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CHUMASH

Parshas Shemini - Shlishi with Rashi

At the beginning of today’s Chumash, we learn something very happy! Hashem was happy with the korbanos that Aharon brought, and Hashem made a fire come down onto the Mizbeiach to burn the korbanos, and show the Yidden that Hashem WAS “resting” in the Mishkan!

The Yidden were so happy! They sang praises and bowed to Hashem.

Then, we learn a very sad story.

Two of Aharon’s sons wanted to be very close to Hashem. They knew that one of the most special parts of the avodah in the Mishkan is to burn the ketores. So they took pans of ketores, and went into the Mishkan. They knew that they weren’t supposed to do this without asking, but they wanted so much to be close to Hashem that they did it anyway. Their neshamos got so close to Hashem that they couldn’t stay inside of their bodies anymore, and both of them — Nadav and Avihu — passed away.

In Chassidus this is called “Ratzo without Shuv.” When a person wants to come very close to Hashem (Ratzo), he needs to remember that Hashem wants Yidden to do mitzvos here in this world (Shuv). Even when we want to be very close to Hashem, we need to remember that Hashem wants us to learn Torah and do mitzvos in the world and make it a Dira BeTachtonim.

Moshe told Aharon that Nadav and Avihu were tzadikim. Aharon was quiet and did not complain to Hashem about the very sad thing that had happened.

Aharon and the kohanim weren’t allowed to become tomei, so Moshe sent other relatives, Mishael and Eltzafan, to bury Nadav and Avihu. Moshe also told the kohanim that they couldn’t sit shivah for Nadav and Avihu, because their job of being a kohen couldn’t be stopped.

After this, Hashem told Aharon that the kohanim need to remember not to drink wine before they work in the Mishkan.

Even though usually Hashem spoke to Moshe, or Moshe and Aharon together, Hashem now spoke ONLY to Aharon! This was a reward for accepting what happened to his children without complaining.

 
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TEHILLIM

97 - 103

Once when the Frierdiker Rebbe was a young boy, his father the Rebbe Rashab took him to a Chassidishe farbrengen. It was Sukkos, and the farbrengen was in the freezing cold Sukkah. The farbrengen went until very late, and the Frierdiker Rebbe fell asleep.

Rebbetzin Shterna Sarah (the Frierdiker Rebbe’s mother) came to take him into his warm bed, but the Rebbe Rashab said to let him stay! The Rebbetzin said, “It is cold for him! Doesn’t it say, ‘Kerachem Av Al Banim…’ — ‘Hashem has Rachmanus on us like a FATHER has Rachmanus on his child’? Where is your Rachmanus for your son? He might get sick from the cold chas veshalom!” (This posuk is in today’s Tehillim! We also say it many times in davening.)

The Rebbe Rashab answered, “Let him sleep close to Chassidim that are farbrenging, and that will keep him warm! This varemkeit (warmth) will stay with him for many generations.”

Many years later, the Frierdiker Rebbe told this story at a farbrengen with Chassidim. After the story, he said, “This is Mesirus Nefesh for Chinuch!”

 
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TANYA

Likutei Amarim Perek Mem-Alef

In today’s Tanya, we learn another kavana we should have in our Avodas Hashem.

The Alter Rebbe tells us that our mitzvos need to have a “neshama.” They need to be able to go up to Hashem.

When we think about how Hashem is watching everything we’re doing (Yirah) and how we want our neshama to be connected to Hashem (Ahava), then that kavana is the neshama for our mitzvos and can make them go up to Hashem.

Today the Alter Rebbe tells us that we have to have another very important Kavanah in the mitzvos that we do: To think about all of the other Yidden when we do our mitzvah. ALL of the Yidden should be close to Hashem through our mitzvah, and not just us!

How does this work? Our neshamos come from the Shechinah. The chayus of Hashem in mitzvos is from Kudsha Brich Hu. When we do our mitzvos, we are connecting the source of our neshamos (Shechinah), with the source of the mitzvos (Kudsha Brich Hu). Since EVERY Yid’s neshama comes from Shechinah, our mitzvah is connecting EVERY neshama with Kudsha Brich Hu!

When we think about this, it brings Hashem a lot of nachas — and that nachas is called “Yichud Kudsha Brich Hu Ushechintei!”

Every day before Baruch She’amar, we think this kavana. We say, “Lesheim Yichud Kudsha Brich Hu Ushechnitei,” that we are davening in order to bring Hashem this special nachas. When we say this, we should have in mind that this kavana is for ALL of the mitzvos that we do the whole day!

(Some say Lesheim Yichud before EVERY mitzvah, but the Chabad Minhag is to say it one time for the whole day.)

 
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HAYOM YOM

Chof Nisan

Today is the fifth day of the Omer!

One Pesach, the Mitteler Rebbe’s brother (R’ Chaim Avraham) went to wish the Mitteler Rebbe a Gut Yom Tov.

He said that their father, the Alter Rebbe, said: “On Pesach, we don’t give food or drinks to our guests, but if the guest wants he can take.”

That’s because many people have different kinds of chumros on Pesach, and we don’t want anyone to feel embarrassed!

(Of course, if you know your guests don’t have any special chumros, you should offer them food as usual!)

 
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SEFER HAMITZVOS

Shiur #253 - Mitzvas Lo Saasei #266

Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #266) is that we aren’t allowed to even think about how much we like something that belongs to another person, and to let ourselves feel jealous of it.

We learn this from a posuk in Parshas Va’eschanan, from the way Moshe Rabbeinu chazered the Aseres Hadibros in Chumash: וְלֹא תִתְאַוֶּה בֵּית רֵעֶךָ

The Torah tells us that thinking about how jealous we are of someone else’s things is an aveira, and it will bring us to do other aveiros! We will start wanting it so much that we will figure out ways to get it. Either it will make us do the aveira which we learned yesterday, of convincing the other person to sell or trade it to us. Or else, if he doesn’t agree, it will make us take it from him by force, which is the aveira of robbing!

The Rambam tells us to think about an example of this from Navi, with King Achav and the field of Navos:

Achav was one of the kings of Yisrael, who lived during the times of the first Beis Hamikdash. One of the main Neviim of his time was Eliyahu Hanavi.

Next to Achav’s palace was a beautiful vineyard that belonged to a man named Navos. Achav liked this vineyard very much, and decided that it would be a perfect place for him to plant a garden, since it was so close to his palace. One day, he tried to convince Navos to sell it to him, but Navos refused. Achav tried to trade the vineyard for a better field somewhere else, but Navos didn’t want to do that either. He had gotten the vineyard as a yerusha from his father, and he didn’t want to give it up.

Achav went home in a very bad mood. His wicked wife, Izevel, saw that something was making Achav upset, and asked him what was wrong. When Izevel heard that Navos didn’t want to let Achav have his field, she got upset too! “You are the king! You can have whatever you want! Don’t be sad, because I will make sure to get the field for you.”

Izevel arranged that two false witnesses would say that Navos had said things against Hashem and against Achav. For this kind of aveira, a person deserves to be killed with Sekilah, being stoned.

Once Navos was killed, Izevel went to Achav and told him happily that now he could have the vineyard.

Eliyahu Hanavi came to Achav and told him that because of this aveira, he did not deserve to be king. He would be killed and not even get buried with kavod.

When Achav heard this, he felt very bad. He tore his clothes and did teshuvah.

Hashem then told Eliyahu Hanavi that because of his teshuvah, Achav himself would not be punished, but his melucha would not last.

From this story of Achav and Navos, we see that since Achav was busy thinking about how much he wanted the field (the aveira of Lo Sisaveh), it led him to try to get Navos to sell it to him (the aveira of Lo Sachmod), and finally, when he couldn’t get it that way, he took it by force (the aveira of Lo Sigzol) — and even worse.

 
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RAMBAM

Hilchos Gezeilah VaAveidah

In today’s Rambam, we will finish learning about gezeilah, and start to learn about Hashovas Aveidah!

Perek Yud: One of the things we learn is what happens if a person robbed a field and then fixed up part of it, or planted or built something there.

Perek Yud-Alef teaches us the halachos about Hashovas Aveidah, returning something that someone lost. Keeping someone from losing money or property is also part of the mitzvah of Hashovas Aveidah!

Perek Yud-Beis explains what we do if WE will lose money by keeping someone else from losing money. There are times we get paid for what we lost. We also learn that if we DON’T lose money or time, we can’t ask for money for doing the mitzvah.

Let’s say a person is walking down the street with a jar of honey, and then his jar cracks and the honey starts to spill! “Oh no! My honey is all going to spill on the ground!” he cries.

“Don’t worry,” says someone else near him. “I have empty jars! You can put your honey in my jar.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you!” says the honey person.

“But you’ll need to pay me half of your honey for using my jar!” says the empty jar person.

“Fine, just save my honey!” says the honey person.

Really the honey person DOESN’T need to pay him half of his honey. Because it is a mitzvah to help someone, and the other person’s jar was empty anyway! Even though the honey person said he will pay, the jar person only gets paid for the time he spent helping.

 
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RAMBAM PEREK ECHOD

Hilchos Nachalos - Perek Vov

In this perek, we learn that we are not allowed to change who is supposed to get the yerusha! A person can give away some of his property as a present, but he can’t say “my son ___ shouldn’t get a part of the yerusha.

The Chachomim teach us that it is NOT a good thing to give away all of a person’s property to keep the children from getting a part of the yerusha.

 
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INYANA D'YOMA

Sefiras Haomer

During Sefiras Haomer, we work on our midos so we’ll be ready to get the Torah on Shavuos! When we have good midos and we’re aidel, we will be able to have the Torah become a part of us.

During the first week of Sefira, we’re working on our chesed — making sure our chesed and ahava is in the best way. Chesed, being kind, comes from a feeling of love (ahava) in our heart.

One of the things we need to be very careful with when we have Ahavas Yisroel is “tzu rechenen zich mit dem tzveiten” — to think about how the other person will feel.

For example, if you want to be nice and share your favorite car or doll with someone else, think: Do they really want to play with your car or your doll? Maybe they would rather share your crayons?

We don’t just have Ahavas Yisroel because WE want to do something, we need to think about who we’re having Ahavas Yisroel for.

This last Golus came from Yidden not having proper Ahavas Yisroel. By fixing up our Ahavas Yisroel, not only will we be ready for Matan Torah, but we will be ready for the Geulah!

 

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TEFILLAH

Yetziyas Mitzrayim

In the Haggadah, we say the posuk of “Bechol Dor Vador,” saying that we need to see ourselves as if we are going out of Mitzrayim.

Chassidus explains that in Mitzrayim, the Yidden were stuck in tumah. When Hashem took the Yidden out of the land Mitzrayim, He also took them out of the tumah of Mitzrayim. Then they were able to connect with Hashem!

This kind of Yetziyas Mitzrayim, leaving tumah so we can connect to Hashem, doesn’t just happen when we relive the story on Pesach. Every day we are in a kind of Mitzrayim. Our body, that only thinks about what it enjoys, is a type of tumah. The world, that is always trying to get us to do aveiros, is also a kind of tumah. Every time we stop giving into the taavos of the body and the nisyonos the world gives us, we are leaving Mitzrayim!

This Yetziyas Mitzrayim happens every time we learn Torah and do mitzvos, when we break away from the tumah and connect to Hashem. But it is especially strong when we accept Ol Malchus Shomayim, when we decide that we are ready to do whatever Hashem asks us to. We are saying that the tumah of the guf and the tumah of the world is not in charge of us, and we only want to connect to Hashem!

When we say Shema every day, we are accepting Ol Malchus Shomayim. We say that Hashem is all that matters, and the rest of the world is only there to help us with that!

At the end of the third paragraph of Shema, Vayomer, we speak about Yetziyas Mitzrayim. Even though remembering Yetziyas Mitzrayim is a separate mitzvah from Kriyas Shema, since this is what Shema is all about, it is included as one of the paragraphs of Kriyas Shema! When we say Shema, we break away from the tumah of the world, accept Hashem’s gift of Torah and mitzvos, and connect to Hashem. That is Yetziyas Mitzrayim!

See Tanya Perek Mem-Zayin

 
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HALACHOS HATZRICHOS

Sefiras Ha'omer

Sefiras Haomer is a very important mitzvah! We are supposed to count sefirah as soon as we can after Tzeis Hakochavim.

Starting from a half hour before Shkiyah, we are careful not to eat more than a snack of Mezonos or Hamotzi so that we won’t forget to count on time. If we have another way to remember — like if we have someone who will remind us afterwards, or we usually go to a minyan where everyone counts together — then we are allowed to eat even a regular meal.

Women do not HAVE to count sefirah, but it is a mitzvah if they do, and they should also say a bracha.

A boy, even before Bar Mitzvah, needs to count Sefirah if he is already at the age of Chinuch.

See Laws and Customs of Sefiras Haomer, by Rabbi 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

 
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GEULAH U'MOSHIACH

Everyone Will Know Hashem (2)

The posuk says that Le’asid Lavo, “Kulam Yeidu Osi,” everyone will know Hashem.

Still, the same posuk continues, “Lemiktanam Ad Gedolam,” “from small to big.” This means that there will still be “small people” who don’t understand Hashem as much, and “big people” who understand Hashem better.

If everyone knows Hashem, why are there differences?

We can understand this from a mashal:

People and animals were created from the ground, but we don’t live in the ground.

The Gemara says that fish were created from water, and they live inside of the water, too! They live inside of the source of their chayus.

The same thing is with us nowadays: We get our chayus from Hashem, but we don’t “live inside of it,” we don’t feel that it is all around us.

But when Moshiach comes, we will be like fish! We will feel the source of our chayus.

Even with fish, though, there are different sizes and kinds! Some are bigger, and some are smaller. Some live in warmer water, others in colder water. Some live near the top of the ocean, and others live on the bottom.

Le’asid Lavo we will feel that everything is from Hashem, but not all of us will understand it the same way! Some people will understand more than others. We won’t need to teach people that Hashem is the source of their chayus, but we will still need to learn and teach more about understanding Hashem.

 
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