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In yesterday’s Chumash, we learned how Avram won over the four kings, and how the king of Sedom was saved.
The king of Sedom was very happy that his city was rescued in the end. He offered Avram, “If you let all of the people go, you can keep all of the riches in my city!”
Avram answered, “I won’t take even a thread or a shoelace! I don’t want you to say ‘I made Avram rich.’ Only HASHEM will make me rich. But if any of my soldiers want to take things, that is fine.”
After the war, Avram was worried. Maybe since Hashem made a neis for him to win the war, Hashem wouldn’t make any more nissim for him!
Hashem told Avram not to worry, he would get a lot of rewards. Avram told Hashem that the only reward he really wanted was a child. “I have a very good student and servant, Eliezer. If I don’t have any children, he will get everything passed down to him. But he is not my child!”
Hashem told Avram that he WOULD have children! He told Avram to go outside, look up at the sky, and try to count the stars. “This is how many your children will be — you won’t be able to even count them!”
Avram believed that Hashem would do what He said. He didn’t even ask Hashem for a sign!
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In today’s Tehillim, there is a posuk that says “Avon Akeivai Yesubeini” — “the aveiros of my heels surround me.” Dovid Hamelech was saying that he’s not worried that he’s not keeping the “big” mitzvos that are written in the Torah or taught by the Chachomim, he’s worried that the “small” mitzvos — even though he’s keeping them — might not be kept carefully.
The Rebbe teaches: When we say this in Tehillim, we are also talking about our own mitzvos. Of course we are doing mitzvos — like keeping Shabbos and davening — and even being very careful with them. But we need to be worried about the “small” mitzvos, our Chassidishe Hanhagos — like saying Chitas or having Ahavas Yisroel for a Yid we never met, since we might not be doing these as carefully.
We need be careful with ALL of our mitzvos, the “big” ones AND the “little” ones!
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Chof-Vov
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The Gemara is full of arguments between the Tannaim and Amora’im. Is this a good thing? In the Zohar (Raya Mehemna) it says that these questions come from kelipah! But how can we say that?
The Alter Rebbe explains that of course the halacha they are arguing over is kedusha! but the kelipah that makes it hard to understand, so we have lots of questions, is NOT a good thing. So when we argue about the halacha, and work hard to understand it, we can take the Shechinah out of its Golus in that kelipah! Then the halacha will be very easy for everyone to understand and the Shechinah will be out of Golus.
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When the Rebbe Rashab was 4 or 5, he came to his Zaide the Tzemach Tzedek on Shabbos Parshas Vayeira. He started to cry, and asked how come Hashem appeared to Avraham Avinu and not to us?
The Tzemach Tzedek answered that when a 99 year old tzadik decides to have a bris, he deserves that Hashem should appear to him.
The Rebbe tells us that since we were told this story by a Rebbe, we need to learn a lesson from it! One thing we can learn from this is that even little kids can feel that they want to be able to see Hashem. Even kids can care so much about their connection to Hashem and Yiddishkeit that they will cry if they are missing it!
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In Sefer Hamitzvos today, we learn the mitzvah (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #320) of not working on Shabbos. The details of this mitzvah are explained in Mesechta Shabbos.
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In today’s Rambam, Perakim Gimmel, Daled, and Hey, we are learning about an Eruv, but not the kind of eruv we usually think about — it’s not an Eruv around your backyard!
The kind of Eruv we’re learning about right now is called an Eruv Chatzeiros. It shows that a place belongs to many families together, so they can all carry there. If a few families live in an apartment building, they might need this kind of eruv to carry in the hallways.
How do we make an Eruv Chatzeiros?
Everyone gives some food, and then one person makes a bracha “Al Mitzvas Eruv” and then says that everyone can carry things from one person’s house to another.
In today’s third perek we also learn about something called “Shitufei Mevuos.” This means a “partnership for a street.” Cities used to have many streets called a “Mavui.” Each Mavui had a few courtyards, Chatzeiros, and each Chatzer had a few houses inside. The Rambam teaches us how all of the families living on the same Mavui could make themselves partners so they could carry within their own street.
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We are careful not to make the Terumah tamei. If it did become tomei, it has to be burned.
If we’re not sure if it’s tomei or not, we have a problem! We can’t eat it in case it is tomei, but we can’t burn it because it wouldn’t be kavodik, in case it really isn’t tomei. So what do we do? We leave it alone until it becomes FOR SURE tomei, and then we burn it.
We also learn how the kohanim get their presents. They should go to the place where the produce is stored to get the terumah, but they don’t help pick it or gather it. Terumah should be given with kavod.
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Rabbi Groner, the Rebbe’s secretary, once told this story:
A Yid from Eretz Yisroel called to ask for a bracha for his daughter, who was very sick. Next to the name of the girl, the Rebbe wrote the words “Azkir Al Hatzion” (“I will daven by the Ohel”), by the father’s name the Rebbe wrote “Does he go on mivtzoyim?” Rabbi Groner called and told the father the Rebbe’s answer.
The father soon called back to say that he was doing mivtzoyim at the nearest Chabad House.
A few days later, the Rebbe told Rabbi Groner to find out how the girl was doing. The man told Rabbi Groner that it was a miracle! His daughter was much better.
When Rabbi Groner told the Rebbe this, the Rebbe said, “Look what mivtzoyim can accomplish!”
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After we finish the last kapitelach of Tehillim, we stand up and say a paragraph starting with the words, “Boruch Hashem Le’olam.”
This paragraph has pesukim from a few different kapitelach of Tehillim. The first posuk is the last posuk of Kapitel Pey-Tes, which is the last kapitel of Sefer Shlishi of Tehillim. The third and fourth pesukim are the last pesukim of Kapitel Ayin-Beis, which is the last kapitel of Sefer Sheini of Tehillim!
This is how we finish off this part of Pesukei Dezimra, praising Hashem with the words of Tehillim.
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When you hear a bracha, you are supposed to answer Amen.
What do you think about when you say Amen?
The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch teaches us what we should have in mind when we say Amen: It depends what we are answering Amen to!
The word Amen means “true,” like the word Emes.
When we answer Amen to a bracha (like if someone makes a bracha on food), we should think that the bracha the person said praising Hashem is true, and we also agree that Hashem should be praised that way.
When we answer Amen to a bracha that is a Tefillah, asking Hashem for something (like the brachos in the middle of Shemoneh Esrei), we have in mind TWO things: That the bracha is true, and also that we want the Tefillah to come true and be fulfilled very soon!
When we answer Amen to Kaddish, which is ONLY a Tefillah, we just have in mind that this Tefillah (Yisgadal Veyiskadash Shemei Rabah — that Hashem’s name should be recognized in the world) should come true very soon!
See Kitzur Shulchan Aruch siman Vov, se’if Ches
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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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Even though we are so close to the Geulah, and the Rebbe says that Moshiach is right here, there are sad things that happen. It still feels like Golus, and it is very hard.
The Or Hachama, a pirush on the Zohar, talks about times like this. The Or Hachama says that even when the Geulah is ready from Hashem, there will still be hard things happening in the world. But there is something we can do about it!
The koach of Yiddishe kinderlach can take away these hard times. By kids learning Torah and doing mitzvos, we are able to get rid of the painful moments of Golus right before we will be able to see the Geulah — may it be NOW, mamosh!
See Pirush Or Hachama 9a, Sodos Hageulah, p. 135
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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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