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Lot became very rich because he went with Avram. He had lots and lots of animals and tents.
In fact, he had so many animals, that between Avram’s animals and Lot’s animals, there weren’t enough grassy fields where they lived for all of the animals to eat!
Avram’s shepherds knew to only let the sheep and cows eat from grass that didn’t belong to anyone, but Lot’s shepherds gave the animals food even from other people’s fields! They thought that Eretz Yisroel belonged to Avram already, and since Avram didn’t have anyone to pass it down to except for Lot, they thought they could take any part of Eretz Yisroel already.
Avram’s shepherds argued with them, because taking grass from someone else’s fields is stealing! The Torah tells us that the shepherds of Lot were wrong — the land didn’t belong to Avram yet either, and the Canaani and Perizi lived there.
Avram didn’t want to be in a fight with his nephew, so he told him to maybe move a little bit further away, so that each of them have their own space. He promised to stay close by so he could always help him if he needed it. (As we will see later, that actually happened.)
Lot saw that Sedom and Amora had plenty of water, so things grew well there. It had lots of beautiful trees, like Gan Eden, where Adam Harishon lived when he was first created. It had lots of plants growing, like in Mitzrayim. Lot also saw that the people acted in not very tznius’dike ways, and he liked that too.
So Lot decided to move there, and also to move away from the way Avram served Hashem.
The people in the area were very not nice. They did aveiros on purpose, just to make Hashem angry. But Lot didn’t mind living with them anyway...
In the meantime, now that Lot moved away, Hashem spoke to Avram again. He promised him again that Eretz Yisroel would belong to his children, the Yidden. Hashem told Avram to look all over Eretz Yisroel, in all directions, and it would all belong to him.
Avram continued to travel through Eretz Yisroel, until he reached Chevron, where he built a Mizbeiach to thank Hashem.
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In today’s Tehillim, it says “Haysa Li Dimasi Lechem Yomam Valayla, Be’emor Eilai Kol Hayom Ayei Elokecha.” “My tears were like my food all day and night, when they say to me all day ‘Where is Hashem?’”
The Rebbe explains that this posuk is saying that for a person to really be close to Hashem, we need to be crying for Hashem ALL the time. We shouldn’t want to be close to Hashem just on Shabbos or only when we’re davening, but even when we’re eating or playing on a regular weekday!
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Chof-Vov
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Yesterday, we said that even though the halachos of the Torah are very holy, still the Torah is called the “Eitz HaDaas Tov VaRa” — “the tree of knowledge, with good and bad.” This is because the things that the halachos talk ABOUT have not good in them.
Today the Alter Rebbe explains that even though the Torah itself is from Malchus D’Atzilus, a very high level in Ruchnius, it puts on the “clothes” of lower levels when it goes there. Since the Gashmius of the world is mixed with good and bad, it makes it look like Torah is mixed with good and bad too.
Really, the source of Torah doesn’t have these things! But for us to understand it, the Torah needs to wear this kind of “clothing.” The Torah comes down to this world in a way we can understand it, so we can connect to Hashem by learning Torah.
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Many people think that to become close to Hashem and live the way a Yid should, we should first think about how the Torah is the right way to live, and how good it is. Then we should discuss it with other people too. After that, we can start to do the mitzvos and live that way.
That USED to be the way to do it, but not anymore!
Avraham Avinu, when he was a very young boy, thought about how Hashem must be the One Who created the world, and that people need to act the way Hashem wants. Then he went and taught about Hashem to everyone in the world!
Finally, he had a Bris Milah. He did a mitzvah in Gashmius so his body would be connected to Hashem!
But after Hashem gave us the Torah, doing the mitzvah itself comes first. That’s why now we do the opposite order: First we do a Bris Milah, and only afterwards do we learn Torah, and only then do we think about why we do it, and how the Torah is the true way a Yid needs to live.
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #155) is to make Shabbos holy, by saying special things when Shabbos comes in and when Shabbos goes out. We speak about how great and special Shabbos is, and how it is different than the days before and after it.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk (one of the Aseres Hadibros), “Zachor Es Yom HaShabbos Lekadsho,” “Remember Shabbos to keep it holy.”
Torah Shebaal Peh explains what this mitzvah is. The Mechilta, the Midrash of halacha, explains that this means to make a bracha. In Gemara, the Chachomim tell us that to make this bracha over a cup of wine. The Gemara says we should make a bracha when Shabbos ends as well, to separate it from the rest of the days.
That’s why we keep this mitzvah by making Kiddush and Havdalah!
The halachos of how to keep this mitzvah are discussed in the end of Gemara Pesachim, and in many places in Mesechta Brachos and Mesechta Shabbos.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn the halachos of the Techum Shabbos, how far we are allowed to walk on Shabbos. We also learn the halachos of making Kiddush and Havdalah.
Perek Chof-Zayin: In this perek, we learn how far the Techum Shabbos is. According to the Torah, you are allowed to go 12 mil, because this is how big the camp of the Yidden was when they got this mitzvah. Moshe Rabbeinu told them not to go out past this camp, so we understand that the Techum Shabbos must be 12 mil. The Chachomim said, though, that we shouldn’t go out even 1 mil past the city, which is 2,000 amos.
We also learn what happens if a person does go out past the Techum — it is asur for him to go in any direction until after Shabbos!
Perek Chof-Ches: We learn how to measure the Techum of a city.
Perek Chof-Tes: In this perek, we learn the halachos of Kiddush and Havdalah, which is today’s mitzvah in Sefer Hamitzvos! We learn what kind of wine to use for Kiddush, and that we need to make Kiddush in connection with a meal (“Kiddush Bemakom Seudah”). The Rambam also tells us why we need to have besamim in Havdalah: Because the neshama is sad that Shabbos is over, so we make it happier by giving it something good to smell.
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What happens if a person ate Terumah by mistake when he wasn’t allowed to? Usually the halacha is that he has to pay back for what he ate, PLUS an extra fifth. We also learn about the halachos of what happens if someone stole Terumah.
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Do you wish it was still Sukkos? Well, guess what? It still sort of is!
The Yidden didn’t start asking for rain until the last Yid got back home from the Beis Hamikdash. That could take a long time — from Sukkos until today, Zayin Cheshvan!
Even nowadays, the Yidden in Eretz Yisroel don’t start asking for rain (Vesein Tal Umatar Livracha) until today!
The Rebbe tells us that we can learn a very big lesson in Ahavas Yisroel from this! Really, ALL of the Yidden needed rain right away for plants to grow, and there was only one last Yid in the middle of travelling. Still, ALL the Yidden waited to ask for what they needed, so that this Yid could get home from Yerushalayim easily, without having to go through a rainy and muddy path. This shows us how much we need to care about the pain of even one Yid, because all Yidden are one.
See Likutei Sichos chelek Chof, p. 378
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TEFILLAH
Strengthening Our Bitachon Through Davening
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We have been learning about how the time of davening is a good time to make our bitachon in Hashem stronger.
In every Yid’s neshama, there is emunah in Hashem. A Yid believes that Hashem loves and cares for him, and is able to help him in everything he needs. But for us to feel it in a way that we will trust in Hashem and have bitachon because of it, we need to think about it. We learned about things we can think about during Pesukei Dezimra that will help make our bitachon stronger.
But that’s not ALL we need to have complete bitachon.
It doesn’t make sense to rely on Hashem and at the same time go against what Hashem says! Even though Hashem doesn’t expect us to be perfect, and with His chesed gives more than we deserve, we still need to try our best to do what Hashem wants from us.
A good place to strengthen this is in Kriyas Shema and the brachos before. In the brachos before Shema, we wake up our Ahava to Hashem so we will want to serve Hashem, and in Shema we say that we take upon ourselves Ol Malchus Shomayim, that we are ready to serve Hashem the best we can!
This way, we can have a much stronger bitachon in Hashem, so that when we stand before Hashem during Shemoneh Esrei, “Ke’avda Kamei Marei,” like a servant before his master, we will be sure that Hashem will give us all we need.
See Chovos Halevavos Shaar Habitachon
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It is our minhag that Lechat’chila the first day we say Kiddush Levana is on Yom Zayin of the month.
The Rema writes that we dance and celebrate at Kiddush Levana the way we celebrate at a chasunah! Kiddush Levana is a sign for the Geulah of Yidden, when there will be the chasunah between Yidden and Hashem!
One of the last horaos we got from the Rebbe, in 5752, is to be extra careful with Kiddush Levana. We are careful to do it properly, at the right time, and to do it in a beautiful way — wearing nice clothing, together with many people, and in public!
See Shulchan Menachem, chelek beis, p. 206
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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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The Gemara says that when a person does Kiddush Levana at the right time, it is like he is greeting the Shechinah!
What does Kiddush Levana have to do with greeting the Shechinah?
During Golus, we are not zoche to greet the Shechinah. But every month, when the moon grows large again, we are reminded that Yidden will also become great again when Moshiach comes. Then we will be able to greet the Shechinah!
That is why one of the things we say in Kiddush Levana is “Dovid Melech Yisroel Chai Vekayam!” The kingdom of Dovid Hamelech is compared to the moon. Like the moon, Dovid Hamelech’s melucha will grow great again — when Moshiach comes!
See Shulchan Menachem chelek beis, p. 205
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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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