| |
|
|
Eliezer was sent by Avraham to find a wife for Yitzchak. He discussed it with Rivkah’s family, and they agreed to the shidduch. Today we learn that Eliezer tries to make things happen sooner, and has hatzlacha! He brings Rivkah back, and she marries Yitzchak.
Eliezer took out gold and silver jewelry and clothing and gave them to Rivkah. He gave fruits from Eretz Yisroel to Lavan and Milka.
Eliezer and the men with him ate and drank, and slept over that night.
In the morning, Lavan and Milka said that she should follow their custom and stay home for a year to get all the jewelry she needs. Since she only got SOME jewelry from Eliezer, she needs at least 10 months. Eliezer responded, “Don’t make me wait now! I showed you that all of Avraham’s money belongs to Yitzchak, and everyone agreed that this is from Hashem. She doesn’t need to get jewelry herself!”
Lavan and his mother decided to ask Rivkah what she wanted to do.
Rivkah said that she wanted to go, even if her mother and brother didn’t want. So they said goodbye to Rivkah, and sent her along with the woman who fed her when she was little. They gave her a bracha that Avraham’s brachos come true through her and her children (to have many descendants, and inherit their enemies’ lands).
Rivkah went on the camels, following Eliezer.
Yitzchak had just come from Be’er Lachai Ro’i, where he was bringing Hagar back to remarry Avraham, so he would have a wife.
Yitzchak went out to the field to daven Mincha — he was the first one to daven Mincha! He looked up and saw camels coming. When Rivkah saw Yitzchak, she realized he was very holy, and slid partway off of her camel. She asked Eliezer who that person was. Eliezer told her it was his master, and Rivkah covered herself with her veil.
Eliezer told Yitzchak about everything that had happened, how Hashem had made nisim for him to find the right person. Yitzchak brought her into Sarah’s tent to be in charge of the house. Right away he saw that Rivkah was like Sarah Imeinu — all of Sarah’s nisim came back when Rivkah was in the tent!
Yitzchak saw that Rivkah deserved to be the next of the Imahos, and married her. Yitzchak loved her, and now was comforted from when Sarah passed away.
|
| |
|
|
Today’s shiur Tehillim is kapitelach Kuf-Ches to Kuf-Yud-Beis.
Kapitelach with an extra special message were written with pesukim in the order of the Alef-Beis. One example is Ashrei, which we say three times a day. It is a very special kapitel, and is set up according to the Alef-Beis — each posuk starts with one of the Alef-Beis, in order.
In today’s Tehillim, we have another two of these special kapitelach! Kapitel Kuf-Yud-Alef and Kuf-Yud-Beis have a new letter of the Alef-Beis at the beginning of each part of a posuk. Kuf-Yud-Alef speaks about the greatness of Hashem, and Kapitel Kuf-Yud-Beis talks about the greatness of a tzadik.
One of the pesukim in this kapitel is “Mishmuah Rah Lo Yira, Nachon Libo Batuach BaHashem” — “he is not afraid of bad news, because he has strong bitachon in Hashem.”
We see an example of this in today’s Hayom Yom, how the Tzemach Tzedek wasn’t afraid of the government — he stood strong with bitachon in Hashem and Mesiras Nefesh for Yiddishkeit!
|
| |
|
TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Chof-Tes
|
|
So far we learned that doing mitzvos in this world, which is Hashem’s Ratzon, makes “clothes” which help the neshama feel Hashem in Gan Eden. Today we learn that there is a part of Torah that makes this happen too — halacha!
Hashem gave us 613 mitzvos. All of these mitzvos are written in the Torah. But if you try to figure out the mitzvos just by learning Chumash, you’ll never understand what Hashem really wants! For example, it says in Torah that we don’t do melacha on Shabbos. But it doesn’t say what that means! The Chachomim taught us that this means not to do the 39 melachos, and explained all of the halachos of how to do that.
So without the halachos the Chachomim taught us, we can know THAT we need to do the mitzvos, but not HOW to keep them. The halachos are not just another part of Torah, they are the HIGHEST part of Torah! They’re the ones that really show us what Hashem wants!
In Olam Haba, we get to appreciate the chayus of Hashem that comes from Hashem’s Ratzon, what Hashem wants. The part of Torah that explains the Ratzon of Hashem which is in mitzvos is the halachos in Torah. That’s why it says that a person who learns halachos every day is promised Olam Haba — because by knowing the halachos you’ll be able to feel close to Hashem in Olam Haba!
|
| |
|
|
In today’s Hayom Yom we learn about the Mesiras Nefesh that the Tzemach Tzedek had for Yiddishe Chinuch.
In the times of the Tzemach Tzedek, there was a group of Yidden that (R”L) wanted everyone to stop keeping mitzvos. They didn’t mind doing “Jewish” kinds of things, but only if THEY liked them — not because Hashem said so. This group was called the Maskilim.
The Maskilim tried to get the government to force the frum Yidden to act that way too. They especially tried to make laws that made it hard for Rabonim, and to change the way children were taught.
In Tof-Reish-Gimmel (5603), a group of Rabonim gathered together in Petersburg. The Maskilim and the government wanted them to agree to these new laws. The Tzemach Tzedek said absolutely not! Every time he said this at one of the meetings, the government would arrest him again. All together, he was arrested 22 times!
One of the officers asked the Tzemach Tzedek why he is acting this way. He is making the government angry at him, and that can be dangerous!
The Tzemach Tzedek answered that going against the government is a danger for the guf. But going against Hashem (Chas Veshalom) is a danger for the NESHAMA! Which is worse?
|
| |
|
|
In Sefer Hamitzvos, we again learn the mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #155) that the Beis Din needs to decide the right time for each month to start.
|
| |
|
RAMBAM
Hilchos Kiddush Hachodesh
|
|
The Rebbe would often speak about Lebn Mit Di Tzeit, learning horaos from the time we are in. One of the things the Rebbe would learn horaos from is the kevius — the type of year it is. Today’s Rambam teaches us about how our calendar is set up, which is how each year has its kevius!
Perek Vov: In this perek, the Rambam teaches us how we can figure out when the molad will be in any month of any year! The molad is when the new moon can be seen in Yerushalayim, which shows us when Rosh Chodesh should be.
We also learn about the Machzor of years, a cycle of nineteen years when the solar year (a year based on the sun) and the lunar year (a year based on the moon) catch up to each other again. In the Machzor, there is a pattern of which years are Peshutah (regular years) and which years are Me’uberes (leap years, with a second Adar added). Here are the years that are Me’uberes in each Machzor: Years #3, #6, #8, #11, #14, #17, and #19.
Perek Zayin: We learn about deciding when the first day of Rosh Hashana will be, which is different in each kind of year. There are certain days of the week that can NEVER be the first day of Rosh Hashana. We remember these days with an expression: “Lo Ad”u Rosh” — the first day of Rosh Hashana can not be on any of the days with the Roshei Teivos “Adu”, meaning Sunday (Yom Alef), Wednesday (Yom Daled), or Friday (Yom Vov).
Perek Ches: In this perek, we learn about the types of months. Some months are malei (full), with 30 days, and other months are chaseir (missing) with 29 days. During the year the months go in a pattern, one month malei, and then one month chaseir.
But there are two months that can change — Cheshvan and Kislev. Sometimes both are malei, sometimes both are chaseir, and sometimes they follow the regular pattern, with Cheshvan being chaseir and Kislev being malei. This kind of year is called “Kesidran,” “in order,” because then all of the months follow the pattern!
|
| |
|
|
Today we learn more halachos about demai, food that we are not sure if maaser was taken from it or not. In this perek, we learn about selling demai.
|
| |
|
|
We learn in Pirkei Avos that “Yafah Sha’ah Achas BeTeshuvah Umaasim Tovim BaOlam Hazeh, Mikol Chayei Olam Haba.” “One hour of Teshuvah and mitzvos in the world is better than the whole Olam Haba!”
Why is that? Because the only way to appreciate the light of Hashem in Gan Eden is like we learned in Tanya — through using “clothes” made of mitzvos, that will let us see it. Otherwise, we can’t see the light of Hashem!
In our parsha, the Torah says that Avraham grew old. The Torah uses the expression that he was “Ba Bayamim,” “coming along in days.” The meforshim explain that he “came with his days” — Avraham came with the koach of every single day! He never missed a chance to do a mitzvos, so he had the mitzvos of every day of his whole life with him in a complete way!
What does that mean to regular people like us, who might have missed some chances to do mitzvos?
With the koach of teshuvah, Hashem can help us make up for any chances we missed so that we can also have complete days, like Avraham Avinu.
See maamar Vayiheyu Chayei Sarah 5745
|
| |
|
▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼
|
| |
|
|
In this week’s parsha, Parshas Chayei Sarah, we learn that Yitzchak Avinu davened Mincha.
Chassidus explains that davening is not only a time to ask for our needs, tefillah is also a time of connecting ourselves with Hashem.
Our koach, and the hatzlacha we have in everything we do, depends on our connection with Hashem.
Every morning, we spend time to make that connection strong, by davening Shacharis. But it slowly becomes weaker during the day because we are busy with Gashmius things. So in the middle of everything we are doing, we stop and daven Mincha.
Even women need to be careful to daven Mincha (at least Shemoneh Esrei) to refresh their connection with Hashem.
That way, we are connected to Hashem the entire day, which brings bracha and hatzlacha in everything we do.
See Likutei Sichos chelek Beis p. 410, Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 106:2
|
| |
|
|
We love mitzvos!
But even if we love them very much, it is NOT a mitzvah to fight to get to do a mitzvah ourselves. So, for example, a person shouldn’t fight to be the chazan in shul, or to do Gelilah for the Sefer Torah.
We learn this from what it says in the Mishnah about the kohanim and the Lechem Hapanim:
In the Beis Hamikdash, there were 12 loaves of bread for the Lechem Hapanim and a lot of kohanim who wanted the mitzvah of eating them! The tznuim (the aidel ones) didn’t even stretch out their hands, while the gargeranim (the greedy ones) grabbed all of it. The kohanim knew that it is NOT a mitzvah to fight for the mitzvah!
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman Nun-Gimmel, se’if Chof-Tes
|
|
לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק ע״ה בן ר׳ אפרים שי׳ מאסקאוויץ
שליח כ"ק אדמו"ר נשיא דורנו למדינת אילינוי
|
| |
|
|
The Gemara in Sanhedrin says that Moshiach will come “Behesech Hadaas,” which means when we don’t think about it or when we don’t expect it.
But we need to be thinking about Moshiach all the time! In davening, we say “Lishuascha Kivinu Kol Hayom,” “I hope that Hashem will save us all day!”
One explanation is that Moshiach will come at a time when we think it really doesn’t make sense. Like when we compare our generation to the tzadikim of many years ago, we might think that Moshiach can’t come now!
But ESPECIALLY now, when we might think that our dor really doesn’t deserve for Moshiach to come — this is the BEST time for Moshiach to come, Behesech Hadaas — when we expect it least!
See Likutei Sichos vol. 10, p. 172
|
| |
|
|
|
לע"נ התינוק זאב ארי' ע"ה בן יבלט"א הרה"ח ר' שניאור זלמן שי' גליק
נפטר ב' מנחם אב ה'תשע"ג
|
| |
Give children around the world the gift of Kids Chitas!
KidsChitas.org/sponsor
|
| |
|
