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CHUMASH
Parshas Vayechi - Revi'i with Rashi
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Yaakov wanted to tell his sons when Moshiach will come, but Hashem didn’t let. Instead, Yaakov told his sons what they did wrong, and the brachos their shevatim will have later. In today’s Chumash, we have the brachos of Reuven through Dan.
Yaakov called his sons together to tell them when the final Geulah will come. Even though he had a good reason to do this, Hashem didn’t want the Yidden to know, so Hashem didn’t let him tell the Shevatim. Instead, Yaakov decided to say something else to each one of the Shevatim:
“Reuven, even though you are the firstborn, you won’t get to keep the zechus of being the oldest, because you once got angry and did something you shouldn’t have done. The zechus of having TWO shevatim will go to Yosef, the zechus of being kohanim will go to Levi, and the zechus of having kings will go to Yehuda.
“Shimon and Levi, you worked together for not good things — like killing the people of Shechem, and selling Yosef. Fighting is for Esav, not for children of Yaakov! So you will be separated: Levi won’t be counted as one of the Shevatim, and he won’t get a piece of Eretz Yisroel. The Kohanim and Leviim will have to live in different places around the country, and get money for their job only in the Beis Hamikdosh. Shevet Shimon will be spread out in different places, being sofrim and teachers.”
Yehuda was afraid Yaakov would also say what he did wrong with Tamar, but Yaakov said, “Yehuda, your brothers will all talk about how special you are! The Yiddishe kings (like Dovid and Shlomo Hamelech) will come from your family, and later the people who lead the Yidden in Golus, like the Sanhedrin, and even Moshiach!
“This is because you had a lot of Ahavas Yisroel, saving Yosef from being killed and Tamar from being killed — even though it was embarrassing! A king needs to take good care of everyone they rule over.
“Zevulun will live near the water, and their ships will buy and sell things. Part of the money they get will pay for the Talmidei Chachomim of Shevet Yissachar to be able to learn Torah!
“Yissachar will be strong and able to learn a lot of Torah! They will work hard in their learning and it will help all of the Yidden.
“Dan will take revenge on the enemies of the Yidden, especially when Shimshon will knock down a building and kill many Pelishtim who were making trouble for the Yidden.” Yaakov knew that Shimshon would need Hashem’s help, so he asked for it now! “Lishuas’cha Kivisi Hashem” — “Hashem, I am waiting for you to save!”
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Today’s Tehillim is kapitelach Samach through Samach-Hey.
In Kapitel Samach-Daled, Dovid Hamelech davens for Daniel to be saved when he is thrown into the lions’ den. Of course, Daniel (who came from the family of Dovid) wasn’t even born yet, but Dovid Hamelech saw with Ruach Hakodesh that Daniel would need these tefillos!
The story happened after the Churban of the first Beis Hamikdash, in the times of King Daryavesh of Persia, soon after he took over Bavel. Since King Daryavesh knew that Daniel was very smart, he wanted to make him in charge of the whole kingdom of Bavel! When the other officers found out about this, they got very jealous. They decided to make a plan that would force the king to kill Daniel.
So they told King Daryavesh to make a new decree: Nobody would be allowed to daven or ask for anything, except from the king, for one month. Anyone who was caught davening, to Hashem or to an Avodah Zarah, would be thrown into a cage with hungry lions! They knew that Daniel would never listen to such a decree.
Of course, Daniel ignored this new decree. He went to daven, three times a day, like he always did.
The officers were very excited when they caught him, and told King Daryavesh that Daniel had to be punished. The king was not very happy about this, but he was forced to follow the decree that he had made. He told Daniel, “May Hashem, Who you always daven to, save you!”
And Hashem did! Even though the lions were very hungry, they didn’t touch Daniel all night. In the morning, King Daryavesh came to the lions’ den. He called out to Daniel, asking if Hashem had been able to save him. Daniel told the king that Hashem had sent malochim to keep the lions’ mouths closed, and he wasn’t hurt at all!
When the king saw this neis, he decided to instead throw those officers into the lions’ den, and Daniel was saved.
We know one of the reasons why Daniel was saved: Because of the tefillos of Dovid Hamelech, which were said many many years before, in today’s Tehillim, Kapitel Samach-Daled!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Yud
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In today’s Tanya, we learn about the level of a Tzadik She’aino Gamur.
We learned that every Yid has a battle going on inside of him, between the two nefashos! The Nefesh Elokis and the Nefesh Habehamis are fighting to be in control of the person.
We learned about all of the tools that the Nefesh Elokis has to keep its connection with Hashem strong, in the way it acts and the way it thinks and feels: It uses hiskashrus to a tzadik, Avodas HaTefillah, doing mitzvos, and making a special connection through learning Torah.
We also learned about the Nefesh Habehamis and the tools it has to try to separate a Yid from his connection and closeness to Hashem: Getting excited and busy with Gashmius things for any reason except for doing what Hashem wants.
Both sides are always fighting with each other, to be in control not only of the guf, but of the other nefesh too!
In today’s Tanya, the Alter Rebbe tells us that if we really work hard to make our Nefesh Elokis strong, and we keep on trying, we can get the Yetzer Hara to stop fighting all the time!
Only a Tzadik Gamur can completely change the Yetzer Hara to become kedusha, because of his strong love for Hashem. But someone who makes his Nefesh Elokis so strong, and is always fighting with his Yetzer Hara, makes his Yetzer Hara much weaker! Eventually, the Yetzer Hara loses its say, and stops pulling a person into bad midos and taavos, which try to separate him from Hashem.
There is a vort brought in the sichos of the Rebbeim, saying that the level of tzadik which is explained in Tanya, which we are learning in this perek, is also part of the avodah of a beinoni.
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In today’s Hayom Yom we learn about Taharas Ha’Avir.
Did you ever walk on the sidewalk when a bus passes by? Sometimes it leaves a big cloud of smoke and it’s hard to breathe! You might even start coughing! That’s because with all of the smoke from the bus, the air isn’t good to breathe.
People need air to live. When the air is good, people can be healthy. Air that is dirty or polluted can chas veshalom make people sick. If you have dirty air in your house, you can open a window or turn on an air filter to clean the air.
In the world, there is also a ruchnius kind of air. When the “air” is full of Torah and mitzvos, people can be healthy, good Yidden. In a place where people don’t know about Hashem, the air is not good, and neshamos can get sick.
The first thing to do is to clean the air.
How do we clean the ruchnius air? Using words of Torah. When you walk down the street, or go shopping, or on a subway, you can say words of Torah baal peh. This will clean the air. Everyone should memorize some Torah so we can clean the air wherever we go!
What Torah do YOU know Baal Peh? Do you know the pesukim? The Rebbe’s kapitel? Tanya? Mishnayos?
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SEFER HAMITZVOS
Shiur #156 - Mitzvas Lo Saasei #74, Asei #61, Lo Saasei #91, #92, #93
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There are five mitzvos in today's shiur:
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #74) The first mitzvah is that a Yisroel (someone who is not a Kohen or a Levi) is not allowed to work in the Beis HaMikdash. (The details of the mitzvah are explained in the second perek of today's Rambam.)
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Korach: וְזָר לֹא יִקְרַב אֲלֵיכֶם
The details of the mitzvah are explained in Mesechta Yoma and the last perek of Mesechta Zevachim.
The next four mitzvos are about korbanos that can’t be brought, and are explained in the new set of halachos that we are starting today, called Hilchos Isurei Mizbeiach. We learn all of these mitzvos from pesukim in Parshas Emor.
1) (Mitzvas Asei #61) This is a mitzvah of something that we need to do — a Mitzvos Asei — to only bring animals that are perfect, without a mum.
The words the Torah uses to teach us this mitzvah are: תָּמִים יִהְיֶה לְרָצוֹן
The details are in Perek Ches of Mesechta Menachos.
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #91) This is the Lo Saasei of that mitzvah — not to SET ASIDE an animal with a mum as a korban.
We learn this mitzvah from the words of the posuk: כֹּל אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ מוּם לֹא תַקְרִיבוּ
3) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #92) Then another Lo Saasei — not to SHECHT an animal with a mum as a korban.
We learn this mitzvah from the words: לֹא תַקְרִיבוּ אֵלֶּה לַה׳
4) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #93) And finally the last Lo Saasei — not to SPRINKLE THE BLOOD of an animal that has a mum on the Mizbeiach.
This mitzvah comes from the posuk that says: לֹא תַקְרִיבוּ לַה׳
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Biyas HaMikdash - Isurei Mizbeiach
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Today we finish the halachos of Bias Hamikdash — who is allowed to come into the Beis Hamikdash and who can do Avoda. We also begin the next set of halachos, Isurei Mizbeiach, that talk about which korbanos we are not allowed to bring.
Perek Ches: All together, there are 140 kinds of mum which a kohen might have which would make it asur for him to work in the Beis Hamikdash. The Rambam goes through the rest of the kinds of mum.
One thing we can learn from this is how we can thank Hashem for the health He gives us in so many things we usually don’t even notice!
Perek Tes: Of course, only kohanim are allowed to do the Avodah in the Beis Hamikdash! This perek explains the halachos of what happens if a Yisroel does avodah in the Beis Hamikdash. The Rambam also gives a summary of all the people we said in this set of halachos who are not allowed to do avodah.
Perek Alef: In Hilchos Isurei Mizbeiach, we learn that animals that have a mum can’t be used as a korban. The Rambam teaches us what to do if someone promised an animal with a mum as a Korban. We learn that even an animal that a Goy donates can’t have a mum! (We know this from the story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza!)
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In Perek Vov, we learn about people who share a city or a road. We learn that if there is something that the city needs, everyone who lives there has to help pay for it.
One thing that you can do even if the other people don’t like it is to teach kinderlach Torah — even if they are noisy and the neighbors don’t like the noise!
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The Rebbe said this in a sicha a week and a half after the Nitzachon of Hey Teves:
Usually, the Torah finishes things with a good or happy inyan. But at the end of this week’s parsha, which is the end of the whole Chumash Bereishis, the Torah ends off with something very sad! Here, the last thing the Torah says is that Yosef lived for 110 years, and then they put Yosef in an Aron in Mitzrayim.
Of course that is what happened, but is that the best way to finish the whole Chumash Bereishis?
The Rebbe tells us that really it IS the most important thing to tell us at the end of this Chumash!
The whole Chumash Bereishis tells us about the things that happened to our Avos. Not only do we learn lessons from the things our Avos did, but we get kochos from them for when similar things happen to us! We need to use these kochos when we are in Golus, like the Golus we learn about in Chumash Shemos.
That’s why the last thing we learn, before Golus Mitzrayim starts in the next Chumash, is that Yosef’s Aron stayed with the Yidden in Mitzrayim. The Torah is telling us that when we are in Golus, having the “Aron of Yosef” with us is a tremendous help to get through the Golus!
In our last Golus too, we see that the Ohel of all of the Rebbeim stayed with us! Many Tzadikim were buried in Eretz Yisroel, but the Rebbeim stayed with their Chassidim, where they were. We know that whenever we need a bracha (in Gashmius or in Ruchnius), we always have a place to turn to get the koach we need. We can go to “the Aron of Yosef,” the Ohel of the Rebbe which is with us in Golus, and that will give us encouragement to get through the Golus and bring Moshiach now!
See Farbrengen Vayechi 5747
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Right now, we are learning the short davening for young children which is printed in the beginning of our siddur. This davening is Modeh Ani, Al Netilas Yodayim, Torah Tziva, the bracha on Tzitzis for boys, and then Shema until Uvisharecha.
We learned that Torah Tziva is the first posuk we teach a child as soon as he starts to learn how to talk. The second posuk that we teach is Shema Yisroel. It is also the second posuk in the Yud-Beis Pesukim! The posuk of Shema is very important, and it is also part of the davening for small children.
When we say Shema, we are telling ourselves that we know and believe that Hashem, who made everything in the entire world, also takes care of everything in it and watches over us with Hashgacha Protis! We remind ourselves that Hashem Echod, that every single thing in the heavens and the earth is a part of Hashem and is not anything of its own!
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Over the next few days, we will learn some of the halachos of how to wash our hands properly before Hamotzi:
One halacha is that we need to use A LOT of water for Netilas Yodayim, to make sure that it reaches every part of our hands. R’ Chisda said that he used a lot of water, and because of this he received a lot of bracha!
(There are also halachos about exactly how to hold our hands, to make sure the water can reach every part of our hands properly.)
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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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One of the sections of halacha in Rambam is called Hilchos Taaniyos, the halachos of the fast days. At the end of this section, the Rambam tells us that when Moshiach comes, the fasts are going to go away — instead they will become days of Sason and Simcha, joy and happiness!
There is an important reason why the Rambam tells us the halacha.
One of the basic rules of Torah is that Torah lasts forever. So how can the fasts, which are a part of Torah, go away?
That’s why the Rambam tells us here that the Torah planned the fast days to be this way from the beginning! While we are in Golus they will be days of fasting, and when Moshiach comes they will be Yomim Tovim!
So when the fasts go away, it isn’t that part of the Torah is going away, it is just that the fasts are turning into happy days like the Torah planned them to be from the beginning!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Chof p. 353, ha’arah 17
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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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