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Today’s Chumash is the Tochacha.
This Aliyah is the Tochacha, the things that Moshe Rabbeinu tells the Yidden will happen if they don’t keep the Torah. Our Minhag is not to call anyone up to the Torah for this Aliyah — the person who is reading the Torah takes it himself. You will see that it is a very long Aliyah!
One of the reasons Moshe gives why the Yidden might chas veshalom deserve these terrible things in Golus is “Tachas Asher Lo Avadeta Es Hashem Elokecha Besimcha Uvetuv Levav Merov Kol” — because the Yidden don’t serve Hashem happily when they have all they need. So instead, Hashem won’t give them what they need chas veshalom.
The Arizal explains that the posuk means that the reason for the Tochacha is because the Yidden don’t serve Hashem with simcha!
Is that fair? Just because we aren’t happy?
The Rebbe explains that Hashem treats us based on how we act. When we are very serious and sad all the time, it makes Hashem judge us with Gevurah — being strict. But when we are HAPPY to do what Hashem wants, He judges us with Chesed, kindness, and then Hashem doesn’t pay attention to things we didn’t do right, like a happy person ignores annoying things!
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Today’s Tehillim is kapitelach Tzadik-Zayin to Kuf-Gimmel. For Chodesh Elul, we say three more kapitelach: Nun-Ches, Nun-Tes, and Samach.
At the end of today’s first Kapitel (which we also say in Kabolas Shabbos, and in the Machzor before Kol Nidrei), the posuk says “Ohr Zarua LaTzadik” — “Light is planted for the Tzadik.”
The Medrash teaches that when Hashem made the world, there was a very strong light, but it was too hard for the world to live in it! So Hashem hid it for the Tzadikim when Moshiach comes.
But even now there is a place where we can find that special light — in the Torah!
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Tes-Vov
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Today the Alter Rebbe gives us some examples of how we use the kochos of our Neshama in living the way Hashem wants:
Chesed (loving, giving): A Yid loves Hashem and wants to act in the ways of Hashem. We want to have good middos, especially those that we learn from the stories in the Torah and from Tzadikim.
Gevurah (strict): To fight with our Yetzer Hara, because we are afraid that we shouldn’t do anything that will make Hashem not happy.
Tiferes (beauty): We look at the mitzvos that we do as the most precious and beautiful things, so we buy the best Mezuzos and Tefillin and do all other mitzvos in the nicest way.
Netzach (winning): When we know something is right, we stand very strong and don’t let anything make us change our minds or let us act in the wrong way.
Hod (thanking, acknowledging): To thank Hashem and our parents for all of the good things that they do for us because we realize all they have done for us.
Yesod (connection): To have a geshmak and chayus in acting the way a Yid should.
Malchus: To have Kabolas Ol. To know that Hashem is in charge and that we have to do what He wants, even though we might understand or want something different.
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Someone who is selfish doesn’t realize it.
Did you ever get into a fight with someone? When your mother or father ask you about it, you say “Well, I didn’t do anything wrong!” Your parents might try explain to you that you aren’t perfect, and that you also weren’t acting the way you should.
Why don’t we think of that ourselves? Because we are so busy thinking about how WE were right that there is no time to think about what was bothering the other person. So we aren’t able to find out what WE did wrong and how we could become better.
Our neshamos are all stuck in a Guf that thinks only about itself. When we daven and learn and make a real Cheshbon Hanefesh in Chodesh Elul, we will see that we need to become much better!
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SEFER HAMITZVOS
Mitzvas Asei #191, #214, Lo Saasei #311, #58, Asei #221, Lo Saasei #263, #264
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Today we are finishing the WHOLE Rambam — the last of the 14 sefarim!
In today’s Sefer Hamitzvos, we learn 7 mitzvos:
1) (Mitzvas Asei #191) Before the Yidden fight a war that isn’t a mitzvah (Milchemes Reshus), a kohen needs to remind them about the mitzvos of a war.
2) (Mitzvas Asei #214) A chosson, who is married for less than a year, has to stay with his kallah and shouldn’t go fight in a war or go on a long trip.
3) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #311) We can’t make a chosson who is married for less than a year go to the army or anything that will keep him away.
4) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #58) We are not allowed to be afraid of our enemies when we’re fighting and run away.
5) (Mitzvas Asei #221) The mitzvah of Yefas Toar — if a soldier sees a non-Jewish woman he wants to marry while he is fighting.
6) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #263) A Jew can’t sell the Yefas Toar.
7) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #264) We can’t make a Yefas Toar into a slave.
Mazel Tov! Now we finished learning all 613 mitzvos!
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In Perek Yud, we learn more halachos about non-Jews. The last halacha is that we should do Bikur Cholim for goyim who are sick, bury them if they pass away, and give them tzedakah if they need it, for the sake of shalom.
In Perek Yud-Alef, we learn about Moshiach! The Rambam shows us that Moshiach isn’t just something nice that the Chachomim told us, it is a part of Torah! If someone doesn’t believe in Moshiach and doesn’t hope that he is coming, it means they don’t believe the Torah is true, chas veshalom.
Perek Yud-Beis: When Moshiach comes, a lot of very special things will happen. But did you know that that’s not the reason why all of the Chachomim and Neviim wanted Moshiach? They only wanted Moshiach because then we can learn Torah and do ALL of the mitzvos without anything stopping us!
Tam Venishlam — Shevach LoKeil Borei Olam!
All of our brachos come through Torah, each through a different part. So to have our brachos COMPLETELY, in every part of our lives, we have to be connected through the WHOLE Torah!
The Rambam is the only sefer that has the ENTIRE Torah, all of the halachos of the Torah, gathered from all of the different Gemaras and brought together in one place.
In Tanya the Alter Rebbe tells us that when we learn something in Torah we become united with that part of Torah, which connects us with Hashem, and when we all learn the same chelek in Torah, that same piece of Torah unites all of the Yidden who are learning it together!
But what if someone didn’t learn the whole Rambam this year?
Even if you didn’t learn through all five books of the Torah, you still celebrate on Simchas Torah! So when it is time to make a siyum on Rambam, it is a simcha even for Yidden who didn’t learn it. So even if you didn’t have a chance to learn through the whole cycle of Rambam or Sefer Hamitzvos, you should still be part of a siyum!
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We learn more about a Nazir’s promise: What happens if he takes it by mistake, or because someone forces him, or because of a reason that ends up not being true? In many cases, he is not a Nazir.
One interesting halacha is that a person STAYS a Nazir until they bring their korbanos, and that a Nazir needs to be in Eretz Yisroel. So if someone makes a promise to be a Nazir nowadays, he has to move to Eretz Yisroel and stay a Nazir until the Beis Hamikdash is built and he can bring his korbanos.
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About a month before Pesach, our Mommies start getting busy! They make lists and charts and calendars, to make sure that every part of the house is taken care of, so we will have a kosher and happy Pesach.
They make sure all the drawers will get cleaned, the kitchen will get scrubbed, each room of the house will be checked, the car will get vacuumed, the Pesach food will get bought in time, and they will have recipes for everything we need to eat. They make sure we will have all of the pieces of our Seder plate, and not one bit of chometz will be found anywhere! This way we can keep all of the mitzvos of Pesach and feel like we are going out of Mitzrayim.
Preparing for Rosh Hashana is the same thing! A month before Rosh Hashana, we all need to start getting busy. We need to think about each part of our life as a Yid: How we dress, how we act, how we think, and how we feel.
We need to look at all of our mitzvos and make sure they are done right: We make sure our mezuzos are kosher, put up the right way, and are on every door they need to be on. We make sure we are bentching licht on time every week and giving tzedakah before. We make sure we have good Kibud Av Va’em, and that we are treating other people nicely. We make sure that all of our mitzvos are “clean” and just right!
This way, we’ll be ready for Rosh Hashana, when we are making Hashem our King. We tell Hashem that we are ready to use the new chayus from the new year to make our Yiddishkeit much better than ever before!
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For the last 12 days of Elul, we count “Yom Lachodesh,” spending one day doing teshuvah for each month of the year. Today we look back at Chodesh Kislev, seeing what worked or didn’t, so that this coming Kislev will be even better!
Chodesh Kislev is a month full of Chassidishe Yomim Tovim, and the month of Chanukah. We can think about how we used the time to add in learning Chassidus and acting like a chossid, and how we did with our Chanukah mivtzoyim.
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Chassidus teaches us that the main posuk of Ledovid Hashem Ori is “Lecha Amar Libi, Bakshu Fanai” — “My heart tells me for You that I should search out the pnimius of Hashem.”
In the rest of this kapitel, Dovid Hamelech speaks about how he is not scared of anything, because he trusts in Hashem. He uses this posuk to explain that his heart is what reminds him to think about Hashem, and he does!
Chassidus explains that this is the main posuk, because it tells us HOW Dovid Hamelech gets his bitachon, by thinking about Hashem.
When we say Ledovid Hashem Ori in Elul, we are reminding ourselves of the avodah of this month. We think about this main posuk, “Lecha Amar Libi, Bakshu Fanai.” Our hearts will also tell us what Hashem wants: To use our heart to do teshuvah and connect to Hashem through davening, in order to fix up the way we act.
Because of this special avodah, we have nothing to be afraid of. Through the kochos Hashem gives us to do teshuvah and connect to Hashem in Chodesh Elul, we are able to fix up anything not good, and we’ll be ready to get the new chayus of the coming year, for a Shana Tova Umesukah!
See Maamar Lecha Amar Libi, Tof-Shin-Chof and maamarim cited in ha’ara 1 and 2
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There are many different minhagim about when to start and finish saying Ledovid Hashem Ori, what part of davening to say it in, and in which of the daily tefillos to say it.
Our minhag is to start early — on the first day of Rosh Chodesh Elul, even though it is still part of Chodesh Av. We continue saying it until Hoshaana Rabbah, the end of the time of din.
We say Ledovid Hashem Ori in Shacharis and Mincha, but not in Maariv.
In Shacharis, we say Ledovid Hashem Ori after the Shir Shel Yom, before the kaddish of the Shir Shel Yom.
In Mincha, we say it before Aleinu.
Even though this is our minhag, it is more important to follow the halacha of saying Aleinu together with the minyan. So if we are davening with a minyan that says Ledovid Hashem Ori later, we should say Aleinu together with them, and say Ledovid Hashem Ori afterwards.
See Otzar Minhagei Chabad Chodesh Elul, os Hey
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לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק ע״ה בן ר׳ אפרים שי׳ מאסקאוויץ
שליח כ"ק אדמו"ר נשיא דורנו למדינת אילינוי
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When the Rambam teaches (in the last two perakim of the whole Mishnah Torah) about Moshiach, he brings sources from the Torah that teach us about the Geulah.
The first place in Torah where the Geulah is talked about clearly is in next week’s Chumash, Parshas Netzavim!
וְשָׁב ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ אֶת שְׁבוּתְךָ וְרִחֲמֶךָ וְשָׁב וְקִבֶּצְךָ מִכָּל הָעַמִּים ... אִם יִהְיֶה נִדַּחֲךָ בִּקְצֵה הַשָּׁמָיִם מִשָּׁם יְקַבֶּצְךָ ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ ... וֶהֱבִיאֲךָ ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ אֶל הָאָרֶץ
Hashem promises that He will take all of the Yidden out of Golus, and bring them back to Eretz Yisroel!
The Rambam tells us that these words, which are written clearly in the Torah, include in them all of the things about the Geulah which were said by the Neviim later on.
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לע"נ התינוק זאב ארי' ע"ה בן יבלט"א הרה"ח ר' שניאור זלמן שי' גליק
נפטר ב' מנחם אב ה'תשע"ג
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