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CHUMASH

Sheini with Rashi

In order to have enough food, the Yidden need the year before Shemitah to grow enough for THREE years: that year, the year of Shemitah when we can’t grow anything, and the third year, until the new food grows.

Hashem promises that if we keep Shemitah, enough will grow for three years!

The Torah also starts to teach us the mitzvos about owning land in Eretz Yisroel. We learned before that in the Yovel year the land returns to its original owner. Hashem says that we shouldn’t be upset that we have to give it back, because really the WHOLE land belongs to Hashem! It’s just that certain people are in charge of taking care of it for different amounts of time!

Sometimes a person might be very poor and need to sell his field so he has enough money to live.

If someone sold his part of Eretz Yisrael, it is like it is in Golus! He should try to buy it back, to bring it a “Geulah.”

For the first two years after he sells it, the person he sold it to HAS to let him buy it back. If he can’t pay enough himself, someone from his family should buy it back, so each part of Eretz Yisroel stays with the right family.

How much does it cost to buy it back? It depends how many years there are until Yovel. He pays the amount that those years are worth.

Even if nobody has money to buy it back, it will still go back in Yovel.

 
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TEHILLIM

106 - 107

In today’s Tehillim, we thank Hashem for miracles. Kapitel Kuf-Zayin (107) talks about how we thank Hashem for the four very dangerous things that a person is saved from:

- coming out of prison

- getting better from being very sick

- crossing an ocean

- crossing a desert

The Rebbe explains that these four things also mean four hard challenges a person has to deal with during his life, but Hashem helps us every time!

One of the things we thank Hashem for is coming out of prison:

Sometimes the Yetzer Hara can be very strong. It can even be so strong that it becomes in charge of the person, and won’t let him even do things he knows are right! For the Yetzer Tov, this is like a prison. It is trapped by the Yetzer Hara and can’t do what it wants.

Of course, Hashem is everywhere, and is with us even in those times. This makes us feel hopeful, and when we do our best, Hashem will help and get us out of this prison!

This is one of the challenges we thank Hashem for helping us with in this kapitel.

 
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TANYA

Likutei Amarim Perek Nun

The Alter Rebbe is teaching us about another kind of ahava, one that is even higher than all of the other kinds of ahava we learned about!

We see this kind of ahava in Chumash, in the story of Nadav and Avihu. Their neshamos wanted so much to be close to Hashem, that they brought ketores without permission. Their neshamos left their bodies and went back to Hashem.

That is the kind of Ahava we are learning about today.

The Alter Rebbe says that this was the avodah of the Leviim, who sang niggunim which brought out deep feelings of wanting to be close to Hashem!

The Baal Shem Tov would daven with this kind of Ahava to Hashem. He said that it was only Hashem’s chesed that he is still alive after davening!

When we have Ahavas Hashem because we remember that Hashem gives us chayus and gives us everything we have, it will make us want to be connected to Hashem by learning Torah and doing mitzvos. But with this kind of ahava, we JUST want to be close to Hashem. This ahava by itself will not bring us to make our connection strong through Torah and mitzvos.

The Alter Rebbe tells us that it is important to remember that this ahava is not good enough on its own. “Ratzo” needs to bring “Shuv” — the point of wanting to come close to Hashem (ratzo) is to do Hashem’s mitzvos in the world! Our love for Hashem should make us do Torah and mitzvos, not just make us feel close to Hashem.

 
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HAYOM YOM

Chof-Beis Iyar

Today is thirty-seven days of the Omer!

One time there was a farbrengen with the Chassidim of the Alter Rebbe (not too long after the Alter Rebbe became Rebbe — sometime between 5544 and 5547), and this is what they were talking about:

The Alter Rebbe did something very special that never was before! There is a hiskashrus between Chassidim and the Rebbe that makes us never feel alone. For people without a Rebbe, even if they had a Rosh Yeshiva or a teacher, their NESHAMOS weren’t connected. But with Chassidus, a Chossid and Rebbe are connected with their neshamos, so they will never feel alone!

 
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SEFER HAMITZVOS

Mitzvas Asei #105

Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #105) is the same as yesterday’s — that Zera, a kind of liquid, makes things tomei. We need to follow the halachos about how it makes people tomei, and how to become tahor.

 
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RAMBAM

Hilchos Shaar Avos HaTumos

In today’s Rambam, we learn more about how we decide if someone is tomei or tahor when there is a sofek — when we’re not sure if they became tomei.

The halachos are different if someone is in a Reshus Hayochid, a Reshus HoRabim, or a Karmelis. These are also the different kinds of places that we learn about in the halachos of carrying on Shabbos!

 
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RAMBAM PEREK ECHOD

Hilchos Ishus - Perek Yud-Zayin

In this perek we learn the halachos of how a woman can get the money owed to her from the kesubah, especially if the man owes money to others also.

 
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DARKEI HACHASSIDUS

Sefiras Haomer

This week in Sefiras Haomer we are working on the midah of Yesod.

We learned that yesod is hiskashrus, and we use it when we connect to Hashem. That is Bein Adam Lamakom, the way we use this midah with Hashem.

But there is also another kind of yesod, the yesod that is Bein Adam Lachaveiro, the way we use this midah with other people.

This kind of yesod is also hiskashrus, connecting with the other person to think about how he will feel.

How do we use our yesod?

Ari notices that his friend Moishy is not very organized. Moishy doesn’t always do his homework, forgets to bring his Chumash, and eats all of his snack by morning recess. Ari wants to help Moishy so that he will be more organized and happier in school. He decides that Moishy needs to learn how to write things down so he doesn’t keep forgetting. Ari thinks that maybe he should buy Moishy a notebook just for remembering things. But first he stops, and uses his midah of yesod. How will Moishy feel if he gives him a notebook and teaches him how to use it? He realizes that Moishy will probably be embarrassed to hear about it from a friend. Ari decides that Moishy will probably be happier to hear about writing things down if his teacher tells him about it instead. Ari gives the notebook to the teacher privately, and asks him to show Moishy how to use it.

Here’s another example of using our yesod:

Mommy sees that the kids are going to sleep too late, and then they are kvetchy the whole day! She knows that they need to start getting ready for bed earlier. Her friend shares a chart that they use in their house, to get all the kids to sleep on time. But before Mommy hangs up the chart, she uses her yesod. Will her family like the chart and start going to sleep because of it? How will it make them feel? Mommy thinks about how her kids don’t like using charts so much. She realizes that for her family, it is better to read a bedtime story at 7:00 for everyone who is in bed in time.

When we do something for another person, we first connect to them and think about how it will make them feel. This way we can make sure that what we are doing will only make good things happen!

 

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TEFILLAH

Vesechezenah (part 2)

In the maamar of Ve’ata Tetzaveh, the Rebbe explains why it is so important to say this bracha in Shemoneh Esrei.

Even though we are in Golus, there are Boruch Hashem many Yidden who are not suffering very much. A Yid might feel that he has most of what he needs in Gashmius — he has a house and a car, enough money for the things he needs, pretty good health, and some nachas too! He might also feel happy with his Ruchnius — he is able to have kavana when he davens many times, and does his best to follow Shulchan Aruch.

But deep down inside of every Yid, there is an Etzem Haneshama, the deepest part of the neshama. The Etzem Haneshama of a Yid is hurting and feels crushed that there is no Gilui Elokus (being able to see Hashem), like there was in the Beis Hamikdash.

This bothers a Yid so much that every time he stands before Hashem in Shemoneh Esrei, he asks Hashem that “Vesechezenah Eineinu,” that our eyes should be able to see Hashem again in the Beis Hamikdash. At least three times a day, he asks that there should be a Gilui Elokus.

Where do we get the koach to want this so badly? It comes from Moshe Rabbeinu, and the Moshe of every generation, the Rebbe. It is the Moshe of each generation that connects the etzem of a Yid’s neshama with Hashem, which makes us feel how much Golus hurts and how much we want Moshiach to come.

When we ask Hashem for the Geulah with our Etzem Haneshama, we can be sure that in this zechus we will deserve to have the Geulah now!

See Maamar Ve’ata Tetzaveh, Purim Katan Tof-Shin-Nun-Beis

 
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HALACHOS HATZRICHOS

Yarmulka

Jewish boys and men need to have their heads covered with a yarmulka all the time. A yarmulka is needed so that we are tznius’dik, and it helps us have Yiras Shomayim.

Unless you glue your yarmulka to your head, it might fall off sometimes! If that happens, the halacha is that we cover our head with our hand as a heker (reminder) until we reach our yarmulka and can put it back on.

But that only helps for SOME of the reasons we wear a yarmulka.

Another reason we wear a yarmulka is to make sure our head is covered whenever we say Hashem’s name. We can’t cover ourselves with another part of ourselves — that’s not called covering! (“Ein Etzem Mastir Al Etzem.”) We need to cover our head with something separate in order to say Hashem’s name.

So if someone needs to say Hashem’s name when he can’t reach his yarmulka right away, he should cover his head with his sleeve, or with someone else’s hand.

See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman beis

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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GEULAH U'MOSHIACH

Excitement About the Geulah

When Moshiach comes, we will all want to praise Hashem for the nisim of the Geulah! The Navi Yeshaya told his generation this that this is what we will say to each other:

זַמְּרוּ ה׳ כִּי גֵאוּת עָשָׂה מוּדַעַת זֹאת בְּכָל הָאָרֶץ

Zamru Hashem — Sing to Hashem

Ki Geius Asa — Because Hashem has done great things!

Mudaas Zos Bechol Ha’aretz — This is something that is known about all over!

Everyone, all over the world, will know about the tremendous nisim of the Geulah! We will all be so excited to praise Hashem.

See Yeshaya perek Yud-Beis posuk Hey

 
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