Daily Chitas - Thursday Parshas Devarim

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Parshas Devarim - Chamishi with Rashi

Moshe reviewed with the Yidden about more of their time in the Midbar. He reminded them about all of the nations they tried to pass through on their way to Eretz Yisroel.

Edom: The Yidden asked Edom (Eisav’s family) if they could go through their land. Edom didn’t want to let the Yidden pass through. Hashem told the Yidden not to fight with them, since He had promised Eisav that he could stay there until Moshiach comes. So they turned around and went to the land of Moav.

Moav: Hashem also told the Yidden not to fight with Moav, from the family of Lot. They were allowed to show they had weapons and scare them, since Moav wasn’t acting the way Hashem wanted.

It took a long time until the Yidden got to the next nation. The Yidden had to travel for 38 years! This way, all of the Yidden who came out of Mitzrayim would pass away, and only their children would go into Eretz Yisroel.

Ammon: Then the Yidden passed near Ammon, also from Lot’s family. To reward Lot’s daughter, the mother of the nation of Ammon, for her tznius, Hashem didn’t even let the Yidden scare them.

Emori: But the Yidden WOULD be allowed to fight with the Emori — where Sichon and Og were the kings. First the Yidden tried to ask them nicely if they could pass through their land, but Sichon said no. (IY”H tomorrow we will review what happened with Sichon in the end!)

TEHILLIM

10 - 17

Today’s kapitelach are Yud until Yud-Zayin.

In one of today's Kapitelach, there is a very interesting posuk: “Hashem Tzadik Yivchan.” Hashem tests a tzadik.

This means that Hashem only tests a person if he's like a tzadik — if he has the kochos to do the right thing and pass the test!

So why does Hashem test us if He already KNOWS we can pass?

Hashem knows we have kochos hiding inside of us, but it’s not enough to just HAVE kochos, we have to USE them for Hashem! By testing us, we need to use those kochos to pass the test, and then we’re using all of our kochos for Hashem!

TANYA

Igeres Hateshuvah Perek Yud-Beis

Even a Yid who did an aveira and then does Teshuvah needs to always be besimcha!

When he’s doing the part of teshuvah where he thinks about his aveiros (Teshuva Tata’ah) he needs to be happy because Hashem for sure forgives him! And when he’s doing mitzvos with a new special chayus (Teshuva Ila’ah) then for sure he needs to be besimcha that he is able to become so close to Hashem!

And when something uncomfortable happens (yisurim) because of his aveiros, he needs to be happy too! Today the Alter Rebbe tells us why:

When a Yid does an aveira, his neshama becomes “dirty.” Just like with our clothes, no one wants to go around with dirty ones — we put them in the washing machine to get clean! The same is true with our neshamos: Since aveiros can make them dirty, we need to make them clean. A washing machine is not so comfortable!

There are two choices of when to do the “washing” of our neshamos: Here, in Olam Hazeh, or in Olam HaBa. If Hashem makes a person feel uncomfortable because his neshama is getting clean in THIS world, he needs to be very happy! Because THIS world is a world of Chesed, kindness. So the kind of cleaning HERE is much easier (no matter how hard it seems) than the kind of washing machine in Olam HaBa!

There was a person named Iyov who had a very hard life. Still, ALL of the hard things in his life doesn’t even compare to how hard it is for a neshama to get clean in Olam Haba!

Mazel Tov! We now finished the third Sefer of Tanya! In this section we learned how a Yid does teshuvah according to halacha, and the two kinds of teshuvah in Ruchnius — Teshuvah Tata’ah and Teshuvah Ila’ah. We learned that in all parts of teshuvah a Yid needs to be besimcha!

The Rambam says that when Yidden do Teshuvah, Moshiach will come right away. Now that we finished Igeres HaTeshuvah, Hashem should bring Moshiach NOW!

Since the Rebbe told us that we need to make siyumim during the Nine Days, Chitas is helping us to make a siyum on a sefer in Tanya — right in the middle of the Nine Days!

HAYOM YOM

Beis Menachem Av

Today we learn about our minhag of putting on tefillin to get ready for the Bar Mitzvah.

Our minhag is that a Bar Mitzvah boy practices putting on Tefillin for two months BEFORE his Bar Mitzvah. At first he just gets used to putting them on right, then in a few weeks when he is comfortable putting them on, he starts to say a bracha.

SEFER HAMITZVOS

Shiur #14 - Mitzvas Lo Saasei #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #26, #28, #27, #29, #14, #8, #9, #7

Today we learn many more mitzvos about staying away from Avodah Zarah, and only serving Hashem!

In Rambam, we are now learning Hilchos Avodah Zarah. This set of halachos has 12 perakim and 51 mitzvos! It takes four days to learn the perakim (3 perakim each day), so we need to learn all of these 51 mitzvos in four days too! That is why we are learning so many mitzvos each day.

The first six mitzvos are about a Meisis:

1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #16) No Yid is allowed to make someone else serve Avodah Zarah. He is called a meisis if he does, and the Beis Din punishes him with Sekilah. The one who he tried to convince to serve Avodah Zarah is the one the Torah says should carry out the punishment.

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: וְלֹא יוֹסִפוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת כַּדָּבָר הָרָע הַזֶּה בְּקִרְבֶּךָ

The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Zayin.

2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #17) The person who the meisis tried to convince to serve Avodah Zarah can’t feel bad for the meisis. Even though there is a mitzvah of Ve’ahavta Leraeiacha Kamocha, it does not include this person.

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: לֹא תֹאבֶה לוֹ

3) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #18) The person who the meisis tried to convince to serve Avodah Zarah can’t stop being angry at the meisis. Even though there is a mitzvah of Azov Taazov, to help another Yid, the Torah says that it doesn’t apply to a meisis.

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: וְלֹא תִשְׁמַע אֵלָיו

4) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #19) Even though it is a mitzvah to save someone’s life (Lo Saamod Al Dam Reiacha), it doesn’t apply to a meisis. The person who the meisis tried to get to serve Avodah Zarah should not try to save the life of the meisis, even if he can.

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: וְלֹא תָחוֹס עֵינְךָ עָלָיו

5) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #20) The person who the meisis tried to get to serve Avodah Zarah should not look for excuses in Beis Din so the meisis won’t get punished.

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: וְלֹא תַחְמֹל

6) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #21) The person who the meisis tried to get to serve Avodah Zarah is not allowed to keep anything not nice he did a secret in Beis Din.

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: וְלֹא תְכַסֶּה עָלָיו

The next four mitzvos are about not-true Nevuah:

7) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #26) A person is not allowed to say that he has a nevuah to go do Avodah Zarah. He can’t say that Hashem says to do Avodah Zarah, and he also can’t say that the Avodah Zarah said it will reward or punish people who serve it.

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Shoftim: וַאֲשֶׁר יְדַבֵּר בְּשֵׁם אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים וּמֵת הַנָּבִיא הַהוּא

The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Yud-Alef.

8) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #28) We can’t listen to someone who says he is a Navi for Avodah Zarah. For a true Navi, we test him to see if he knows the future. But for someone who says he is a Navi for Avodah Zarah, we don’t even give him a chance!

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: לֹא תִשְׁמַע אֶל דִּבְרֵי הַנָּבִיא הַהוּא

9) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #27) It is asur to say ANY nevuah that didn’t really happen. This means that it is asur to say that Hashem said something that He really didn’t say, or to say that he got a nevuah that Hashem really says to a different Navi.

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Shoftim: אַךְ הַנָּבִיא אֲשֶׁר יָזִיד לְדַבֵּר דָּבָר בִּשְׁמִי אֵת אֲשֶׁר לֹא צִוִּיתִיו לְדַבֵּר

The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Yud-Alef.

10) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #29) We shouldn’t be afraid of a not-real Navi. We shouldn’t be afraid to punish him, even if he is saying Nevuos in the name of Hashem.

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Shoftim: לֹא תָגוּר מִמֶּנּוּ

The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Yud-Alef.

We learn one mitzvah about not promising in the name of an Avodah Zarah:

11) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #14) We can’t make a shevuah in the name of an Avodah Zarah, or even cause a goy to promise in the name of an Avodah Zarah.

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Mishpatim: וְשֵׁם אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים לֹא תַזְכִּירוּ

The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Zayin.

The last three mitzvos for today are about not serving different types of Avodah Zarah:

12) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #8) We are not allowed to serve the Avodah Zarah called Ov.

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Kedoshim: אַל תִּפְנוּ אֶל הָאֹבֹת

The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Zayin.

13) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #9) We are not allowed to serve the Avodah Zarah called Yidoni.

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Kedoshim: אַל תִּפְנוּ אֶל הָאֹבֹת וְאֶל הַיִּדְּעֹנִים

The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Zayin.

14) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #7) We are not allowed to serve the Avodah Zarah called Molech.

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: וּמִזַּרְעֲךָ לֹא תִתֵּן לְהַעֲבִיר לַמֹּלֶךְ

The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Zayin.

RAMBAM

Hilchos Avodas Kochavim

Perek Daled: We learn about an Ir Hanidachas, a city where a lot of people started serving Avodah Zarah. The whole city has to be destroyed!

In Perek Hey, we learn about a person who tries to get other people to serve Avodah Zarah (a meisis), and the punishment he gets.

Perek Vov: In this perek, we learn about different types of Avodah Zarah. In the beginning of the perek we learn the details of today’s mitzvos, about the Avodah Zarah of Ov, Yidoni, and Molech.

RAMBAM PEREK ECHOD

Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah - Perek Beis

This perek has the halachos about loving Hashem, and having Yiras Shomayim! We need to think about how special everything Hashem created is. The more we think and learn about Hashem, the more we will love him and want to act the way a Yid should.

INYANA D'YOMA

Weakening the Golus

In Musaf of the Yom Tov davening, we say “Mipnei Chato’einu Golinu Me’artzeinu” — we went into Golus because of our aveiros. This shows us that there is something that makes the Golus happen. This is called a siba, a cause. Our aveiros are the siba that brings the Golus.

Hashem made the world in a way that one thing can make another thing happen, called Siba Umesuvav (cause and effect). If we take away the siba, the mesuvav goes away too!

How does that work?

Well, imagine that you are standing near the wall, when someone accidentally steps on your toe. Ouch! That hurts! Their standing on you is the siba, and your toe hurting is the mesuvav. If they take away the siba, by moving their foot off of your toe, the mesuvav will also go away — your toe will stop hurting.

And even if they just take their foot off a little bit, your toe won’t hurt as much!

The Torah teaches us that the Golus is just a mesuvav, it only is there because something is making it happen. If we take away the siba that is making the Golus happen, the Golus will go away!

So especially now, during the Nine Days, when we think about the Golus and the Churban, we should work very hard on taking away the siba for the Golus!

What is the siba for the Golus? Our aveiros, especially Sinas Chinam, hating other people for no reason.

When we take away this siba as much as we can, by doing extra mitzvos and having Ahavas Yisroel, that takes away at least part of the Golus! We might not see it clearly right away, but the Golus starts to get weaker, until we finally have the Geulah Sheleimah!

See Igros Kodesh chelek Chof-Gimmel, Three Weeks

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TEFILLAH

Birchas Kohanim and Eilu Devarim

After we say the Birchos HaTorah, thanking Hashem for this special gift, we actually SAY words of Torah!

First we say a part of Torah Shebichsav, and then a piece of Torah Shebaal Peh. From Torah Shebichsav we say Birchas Kohanim, which comes from Parshas Naso, and for Torah Shebaal Peh we say the Mishnah of Eilu Devarim which comes from Mesechta Pe’ah.

One of the reasons why Birchas Kohanim was chosen is because it is a good preparation for davening. In Shemoneh Esrei, the main part of tefillah, we are going to ask Hashem for many brachos. Birchas Kohanim is a general bracha which includes all of these brachos that we are about to ask for.

The Mishnah of Eilu Devarim seems to have been chosen because it mentions many mitzvos that we do on a regular basis. It includes mitzvos that are Bein Adam Lamakom (mitzvos we do directly with Hashem) and mitzvos Bein Adam Lachaveiro (mitzvos that help other people), and we see the brachos from these mitzvos even in Olam Hazeh!

This is the end of Birchos Hashachar. We have thanked Hashem for the wonderful things He gives us every day, and prepared for the connection our neshama will make with Hashem during davening.