| |
|
CHUMASH
Parshas Shemini - Revi'i with Rashi
|
|
We are learning what happened on Rosh Chodesh Nisan, when the Mishkan was finally set up and ready to be used. We learned how Aharon and his sons started to do the Avodah, and how the fire of Hashem came down onto the Mizbeiach. This made the Yidden very excited, because they saw that Hashem had forgiven them for the Cheit Ha’eigel and was now resting with them!
We also learned how at that special moment, Aharon’s sons Nadav and Avihu wanted to come close to Hashem, and they brought the ketores, even though it wasn’t their Avodah. This made their neshamos leave their bodies. Today we learn about how the Avodah in the Mishkan needs to continue, even after this happened.
Aharon’s sons Nadav and Avihu passed away because they wanted to come so close to Hashem by bringing the ketores without asking. Once their bodies were taken out of the Mishkan, Aharon brought the rest of the korbanos for Rosh Chodesh.
Even when a close relative of a Kohen Gadol passes away, he is not allowed to change the way he does the avodah in the Mishkan. He still needs to bring all of the korbanos, and eat the parts that are for him.
This time, though, Moshe told Elazar and Isamar, Aharon’s other sons, that they need to act like a Kohen Gadol too. Even though their brothers passed away, they will still need to eat the parts of the korbanos that kohanim are supposed to eat.
|
| |
|
|
In Kapitel Ayin-Gimmel (73), Dovid Hamelech says “Beheimos Hayisi Imach” — “I am like an animal with You,” and in the next posuk, “Va’ani Tomid Imach” — “I am always with You.”
The Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya that even though we need to use our sechel to understand Achdus Hashem and how to connect to Hashem through Torah and mitzvos, still our connection to Hashem needs to be MORE than what we can understand. There has to be emunah for the things we are not able to understand. In that way, we are compared to an animal (beheimah) who can’t understand the way a person can.
Now on Pesach we make our Emunah stronger. When we eat matzah it gives us Emunah. This will help us to always be with Hashem — “Tomid Imach” — to be close to Hashem always, for the whole rest of the year.
|
| |
|
TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Mem
|
|
How come we talk so much about needing to have kavanah? Aren’t the words of davening and Torah holy BY THEMSELVES? How come the words only go up to Hashem when we have kavana?
It is true that they are holy and Hashem doesn’t hide in the words of davening and Torah the way He does in the rest of the Gashmius’dike world. But since we say these words using our gashmius mouth, Hashem’s light isn’t able to shine very strong because the gashmius does not allow it to.
When we have kavanah (which is ruchnius) the words can go up to a ruchnius place, where the light of Hashem can shine in a much stronger way!
|
| |
|
|
The minhag of the Rebbeim is that instead of having a Rav sell our chometz FOR us, we sell our chometz to the Rav. Later the Rav sells it to a goy (since a goy is allowed to have chometz on Pesach!).
On Erev Pesach, the Rebbe Rashab would go to the matzah bakery and watch them bake the matzos. He would say Hallel while he was watching, and used to stop in the middle to tell them instructions about the baking.
|
| |
|
|
Today we learn two mitzvos about stealing:
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #244) is that we are not allowed to steal!
We learn this from a posuk in Parshas Kedoshim, that says: לֹא תִּגְנֹבוּ
The mitzvah is explained in Perek Zayin of Mesechta Bava Kama.
2) (Mitzvas Asei #239) is that we need to follow the halachos about how to judge and punish a thief. Sometimes the thief needs to pay back double what he stole, or even four or five times what he stole! If a thief doesn’t have enough money to pay back what he stole, he is sold as a slave.
The halachos of this mitzvah are explained in Perek Zayin of Mesechta Bava Kama, Perek Ches of Mesechta Sanhedrin, Perek Gimmel of Bava Metziah, and a few places in Kesubos, Kiddushin, and Shevuos.
|
| |
|
|
In today’s Rambam, we start learning a new set of halachos, about Geneivah — stealing. There are going to be 9 perakim (so we will be learning this for the next 3 days) and they will teach us about not stealing (the first 6 perakim), cheating (the next 2 perakim), or kidnaping (the last perek). There are 7 mitzvos that Hilchos Geneivah will teach us about.
Perek Alef talks about what it means to steal. We are not allowed to steal ANYTHING, not even a tiny thing, and not from anyone — not from even a little kid! We aren’t allowed to take their things for a joke, or even if we are planning on giving them back later!
Perek Beis explains the halachos of when someone does or doesn’t need to pay the “knas” — double (like if he didn’t tell the truth that he stole) or 5 times as much (like if he stole an animal and killed it).
In Perek Gimmel we learn halachos for the Beis Din, about when a person does something that might make him not have to pay the “knas” — like if he did an even bigger aveira, and needs to be punished for that instead; or if he admitted that he stole, so he doesn’t need to pay back extra; or if he doesn’t have money to pay.
|
| |
|
|
In today’s Rambam we finish learning the halachos about people arguing in Beis Din.
The Rambam teaches us about when the Beis Din shouldn’t trust someone — like if someone was a witness for another person selling a field, he can’t later come to the Beis Din and say that the field was stolen from him! If the field had really been stolen from him, he wouldn’t have been a witness for the other person selling it.
The last halacha of this set teaches us to be very careful not to lie in Beis Din, even when it is to get the money back to the right people!
|
| |
|
|
Today, Erev Pesach, is the birthday of the Rambam. From all of the tzadikim in the time of the Rambam or before, we usually don’t know what time of the day they were born.
We DO know that the Rambam was born in the afternoon (after chatzos), close to Pesach.
The Rambam has a very special connection to Pesach, going out of Mitzrayim. It’s even hiding in his name! “Rambam” stands for “Revos Mofsai Be’eretz Mitzrayim.” — Hashem says He will make many nisim (like the makos) in Mitzrayim so the Yidden can go out and get the Torah. The Rambam was a doctor and was forced to live in Mitzrayim for many years.
Today is a good day to inspire another Yid to start learning Rambam! There are many good tools to help make this easier, like the one you are using now! Other good tools are Dvar Malchus, Chayenu, or Chabad.org!
It is also your last chance to give Maos Chitim! Some options are Colel Chabad, The Shluchim Fund, CSSY, Adopt A Family, and your own local Maos Chitim — for your community and family.
|
| |
|
▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼
|
| |
|
|
There is a very special part of the siddur that we say only one day of the year: today!
In many places in davening we speak about the korbanos brought in the Beis Hamikdash. Because davening is instead of bringing korbanos, the Chachomim teach us to learn about the korbanos at the time they are brought. That’s why we read about the Korban Tomid in the morning and in the afternoon before davening.
In the time of the Beis Hamikdash, the Korban Pesach was brought only once a year — today, Erev Pesach, at Mincha time! Because of this, after Mincha, we read all about how the Korban Pesach would be brought in the Beis Hamikdash.
The Alter Rebbe writes in his siddur that we should be careful to read this section before Shekiyah, during the actual time when the korban could be brought. When we read it, we should think about how we want Hashem to rebuild the Beis Hamikdash, so we can actually bring the Korban Pesach the way Hashem wants us to!
|
| |
|
|
On Erev Pesach it is our minhag not to eat from the ingredients used for the Charoses or the Maror. We save the taste of these things especially for the seder!
~
During Makas Bechoros, Hashem gave the Malach Hamaves permission to kill ALL firstborn boys. But Hashem made a neis and had the malach skip over the houses of the Yidden, and all of them were saved!
To remember this neis of how the bechorim were saved in Mitzrayim, nowadays firstborn boys fast on the day of Erev Pesach.
If a firstborn son isn’t Bar Mitzvah yet, his father fasts for him until he is old enough to fast on his own.
We are allowed to break this fast to eat at a Seudas Mitzvah, like a bris, Pidyon Haben, or siyum. In shul, there is usually a siyum after davening, and the bechorim are allowed to break their fasts to celebrate at this siyum. This year there are different opinions about how a bechor can have a siyum. The best is for the bechor or someone with him to make a siyum on a mesechta of Gemara, but there are opinions that he can make a siyum on a Mesechta of Mishnayos (even Pirkei Avos), or if that’s also not possible, to be part of an online or phone siyum.
~
When Shabbos is right after Yom Tov, or on the second day of Yom Tov, we need to make an Eruv Tavshilin on Erev Yom Tov. The Eruv Tavshilin makes it mutar to cook food for Shabbos on Yom Tov, and to light candles for Shabbos before it starts.
The Torah lets us cook on Yom Tov, but only for that day. We can’t prepare for the next day, or for after Yom Tov. According to the Torah, it is fine to cook a lot of extra food, because we MIGHT end up using it if unexpected guests come, but the Chachomim only allow us to cook the amount that we will probably be able to eat, to protect the kedusha of Yom Tov.
So what do we do when Yom Tov is Erev Shabbos? We won’t be able to cook on Shabbos, so we NEED to cook on Yom Tov for the next day!
Because there is no other choice, the Chachomim took away their gezeira and let us cook A LOT of food on Erev Shabbos, much more than we will probably be able to eat. (Of course, all of this food has to be ready with enough time to eat it on Yom Tov.) We can use this extra food for Shabbos. But to protect the kedusha of Yom Tov and Shabbos, the Chachomim told us that we can only do this if we make an Eruv Tavshilin before Yom Tov.
When we make an Eruv Tavshilin, we start preparing for Shabbos before Yom Tov starts. We take a piece of matzah and a cooked important food (like fish or chicken) and set it aside to eat on Shabbos, following certain halachos and saying a special bracha.
By making the Eruv Tavshilin, we protect the kedusha of Yom Tov, by showing that we tried to prepare for Shabbos before, so that Yom Tov doesn’t become a workday of preparing for Shabbos. We also protect the kedusha of Shabbos, by showing that we are thinking about Shabbos and making sure we will have special food for it, by starting Erev Yom Tov.
Make sure that your family makes an Eruv Tavshilin before bentching licht for Yom Tov!
See Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch siman Tof-Kuf-Chof-Zayin
Here are links to Halacha Newsletters, to make sure we are doing everything the way Hashem wants us to on Erev Pesach and Pesach!
- Pesach Day-By-Day (Horav Yosef Yeshaya Braun)
- Halacha Newsletter (Horav Shmuel Lesches)
|
|
לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק ע״ה בן ר׳ אפרים שי׳ מאסקאוויץ
שליח כ"ק אדמו"ר נשיא דורנו למדינת אילינוי
|
| |
|
|
The Rambam says in Hilchos Teshuvah that when Yidden do teshuvah, the Geulah comes right away! “Yisroel Osin Teshuvah U’miyad Hein Nigalin!”
The Rebbe once said at a farbrengen that the words the Rambam uses to connect Teshuvah and Geulah can really be explained in a way that everyone will understand how it works. This is something we could explain so everyone understands why teshuvah brings Geulah.
Still, it is even better if we don’t understand why! It is better to use our emunah and just follow what the Rambam says, because emunah comes from a higher part of the neshama! Our teshuvah will be a better and stronger teshuvah if we do it with emunah, and we will have the Geulah even faster!
|
| |
|
|
|
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
|
| |
|
