Gerrer Rebbe – Page 3 – Peninim on the Torah

ויקרא יוסף את שם הבכור מנשה כי נשני אלקים את כל עמלי ואת כל בית אבי

Yosef called the name of the firstborn Menashe, for “G-d has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.” (41:51)

Is it possible that Yosef lauded forgetting his father’s home, the home of Yaakov Avinu, the b’chir haAvos, chosen of the Patriarchs? Certainly not. Yosef HaTzaddik would certainly not be so crass as to name his firstborn with a name that indicated the severance of his relationship with the past. Horav Yisrael Salanter, zl, explains that Yosef lauded his self-imposed amnesia concerning his brothers’ hatred toward him and their consequent selling him to the caravan of Arabs that brought him to Egypt. It was a great challenge to look to the future while ignoring the past. He wanted to remember…

Home -> 5779 -> Terumah

ועשית מנרת זהב טהור מקשה תיעשה המנורה

Sruly Schnair In Terumah, 5779

You shall make a Menorah of pure gold, hammered out shall the Menorah be made. (25:31)

All of the Menorah’s varied shapes and forms had to be hammered out of one large ingot of gold. Nothing could be made separately and later attached. Chazal (Midrash Tanchuma) teach that this feat (the making of the Menorah) proved to be difficult for Moshe Rabbeinu to conceptualize. He simply could not visualize how the Menorah should appear. Hashem showed Moshe a Menorah made of fire. Still, our leader and Rebbe could not properly create the Menorah. Hashem instructed Moshe to fling the ingot into fire, and a completed Menorah emerged. This miracle is alluded to by the words, “shall…

Home -> 5779 -> Chayei Sarah

ואברהם זקן בא בימים וד' ברך את אברהם בכל

Sruly Schnair In Chayei Sarah, 5779

Now Avraham was old, well on in years, and Hashem had blessed him with everything. (24:1)

We think of life as measured by years: a long life is one during which one has lived many years; a short life is defined the opposite way. Horav Eliyahu Lopian, zl, derives from the above pasuk that we should measure life by days – complete days. He quotes the Zohar HaKadosh, who teaches that at the beginning of each day, a person’s forthcoming “day” asks him, “What will it be today?” What type of day will you have? Will you stand up to the challenges and tests prepared for you by the yetzer hora, evil inclination? Will your yetzer…

Home -> Vayeilech -> 5778

בבא כל ישראל לראות את פני ד'... תקרא את התורה הזאת... הקהל את העם... למען ישמעו ולמען ילמדו ויראו את ד'

Sruly Schnair In 5778, Vayeilech

When all Yisrael comes to appear before Hashem… you shall read this Torah… gather together all the people… so that they will hear and so that they will learn, and they shall fear Hashem. (31:11,12)

Since the purpose of the gathering of all of the Jews is for the reading of the Torah, the pasuk should have first stated Hakhel es ha’am, “Gather together all the people,” and then, Tikra es ha”torah ha’zos, “You shall read this Torah.” Reading the Torah is the purpose of Hakhel; therefore, Hakhel should precede the “reading” of the Torah. The Gerrer Rebbe, zl, the Imrei Emes, explains that the (mere) gathering of all Jews b’achdus, in unity, is – in and of itself – Torah. Therefore (now that we have a unified gathering and having achieved the essence of…

Home -> Shemos -> 5758

Moshe Marcovich In 5758, Shemos

And Hashem said to Moshe,…’Go, return to Egypt, for all the people who seek your life have died’.(4:19)

Rashi explains that Moshe’s enemies were not really dead; they had been reduced to poverty and had no power whatsoever; it was as if they were dead. Dasan and Aviram, Moshe’s nemeses, had lost their possessions and, consequently, their positions of power. Moshe could now return to Egypt with nothing to fear. It is interesting how what one thinks is a terrible curse could in truth be a wonderful blessing in disguise. They tell a story about a certain chasid whose whole fortune overturned, and he went bankrupt. Penniless, he traveled to his Rebbe, the Chidushei Ha’rim, zl. He asked…

Home -> 5777 -> Tzav

וזאת תורת זבח השלמים... אם על תודה יקריבנו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Tzav, 5777

This is the law of the feast Peace-offering… if he shall offer it for a Thanksgiving-offering. (7:11,12)

One who has survived a life-threatening crisis brings a Korban Todah, thanksgiving-offering: first, to demonstrate that he acknowledges that it was Hashem Who saved him; second, to pay gratitude to Hashem. David Hamelech says (Tehillim 107:21,22) Yodu la’Hashem chasdo, v’niflaosav livnei adam. V’yizbechu zivchei Todah v’yisapru maasav b’rinah. “Let them acknowledge to Hashem His kindness, and to the children of man His wonders. And let them sacrifice thanksgiving-offerings and relate His works with joyful song.” We derive from here that the offering of a Korban Todah is of overriding significance and is an integral part of the process of expressing…

Home -> 5777 -> Shoftim

מי האיש אשר בנה בית חדש ולא חנכו ילך וישב לביתו פן ימות במלחמה ואיש אחר יחנכנו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5777

Who is the man who has built a new house and has not inaugurated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war and another man will inaugurate it. (20:5)

An individual whose mind is not on the battle, will – due to his fear or lack of enthusiasm – erode the morale of his comrades. The Torah mentions those individuals who return home and are free from joining the army. These are men who had just initiated an endeavor: taken a wife; built a house; planted a vineyard. For practical reasons, their minds are focused elsewhere – not on the battlefield. Rashi remarks concerning one who has built a house and has yet to move in: He is anxious concerning the possibility that he might die and someone else…

Home -> 5755 -> Emor

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Emor, 5755

“And I should be sanctified among the Bnei Yisrael.” (22:32)

Kiddush Hashem, the sanctification of Hashem’s Name, is the predominant mitzvah of Judaism. We are here for the purpose of sanctifying Hashem’s Name in the world in any manner that we are able to. Most people associate the concept of kiddush Hashem with giving up one’s life as a Jew. Indeed, martyrdom is our heritage and has become a central motif of our religion. The Piazesner Rebbe, z.l., explains that the Akeidas Yitzchak was not simply a test for Yitzchak Avinu; it was the precursor of kiddush Hashem for all Klal Yisrael. The trial of thought and will in which…

Home -> 5774 -> Lech Lecha

ויאמר מלך סדם אל אברם תן לי הנפש והרכוש קח לך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5774

The King of Sodom said to Avram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself (14:21).

The king of Sodom had no problem with what seems to have been an audacious request. As a victor of the war, Avraham Avinu was entitled to all of the spoils. The king said that he would like his subjects to be returned to him, and Avraham could keep the money. Avraham had no intent in personal gain, especially from a pagan who would certainly claim that he was the source of Avraham’s wealth. Avraham conveyed his feelings to the king of Sodom and then returned everything to him – people as well as money. In the Talmud Nedarim 32a,…

Home -> 5774 -> Korach

ומדוע תתנשאו על קהל ד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Korach, 5774

Why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of Hashem? (16:3)

In his commentary to Sefer Yechezkel (18:6), Radak writes that once a Jew, always a Jew. “There is a covenant between Hashem and Klal Yisrael, stating that those who are descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov (who are of the Patriarchal lineage) will never cease their commitment to Judaism. Those, however, who, over time, apostatized themselves and reneged on their faith in Hashem had never been real descendants of the Patriarchs. They are the offspring of the asafsuf, those insincere individuals who attached themselves to the Jewish People.” In his Igeres Teiman, the Rambam makes a similar statement: “Those who…

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ויקרא יוסף את שם הבכור מנשה כי נשני אלקים את כל עמלי ואת כל בית אבי

Yosef called the name of the firstborn Menashe, for “G-d has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.” (41:51)

ועשית מנרת זהב טהור מקשה תיעשה המנורה

You shall make a Menorah of pure gold, hammered out shall the Menorah be made. (25:31)

ואברהם זקן בא בימים וד' ברך את אברהם בכל

Now Avraham was old, well on in years, and Hashem had blessed him with everything. (24:1)

בבא כל ישראל לראות את פני ד'... תקרא את התורה הזאת... הקהל את העם... למען ישמעו ולמען ילמדו ויראו את ד'

When all Yisrael comes to appear before Hashem… you shall read this Torah… gather together all the people… so that they will hear and so that they will learn, and they shall fear Hashem. (31:11,12)

And Hashem said to Moshe,…’Go, return to Egypt, for all the people who seek your life have died’.(4:19)

וזאת תורת זבח השלמים... אם על תודה יקריבנו

This is the law of the feast Peace-offering… if he shall offer it for a Thanksgiving-offering. (7:11,12)

מי האיש אשר בנה בית חדש ולא חנכו ילך וישב לביתו פן ימות במלחמה ואיש אחר יחנכנו

Who is the man who has built a new house and has not inaugurated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war and another man will inaugurate it. (20:5)

“And I should be sanctified among the Bnei Yisrael.” (22:32)

ויאמר מלך סדם אל אברם תן לי הנפש והרכוש קח לך

The King of Sodom said to Avram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself (14:21).

ומדוע תתנשאו על קהל ד'

Why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of Hashem? (16:3)

YEARS

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