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CHUMASH
Parshas Mikeitz - Sheini with Rashi
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In today’s Chumash, Yosef interprets Paraoh’s dreams.
Paraoh said to Yosef: “I had a dream, and nobody can tell me what it means! I hear that YOU understand dreams and can tell me what it means.”
Yosef answered, “No, don’t think that I am so smart! It isn’t from me! But Hashem will for sure give me an answer so I can help Paraoh.”
So Paraoh told Yosef his dreams: “I dreamed I was by the Nilus, and I saw seven healthy cows come out of the river and eat grass. Then seven very skinny cows came out of the river — I never saw such bad ones in my life! They stood next to the healthy cows, and swallowed them whole! But they didn’t get any fatter!
“After that, I dreamed that I saw seven full, healthy ears of grain growing on a stalk. Then seven ears of dried-up grain grew, and swallowed up the healthy grain!
“I told my dream-explainers, but none of them could tell me what it means.”
Yosef said to Paraoh, “Both parts of your dream really are saying the same thing. Hashem is telling you what will happen. The cows and the grain both mean food. The seven cows and the seven ears of grain both mean that there will be seven good years with a lot of food growing! People will have so much they won’t even be jealous of each other! The seven skinny cows and dried-up grain mean seven years when nothing will grow and there will be no food. There will be so little food people will forget how much they just had before. The dream happened twice to warn you that it will happen very soon!
“So, Paraoh, you should choose someone very smart and make him in charge. He should save food when there is a lot of it, and lock it up so no one can take without permission. You will save this food for when there’s no food in Mitzrayim.”
Paraoh and his servants liked how Yosef explained the dream. Paraoh asked, “Is there anyone else who has Hashem with him to help him, like Yosef does?”
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Today’s Tehillim is Kapitel Kuf-Yud-Tes, the LONGEST kapitel in the whole Tehillim! It is so long that we don’t even say the whole Kapitel today, just the first half.
Dovid Hamelech tells us, “Tov Li Toras Picha Me’Alfei Zahav VaChasef” — “Torah is more precious to me than even tons of gold and silver!”
The Rebbe explains to us that it was Dovid Hamelech who told us that Torah is the most precious thing. Dovid Hamelech was the king, and he had a lot of gold and silver. So he understood what it’s like to have a lot of money! So he can tell us that even when someone has a lot of gold and silver, he needs to know and feel that the Torah is the most precious thing.
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Gimmel
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Hashem placed 10 special tools in a Yiddishe neshama — sechel and midos — to help us do our Shlichus in the world.
Before we learn today’s Tanya, let’s review a bit about what we are learning here:
We learned in Hayom Yom right before Yud-Tes Kislev that the derech of Chassidus is “Hagbaras Hatzura Al Hachomer.” This means to make the neshama and the Ruchnius stronger than the guf and the Gashmius.
In Perek Alef, the Alter Rebbe taught us that we have a first nefesh, which is the guf along with all of its not-good midos. This is what the neshama will work with, to bring kedusha into the guf and to make the Gashmius more Ruchnius’dik.
This might sound like a hard job, since the guf has so many not-good midos, we don’t need to worry! In Perek Beis, we learned that the neshama we have is so strong! It is a part of Hashem, a Chelek Eloka Mimaal Mamosh! Hashem also gives us a Rebbe who helps us connect our neshama back to where it comes from! With this koach, we will for sure be able to do our shlichus of making Gashmius into Ruchnius.
Now in this perek, the Alter Rebbe tells us about the tools built into the neshama that will help us do our job! The tools are Sechel and Midos. Through using them, we can create feelings of Yirah and Ahava. As we will learn later in Tanya, Yirah and Ahava give us chayus and make it possible for us to do our shlichus ALL the time!
When Hashem created the world, Hashem ALSO used these tools! Hashem gave us the same tools that HE has, because our neshama is a part of Hashem!
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The Rebbe Rashab would light the menorah between Mincha and Maariv. In Shul we make sure that the menorah faces a certain way, but the Rebbe Rashab wasn’t careful with it at home.
Only after lighting all the flames, do we say Haneiros Halalu.
The Rebbe Rashab would sit near the lichtelach for a half hour, except on Erev Shabbos when he wouldn’t stay as long. He made sure the flames burned for at least 50 minutes every night.
Reminder: On Erev Shabbos Chanukah, we do things in this order: (1) Daven Mincha, (2) Light the Menorah, (3) Light Shabbos candles.
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Today we learn 2 mitzvos:
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #148) It is asur for a kohen to eat the Bikurim that were brought to the Beis Hamikdash out of Yerushalayim.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: לֹא תוּכַל לֶאֱכֹל בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ וְגוֹ׳ וּתְרוּמַת יָדֶךָ
The details are explained in Mesechta Makos.
2) (Mitzvas Asei #132) When a person brings his Bikurim to the Beis Hamikdash, he needs to do “Mikra Bikurim” — thank Hashem for all He has done for us. (The things that he says are part of what we say in Maggid of our Haggadah! These pesukim are the ones that talk about how Hashem saved us since the time of Yaakov Avinu until he brought us the goodness of Eretz Yisroel.)
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Ki Savo: וְעָנִיתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ לִפְנֵי ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ אֲרַמִּי אֹבֵד אָבִי
The details are explained in Mesechta Bikurim and perek Zayin of Mesechta Sotah.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more about Bikurim, and then start learning about Hafroshas Challah.
Perek Gimmel: There are seven things we need to do the mitzvah of Bikurim properly:
1) Bring the bikurim to Yerushalayim
2) in a container,
3) say a special paragraph telling Hashem we brought them
4) and bring a Korban Shelamim
5) with singing,
6) then wave the bikurim around (like a Lulav — called Hanofas HaBikurim)
7) and stay overnight in Yerushalayim.
Perek Daled: But there are times when someone DOESN’T need to do all seven of these things — for example, a woman doesn’t say the special paragraph (there are some words in it that only make sense for a man to say!).
Perek Hey: Now we start to learn about Hafroshas Challah. Even though really this mitzvah only needs to be kept in Eretz Yisroel, we do it nowadays all over the world, so we won’t forget about the mitzvah!
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Perek Beis explains how we can show that a hefker field is ours. We need to do something to make the field better, and have in mind that we are doing it to make the field ours!
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Chanukah is a very special time for children and for Chinuch.
The Rebbe said that children should light their menorahs by their bedrooms.
A kid’s bedroom isn’t just a place where they sleep — it is a Cheder Tzivos Hashem! It has a Chitas and a pushka, and we use the room to do mitzvos! We should light the menorah there, because it will fill the room with even more kedusha. And when we see the menorah burning there, it will make us feel even more excited to do mitzvos!
Parshas Vayeishev 5748, Hisvaaduyos p. 54
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In davening, we praise Hashem for the things Hashem does for us, and ask for what we need.
On Chanukah, we add extra praises, for the miracle of Chanukah!
In Shemoneh Esrei, we add Ve’al Hanisim. We describe how the Greeks tried to force the Yidden to forget their Yiddishkeit. A small group of Yidden stood up to fight against the big and strong Greek army. Hashem made a neis and they won! The Yidden came back to the Beis Hamikdash and made it tahor again. They lit the menorah again in Hashem’s house, and made these 8 days into a special Yom Tov!
We also say Ve’al Hanisim in bentching, thanking Hashem for these tremendous nisim.
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Women have a special minhag on Chanukah, because of one woman, Yehudis, who helped save the Yidden. During the time when the menorah needs to burn according to halacha (for a half hour after Tzeis Hakochavim), women don’t do melacha (like laundry or sewing)! Cooking and cleaning is not counted as melacha for this.
This way, they will focus on the neiros, which tell us the story of Chanukah, and not to get busy with other things.
It is our minhag (as we saw in Hayom Yom) that men also sit near the menorah during this time, to hear the message of the neiros.
See Shevach Hamoadim and Piskei Teshuvos
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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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In Chumash, we learned about a lot of dreams. We learned about the dreams of Yosef Hatzadik, the dreams of the Sar Hamashkim and the Sar Ha’ofim in prison, and the dreams of Paraoh. All of these dreams were part of what brought the Yidden down to Mitzrayim. This was the start of the Golus in Mitzrayim, and later Yetziyas Mitzrayim.
We talk so much about dreams at the beginning of the Golus, there must be some connection between dreams and Golus!
Chassidus teaches us that Golus is compared to a dream!
When someone is dreaming, his sechel isn’t working right. A person can dream things that make no sense when he wakes up! He can even see things that are completely opposite, at the same time!
This is an important lesson for the “dream” of Golus. If what we are doing is good, it doesn’t matter if it is the opposite of other things we do.
Let’s say that Shimon woke up late. He was in a bad mood and didn’t even daven before going to school. At Mincha time, Shimon is in a better mood. He picks up his siddur to daven with kavana, but then stops. Is it okay to daven a beautiful Mincha when he didn’t even daven Shacharis?
Yes, it is okay! Golus is like a dream, where we can have opposites together! Even if it is the opposite of what we did before, we can do something good and beautiful later.
This avodah of dreams, of doing the right thing no matter what happened before, is what will help us get through the Golus. It will keep bringing light into the world, until we can “wake up” and see the world in a way that things REALLY make sense, in the times of the Geulah!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Alef, parshas Mikeitz
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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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