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CHUMASH
Parshas Vayeilech - Rishon with Rashi
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Moshe is farbrenging with the Yidden, on his last day in the world — Zayin Adar:
“Today I turned 120 years old, and even though I am still healthy and strong, I am not allowed to decide things anymore — now Yehoshua is in charge. I also don’t have the koach to decide things in Torah anymore.
“Hashem won’t let me cross the Yarden, but Hashem will go ahead of you and fight against the Goyim living there, and Yehoshua will lead you into Eretz Yisroel.”
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Today we are going to finish the whole Sefer Tehillim! Since there are only 29 days in Elul, we say the Tehillim for day 29 AND day 30, kapitelach Kuf-Mem to Kuf-Nun. We also say three kapitelach for Chodesh Elul: Pey-Hey, Pey-Vov, and Pey-Zayin.
In Kapitel Kuf-Mem-Zayin, Dovid Hamelech talks about the greatness of Hashem and how He runs the world! At the end, he says “Maggid Devarav LeYaakov, Chukav Umishpatav L’Yisrael.” “Hashem tells over His words to the Yidden, and His mitzvos.”
The Medrash says about this posuk that people will sometimes tell others to do something, even though THEY don’t do it! Like a person will say “Eat all the food on your plate” — even though they didn’t finish their chicken.
But Hashem does everything that He tells us to do! That’s why it says HIS words and HIS mitzvos — Hashem does them too!
For example, Hashem puts on Tefillin. The Gemara tells us that in OUR Tefillin, it says how great Hashem is. In HASHEM’S Tefillin, it says how special the Yidden are and how proud Hashem is that we make the world into a comfortable place for Hashem!
(We learn about this in the Bar Mitzvah Maamar!)
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Yud-Tes
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This letter wasn’t printed in the Tanya at first — it was added in later! It doesn’t have a Perek number itself, and we just count it as part of Igeres Yud-Tes which is before, since it is about the same thing.
In the last letter, we learned how Moshe Rabbeinu had his nevuah from the “back” (so to speak) of Hashem. The posuk says that he couldn’t see Hashem’s face. In this letter, we learn a mashal about this from the way a person thinks and speaks. Like the posuk says, “MiBesari Echezeh Elokah” — when I look at the way my guf works, I can understand Hashem.
Here is the mashal:
When a person talks, they are saying a lot of letters put together into words and then sentences and ideas. Where did those letters come from? They came from what the person was thinking. A person’s thought has the Pnimius and the Chitzonius, the “face” and the “back.”
Sometimes a person just thinks an idea, without words. That’s the pnimius of a person’s thought (Machshava ShebeMachshava).
Then there are times when a person thinks something with letters and words. That is the Chitzonius of a person’s thought (called Dibur ShebeMachshava).
When a person talks, they have to use words that they thought about before in the Chitzonius of their Machshavah. Even if you are thinking about something else and talking at the same time, you can only say things that you have thought about before with letters and words.
That is a mashal for what we learned about Moshe Rabbeinu: The nevuah that he told the Yidden came from the “back” of Hashem, not straight from Hashem’s pnimius. That’s like our talking, — it can’t come straight from the Pnimius, it has to come first from the Chitzonius of the Machshavah that has letters and words.
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Today is the birthday of the Tzemach Tzedek!
In a letter to a chosid, the Frierdiker Rebbe tells him that he needs to be very careful to stay healthy — the Torah warns us about this! Then the Friediker Rebbe tells him:
The Alter Rebbe says that we have NO IDEA how precious a Yid’s body is to Hashem!
This is also very important to think about Erev Rosh Hashana! Hashem judges us for all of the Gashmius things we will need this coming year — we need to remember how important it is to Hashem that Yidden should be healthy and have everything Gashmius that they need.
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In today’s Sefer Hamitzvos, we learn 3 more mitzvos about Pesach:
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #200) We shouldn’t leave any chometz in our house on Pesach that we will be able to find on Pesach.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Bo: וְלֹא יֵרָאֶה לְךָ חָמֵץ וְלֹא יֵרָאֶה לְךָ שְׂאֹר בְּכָל גְּבֻלֶךָ
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #201) We can’t have any chometz in our house on Pesach, even if we don’t see it or it belongs to another Yid. (Nowadays, we close our chometz away and sell it to a goy, which is the only way to keep chometz in our homes on Pesach.)
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Bo: שִׁבְעַת יָמִים שְׂאֹר לֹא יִמָּצֵא בְּבָתֵּיכֶם
The Gemara Pesachim explains these two mitzvos. They are called the isur of “Bal Yera’eh” and “Bal Yematzeh” — that chometz shouldn’t be seen or be found. The Gemara explains what the exact difference is between these two mitzvos.
3) (Mitzvas Asei #158) It is a mitzvah to eat Matzah on the first night of Pesach. It is only a mitzvah from the Torah on the seder night(s), and the rest of Pesach there is no chiyuv to eat it.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Bo: בָּעֶרֶב תֹּאכְלוּ מַצֹּת
The details are explained in Mesechta Pesachim.
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Chomeitz U'Matzah
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Perek Hey: We learn what makes things chometz, and also about how to kasher keilim to be used on Pesach.
Perek Vov: We learn how to properly keep the mitzvah of eating matzah on the first night of Pesach. One halacha is that once a child is old enough to eat bread, we teach him to eat a kezayis of matzah for chinuch.
Perek Zayin: We learn about the mitzvah of telling over the Yetziyas Mitzrayim on Pesach, leaning (haseiba), drinking four kosos, and the mitzvah of eating maror.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more about what to do if an animal causes damage.
This perek explains how much the owner needs to pay when his animal hurt an animal that was pregnant, two separate animals, or an animal that belongs to two people!
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Today is the Tzemach Tzedek’s birthday!
In the time of the Tzemach Tzedek, the Chassidim were hoping more than ever before that Moshiach would come. The Tzemach Tzedek made shalom between the Chassidim and Misnagdim, and explained how Niglah and Chassidus fit together.
With all of that Achdus, Chassidim were sure that Moshiach must be coming right away!
Our Rebbe also made Achdus with all kinds of Yidden, and showed us how all parts of Torah are really connected! So we can be SURE that Moshiach MUST be coming right away!
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TEFILLAH
Maariv of the Night of Rosh Hashana
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Today is Erev Yom Tov, so we don’t say Tachanun! We also don’t blow the shofar after davening, like we usually do during Chodesh Elul. One of the reasons why is so that we separate between the shofar blowing of Elul which is a minhag, and the shofar blowing on Rosh Hashana which is a mitzvah. It is a minhag to have extra kavana and daven Mincha, the last tefillah of the year, with extra kavana!
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The Rebbeim would always have a very special davening on the first night of Rosh Hashana. In Tof-Shin-Nun-Beis, the Rebbe asked us that we also try to make our davening on the first night of Rosh Hashana extra special!
It is our minhag that after davening on the first night of Rosh Hashana, we wish each other personally, “Leshana Tova Tikaseiv Veseichaseim!” “You should be written and sealed for a good year!” (For a girl, we say “Leshana Tova Tikaseivi Veseichaseimi.”)
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Here are some halacha newsletters for Rosh Hashana: Halacha Newsletter by Rabbi Lesches (Melbourne) and Day By Day Halachic Guide by Badatz of Crown Heights
Some of the things we need to do Erev Rosh Hashana are:
- An extra-long Selichos
- Hataras Nedarim (it’s not our minhag for women to do it)
- We DON’T blow the Shofar
- Give extra Tzedakah
- Write a Pa”n — we ask the Rebbe to ask Hashem for us that we should have a Shana Tova (The Rebbe is like the “head” of all Yidden, and since the head sometimes feels pain from the body more, and since the head is closer to Hashem, we make sure to ask the Rebbe — the head — to ask Hashem for a Shana Tova for each of us and for all Yidden together.)
- Make a hachlata
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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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The Frierdiker Rebbe once said that in a higher Ruchnius’dike world, Moshiach already came. They are already celebrating there! But here in this world, Hashem is waiting for Yidden to do teshuvah so that Moshiach can come.
The Rebbe also told us similar words, that Moshiach is already here and all we need to do is open up our eyes! Each of us just needs to do our part to prepare to greet Moshiach B’poel Mamosh!
See Sefer Hasichos Tof-Shin-Alef p. 81, Sefer Hasichos Tof-Shin-Nun-Alef and Nun-Beis in many places
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