludes that Yosef was punished precisely for relying on the chamberlain. Not only was…

Home -> 5781 -> Lech Lecha

וילך אברם כאשר דבר אליו ד' וילך אתו לוט

Sruly Schnair In Lech Lecha, 5781

So Avram went as Hashem had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. (12:4)

Lot was Avraham Avinu’s nephew, whom the Patriarch took in and supported following the untimely death of his brother, Haran, at the hands of Nimrod. Nimrod had his followers throw Avraham into a fiery furnace. He challenged Haran to choose between Nimrod and Avraham. Haran wanted to “hedge” his bets, first waiting to see what would happen to Avraham before he made his choice. If Avraham would emerge from the furnace unscathed, then Haran would support him. If Avraham would suffer a tragic death, then Haran was not interested in adding to the toll. He would then support Nimrod. When…

Home -> 5779 -> Tetzaveh

ושמת את שתי האבנים על כתפת האפד אבני זכרון לבני ישראל ונשא אהרן את שמותם לפני ד' על שתי כתפיו לזכרון

Sruly Schnair In Tetzaveh, 5779

You shall place the two stones on the shoulder straps of the Eiphod, remembrance stones for Bnei Yisrael; and Aharon shall carry their names before Hashem on both his shoulders as a remembrance. (28:12)

Twice remembrance. The remembrance is for Hashem – not Aharon HaKohen. Chazal say (Midrash Rabbah 38:8) that the names of the Shevatim, tribes, which are engraved upon the stones of the Eiphod, cannot be the subject of the remembrance. (They probably are not being remembered.) Remembrance is a term that applies to a subject that either is not here or is not presently visible. Since the names of the tribes are visible, the term remembrance is not applicable to them (in this context); rather, by seeing the names of the tribes, Hashem acknowledges their tzidkus, righteousness. What is their righteousness?…

Home -> Vayeishev -> 5778

אין שר בית הסהר ראה את כל מאומה בידו באשר ד' אתו

Roberto Szerer In 5778, Vayeishev

The prison warden did not scrutinize anything that was in his charge inasmuch as Hashem was with him. (39:23)

Prison is not a happy place. It is usually reserved for the dregs of society. Many are there because they were unable to defend themselves against the prevailing circumstantial evidence. Others just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yosef was accused of a crime which he did not commit, but, in Egypt, as in most countries, this does not prevent the ruling class from disposing one into a system where he is lost – often forever. Yosef was admired and revered by the warden, as well as by the prisoners. They saw that something was…

Home -> 5758 -> Beshalach

Moshe Marcovich In Beshalach, 5758

And the people revered Hashem, and they believed in Hashem and in Moshe His servant. (14:31)

A Jew should strive to attain such a sublime level of emunah in Hashem that he truly believes with a clarity of vision. Let us explain. People accept the notion that “seeing is believing.” This means that in order to really believe, one must actually see the phenomenon. Hence, belief in a given concept is a step lower than actually seeing it. This is not the Torah perspective. The Chidushei Ha’Rim asserts that as Bnei Yisrael stood at the shores of the Red Sea and experienced unprecedented miracles, they were privy to a revelation of Hashem which was unparalleled. The…

Home -> 5771 -> Chayei Sarah

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chayei Sarah, 5771

“…That you not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites.” (24:3)

Avraham Avinu was adamant: Yitzchak was not to marry a girl from his Canaanite neighbors. Eliezer, Avraham’s student, must go to Aram Naharaim to find Yitzchak’s bashert, Heavenly-designated spouse. These two places had one thing in common: The people worshipped pagans. Avodah zarah, idol worship, was a way of life in both places. Therefore, what did Avraham gain by going elsewhere? At least, if Yitzchak’s wife were to come from Canaan, Avraham would be acquainted with the family. Kli Yakar focuses on this question and presents us with an important explanation. He explains that there is another fear that concerned Avraham….

Home -> 5771 -> Lech Lecha

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5771

And he trusted in Hashem, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. (15:6)

Rashi notes that concerning Hashem’s promise that Avraham Avinu would have offspring, the Patriarch did not request a sign, while regarding the promise of the Land, he did ask for a sign from Hashem asking: Bamah eida, “How shall I know?” Horav Yeruchem Levovitz, zl, explains this based upon a deeper understanding of the meaning of emunah, loosely translated as faith in Hashem. I say “loosely translated,” because faith and emunah are not identical. Faith is belief without proof, it’s more of a strong hypothesis, while emunah is much more profound. It is experiential. Emunah is derived from the word emes,…

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ונתתם ממנו את תרומת ד' לאהרן הכהן

And you shall give from it a gift of Hashem to Aharon HaKohen. (18:28)

ושבתה הארץ שבת לד'

The Land shall observe a Shabbos rest for Hashem. (25:2)

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)

ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים

It happened at the end of two years to the day. (41:1)

וילך אברם כאשר דבר אליו ד' וילך אתו לוט

So Avram went as Hashem had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. (12:4)

ושמת את שתי האבנים על כתפת האפד אבני זכרון לבני ישראל ונשא אהרן את שמותם לפני ד' על שתי כתפיו לזכרון

You shall place the two stones on the shoulder straps of the Eiphod, remembrance stones for Bnei Yisrael; and Aharon shall carry their names before Hashem on both his shoulders as a remembrance. (28:12)

אין שר בית הסהר ראה את כל מאומה בידו באשר ד' אתו

The prison warden did not scrutinize anything that was in his charge inasmuch as Hashem was with him. (39:23)

And the people revered Hashem, and they believed in Hashem and in Moshe His servant. (14:31)

“…That you not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites.” (24:3)

And he trusted in Hashem, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. (15:6)

YEARS

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