Chasidic Insights

CHASIDIC INSIGHTS PARSHAS B'HAR 5765 BS"D

Ch. 25, v. 1: "B'har Sinai" - Rashi raises the question, "What do the laws of 'shmitoh' have to do with Har Sinai." Just as he Torah was forced upon the bnei Yisroel, so too, even though keeping the laws of "shmitoh," is a daunting task, one must force himself to comply. (Nirreh li)

Alternatively, just as the bnei Yisroel had 49 days of preparation to receive the Torah, the land likewise prepares for the advent of "shmitoh," producing bumper crops that will carry the bnei Yisroel through 3 years. (Nirreh li)

Ch. 25, v. 17: "V'lo sonu ish es amiso v'yo'reiso meiElokecho" - Do not fool your friend into believing that you have true fear of Hashem, when it is only a fa?ade. (Rabbi Shlomo Admor of Radomsk in Tiferes Shlomo)

Ch. 25, v. 21: "V'tzivisi" - "Tzav" connotes a command for all generations (gemara Kidushin). Hashem's promise that He will provide sustenance for "shomrei shviis" has been fulfilled even recently. The tales of agricultural success in Komimius and other farming communities is nothing short of supernatural. Some are recorded in P'eir Hadore.

Ch. 25, v. 23: "V'ho'oretz lo simo'cheir litzmisus" - And you should not be sold on the "artzius," the physical, being permanent. (Rabbi Yisroel of Modzitz in Divrei Yisroel)

Ch. 25, v. 23: "Ki geirim v'soshovim a'tem imodi" - If you are sojourners in this world then you are permanent residents with Me, Hashem, in the world to come. (Degel Machaneh Efrayim)

Ch. 25, v. 26: "Ki lo (Lamed-Alef) yi'h'yeh lo (Lamed-Vov) go'eil" - When "v'LO (Lamed-Alef) anochnu" (T'hilim 100:3), we are not deserving to be his, turns into "v'LO" (Lamed-Vov), by virtue of our not feeling worthy, then we are His, and this will be at the time of the final redemption, "go'eil." (The spelling of "v'LO" in T'hilim 100:3 is a "kri" and a "ksiv.") (Nirreh li)

Ch. 25, v. 37: "Es kas'p'cho lo si'tein lo b'neshech" - When you give alms or a loan to a needy person, do it with a pleasant countenance. Don't give it with a nasty bite. (Rabbi Moshe Cheifetz in M'leches Mach'she'ves)

Ch. 25, v. 48: "Acha'rei nimkar g'uloh ti'h'yeh lo" - We are discussing a person who was sold into slavery to an idol worship institution. Be proactive in redeeming him, so as to get him away from this most negative environment. "Acha'rei nimkar," the letters following the letters of the word "nimkar," are Kof-Lamed-Yud-Mem, "kalim," with ease. Do not drag your feet in redeeming him. (Rabbi Yoseif Chaim Sonenfeld)

Ch. 25, v. 50: "V'chishav im koneihu" - He should always think of his Creator (as in "v'konei hakole"). (Tiferes Shlomo Admor of Radomsk)

Ch. 25, v. 50: "V'chishav im koneihu" - Although a person is very eager to redeem his fellow ben Yisroel from the hands of an idol worshipping institution, as just mentioned in the name of Rabbi Yoseif Chaim Sonenfeld, nevertheless, he should keep his Creator in mind. If he fools the owners into accepting an under-priced value for the servant, besides stealing from them, he has caused a desecration of Hashem. Tosefta B.K. 10:8 says that theft from a gentile must be returned and it is a more severe sin than stealing from a ben Yisroel, because of the inherent accompanying "chilul Hashem." (Nirreh li)

A GUTTEN SHABBOS KODESH. FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED. FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE BY COPY OR ELECTRONICALLY. TO SUBSCRIBE SEND REQUEST TO SHOLOM613@AOL.COM.

See also Sedrah Selections and Oroh V'Simchoh