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CHUMASH

Parshas Acharei-Kedoshim - Rishon with Rashi

In today’s Chumash, Hashem gives instructions of how the Kohen Gadol should do his avodah on Yom Kippur to bring forgiveness to the Yidden.

After Nadav and Avihu passed away, Hashem told Moshe to teach Aharon how to act in the Mishkan.

Even if he feels that he wants to be close to Hashem, Aharon is not allowed to go into the Kodesh HaKodoshim whenever he wants to, so that he shouldn’t make the same mistake as his sons did. Inside the Kodesh Hakodoshim, Hashem’s Shechinah rests, on the Aron, and it is asur to go inside unless it is the proper time.

Aharon Hakohen (and every other Kohen Gadol) is only allowed to come into the Kodesh Hakodoshim when he brings the Ketores on Yom Kippur.

Even then, he needs to follow all of the steps of the Yom Kippur Avodah:

He will not be wearing the special clothes of the Kohen Gadol — instead he wears four pieces of white linen clothing, because gold can remind Hashem of the Cheit Ha’Egel. These clothes are holy, and he needs to go to the mikvah every time before he puts them on — it’s not enough that he went to the mikvah in the morning.

First, wearing the special clothes of the Kohen Gadol, he does the regular morning Avodah — bringing the Korban Tomid and ketores, cleaning out the menorah, and bringing his daily Korban Mincha. Then he puts on the Yom Kippur clothing to do the special Yom Kippur Avodah.

The Kohen Gadol first says vidui over a korban that he will bring to Hashem to be forgiven for any aveiros connected to the Mishkan or korbanos.

Then he makes a goral: The Kohen Gadol stands between two goats. He picks two lots from a container, one with his right hand, and one with his left. The side with the lot that says “For Hashem” will be brought as a korban, and the side with the lot that says “For Azazel” will later be sent away to be killed in the desert.

Once the goral is decided, the Kohen Gadol shechts his korban, saving the blood for the next part of the Avodah.

Now that he has asked Hashem to forgive him for his own aveiros, the Kohen Gadol brings the ketores inside of the Kodesh Hakodoshim. Nobody is allowed to be even inside of the Kodesh at this time.

The Kohen Gadol leaves the burning ketores on the floor near the Aron, and goes to get the blood of his korban. He comes back and sprinkles the blood of his korban on the side of the Aron’s cover — one time upwards, and seven times downward.

He then shechts the korban for the Yidden’s aveiros, and brings its blood into the Kodesh Hakodoshim to be sprinkled there too. This will bring Hashem to forgive the Yidden for aveiros they did by eating korbanos or coming into the Mishkan when they weren’t tahor — by mistake or on purpose.

To forgive the Yidden in case they made the Menorah, Shulchan, or Mizbeiach Haketores tomei, the Kohen Gadol then sprinkles blood on the Paroches.

Now we learn how the Kohen Gadol is mechaper for any mistakes with the kedusha of the Mizbeiach Hapnimi, where the ketores was brought. The Kohen Gadol sprinkles the Mizbeiach Hapnimi with the same mixture of blood. This brings Hashem to forgive the Yidden in case the Mizbeiach became tomei by touching something tomei, or if the ketores had become tomei.

Then the Kohen Gadol goes out of the Kodesh and the person chosen the day before brings the goat for Azazel. The Kohen Gadol says vidui, asking forgiveness for all of the aveiros of the Yidden, leaning his hands on the goat’s head. Then he sends the goat to the desert with a kohen, to push the animal off the Azazel cliff. This takes away the aveiros of the Yidden.

The Kohen Gadol takes the fat of the korbanos to be burned on the Mizbeiach. Then he goes to the Mikvah to change back into the clothes of the Kohen Gadol that he wears all year (the Bigdei Zahav). He brings a Korban Olah for himself and for the Yidden. Then he brings seven sheep for the Korban Musaf of Yom Kippur.

 
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TEHILLIM

10 - 17

In one of today’s kapitelach, the posuk says: “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 the test?

Imagine there is a little boy who is really a very good writer, but he doesn’t know it. He is good at finding the right words to express his thoughts in a way that is easy for others to understand. But this little boy has no idea what a special koach he has — because he never needed to write anything except for the one word answers on his quizzes!

Now imagine that one day his teacher says that all of the boys in class need to write a two-page report on something from Tanya that helps them do mitzvos better each day. At first this boy kvetches like everyone else that his hand will hurt from writing such a long report! But once he starts writing the report, he sees that he actually LIKES thinking of the right words to use. He sees that his report is easy to understand. His teacher is impressed too, and gives him a special bonus prize for his beautiful report!

We are ALL like that little boy. We have special kochos too, that nobody knows about — not even us! Hashem sets up special tests that might look and feel very hard… but really they are to help us start using our special hidden kochos.

For example, Hashem might test us by giving us an annoying little sister — to show us how much patience we really have. Or by making our mommy forget to wash our favorite shirt — because we have a very strong koach for Kibbud Av Va’em and won’t talk in a chutzpadik way. Or one day it might be very hard for us to find where we put the Chitas — so we can realize how much we really love learning Chitas!

 
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TANYA

Likutei Amarim Perek Mem-Daled

We learned about two kinds of loving Hashem so far. One of them is Ahava Rabbah, a fiery kind of love that Hashem can give a person as a present. The other one is Ahavas Olam, where a person thinks about Hashem until he loves Hashem Who is the source of all life and of the things he enjoys.

Since both of those kinds of love come from hisbonenus, thinking and learning about Hashem, every person will feel the love differently, based on what they know.

But there is a kind of love that is “Shoveh Lechol Nefesh” — a love that works for everyone!

This kind of love isn’t based on thinking or learning or knowing — it is a kind of love that is part of our neshama, passed down from the Avos. This kind of ahava is called “Nafshi Ivisicha” — “I feel that Hashem is my chayus, and that’s why I want to be close to Hashem.”

When a person realizes that Hashem is his chayus, he wants to be close to Hashem to have that chayus!

A person’s greatest love and pleasure is to have his chayus, to be alive. But a person only feels it when it’s a new thing, like if chas veshalom a person was very sick and almost lost his chayus — then he really appreciates it. When we recognize that Hashem is constantly giving us new chayus, it will be our greatest pleasure!

We also know we can connect to this chayus through learning Torah, which Hashem always gives us in a new way, so this ahava makes us want to learn MORE Torah and feel this special chayus every day!

 
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HAYOM YOM

Beis Iyar

Today is seventeen days of the Omer!

Today is the birthday of the Rebbe Maharash!

When the Rebbe Maharash was seven, his father, the Tzemach Tzedek, once tested him on what he was learning.

The Rebbe Maharash did so well, his melamed was very impressed! He said to the Tzemach Tzedek, “Wow, look how well he did!”

The Tzemach Tzedek told the Melamed that the Rebbe Maharash was born on a very special day in Sefiras Haomer, Tiferes SheBeTiferes. Tiferes is a beautiful midah, and Tiferes SheBeTiferes is this special midah in a beautiful way that people can see!

 
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SEFER HAMITZVOS

Shiur #265 - Mitzvas Lo Saasei #250

Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #250) is that we aren’t allowed to cheat people when we sell them things. For example, we are not allowed to sell something for much more money than it’s really worth!

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Behar: וְכִי תִמְכְּרוּ מִמְכָּר לַעֲמִיתֶךָ אוֹ קָנֹה מִיַּד עֲמִיתֶךָ אַל תּוֹנוּ אִישׁ אֶת אָחִיו

The details are explained in Perek Daled of Mesechta Bava Metzia.

 
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RAMBAM

Hilchos Mechirah

In today’s Rambam, we learn more about buying according to Torah and especially what happens if a person changes his mind in the middle.

In Perek Zayin we learn that if a person pays for something but didn’t finish buying it with the details that the Torah says, he doesn’t need to take it in the end, but its not a Yiddishe way of acting. Beis Din says about him that Hashem who punished goyim that acted not nice should also punish him for acting like a goy. (This is called getting a “Mi Shepara.”)

In Perek Ches we learn a lot of halachos of when a person can or can’t change his mind after buying something.

And in Perek Tes, the Rambam teaches us that the halacha is different if something was bought for the Beis Hamikdash or to take care of yesomim (orphans).

 
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RAMBAM PEREK ECHOD

Hilchos Sanhedrin - Perek Zayin

One interesting halacha in today’s Rambam is called Zabla — if two people who are arguing (like about money) and each want to go to a different judge, they can each choose one judge, and then those judges pick out a third judge to make sure that the halacha will be paskened the way Hashem wants.

 
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INYANA D'YOMA

Beis Iyar

Today is the birthday of the Rebbe Maharash!

The Rebbe Maharash had a saying: “Di velt zogt, az men ken nit arunter, geit men ariber. Un ich zog az Lechat’chila Ariber!”

People say that if there is something in your way, first try to work around it. If that doesn’t work, just ignore the problem and keep going where you need to go!

But the Rebbe Maharash says, “go over it right away!”

The Rebbe Maharash is teaching us what to do when something is stopping us from doing what Hashem wants us to. It doesn’t matter whether this is from our own Yetzer Hara, or it is something ELSE. We might think we should try to figure out why it’s blocking us, and maybe decide not to do it after all. NO! We should just do what we need to do, and not spend time on what’s stopping us.

When we act in a way of Lechat’chila Ariber, we will be thinking about our shlichus, not all of the problems that come up. We will be able to get much more done, and bring Moshiach now!

 

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TEFILLAH

Magein Avraham

In the first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei, we mention the zechus of the Avos, so that with their zechus, Hashem should answer our tefillos.

R’ Shimon ben Lakish once explained that the words of first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei are based on a promise Hashem made to Avraham Avinu when he left his father’s house in Parshas Lech Lecha.

When Hashem promised, “I will make you a great nation,” Hashem was hinting that the Yidden would mention him in the first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei, “Elokei Avraham.”

When Hashem said, “I will bentch you,” He was hinting that the Yidden would mention his son, “Elokei Yitzchak.”

And when Hashem said, “Va’agadla Shemecha,” “I will make your name great,” this was hinting to mentioning the name of Avraham’s grandson, Yaakov, as well — “Veilokei Yaakov.”

That is why we say the names of each of the Avos separately in the first bracha of Shemoneh EsreiElokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, Ve’ilokei Yaakov.

But the end of the bracha does not again say the names of all of the Avos. Hashem told Avraham, “Veheyei Bracha” — “YOU will be a bracha.” This first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei mentions all of the Avos, but ends only with the name of Avraham Avinu, “Magein Avraham.”

See Gemara Pesachim 117b

 
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HALACHOS HATZRICHOS

Tachanun

It’s been a month since we said Tachanun in davening. We didn’t say any Tachanun the entire month of Nisan, and we don’t say Tachanun on Rosh Chodesh, so today is the first day we say Tachanun again.

The main part of Tachanun is the section of davening, right after Shemoneh Esrei. We tell Hashem that we are ready to do teshuvah for the things we did that we realize were not the way they should be. We ask Hashem to accept the tefillos we just said.

As part of davening on a day we say Tachanun, we klap (gently bang) our heart during Shemoneh Esrei, in the bracha of Selach Lanu, where we ask Hashem to forgive us. We klap by the words Chatanu and Fashanu, where we say we did aveiros.

We also say Kapitel Chof in davening again, before Uva Letzion and Kapitel Pey-Vov (Tefillah LeDovid) before Shir Shel Yom.

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

Moshiach Sefer Torah

On Beis Iyar, Tof-Shin-Beis, during World War II, the Frierdiker Rebbe started a special Sefer Torah called the Moshiach Sefer Torah. After the Moshiach Sefer Torah was finished, on Yud Shevat Tof-Shin-Lamed, the Rebbe explained why a Sefer Torah is especially connected with Moshiach!

Nowadays, we have many seforim. We have Medrash, Gemara, Halacha, Chassidus, and much more! These are the seforim explaining the Torah Shebaal Peh, which Moshe Rabbeinu got on Har Sinai, but were not allowed to be written down then. Moshe Rabbeinu taught them to the Yidden, and they were passed down to the next generations. Only the Sefer Torah was allowed to be written down, everything else needed to be learned by heart.

Later, the Chachomim were afraid that the Yidden would start forgetting the Torah Shebaal Peh, and it needed to be written down. All of the seforim we have are because we are in Golus, where people can forget things.

But when Moshiach comes, we won’t forget anything anymore! We won’t need to have all of these seforim, because when we learn it once, we will remember it! Torah Shebaal Peh will go back to being learned by heart, and the only part of Torah that will still need to be written down is the Sefer Torah, Torah Shebichsav!

See Farbrengen of Motzei Yud Shevat 5730 (Yiddish — hanacha and audio)

 
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