Geulah – Peninim on the Torah

וישמע ראובן ויצילהו מידם

Reuven heard, and he rescued him from their hand. (36:21)

Mechiras Yosef is one of the greatest tragedies recorded in the Torah. It was not merely a family quarrel or a dysfunction in the Patriarchal family (as those lacking in Torah and yiraas Shomayim would contend); it was the near dissolution of the future Shivtei Kah, the very foundation stones of Klal Yisrael. What makes the episode (for which we are still paying in the present) more painful is that it was rooted in misconception and misjudgment. The brothers were all noble and devoted to Hashem; yet, they misread Yosef’s character. They saw what they saw, or perhaps what they…

Home -> 5784 -> Tazria

ובמלאות ימי טהרה ... תביא כבש בן שנתו לעולה ובן יונה או תור לחטאת

Sruly Schnair In Tazria, 5784

Upon the completion of the days of her purity… she shall bring a sheep within its first year for an elevation/burnt offering, and a young dove or a turtledove for a sin-offering. (12:6)

The Baal HaTurim notes that, throughout the Torah, turim, young doves, are mentioned before bnei yonah, turtledoves, except for the korban of the yoledes, postpartum sacrifice, when bnei yonah precede turim. He explains that the korban which the woman brings at the end of her yemei taharah, days of purification, consists of a single bird – either a tor or a ben yonah. The nature of the turtledove (which also goes by the name mourning dove) is that, when it is separated from its mate, it mourns it and refuses to mate with another. Therefore, it is more appropriate to…

Home -> 5783 -> Terumah

ועשית את הקרשים למשכן עצי שטים

Sruly Schnair In Terumah, 5783

You shall make the planks of the Mishkan of shittim (acacia) wood. (26:15)

Rashi comments that Yaakov Avinu anticipated the need for lumber for the building of the Mishkan. Aware that wood was not a commodity one found in the barren wilderness, he planted these trees in Egypt upon his arrival. He instructed his children that when they would eventually leave Egypt – at the end of their exile – they should take the wood with them. Horav Doniel Alter, Shlita (son of the Pinchas Menachem), adds that immediately upon his arrival in what was to be galus Mitzrayim, the Egyptian exile, Yaakov sought to imbue his children and all his future descendants…

Home -> Ha'azinu -> 5781

שאל אביך ויגדך זקניך ויאמרו לך

Moshe Marcovich In 5781, Ha'azinu

Ask your father and he will relate it to you, and your elders and they will tell you. (32:7)

Issues arise; questions abound; to whom do we turn for sage advice, intelligent counsel? The Torah enjoins us to turn to “your father,” whom Rashi interprets as the Navi, prophet, Torah leader of the generation, and “your elders,” who are the chachamim, Torah scholars. After a lifetime of Torah study and devotion, these Torah scholars have honed their minds through the daas, wisdom, of the Torah which they have cultivated. Horav Avraham Yaakov Teitelbaum, zl, quotes a novel homiletic exposition of this pasuk rendered by his Rebbe, the venerable Horav Meir Arik, zl, which is practical and timeless in its…

Home -> 5757 -> Nitzavim

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Nitzavim, 5757

Then Hashem, your G-d, will bring back your captivity and have mercy upon you, and He will gather you in. (30:3)

Once Klal Yisrael repents, they are assured of the ingathering of the exiles, regardless of where they are located among the nations of the world. The Rambam infers from this pasuk that one must believe in the coming of Moshiach. Indeed, the Rambam writes, “And he who does not believe in him (Moshiach), or he who does not await his coming, does not only repudiate the (prophecies of) Nevi’im, but also denies the Torah and Moshe Rabbeinu.” The Brisker Rav, zl, inferred from the Rambam that he who denies the Geulah, Redemption, is a kofer, non-believer. Even he who does…

Home -> Vayechi -> 5771

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Vayechi

“But as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died on me… and I buried her there on the road to Efras.” (48:7)

Yaakov Avinu explains to his son Yosef, why he did not bury Rachel in the Meoras HaMachpelah. It was Hashem’s decision that Yaakov bury Rachel on the side of the road, so that the exiled Jews would pass by the Matriarch’s grave on the way to Bavel. Her neshamah, soul, would weep and pray for their safe passage and eventual return. Rachel’s heartfelt prayers will effect a positive response from Hashem. But, we wonder why Rachel was selected for this mission? Clearly, she was virtuous and saintly, and her prayers would have great efficacy, but is that all? Horav Dovid…

Home -> Pekudei -> 5774

ויהי בחודש הראשון בשנה השנית באחד לחודש הוקם המשכן

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Pekudei

And it was, in the first month of the second year, on the first of the month, the Mishkan was erected. (40:17)

Sefer Shemos is described by the Ramban as Sefer HaGeulah, the Book of Redemption. All that is contained therein is geulah-related. From the very beginning, when the Jews were enslaved by the Egyptians; to their liberation; followed by the splitting of the Red Sea; and the receiving of the Torah: all led up to the construction of the Mishkan for the purpose of Hashroas HaShechinah, establishing a resting place for the Divine Presence. Sefer Vayikra is where the avodah, ritual service, performed in the Mishkan is mentioned. Therein the various Korbanos, sacrificial offerings, are detailed. It is, therefore, surprising that…

Home -> Vayechi -> 5773

ויקרא יעקב אל בניו ויאמר האספו ואגידה לכם את אשר יקרא אתכם באחרית הימים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Vayechi

Yaakov called for his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves, and I will tell you what will befall you in the End of Days. (49:1)

Rashi teaches that Yaakov Avinu was about to reveal the keitz, end of galus, exile, to his sons, but, at that moment, the Shechinah, Divine Presence, departed from him. The Shlah HaKadosh explains that Yaakov intimated to his sons the key to ending the exile. He told them Heiasfu! “Gather together; assemble yourselves as one!” v’agidah lachem, “and group yourselves together in one congregation; one assembly, all focused on Hashem. As long as there is pirud, separation, divisiveness, among the brothers, the Shechinah will remove itself from you, and the Geulah, Final Redemption, for which you are all yearning, will…

Home -> 5775 -> Lech Lecha

ואעשך לגוי גדול ואברכך ואגדלה שמך והיה ברכה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5775

And I will make of you a great nation; and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (12:2)

In an alternative explanation, Rashi says, “‘And I will make you a great nation” is a reference to the words Elokei Avraham, G-d of Avraham, which is recited in the beginning of Shemoneh Esrai. Vaavarchecha, ‘and I will bless you,’ refers to Elokei Yitzchak; and Vaagadlah shemecha refers to Elokei Yaakov. While I might think that they conclude the blessing of the Avos, Patriarchs, with all three of them, the pasuk states Ve’heyei b’rachah, ‘And you will be a blessing,’ Becha chosmin, v’lo bahem, ‘With you, Avraham, they conclude the blessing, and not with them.’” A well-known exposition is attributed…

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וישמע ראובן ויצילהו מידם

Reuven heard, and he rescued him from their hand. (36:21)

ובמלאות ימי טהרה ... תביא כבש בן שנתו לעולה ובן יונה או תור לחטאת

Upon the completion of the days of her purity… she shall bring a sheep within its first year for an elevation/burnt offering, and a young dove or a turtledove for a sin-offering. (12:6)

ועשית את הקרשים למשכן עצי שטים

You shall make the planks of the Mishkan of shittim (acacia) wood. (26:15)

שאל אביך ויגדך זקניך ויאמרו לך

Ask your father and he will relate it to you, and your elders and they will tell you. (32:7)

Then Hashem, your G-d, will bring back your captivity and have mercy upon you, and He will gather you in. (30:3)

“But as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died on me… and I buried her there on the road to Efras.” (48:7)

ויהי בחודש הראשון בשנה השנית באחד לחודש הוקם המשכן

And it was, in the first month of the second year, on the first of the month, the Mishkan was erected. (40:17)

ויקרא יעקב אל בניו ויאמר האספו ואגידה לכם את אשר יקרא אתכם באחרית הימים

Yaakov called for his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves, and I will tell you what will befall you in the End of Days. (49:1)

ואעשך לגוי גדול ואברכך ואגדלה שמך והיה ברכה

And I will make of you a great nation; and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (12:2)

YEARS

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