| |
|
CHUMASH
Parshas Mishpatim - Sheini with Rashi
|
|
Today’s Chumash continues teaching us the Mishpatim, the mitzvos Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu to teach the Yidden and explain to them well, so they know exactly how to act the way Hashem wants them to. In today’s Chumash, we learn these mitzvos:
- We learn about the punishments for someone that hurts another person or slave.
- We learn about what we do with an animal that kills a person. It depends if the animal was a tam, meaning it isn’t usually a dangerous animal, or if it is mu’ad, meaning it is an animal that has killed before.
- We also learn what we do if an animal kills another person’s animal.
- If a person has a hole in the ground that wasn’t covered, he is responsible if an animal falls in and is hurt.
- We learn the punishment for a thief.
We learned before that the Aseres Hadibros begin with very Ruchnius mitzvos, like understanding the greatness of Hashem, and finish with very simple and obvious mitzvos, like not to kill or kidnap. This shows us that even simple mitzvos have to be filled with kedusha, and we have to know that they are mitzvos of Hashem. The same way, right after Matan Torah, when we start learning the details of the mitzvos Moshe Rabbeinu tells the Yidden, they are Mishpatim — mitzvos that anyone can figure out on their own! You have to treat people properly, and figure out how to deal with arguments about property. This teaches that doing these things, even though they make sense, needs to be done with Kabolas Ol, because they are mitzvos of Hashem.
|
| |
|
|
Today’s Shiur Tehillim are kapitelach Kuf-Vov and Kuf-Zayin.
In Kapitel Kuf-Zayin, we talk about the four times when a person who was in danger needs to thank Hashem for the neis.
The Rebbe explains that these four kinds of dangerous things are like the four types of “dangers” that can make it hard for a Yid to act like he should:
1) A sick person who got better — because a Yid needs to have a healthy Yiddishe head and heart to serve Hashem. If he is sick, Chas Veshalom, he can’t serve Hashem properly.
2) A person who gets out of jail — there is a certain kind of Ruchnius “jail,” that the Yetzer Hara can make a person be like in jail — not letting the neshama do what it wants.
3) Going on a trip over the sea — years ago, people would mostly travel because they needed parnasa. All of the feelings a person has about parnasa — being worried or scared, can stop a Yid from serving Hashem.
4) Going over the midbar — this is an example for the job a Yid has — to make a Dira Betachtonim. A desert is a place where nobody lives. The world could feel like a desert, because we can’t see Hashem in the world. Our job is to make sure that we CAN see Hashem, but it can be a hard job!
These are all part of our shlichus, and when we do the best that we can, Hashem helps us and we see nissim in fulfilling our Shlichus properly!
Based on maamar Hagomel Lechayovim, 5743
|
| |
|
TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Chof-Vov
|
|
In today’s Tanya, we learn how a Yid can serve Hashem besimcha, even when he knows he did something wrong which he needs to do teshuvah for.
In order for a Yid to win the fight against his Yetzer Hara, he can’t be lazy or slow. Only when a person is happy is he able to overcome the Yetzer Hara!
But there are certain things that can make a person feel worried or sad. One of them is if a person did something that he wasn’t supposed to do — it could make a person feel very very upset and very very bad. If he is upset, he won’t have lots of energy to fight his Yetzer Hara!
So the Alter Rebbe teaches us a way to not be sad:
A person should think to himself: “Hashem sent me here in this world to do a shlichus! What’s my shlichus? To act like a Yid should. And that shlichus is EVERY MOMENT of my life! Thinking about what I’ve done wrong will not let me do the shlichus I’m supposed to be doing now! So I can’t think about it now.”
But what about Teshuvah? A person needs to think about their aveiros so they can do teshuvah!
For that, there is a special time to think about things and do teshuvah, which the Alter Rebbe will talk about later in Tanya. But any other times, thinking about aveiros is listening to the Yetzer Hara, who is trying to get you to not do the shlichus you are supposed to do now! He wants you to be in a bad mood so you won’t want to do what you are supposed to do.
|
| |
|
|
There is a kind of rule that is made because of things that happen. For example, there’s a rule that you need to raise your hand before you ask a question in your class. Because teachers saw that if everyone could talk at once, you wouldn’t be able to hear anything! So they made a rule that you need to raise your hand, so that the class would run smoothly.
But the rules of the Torah are a completely different thing! They are not made because of things that happened, or to make things more organized in the world, but they come from Hashem and they MAKE life the way it is. Lighting Shabbos candles isn’t because of something that happened, but because Hashem wants us to bring kedusha into the world by doing this mitzvah!
That’s why Torah is always the same, everywhere. Torah doesn’t change, because the rules of Torah aren’t based on the way the world is. The world doesn’t make the rules of the Torah (chas veshalom), it is the Torah that makes the WORLD the way it is!
|
| |
|
|
Today’s mitzvah is the same one as yesterday:
(Mitzvas Asei #107) When a neshama leaves a body, the body becomes Tomei. Someone who touches or is in the same house as the body gets some of this Tumah too, called Tumas Meis. There are many halachos about how a person gets this tumah, and how they pass it on. Today’s mitzvah is to follow all of these halachos!
|
| |
|
|
In today’s Rambam, Perakim Vov, Zayin, and Ches, we learn more about Tumah. The Rambam writes about which kinds of things can become Tomei. One halacha is that anything from the sea, like a fish, can’t become Tomei.
|
| |
|
|
In Perek Yud-Gimmel, we learn about not muzzling an animal: When an animal is working, we need to let it eat whatever it’s working on. We can’t cover its mouth, or scare it so it won’t eat. But if it’s working on something that will make the animal sick, we can cover the animal’s mouth — because this mitzvah is there to make the animal feel good. Eating something that will make it sick WON’T make the animal feel good, so we ARE allowed to stop it from eating!
Mazel Tov! We have finished learning this set of halachos!
|
| |
|
|
Today, Chof Beis Shevat 5780, is the 32nd yartzeit of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, the Rebbe’s Rebbetzin.
For the entire year after the Rebbetzin passed away, the Rebbe would say many times the posuk “Vehachai Yitein El Libo,” that we need to take to heart the example the Rebbetzin showed us, of how to live like a Chossid.
Then the Rebbe announced that he is starting a new campaign in honor of the Rebbetzin, and for her neshama: That everyone should celebrate their birthday! (In previous generations, only the birthdays of special tzadikim would be celebrated. In honor of the Rebbetzin, the Rebbe gave this minhag as a special gift to every chossid!) When we make a Cheshbon Hanefesh on our birthday, thinking about how Hashem created us and gave us a special shlichus, that will help us make sure that our lives ARE something worth celebrating, and we’ll do our parts to bring the Geulah for all the Yidden!
During that period of time, the Rebbe told many people at dollars to make sure to celebrate their birthday by making a farbrengen. There was also a list of minhagim published for everyone, to make sure that our birthdays are meaningful and bring all of the kochos that they are able to!
|
| |
|
▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼
|
| |
|
TEFILLAH
Second Bracha of Shemoneh Esrei
|
|
The second bracha of Shemoneh Esrei starts with the words Ata Gibor. In the Gemara, this bracha is called “Gevuros.” In it, we speak about the Gevuros, the strength of Hashem, and how Hashem is able to do ANYTHING!
Some people think the world is run by nature, and nature can’t be changed. But we know better!
When we stand before Hashem in davening, we know that Hashem isn’t limited by nature. Hashem can get people out of jail, make sick people better, and even bring people who passed away back to life! Through Jewish history, we have seen ALL of these things happen many times!
After the first bracha, where we praised Hashem who helps us even if we don’t deserve it, in the zechus of the Avos, we praise Hashem who is in charge of everything in the world and can make anything happen!
See Rashba and Kuzari, cited in Mesechta Shel Tefillah, bracha of Ata Gibor
|
| |
|
|
We learned that there are two kinds of Havdalah — the Havdalah that we say over a cup of wine, and Havdalah that we say in Maariv, the paragraph of Ata Chonantanu. The Chachomim taught us that we should do both!
So what happens if someone is davening Maariv, and forgets to say Ata Chonantanu?
If he didn’t say Hashem’s name yet at the end of the bracha of Ata Chonen, he should go back and say Havdalah, and continue Shemoneh Esrei from there.
If he already said Hashem’s name in the bracha, though, he shouldn’t go back. He should just finish Shemoneh Esrei without Havdalah, because he will be able to make the other Havdalah afterwards — the Havdalah on a kos of wine.
But there is something very important to remember: Even though he davened the weekday Shemoneh Esrei of Maariv, he didn’t say Havdalah yet, so it is still Shabbos for him! He is not allowed to do any melacha, even lighting the match for the Havdalah candle! So he should be careful not to do any melacha, or say Boruch Hamavdil so he will be able to do melacha. Then he should do the mitzvah of Havdalah by saying Havdalah over a cup of wine.
See Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch siman Reish-Tzadik-Daled se’if Gimmel and Se’if Zayin
|
|
לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק ע״ה בן ר׳ אפרים שי׳ מאסקאוויץ
שליח כ"ק אדמו"ר נשיא דורנו למדינת אילינוי
|
| |
|
|
Nowadays, we have a very special avodah: To get ready for Moshiach!
How do we get ready for Moshiach?
The Rebbe tells us that the best way to prepare for Moshiach is to start practicing now! We should do things now like we will do them when Moshiach comes.
When Moshiach comes, the whole world will recognize Hashem! Everyone and everything will realize that Hashem is the true King of the entire world, and that there is nothing aside for Hashem.
So to prepare for Moshiach, we should start now — helping the world recognize Hashem!
How do we do that?
We work hard to spread Yiddishkeit! We do more and more mitzvos, and help others to do them too. We teach people Torah and make a Kiddush Hashem!
This way, the world will be getting ready for the time when EVERY Yid is doing mitzvos all the time and the whole world will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Chof-Gimmel, p. 487
|
| |
|
|
|
לע"נ התינוק זאב ארי' ע"ה בן יבלט"א הרה"ח ר' שניאור זלמן שי' גליק
נפטר ב' מנחם אב ה'תשע"ג
|
| |
Give children around the world the gift of Kids Chitas!
KidsChitas.org/sponsor
|
| |
|
