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CHUMASH
Parshas Eikev - Shlishi with Rashi
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Moshe Rabbeinu is reminding the Yidden about the things that happened during the last forty years of traveling in the midbar. They are getting ready to go into Eretz Yisroel with Yehoshua!
“You are about to go into the special land of Eretz Yisroel! Don’t make a mistake and think that Hashem is taking out the goyim and letting you go in because you are tzadikim and you deserve it!”
Moshe Rabbeinu doesn’t want the Yidden to have gaava (to think about themselves and how important and special they are), because then they will be busy thinking about themselves, and won’t be able to to think about Hashem and doing what Hashem wants!
“Remember that right after Matan Torah, you decided to make the Eigel — and remember what happened to everyone who helped!
“Remember all the times when you complained about food and water instead of having bitachon that Hashem will take care of whatever you need!
“Remember how you complained that you didn’t want to go into Eretz Yisroel after the Meraglim came back!
“So why are you going into Eretz Yisroel, if you don’t deserve it? Because the goyim are acting in ways that make Hashem upset, and He doesn’t want them to live there anymore. It is also because of the Mesiras Nefesh the Avos had to act the way Hashem wants, and Hashem’s promise to them that their children would get Eretz Yisroel.
“Don’t think that you can act however you want and still stay in Eretz Yisroel — you need to make sure to live the way Hashem tells you, in order to deserve to stay!”
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Today’s kapitelach are Ayin-Beis to Ayin-Vov.
In Kapitel Ayin-Gimmel (73), there is a posuk “Mi Li Bashamayim Ve’imcha Lo Chofatzti Ba’aretz.” “Do I need Shomayim? And I don’t want what’s with You in the world.”
The Tzemach Tzedek said that the Alter Rebbe used to say that this posuk means that he doesn’t want what’s WITH Hashem, like Gan Eden or Olam Haba. He just wanted Hashem Himself!
How does a person connect with Hashem Himself? By doing a mitzvah in this Gashmiyus world! The Chachomim say that one hour of teshuvah and Maasim Tovim in this world is better than the whole Olam Haba! In Olam Haba, neshamos enjoy the light of Hashem, but through a mitzvah in this world, the neshama connects with the ESSENCE of Hashem.
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Hey
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The Alter Rebbe is encouraging Chassidim to give tzedakah, by explaining what happens in Ruchnius when we give tzedakah!
We learned that when we give tzedakah, we make Hashem’s name complete.
We see this in a posuk, “Vayaas Dovid Sheim,” “Dovid made Hashem’s name.” The Zohar explains that this happened because of the tzedakah and chesed that he did!
Hashem’s name is complete when we have not just the Yud of Hashem’s name, but also the Hey. Later we will see how Hashem’s name is made through giving tzedaakah, but first we need to learn what the Chachomim teach us, that with Hashem’s name Yud and Hey, Olam Haba and Olam Hazeh were created.
Yesterday, the Alter Rebbe explained that the Yud of Hashem’s name is what gives chayus to Olam Haba, and today we will learn about the Hey of Hashem’s name:
The Hey of Hashem’s name gives chayus to Olam Hazeh, this world.
Why?
We can understand this better by using a mashal of how a person speaks.
When we talk, there are two parts:
1) One is the sound that comes from our breath.
2) The other is the way we move our mouth and throat to shape that sound into the 22 letters of the Alef-Beis.
The different letters in our speech come from a very deep koach in our neshama. This is like the Yud of Hashem’s name, which shows a very deep part of Hashem — Hashem’s pnimius.
But we can’t hear those letters without the sound itself, which comes from our breath.
Our breath is like the Hey of Hashem’s name. (Without trying to shape the sound of our breath into a letter, it will just sound like a Hey!) This isn’t as deep of a koach as the letters. This is a mashal for the Hey of Hashem’s name.
Now we can understand why Olam Hazeh gets its chayus from the Hey of Hashem’s name! This Gashmius world can’t handle seeing the deep chayus of Hashem from the Yud. Instead, the Yud gives chayus to Olam Haba. This world gets its chayus from the Hey of Hashem’s name, which the world can handle.
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The Rebbe reminds us that there is no Tachanun in Mincha, because tonight is Chamisha-Asar B’Av!
On Yud-Daled Menachem Av in the year Tof-Shin-Alef, it was 50 years since the Rebbe Rashab told the Frierdiker Rebbe, who was then 11 years old, that he should start writing down the stories that he tells him.
At that time, the Frierdiker Rebbe told this story:
When the Tzemach Tzedek started to write words of Torah and Chassidus, the Alter Rebbe told him that the Mishna says that you should get a friend to learn with — Ukenei Lecha Chaver. If you change the nekudos of the word “Ukenei,”, you can read it as “Vekaneh Lecha Chaver,” a PEN should be your friend! From this we see that it is important to write things down when you learn!
The Rebbe Rashab once said over this vort from the Alter Rebbe, “Vekaneh Lecha Chaver,” that a pen should be your friend. He explained that it means that the “pen of your heart” is what should be your friend in learning: That everything that we learn, we should try to experience, and we should feel that what we’re learning is important for our life!
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Today we learn two NEW mitzvos!
1) (Mitzvas Asei #26) A kohen has a mitzvah to bentch the Yidden every day! (Outside of Eretz Yisroel, the kohanim bentch the Yidden only on Yom Tov.)
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Naso: כֹּה תְבָרֲכוּ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אָמוֹר לָהֶם
The details are explained in the last perakim of Mesechta Megillah, Mesechta Taanis, and Mesechta Sotah perek Zayin.
2) (Mitzvas Asei #12) Men need to wear Tefillin Shel Rosh, tefillin on their head. This mitzvah is said four times in the Torah!
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Vaeschanan: וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ
The details are explained in Mesechta Menachos perek Daled.
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Tefillah - Tefillin U'Mezuzah V'Sefer Torah
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Perek Yud-Daled: In this perek, the Rambam teaches us about Birchas Kohanim, the special words that kohanim say to bring Hashem’s brachos to the Yidden! In the Beis Hamikdash, the kohanim would bentch the Yidden using the special Sheim Hameforash, the name of Hashem that is written Yud-Kay-Vov-Kay, and pronouncing it properly. After Shimon Hatzadik passed away, they stopped using this name of Hashem, even in the Beis Hamikdash, in case someone who didn’t act properly would learn it.
Perek Tes-Vov: We learn about times when a kohen shouldn’t do Birchas Kohanim, like a kohen who is drunk. But being a rasha shouldn’t stop a kohen from bentching the Yidden — because it’s a mitzvah, and we don’t make a rasha into a bigger rasha by stopping him from doing more mitzvos!
In the last halacha, the Rambam says that any kohen that bentches the Yidden is bentched himself, like the posuk says, that Hashem says to Avraham, “Va’avarecha Mevarachecha, “I will bentch those who bentch you.” From here we see, “Kol Hamevarech Misbarech” — when someone gives a bracha to another person, he is bentched from Hashem!
Then we start a new set of halachos: Halachos about Tefillin, mezuzah, and Sefer Torah!
Perek Alef: The Rambam starts by telling us about Tefillin. (Many of these halachos are also for mezuzos and Sifrei Torah, which is why these halachos are all in the same set of halachos.) There are 10 things that Tefillin need to have in order to be kosher! The first two are about how they are made:
1) They need to be written with ink: We make ink by mixing soot from burning candles with sap and honey, crushing it into powder, and drying it. We mix it with a liquid (like gallnut juice) and write with that. One halacha is that the ink has to be BLACK — if even one letter is written in another color, even gold, they are posul!
2) They have to be written on parchment: There are actually three kinds of parchment! Parchment is made from the skin of an animal, which we soak in things that make it get smaller and harder. Once it is ready, it is called g’vil. But the g’vil can be separated into two parts — the klaf (the part facing outside of the animal, where hair grows) and the duchsustos (the part facing inside, where the meat of the animal is). It is best to write a Sefer Torah on g’vil, a mezuzah on duchsustos, and Tefillin on klaf. (Nowadays, we use only one kind of parchment, which has some of the top and most of the bottom rubbed off. This makes the parchment a lighter color.)
The Rambam also teaches us about the kavana the sofer needs to have when he is writing. If he writes Hashem’s name without thinking about the kedusha of Hashem, the tefillin (or mezuzah, or Sefer Torah) is posul!
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The Rambam teaches which foods to eat to stay healthy. The Rambam also says that it is very important to exercise to be healthy. So go run around outside!
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In today’s Hayom Yom, we learned about the stories that the Frierdiker Rebbe wrote down.
At the time the Hayom Yom was written, many of these stories had never been printed. Now, Boruch Hashem, they are, in the Frierdiker Rebbe’s sichos and zichronos!
We can learn many things from these stories. One very important thing we can learn is about Ahavas Yisroel. We can see this from the following story:
A bochur once came to the Rebbe in Yechidus, and asked what he could do to make his Ahavas Yisroel stronger. The Rebbe told him to read the sichos of the Frierdiker Rebbe, and this would help him!
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The second paragraph that starts “Vayedaber” is about the Korban Tomid.
After cleaning off the ashes from the Mizbeiach in the morning, the kohanim were ready to bring the first korban of the day, the Korban Tomid. This korban was a sheep that was brought as an Olah, meaning that the entire animal was burned on the Mizbeiach, and no meat was left for the kohanim to eat. The Korban Tomid (“tomid” means “always”) was brought twice every day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The Korban Tomid was a kapara for certain aveiros that the Yidden did, and helped Hashem forgive them.
Our davening Shacharis and Mincha is instead of bringing the Korban Tomid in the morning and afternoon. We can’t bring the actual korban, but we bring ourselves close to Hashem by connecting to Him in tefillah. By saying the words of the Torah describing the Korban Tomid, Hashem will also count it as if we are bringing this important korban!
On a day that we say Tachanun, we also say a short tefillah before, asking Hashem that our davening should be mechaper our aveiros just as the Korban Tomid was mechaper on the aveiros of the Yidden.
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At this time of the year, close to Chamisha-Asar B’Av, we need to increase in our Torah learning!
In the introduction to the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, the Mitteler Rebbe writes that the main part of learning needs to be in order to know how Hashem wants us to act. It’s especially important to learn the section of Shulchan Aruch called Orach Chayim, which is about things we do all the time. We can’t always run to the Rav to ask a question, so we need to know the regular halachos well!
Based on this, the Rebbe says that everyone needs to make a set time every day to learn the practical halachos that we need to know, for example the halachos about Hefsek B’Tefillah or brachos. The main thing is that we should learn every single day, even for just a few minutes, because this will help us remember the halachos. Since all halachos are connected, the halacha you learn today will help you remember the halacha you learned yesterday!
See Toras Menachem vol. 7 p. 117, Shulchan Menachem vol. 4, p. 239
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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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The Chachomim tell us that Moshiach will come “Behesech Hadaas,” when we are not thinking about it.
But what is that supposed to mean? We know from Rambam that we are ALWAYS supposed to be waiting for Moshiach to come — Achakeh Lo Bechol Yom Sheyavo!
One explanation is that Moshiach will come in a time that doesn’t make sense — a time when our daas might tell us that Moshiach shouldn’t come. Even though it wouldn’t seem like we deserve Moshiach, the Gemara tells us to have emunah (which is higher than daas) that Moshiach will come right away!
So if someone thinks that the world isn’t ready for Moshiach, we see from this Gemara that this is the PERFECT time, Behesech Hadaas! With the koach of our emunah in Moshiach, Moshiach will come right away!
Likutei Sichos chelek Yud p. 171
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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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