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Moshe is still farbrenging with the Yidden, so they will behave in a way that they can STAY in Eretz Yisroel! Moshe tells the Yidden about how special Eretz Yisroel is! Even though Mitzrayim is very beautiful, Eretz Yisroel is MUCH nicer! In Mitzrayim, everyone waits for the Nile River to flood to water the fields, but in Eretz Yisroel, Hashem sends rain from Shomayim. Then Moshe reminds the Yidden that if they listen to Hashem they will get rain and Hashem will take care of them, but if they don’t, Hashem won’t send rain. Everyone will be hungry because nothing will grow, and they will have to leave this very special place, Eretz Yisroel… So Yidden! Listen to what Hashem says and you can live in Eretz Yisroel forever! In today’s Chumash we have the second of the three paragraphs of Shema, which starts with the words “Vehaya Im Shamo’a”! If you learn it inside, you will know what it means every time you say it in davening! |
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Today’s kapitelach are Kuf-Vov and Kuf-Zayin. Kapitel Kuf-Zayin starts with the words “Hodu LaHashem Ki Tov, Ki LeOlam Chasdo!” “Thank Hashem because He is good, His kindness is forever!” The first word is “Hodu,” which means to thank. But it also means something else! Hodu also means to “admit.” What are we admitting to? The Tzemach Tzedek explains that we know that Hashem is creating the world EVERY SECOND and is here inside us EVERY MOMENT. But we don’t see it! So we need to admit that it’s true anyway. But when Moshiach comes, we won’t have to admit it anymore — we will all be able to see it! |
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The Alter Rebbe started telling us how we get a special reward for giving Tzedakah — we get Emes! Today, we learn why we need this reward: There are two kinds of Ahavas Hashem and Yiras Hashem. One kind is the way we feel it from our own avodah, and the other is the way we feel it when Hashem helps us feel it! Of course, when Hashem is helping us, we feel it in a much stronger way. Since these feelings come from the Emes of Hashem, they are very real and true for us. When does Hashem help a person to feel this strong Ahavas Hashem and Yiras Hashem? When the person connects to Hashem with HIS emes, and feels the Rachmonus for the neshama in a true and real way. But how can a person’s emes connect to Hashem’s Emes? When a Yid gives tzedakah and helps another Yid, Hashem connects His emes with that person’s emes! Then the person is able to get that special present of feeling Ahavas Hashem and Yiras Hashem in a true way! This is especially the case when we give tzedakah to Eretz Yisroel! |
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In today’s Hayom Yom, we learn about the importance of cleanliness in Avodas Hashem. Do you say brachos in the morning? You probably know that you need to wash a second Negel Vasser first, but there’s something else you need to wash too — your mouth! The Rebbe Rashab said that we should make sure to rinse out our mouths before brachos every day! (Except on a fast day.) The Rebbe chose the Hayom Yoms from sichos or letters of the Frierdiker Rebbe. This Hayom Yom comes from a letter that the Frierdiker Rebbe wrote to the hanhala of the Mechinos of Tomchei Temimim in Warsaw. In the letter, the Frierdiker Rebbe was telling the hanhala how important it is for the bochurim to have cleanliness. In the letter, the Frierdiker Rebbe told a story that happened with the Rebbe Rashab, showing how important this is: The Rebbe Rashab was the Nasi of Tomchei Temimim, but the Frierdiker Rebbe was the Menahel Poel, in charge of running it. The Frierdiker Rebbe would give a report to the Rebbe Rashab every month, and the Rebbe Rashab would give horaos based on the report. Once there was a Talmid in Tomchei Temimim who had bad breath. He didn’t brush his teeth, and he didn’t go to the dentist. A Mashgiach in the Yeshivah told the bochur to go to the dentist, but he didn’t want to go. The Mashgiach told the Frierdiker Rebbe, who called in the bochur to speak to him. The Frierdiker Rebbe also told this bochur to go to the dentist, but he still didn’t listen. A little while later, the Frierdiker Rebbe called him in again, telling him that what he was doing was wrong, and that he needs to get his teeth cleaned. Unfortunately, this bochur still refused to go. In the next report about Tomchei Temimim, the Frierdiker Rebbe had to also write about this. The Rebbe Rashab answered this part of the report in writing. The Rebbe Rashab wrote that in the Gemara, it says that bad breath is called a mum when someone wants to get married. It is a very serious thing in halacha! If someone has bad breath that could be fixed, but doesn’t want to do anything about it, that is a real problem. Even though this is a very good bochur, he should be warned that unless he works on fixing this problem, he will not be able to stay in Tomchei Temimim. The Frierdiker Rebbe called in this bochur and showed him what the Rebbe Rashab wrote. That day, the bochur went to the dentist, and became a normal healthy bochur. In one of the farbrengens in Tof-Shin-Chof-Hey (the year of aveilus for Rebbetzin Chana), when the Rebbe farbrenged very often, the Rebbe spoke about this letter. The Rebbe said that even though davening is our neshama connecting to Hashem, our body needs to be clean also! That includes brushing our teeth every day except for Shabbos and Yom Tov. The Rebbe added that since this is a clear hora’ah from the Rebbeim, the Yetzer Hara will try to stop it! But this is part of our Avodas Hashem — to brush our teeth every day. |
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #73) is the same as yesterday’s: If someone does an aveira (Chas Veshalom!) he needs to SAY to Hashem what he did and ask Hashem to forgive him. |
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Perek Daled: The Rambam tells us about 24 things that make it harder for a person to do teshuvah. There are some aveiros that are very serious. If a person does them, Hashem won’t help him do teshuvah! For example, if someone makes other people do the wrong thing, Hashem won’t help him do teshuvah. There are also some aveiros that a person thinks aren’t such a big deal, and they won’t even TRY to do teshuvah for them. For example, a person might look at non-tznius pictures, and thinks that since he isn’t DOING anything, it isn’t a problem. But really, a person needs to do teshuvah for it, because it is the cause for very serious aveiros! Perek Hey: The Rambam reminds us that we always have a choice to do the right thing, what Hashem wants — or chas veshalom NOT the right thing. It’s also our choice that if we see we didn’t do what Hashem wants, we can right away do teshuvah and start doing the RIGHT thing again. In Perek Vov, the Rambam shows us how many pesukim and stories of Torah don’t contradict what we learned, that a person has free choice to act in the right way. |
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Today’s perek has the halachos about when a broken keili is still counted as a keili — when we can still use it. So even though it is broken, it can still become tomei (even though usually a broken keili can’t become tomei.) |
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The Rebbe told a story about his father, R’ Levi Yitzchak (whose yartzeit was on Chof Av): It was getting closer to Pesach. In Yekatrinoslav, one of the biggest cities in Ukraine, the government officials knew that soon the Yidden would be looking for matzah. Back then, the Russian government owned EVERYTHING. Nobody could have their own store, or their own factory, or their own Matzah Bakery. The government would need to arrange for matzah to be baked. Since Yidden would only buy matzah with a hechsher, the government decided to ask R’ Levi Yitzchak (the Rav in Yekatrinoslav) to say that it was kosher. R’ Levi Yitzchak agreed — but when he explained how they would need to make the matzah Shmurah, they didn’t want to follow all of the rules. It would cost the government more money and be complicated to make the matzah properly! They wanted R’ Levi Yitzchak to give a hechsher even without doing it right. They tried to convince R’ Levi Yitzchak to agree. The Russian government in that time would give people very big punishments, even for little things. (This actually happened to R’ Levi Yitzchak later in his life, and he passed away early because of it.) Everyone had to listen to exactly what they said — or else! Even though the Russian government was so powerful and so scary, R’ Levi Yitzchak didn’t think about what would happen. He knew that it wasn’t right to give a hechsher to matzah that wasn’t made exactly the way halacha teaches. He told the government that he did NOT agree! Really, that would have been enough for R’ Levi Yitzchak to deserve a huge punishment! How dare he tell the government that he won’t do what they told him to! But instead of punishing him, they said that they can’t follow all of his rules unless they get permission from the higher officials in Moscow. They sent him there to ask himself. R’ Levi Yitzchak traveled to Moscow, and told the government officials there firmly what he needs to give a hechsher. Amazingly, they agreed to what he said! They wrote an order that all of the mills where they grind the flour for matzah have to follow the rules that Rabbi Schneerson gives — even if it ends up being more expensive for them! What R’ Levi Yitzchak did sounds CRAZY! How could he think of not listening to the big scary Russian government? It WAS crazy — but a good kind of crazy. In Chassidus this is called Shtus D’Kedusha. We can learn from here that we should do what we know the Torah wants us to, and not be scared of what might happen! We can be strong even if it sounds meshugah, because we know we are doing the right thing! For example, if Mommy asked us if we washed negel vasser in the morning but we forgot, we know we need to tell the truth. We don’t think about what’s going to happen — how we will have to stop eating and go wash negel vasser and Mommy might be upset. We just do what we need to do! Or, for example, a Tatty who needs to learn Torah and go to a shiur, but is scared that if he goes, he might miss a chance to earn a lot of money. He needs to do what the Torah tells him to, and not worry what could happen! Or a Mommy who was asked by someone to do a favor, and she does it — not thinking about how she might miss a chance to go shopping and get the things she really wanted to. It might seem crazy to not do something that’s fun or good for you, but if you’re doing what Hashem wants you to, that’s a GOOD kind of crazy! That’s Shtus D’Kedusha, which comes from a very deep part of the neshama. Acting in this way brings us special brachos from Hashem! |
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Another reason why we say Ana B’koach is to hint to another part of the Avodah in the Beis Hamikdash that we didn’t say yet! We said parts of the Torah about the Terumas Hadeshen, the Korban Tomid, and the Ketores. We mentioned most of the rest of the steps of the Avodah in the paragraph of Abaye. But there was something else that was done in the Beis Hamikdash every day that we didn’t say anything about here! In the Beis Hamikdash, they said Birchas Kohanim every day. (We did say the words of Birchas Kohanim in brachos, we didn’t say that it is part of the Avodah in the Beis Hamikdash.) When we say Ana B’koach, we are hinting to Birchas Kohanim! Ana B’Koach has hinted inside of it Hashem’s holy name. In the Beis Hamikdash, when they said Birchas Kohanim, they said the name of Hashem, the holy Sheim Hameforash! Ana B’Koach hints to that. |
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We do many things to show our kavod for the Sefer Torah. One of the things we do is to be melaveh (escort), to go along with the Sefer Torah. Any person who helped do something with the Sefer Torah while it was out of the Aron Kodesh, should escort the Sefer Torah if he is nearby. He should continue walking with it until it is brought to where it belongs. For example, the person who did Hagbah (lifting up the open Sefer Torah for everyone to see) should go along with the Sefer Torah, back to the Aron Kodesh. The person who did Gelilah (tying and covering the Sefer Torah) should also go together with the Sefer Torah if it is brought back right away (like in Mincha of Shabbos). The person who opens up the Aron Kodesh should also go along with the Sefer Torah until it is brought to the Bimah. IY”H tomorrow we will learn how everyone else in the shul is also melaveh the Sefer Torah. See Shulchan Aruch siman 149, and Piskei Teshuvos vol. 2, p. 208 |
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לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק ע״ה בן ר׳ אפרים שי׳ מאסקאוויץ |
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The last posuk of today’s Chumash is from the paragraph of Vehaya, in Shema: לְמַעַן יִרְבּוּ יְמֵיכֶם וִימֵי בְנֵיכֶם עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע ה׳ לַאֲבֹתֵיכֶם לָתֵת לָהֶם כִּימֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם עַל הָאָרֶץ Lemaan Yirbu Yemeichem Vimei Veneichem — So you and your children will live for a long time Al Ha’adamah — on the land (Eretz Yisroel) Asher Nishba Hashem La’avoseichem Laseis Lahem — which Hashem promised the Avos to give to them Kimei Hashomayim Al Ha’aretz — as long as the days of the heaven over the earth! Rashi asks, why does it say that Hashem promised the Avos to give Eretz Yisroel to THEM? Hashem never gave Eretz Yisroel to the Avos, Hashem gave it to the Yidden that are now in the Midbar! Rashi brings an answer from the Sifri: Hashem DID promise to give Eretz Yisroel to the Avos, and it will happen! When Moshiach comes, Hashem will give the Avos the land He promised them. This is one of the places in the Torah which teaches us that there will be Techiyas Hameisim! See Devarim perek Yud-Alef, posuk Chof-Alef, with Rashi |
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לע"נ התינוק זאב ארי' ע"ה בן יבלט"א הרה"ח ר' שניאור זלמן שי' גליק |
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