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CHUMASH
Parshas Toldos - Shlishi with Rashi
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We learned before that Yitzchak went to Gerar because of the hunger, and had a lot of hatzlacha with his fields! Today we learn about how Yitzchak dug wells.
Yitzchak became very rich from all the grain that grew! He also had a lot of animals and owned businesses, and the Pelishtim became jealous of him. They filled up all of the wells that had been dug for Avraham with dirt, because they said that if enemies came, they would use those wells to have water to drink, and be able to fight against them.
Avimelech, the king of Gerar, told Yitzchak to move away from them because he was too strong. Yitzchak moved away to the Gerar Valley. Before he left, he dug up Avraham’s wells and took out the dirt the Pelishtim put in, and gave them back the old names that Avraham his father called them. Then Yitzchak’s servants dug new wells in the Gerar Valley, and found water there!
The shepherds of Gerar got into an argument with Yitzchak’s servants. They said “WE use this place to feed our sheep, so the water is ours!” Yitzchak called the well Esek (“fighting”) because they fought with him.
Yitzchak’s servants dug another well, but the Pelishti shepherds got into a fight again, so Yitzchak called it Sitnah (“bothering”).
Yitzchak moved on and dug another well, and this time they didn’t fight with him over it! Yitzchak called this well Rechovos (“wide open spaces”), saying that now there is room for us to grow!
Chassidus teaches us that our neshama has certain midos that we get from the Avos. We learn how to use these midos properly from the stories about the Avos in the Torah! We get chesed from Avraham Avinu, and we learn how to use our chesed from the stories in the Torah about Avraham’s Hachnosas Orchim. From Yitzchak Avinu we get gevurah, being strict and working on making ourselves better, to do what we are supposed to. We learn how to use our gevurah from the way Yitzchak dug wells! Digging wells is hard work — digging through hard dirt and stones to find the water deep underground. And for Yitzchak, there were also other people bothering him and trying to ruin the wells he dug! Still, Yitzchak kept trying, and in the end had hatzlacha. We learn from this to work hard and keep trying, even if something is hard. In the end we will have hatzlacha, like Yitzchak Avinu!
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Today’s shiur Tehillim is Kuf-Lamed-Hey to Kuf-Lamed-Tes.
Kapitel Kuf-Lamed-Tes is a very special kapitel. It teaches a person how to serve Hashem — there is no other kapitel that does this in such a special way!
One of the things that Dovid Hamelech says is about how Hashem created Adam HaRishon. Adam HaRishon says: “Achor VaKedem Tzartani” — “You created me last and first.”
What does that mean? How can Adam be created last AND first at the same time?!
The answer is that you can have two opposite things together if they are for different reasons! Adam Harishon is last in one way, but first in another way:
The Alter Rebbe explains in Likutei Torah that “Achor” (last) means that he is created on the LAST day of Creation, and he is the lowest madreigah, because he can do an aveira — going AGAINST what Hashem wants. Only a person has free choice and can do an aveira — so he’s like the LAST, the lowest thing.
But he is FIRST because he has a neshama, and nothing else that Hashem made has a neshama like a person does! And even his Guf is very special, too.
So that’s how Adam Harishon can be FIRST AND LAST at the same time!
Every Yid, just like Adam Harishon, has the choice to be the first or last in Creation with the choices that he makes.
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TANYA
Kuntres Acharon Siman Gimmel
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We learned in an earlier part of Tanya that it is important to have kavanah when we daven. A davening without kavanah is like a guf (body) without a neshama!
But what if we are not able to have kavana in every part of davening every day?
The Alter Rebbe tells us that Hashem makes a special deal with us! If we have kavana at least in one little piece of davening every day, Hashem will put all those little pieces together. That way, after a year, you will have davened every part with kavana, and Hashem will count it as if you had that kavana every single day of the year!
Many chassidim would make a “kneitch” in their Siddur, folding down a corner to remember which part of davening they had kavana in, to make sure they would daven each part with kavana at least once!
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Every single little thing that happens to anything Hashem created, no matter what it is, gets its chayus to be that way through Hashem’s Hashgacha Protis.
And that’s not all! Not only does every little thing happen only because of Hashem’s Hashgacha Protis, but every single thing that happens is part of Hashem’s whole plan in creating the world! Only when all of these things happen together, is Hashem’s kavana in creating the world complete!
That is an incredible thing! We should think to ourselves: Even a little LEAF blowing from one place to another is with Hashgacha Protis, and part of Hashem’s whole plan for the world! If that’s how it is even with a leaf, of course it must be true of a person, and certainly of a Yid, Hashem’s special nation — that every thing that happens is because of Hashem’s Hashgacha Protis, and is important for Hashem’s whole plan in creating the world!
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Today’s mitzvah is the same as yesterday’s (Mitzvas Asei #95) — that if a Yid makes a promise and changes his mind, he needs to go to a Rav or Beis Din to do that.
We also learn two more mitzvos, from the next set of halachos in Rambam, halachos about a Nazir.
1) (Mitzvas Asei #92) A Nazir has a mitzvah to let his hair grow. Like we will see in the next mitzvah, it is asur for a Nazir to cut his hair. In this Mitzvas Asei, we learn that it’s not enough for him not to cut it, the Nazir needs to make sure he is letting his hair grow. So, for example, he isn’t allowed to rub cream on his head that keeps hair from growing.
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #209) A Nazir is not allowed to cut off his hair — not even one single hair!
These mitzvos are explained in Gemara, in Mesechta Nazir.
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Nedarim - Hilchos Nezirus
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Perek Yud-Gimmel: (This is the last perek of Hilchos Nedarim.) We learn about HOW we take away a promise. At the end of the perek, the Rambam tells us when it’s a GOOD thing to make a neder. A neder can actually help us in our Avodas Hashem!
For example, if someone eats way too much, and not in an aidel way, he can make a promise not to eat any meat for one or two years. If someone drinks too much wine, he can make a neder to only drink wine on Shabbos and Yom Tov for a few years, or he can promise never to get drunk.
Still, we should be careful not to make too many nedarim, so that we don’t forget how serious a neder is in halacha. Nowadays, when we make a hachlata, we should always say that it is bli neder. Even though we are very serious about keeping our hachlata, we want to be extra careful to not ever end up chas veshalom not keeping a neder.
Now we start the next set of halachos, about a SPECIFIC kind of promise — if someone promises to become a Nazir!
Perek Alef: There are things that are asur if someone becomes a Nazir — cutting his hair or eating things made with grapes. A person doesn’t have to say “I will become a nazir” to become one — he can say things like “I will grow my hair,” while thinking that he wants to be a Nazir.
Perek Beis: We learn more about a Nazir’s promise: What happens if he makes the promise by mistake, or because someone forces him, or because of a reason that ends up not being true? In many cases, he is not a Nazir.
One interesting halacha is that a person STAYS a Nazir until they bring their korbanos, and that a Nazir needs to be in Eretz Yisroel. So if someone makes a promise to be a Nazir nowadays, he has to move to Eretz Yisroel and stay a Nazir until the Beis Hamikdash is built and he can bring his korbanos.
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In Perek Hey we learn about buying things by trading one thing for another, like buying a cow by giving the other person a donkey. A person can even give something small, like a handkerchief, to show that it belongs to the other person. This has a bunch of halachos about how it works!
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When a chossid went into yechidus, he would usually bring a note, a tzetl. The Rebbe would take the tzetl and read through it, answering the questions inside.
But one bochur’s yechidus was a little different!
This bochur brought his tzetl with him as usual, and gave it to the Rebbe.
But even before the Rebbe opened the tzetl, he looked up at the bochur.
The Rebbe told him, whatever you become — whether you become a Rav, an Osek Betzorchei Tzibur, or a shliach — you need to be able to learn well, Niglah and Chassidus!
Only after telling him this did the Rebbe open the bochur’s note.
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It is written in the name of the Baal Shem Tov that a person should daven to Hashem to ask that his bitachon in Hashem should be strong.
Bitachon is very important, because when a Yid has proper bitachon, it is a keili to bring down only good things!
See Keser Shem Tov siman Kuf-Yud-Gimmel
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The mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel, to love your fellow Jew as yourself, and do everything for him as much as you would do everything for yourself, is kept when we do many other mitzvos. For example, Bikur Cholim, we visit someone else when he is sick, just like we would want others to care about us when we are sick.
Besides for all of those other mitzvos, “Ve’ahavta Le’reiacha Kamocha” is also a mitzvah for itself. It is described in Shulchan Aruch with two general things to be careful with:
1) Care about every other Yid’s kavod, just like you care about your own.
2) Care about every other Yid’s money, just like you care about your own.
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman Kuf-Nun-Vov se’if Hey
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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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When the Yidden camped around Har Sinai to get the Torah, they camped like one person, with one heart — “Ke’ish Echad, BeLeiv Echad.”
We learned in Tanya that Matan Torah was a taste of the way it will be in the times of the Geulah!
The Rambam tells that we will also have this kind of Achdus before Moshiach comes. One of the jobs of Moshiach is “Veyisaken Es Ha’olam Kulo Laavod Es Hashem Beyachad” — to make the whole world ready to serve Hashem TOGETHER!
Just as we got the Torah with true Achdus, we will have the Geulah with true Achdus!
See Migolah L’Geulah p. 312
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לע"נ התינוק זאב ארי' ע"ה בן יבלט"א הרה"ח ר' שניאור זלמן שי' גליק
נפטר ב' מנחם אב ה'תשע"ג
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