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CHUMASH
Parshas Vayishlach - Shishi with Rashi
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In today’s Chumash, the last Shevet, Benyamin is born. His mother Rachel passes away, and is buried near the side of the road. We also learn how Yitzchak passes away, and about Eisav’s family.
Hashem finishes talking to Yaakov: Hashem was in the middle of speaking to Yaakov and giving him brachos before he came into Eretz Yisroel. Hashem promised Yaakov that he would get Eretz Yisrael, and then finished talking to Yaakov. Yaakov built a matzeivah there out of stone. He poured wine and oil on it as a present to Hashem. Then Yaakov said again that this place is called Beis Keil, the house of Hashem.
Rachel has a baby: They traveled to Chevron, and didn’t reach Efras yet, when it was time for Rachel to have a baby. It was very hard for her, and the midwife (who helps Mommies to have babies) told her not to be afraid because she was going to have another baby boy! She had triplets, a boy and two girls!
Rachel passes away: But Rachel passed away right after the babies were born. She called the baby boy “Ben-Oni” which means the son of my sadness. Yaakov, though, called him Benyamin, meaning “son of the south,” since he was the only one born in Eretz Yisrael, which is south from Padan Aram (where Yaakov was with Lavan before).
Rachel was buried by the road going to Efras, also called Beis Lechem. Yaakov could have buried her in Me’aras Hamachpeila, which isn’t so far away, but Hashem told him to bury Rachel there so when the Yidden go into Golus they will pass by her kever. When Rochel sees them going into Golus, she will cry to Hashem to have rachmonus on her children, and Hashem will promise that they will come back to Eretz Yisroel in her zechus.
Now that Rochel passed away, where should Yaakov keep his bed? It used to be in Rochel’s tent. Yaakov decided to move into Bilhah’s tent, since Rochel told Yaakov to marry her, and she was Rochel’s helper.
Reuven moves his father’s bed: Reuven was very upset. He felt that Yaakov should move into Leah’s tent, since she is Rochel’s sister, and Bilhah is only her helper. So he moved Yaakov’s bed without permission. Since it wasn’t Kibbud Av Va’em to move his father’s bed, Yaakov was upset and told Reuven what he did wrong, and he did teshuvah right away.
The Shevatim: Now that Binyamin was born, there were 12 sons:
From Leah: Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehudah, Yissachar, Zevulun
From Rochel: Yosef and Binyomin
From Bilhah: Dan and Naftali
From Zilpah: Gad and Asher
Each of the shevatim (except Yehuda and Yosef) married the twin sisters born to the other shevatim. (If you remember, two of the shevatim had 2 triplet sisters — Shimon and Binyamin. So 4 of the shevatim married two wives. Shimon also married Dina.) Before Matan Torah, it was a good thing for brothers and sisters to marry each other. After Matan Torah it became Asur.
We will go back later to talk about Yaakov’s family, but first the Torah will tell us about the end of Yitzchak’s life and about Eisav’s family.
Yitzchak passes away: In the year 2208, Yaakov came to his father Yitzchak in Chevron (Elonei Mamrei / Kiryat Arba). Yitzchak lived for 180 years, longer than his father Avraham who lived 175 years. Twenty years after Yaakov came back to Chevron, Yitzchak passed away, and Eisav and Yaakov buried him in Me’aras Hamachpeila.
Eisav’s family: The Torah tells us about Eisav’s family. (Eisav is also called “Edom.”) First the Torah tells us in short about Eisav’s wives and children.
Once Yaakov came back to Chevron, Eisav moved away to Har Seir. He took his family and all of his things, so he wouldn’t be too close to Yaakov, since there wasn’t enough land to feed all of their animals in the same place. (Really, Eisav could have told Yaakov to go live somewhere else, since Eisav was there first. But Eisav knew that if he gets Eretz Yisrael he will have to get Golus, and he didn’t want that. He was also embarrassed about selling the bechora, so he preferred to leave than to argue about staying.)
Now the Torah tells us the names and the heads of the families of the children of Eisav.
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Today’s shiur Tehillim is kapitelach Ayin-Zayin and Ayin-Ches.
In today’s Tehillim, there is a posuk that says “Nachisa Katzon Amecha BeYad Moshe VeAharon,” “You led Your nation like sheep, in the hands of Moshe and Aharon.”
Why does Dovid Hamelech say that Hashem led the Yidden with Moshe AND Aharon? Wasn’t MOSHE RABBEINU the Rebbe of the Yidden then? Why does Hashem say that Moshe AND Aharon were the leaders?
The Tzemach Tzedek explains this:
Hashem gave Yidden the Torah. He wants Yidden to live exactly like the Torah tells us. But Yidden aren’t born automatically living that way! Just like we need our parents to help us grow to be good Yidden, the Yidden also needed help when they left Mitzrayim. Yidden were just “born” from a hard Golus and became Hashem’s nation. All of the sudden, Hashem gave them a Torah that had so many instructions! How could they be ready to do it all right away?
But Hashem didn’t expect them to do it all right away! Hashem gave them a leader with one Neshama that was split into two people, and both of them worked together to help the Yidden.
Moshe Rabbeinu had the shlichus to teach Yidden the proper way to live, whether they were ready for it or not. He told them the way things need to really be! Aharon’s shlichus was the other half of the job — to help Yidden be the way Hashem wants. He needed to take each Yid by the hand and help them become closer to the Torah. He showed each one what they were ready to start doing now, and what they should get ready to start later. He helped each individual Yid to become the best he could.
In later times, these two halves of neshama came together in one Yiddishe leader. There is a posuk in Tehillim that says that this started in the times of Shmuel Hanavi, and the Rebbe teaches that with the Chabad Rebbeim it was the same way. They teach — in their maamorim and sichos and by showing us an example — the truth of how Hashem wants us to live, and then — through Yechidus and Igros and by sending Shluchim — helps each person grow to be the best Yid he can be!
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TANYA
Kuntres Acharon Siman Vov
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Yesterday we learned how the Torah is so special, that a tiny detail of a mitzvah can bring the chayus of Hashem into the world!
Dovid Hamelech went through a lot of tzaros in his life. He had many enemies who didn’t want him to be king. They chased him and tried to hurt him, and it was very hard for him!
But there was one thing he tried to think about to make himself happy. He shares it with us later in Tehillim! “Zemiros Hayu Li Chukecha Bevais Megurai” — “Your mitzvos were like songs for me!” Dovid Hamelech thought about what we just learned, how important every detail of Torah is, and thinking about it made him so happy!
Later in Dovid’s life, when things became better, and they were bringing the Aron back from the Pelishtim to the city of Dovid, Dovid Hamelech forgot a halacha, and because of that something not good happened.
Hashem told Dovid Hamelech, “Do you know why this happened? Because your praise of the Torah was only that the Torah is what makes the world get its chayus. That’s the chitzonius, just one part, and not the most important part either!
“Instead, you should have praised the Torah for being Hashem’s special treasure and “food” for the neshamos! That’s like pnimius of Torah, the main part. Because you were thinking only about the chitzonius of Torah, you were able to forget a part of Torah! Forgetting comes from the chitzonius of a person — we don’t forget things that are very important to us.”
This siman in Kuntres Acharon shows us how precious the Torah is! This gives us chayus to make sure to never miss an opportunity to learn Torah, and that we should learn Torah in a way that we will LIVE according to the Torah we learn!
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The Rebbe shows us a correction in Torah Ohr for this week’s parsha.
The Alter Rebbe (whose Chag Hageulah is in a few days!) told the Mitteler Rebbe (whose Chag Hageulah was a few days ago!) something very important that the Baal Shem Tov taught:
We have to have Mesirus Nefesh, to be ready to do ANYTHING for Ahavas Yisroel for another Yid — even one that we never met or never saw!
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Today’s mitzvah is that a woman who is a Challalah is not allowed to eat Terumah or other holy foods.
A Chalalah is someone who got married to a kohen when she wasn’t allowed to.
Part of this mitzvah is also that a Bas Kohen who gets married to someone who isn’t a kohen can never eat certain parts of the korbanos again (even though there’s nothing wrong with getting married to him).
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In today’s Rambam, we learn the last three perakim about Terumah, perakim Yud-Gimmel, Yud-Daled, and Tes-Vov.
These perakim talk about what happens if Terumah gets mixed up with regular food. One thing we learn is that it doesn’t become botul unless there is 100 times as much regular food! (For milk and meat, if there’s 60 times as much it is enough.) So, for example, if 1 Terumah apple gets mixed up in a box of 100 other apples, we can take one apple and give it to the kohen, and the rest is all fine to eat.
If there is less, then the food is called “Medumah” and only a kohen can eat it.
The last halacha in today’s Rambam teaches us about the special bracha on Terumah. First the kohen makes the regular bracha on food, and then he says the bracha “...Asher Kidishanu Bikdushaso Shel Aharon Vetzivanu Le’echol Terumah!”
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In Perek Chof-Beis, we learn about selling something that isn’t there yet, like selling “whatever will grow on this tree.” A person isn’t allowed to do that, because it didn’t grow yet! But the Rambam says that if someone says that “whatever grows in this field” belongs to tzedakah, he needs to keep his promise!
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In today’s Hayom Yom, we learned about having Mesirus Nefesh for Ahavas Yisroel, for a Yid we never even saw!
In the letter of the Frierdiker Rebbe where this Hayom Yom is taken from, we can see more about this:
R’ Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev was well known for always being Melamed Zechus on another Yid. Whenever he saw a Yid doing something wrong, he would find a reason to show how the Yid is really so special, or that he didn’t know, or that he didn’t do something wrong at all!
For example, the Berdichever once saw the wagon drivers of Berdichev working on their wagons while they davened, since they were in such a big rush. He said, “Look, Hashem! The Yidden are so special! Even when they are working, they are davening to You!”
The Alter Rebbe also told the Mitteler Rebbe, before telling him what we learned in today’s Hayom Yom:
From this tremendous way of being Melamed Zechus, Hashem built a special palace (Heichal) in Shomayim! Every time a Yid is Melamed Zechus on another, and says a kapitel Tehillim because he feels bad for him, Hashem brings him into this Heichal of Zechus. Both the one who was Melamed Zechus and the Yid he was Melamed Zechus on are helped with everything they need!
See Igros Kodesh of the Frierdiker Rebbe, chelek Hey, p. 88–89
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The Tzemach Tzedek explains the difference between Shema and Vehaya Im Shamoa, based on the Mishna: A neshama has two different kinds of feelings.
The first, “Ratzui,” is how the neshama wants to be Ruchnius’dik and feel close to Hashem.
Then there is “Shuv,” how the neshama realizes that Hashem put it into the Gashmius’dike world for a reason, and that it has a shlichus to do here, with Torah and mitzvos.
When we say Shema, it is a time when our neshama feels Ratzui. It thinks about how nothing exists except for Hashem, and all it wants is to feel close to Hashem!
Then in Vehaya Im Shamoa, the neshama remembers that it has a shlichus in the world. It needs to work together with the guf to learn Torah and do mitzvos. The neshama reminds the guf that only by acting the way Hashem wants it to, will it be bentched with all of Hashem’s brachos that are described in the paragraph of Vehaya Im Shamoa.
See Sefer Halikutim os Kuf, p. 228
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When we daven, we are not supposed to even hold something except for a siddur, because it will distract us from having kavana.
There are also halachos like this with bentching!
When we bentch, we shouldn’t do any kind of work, even something easy that we don’t need to concentrate for, like clearing off our plates or sweeping off crumbs. Doing that makes it look like we don’t care so much about the bracha. Of course, we shouldn’t do something that we DO need to think about, even something holy, like listening to a shiur or a Dvar Torah! We need to be able to have proper kavana when we are bentching.
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman 96, and siman 183 se’if yud-daled
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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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Chassidus is so special! It helps us understand the deepest secrets of Torah, and gives us a special chayus to serve Hashem in a much better way!
But if Chassidus is so special and important, how come the great Chachomim and Tzadikim from all times didn’t have it? Why didn’t Hashem give Chassidus to the Yidden a long time ago?
We learned that there are two reasons why Hashem gave Chassidus just in OUR time:
1) Because the Golus is so dark and so hard now, we need the extra koach of Chassidus to be able to handle it!
2) Because we are so close to the Geulah now, we are getting a little taste of it now, through the things we learn in Chassidus!
The Rebbe teaches us that both of these reasons are actually connected. It is our taste of Geulah that helps us handle the darkness of Golus.
What will happen in the time of Geulah?
In Golus, there are many things that cause pain and darkness. But deep inside, in their etzem, they are really the chayus of Hashem, just very very hidden.
In the time of the Geulah, the etzem of everything will be clear to see! We will see how the etzem of EVERYTHING is the chayus of Hashem, and all of the darkness and pain that make Golus so hard will turn into happiness and light!
And our Chassidus now is a taste of Geulah! That’s why Chassidus can give us the koach to handle the darkness of Golus, until the time of Geulah when we will be able to see how the darkness of Golus will be turned into light!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Tes-Vov, p. 288
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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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