Imahos – Peninim on the Torah

ואלה שמות בני ישראל הבאים מצרימה

And these are the names of Bnei Yisrael who were coming to Egypt. (1:1)

The second book of Chamishah Chumshei Torah is known as Sefer Shemos –— Names. This is how it begins, with a list of the families that arrived in Egypt. Their descendants are the ones who, after acculturating into the Egyptian lifestyle, ultimately became slaves to an oppressive despotic leader and nation. They were eventually liberated, received the Torah and built the Mishkan. This is the essence of Sefer Shemos. Where does “names” fit in? Furthermore, in translation, the second book is called, “Exodus,” which refers to departure or redemption. Once again, where does “names” fit in? The English and Hebrew…

Home -> Vayeishev -> 5786

וישראל אהב את יוסף מכל בניו כי בן זקנים הוא לו

Sruly Schnair In 5786, Vayeishev

Yisrael loved Yosef best of all his sons, he was a child of his old age. (37:3)

The Torah teaches us that Yaakov Avinu’s love for Yosef exceeded his love for his other sons. On the surface, this favoritism seems to have been the precursor of the tragic strife that ultimately led to mechiras Yosef. One wonders why Yaakov, who personally knew the pitfalls of partiality and the resulting discord that can reign between siblings, not have taken a different route upon raising his children. The simple, straightforward explanation is that Yaakov’s love for Yosef was not about Yosef, but about his mother, Rachel Imeinu. We all remember the story well. Yaakov came to Charan, met Rachel…

Home -> 5786 -> Toldos

וישטם עשיו את יעקב

Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5786

Now Eisav harbored hatred toward Yaakov. (27:41)

David Hamelech dedicates an entire perek Tehillim (109) to Eisav ha’rasha, wishing that this representative of evil incarnate receive his due via serious, painful punishment. He writes about the type of sins Eisav committed, the wrongs that he did, and he sums it up with what seems to be an enigmatic detail of his sins: Yizacheir avon avosav el Hashem, v’chatas imo al timach; “May their ancestors’ wrongs be recalled by G-d, the sins of their mothers not erased” (109:14). Obviously, the literal translation and actual meaning of the pasuk do not align. The Avos and Imahos did not sin. …

Home -> 5784 -> Naso

ולא יתן עליו לבונה

Sruly Schnair In Naso, 5784

And he shall not put frankincense upon it. (5:15)

Rashi explains that the ingredients which comprised the Minchas Sotah were unlike that of other Menachos. The sotah’s Minchah used barley, which is eaten by animals, as opposed to wheat, which is consumed by humans. Her base actions were indicative of someone who had gravitated more to the animal sphere. There was no oil, since oil is the symbol of light, and the sotah acted in darkness. Last, there is no frankincense because the Hebrew word for frankincense is levonah, which is the term the Torah uses to describe our Imahos, Matriarchs. Implied by the lack of frankincense is that…

Home -> 5784 -> Chayei Sarah

והנה רבקה יוצאת ... וכדה על שכמה ... וירץ העבד לקראתה ויאמר הגמיאיני נא מעט מים מכדך... ותשקהו ... ותכל להשקותו ותאמר גם לגמליך אשאב

Sruly Schnair In Chayei Sarah, 5784

And suddenly Rivkah was coming out … and her jug upon her shoulder … The servant ran towards her and said, “Let me sip, if you please, a little water from your jug.” And she gave him to drink… When she finished giving him drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels until they have finished drinking.” (24:15,17,18,19)

Eliezer prayed to Hashem that Rivkah should offer drink to both him and his camels. Rivkah did more than offer both man and animal to drink; rather, only when Eliezer finished drinking, did Rivkah say that she would now give his camels to drink. In relating the incident to Lavan and Besuel, however, Eliezer did not underscore the fact that Rivkah distinguished between man and animal. Instead, he simply informed them that Rivkah was thoughtful and pleasing in that she not only gave him to drink, but she also quenched the thirst of his camels. Despite her murky roots, Rivkah…

Home -> 5783 -> Naso

והביא האיש את אשתו אל הכהן והביא את קרבנה עליה עשירית האיפה קמח שעורים לא יצוק עליו שמן ולא יתן עליו לבונה

Sruly Schnair In Naso, 5783

The man shall bring his wife to the Kohen, and he shall bring her offering for her, a tenth-eiphah of barley flour; he shall not pour oil over it and shall not put frankincense upon it. (5:15)

Her husband brings the Minchas Sotah, meal-offering of the wayward wife. It is not a normal offering in the sense that its ingredients are a reminder of her moral transgression. This minchah should invoke within her a confrontation with her profligate past, the activities which brought her here in the first place. All she has to do is confess and correct her ways. In the face of the terrifying fate which will be hers if she refuses to acknowledge her guilt, her obstinacy will be her downfall. Rather than offering a meal-offering consisting of flour, hers is made of barley,…

Home -> 5783 -> Lech Lecha

ותאמר שרי אל אברם חמסי עליך

Sruly Schnair In Lech Lecha, 5783

Sarai said to Avram, “The outrage against me is due to You!” (16:5)

A perfunctory reading of the pesukim, which details Sarah Imeinu’s relinquishing her maidservant, Hagar, to Avraham Avinu for the purpose of establishing posterity, followed by her dismissing Hagar from her home, when her insolence became too much to overlook, is misguiding. So much depth is contained in these parshiyos, with every action of the Avos and Imahos, Patriarchs and Matriarchs, steeped in the highest esoteric meanings and secrets, that one is impelled to study every word, every lesson, every nuance, in order to simply scratch the surface of the narrative. Let us focus on one lesson as seen through the…

Home -> 5782 -> Kedoshim

איש אמו ואביו תיראו ואת שבתותי תשמרו אני ד'

Sruly Schnair In Kedoshim, 5782

Every man shall fear his mother and father, and you shall keep My Shabbosos; I am Hashem. (19:3)

Shemiras Shabbos, Kibbud Av V’eim: Shabbos observance is juxtaposed upon the mitzvah to honor one’s parents, concluding with Hashem reminding the people that He is G-d and everyone – he and his father and mother – must obey Hashem. We are to honor and even fear our parents, but they do not supplant the Almighty. Thus, if a parent’s command is contrary to a mitzvah in the Torah, the son/daughter should respectfully refuse, because Hashem’s command supersedes everything else. Three imperatives of such import in one pasuk (Shemiras Shabbos, Kibbud Av V’eim, and fear of Hashem and adherence to His…

Home -> Vayeishev -> 5782

וישראל אהב את יוסף מכל בניו... ויראו אחיו כי אתו אהב אביהם מכל אחיו וישנאו אתו... ויקנאו בו אחיו ויתנכלו אתו להמיתו

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Vayeishev

And Yisrael loved Yosef more than all his sons… His brothers saw that it was he whom their father loved most of all his brothers, so they hated him… So his brothers were jealous of him… They conspired against him to kill him. (37:1,3,4,11,18)

Writing about the lives of our Avos and Imahos, Patriarchs and Matriarchs, is extremely difficult and must be done with great trepidation. To present them on a mortal level equal to us not only denigrates them, but it is ludicrous. In the pesichah, preface, to Leket Sichos Mussar (the shmuessen, ethical discourses, of Horav Yitzchak Aizik Sher, zl, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka, and son-in-law of the Alter, zl, of Slabodka), the Rosh Yeshivah observes that our approach toward studying Torah narrative dates back to when we were young children in cheder, elementary school. The terminology and nuances that served us then…

Home -> 5780 -> Ki Savo

גם כל חלי וכל מכה אשר לא כתוב בספר התורה ועלך ד' עליך

Moshe Marcovich In Ki Savo, 5780

Even any illness and any blow that is not written in this Book of the Torah, Hashem will bring upon you. (28:61)

Chazal say that the choli and the makah, illness and blow, are references to the tragic passing of tzaddikim, righteous persons. (Veritably, this Midrash, which is quoted by a number of commentators, has yet to be found.) The Yaaros Devash quotes it (Chelek 1, Drush 4). Horav Yeshayah Pik, zl, writes that he had searched for this Midrash and was unsuccessful in locating its source. Indeed, he observed anecdotedly that this is the meaning of a blow that is not written in the Torah. He is unable to locate this Midrash. Apparently, in Shut Tiferes Tzvi Yoreh Deah 38, the…

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ואלה שמות בני ישראל הבאים מצרימה

And these are the names of Bnei Yisrael who were coming to Egypt. (1:1)

וישראל אהב את יוסף מכל בניו כי בן זקנים הוא לו

Yisrael loved Yosef best of all his sons, he was a child of his old age. (37:3)

וישטם עשיו את יעקב

Now Eisav harbored hatred toward Yaakov. (27:41)

ולא יתן עליו לבונה

And he shall not put frankincense upon it. (5:15)

והנה רבקה יוצאת ... וכדה על שכמה ... וירץ העבד לקראתה ויאמר הגמיאיני נא מעט מים מכדך... ותשקהו ... ותכל להשקותו ותאמר גם לגמליך אשאב

והביא האיש את אשתו אל הכהן והביא את קרבנה עליה עשירית האיפה קמח שעורים לא יצוק עליו שמן ולא יתן עליו לבונה

The man shall bring his wife to the Kohen, and he shall bring her offering for her, a tenth-eiphah of barley flour; he shall not pour oil over it and shall not put frankincense upon it. (5:15)

ותאמר שרי אל אברם חמסי עליך

Sarai said to Avram, “The outrage against me is due to You!” (16:5)

איש אמו ואביו תיראו ואת שבתותי תשמרו אני ד'

Every man shall fear his mother and father, and you shall keep My Shabbosos; I am Hashem. (19:3)

וישראל אהב את יוסף מכל בניו... ויראו אחיו כי אתו אהב אביהם מכל אחיו וישנאו אתו... ויקנאו בו אחיו ויתנכלו אתו להמיתו

And Yisrael loved Yosef more than all his sons… His brothers saw that it was he whom their father loved most of all his brothers, so they hated him… So his brothers were jealous of him… They conspired against him to kill him. (37:1,3,4,11,18)

גם כל חלי וכל מכה אשר לא כתוב בספר התורה ועלך ד' עליך

Even any illness and any blow that is not written in this Book of the Torah, Hashem will bring upon you. (28:61)

YEARS

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