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In today’s Chumash, the last shevet gets his bracha, and all of the shevatim are also included in everyone else’s brachos! Yaakov Avinu passes away and is buried in Me’aras Hamachpeilah.
Now Yaakov gives a bracha to the last shevet, Benyamin. His bracha is that he should be like a wolf, who grabs its food. One reason for this bracha is that the mizbeiach of the Beis Hamikdosh will be in Benyamin’s part of Eretz Yisroel. The mizbeiach will “eat” all of the korbanos, like a wolf grabs its food!
Even though it looks like Reuven, Shimon, and Levi didn’t get brachos, really they ALL got brachos. In fact, they all got the same brachos, but each shevet got one special bracha that they got a lot of.
Yaakov knew he was going to pass away. He asked his sons to bury him in Me’aras Hamachpeilah, with the other Avos and Leah Imeinu. Only the Shevatim and their children should help, not any Mitzriyim.
Yaakov told them to carry his Aron the same way the Yidden will camp around the Mishkan. Levi shouldn’t help, because his family will carry the Aron in the Mishkan, and Yosef shouldn’t either because it’s not right for the second to the king to do it. Menasheh and Efrayim will help carry it instead.
Then Yaakov lay down, and his neshama left his body. But the Torah doesn’t say that Yaakov passed away! Since Yaakov’s whole life was to raise his children to go in the way of Hashem, as long as his children are still going in the way of Hashem, his neshama is still alive in this world! It is doing its job through his children who are alive in this world, and living in the way that he taught!
Yosef saw that his father’s holy Guf had finished its job in the world, and he cried. He went to Paraoh and told him that he made a shvuah to bury Yaakov in Eretz Yisroel. Paraoh really wanted to keep Yaakov’s body in Mitzrayim for an Avodah Zarah, but he knew that he couldn’t tell Yosef to break his promise. If he did, Yosef might break a promise that HE made to Paraoh, and tell everyone that Paraoh didn’t know Lashon Kodesh!
Many people joined Yaakov’s levayah. When the kings of Canaan heard that the Shevatim were coming, they came out to make a war. But when they came, they saw Yosef’s crown on top of Yaakov’s Aron. Instead of fighting, they put their crowns there too, out of respect.
When the Shevatim got to Chevron, they buried Yaakov in Me’aras Hamachpeila, and then they all went back to Mitzrayim.
The shevatim were worried that Yosef wouldn’t be as nice to them anymore after Yaakov passed away. They weren’t sure he forgave them yet for selling him. They told Yosef that Yaakov asked him to forgive them. Even though it wasn’t really true, they said it so there would be shalom in the family.
Yosef answered that Hashem WANTED his brothers to sell him, so he could take care of them! They shouldn’t be worried, Hashem doesn’t want any of them to be hurt.
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Today’s kapitelach are Samach-Tes, Ayin, and Ayin-Alef.
One of the pesukim in Kapitel Samech-Tes is “Va’ani Sefilosi Lecha Hashem Eis Ratzon.” We say this posuk every day in (can you guess?) Mah Tovu.
There is another place we say this posuk as well — before we take the Torah out on Shabbos at Mincha time. The posuk means that when we daven it’s a very special time. The reason why we say it by Mincha on Shabbos is because that’s ALSO a very special time, the most special time of the whole Shabbos!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Tes
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Now we know where the nefashos are in our bodies, but how does it work if they are both in one body, and they both want different things?
The Alter Rebbe says that the body is like a city which two kings are fighting over. Each one wants to be in charge, so everyone will say that THEY are the king and everyone needs to listen to whatever they say!
The two kings are the two nefashos. The Nefesh Elokis wants to be the only one in charge, so that the whole body will listen to it and only do mitzvos and good things — and that even the Nefesh Habehamis should listen to it!
The Nefesh Habehamis wants the same thing! He wants to be the only one in charge of the body, so the body will only listen to it, and only do things that are comfortable and fun!
So they are always fighting.
Can you think of some things that your nefashos fight about?
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When we act the way Chassidus teaches, sometimes we don’t even need to work very hard to bring Yidden closer to Yiddishkeit!
If you put a lantern outside in the dark, people will gather around, because they like to be around light. If you are a “lantern” shining with Torah and Chassidus, people will want to come closer to you too! They will want to become closer to Yiddishkeit when they see how you act.
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Today’s mitzvah is that if someone makes a promise and changes his mind, he has to go to a Rav or a Beis Din to take away the promise.
There are some mitzvos that are only a mitzvah to do if we need to do them. For example, it isn’t a mitzvah to become tomei so we can become tahor through the Parah Adumah, but if someone DOES become tomei, it’s a mitzvah to follow the halachos of how to become tahor again!
This is also that kind of mitzvah: It isn’t a mitzvah to change your mind about a promise, but if someone DOES, he needs to follow the halachos of how to take away the promise. For a girl or a woman, her father or husband can take away certain promises (like we learn in Perek Yud-Alef and Yud-Beis of today’s Rambam), and a Rav or Beis Din can be mevatel promises for ANYONE.
In Gemara, this mitzvah is explained in Mesechta Nedarim.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more halachos about promises.
Perek Yud: We learn all kinds of halachos about a promise that has to do with time — like if someone makes a promise not to eat fruit for a day, or if he says he will save his bananas until it rains.
Perek Yud-Alef: We learn about what happens if a child (boy or girl) makes a promise in the year before their Bar or Bas Mitzvah. If a girl doesn’t live at home, and isn’t married yet, her promise is a promise! (If she does live at home or is married, her father or husband can take away the promise.) There are also halachos about if a girl is engaged but not married yet — who can take away her promise?
Perek Yud-Beis: We learn about how a father or husband can take away a promise. One interesting halacha is that a father can take away ANY promise, but a husband can only take away a promise that will bother or annoy him or her or make it hard to stay married to his wife. We also learn that he can only take away the promise on the day he hears it — otherwise, the promise stays.
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The Leviim were split into two groups: One group did the opening and closing of the gates of the Beis Hamikdash (Sho’arim), and one did the singing (Meshorerim). Any of the Leviim could help guard the Beis Hamikdash at night.
The Leviim needed to train for five years before they could work in the Beis Hamikdash. In the times of the Mishkan they could only work until they were 50. When they did the Avodah in the Beis Hamikdash, though, they could sing for as long as their voices were still good! And even afterwards, they could still work, by opening and closing the doors of the Beis Hamikdash.
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There is a story told about the Baal Shem Tov, that he used to give a lot of tzedakah — more than he could afford.
In Usha (one of the places where there was a big yeshiva), there was a takana made that you shouldn’t be mevazvez (spend) more than 1/5th of your wealth on tzedakah.
The Baal Shem Tov was asked, how can you give more than the amount the Chachomim told you to?
The Baal Shem Tov answered, “Mevazvez comes from the word ‘biza,’ the spoils of a war. With a person who has to fight with himself to give, he shouldn’t give more than a chomeish, 1/5th.
“But if someone enjoys giving, why is tzedakah different than any other pleasure, where a person can spend as much as he wants or needs?”
The Rebbe adds to this story, that this is even more true when we remember Hashem’s promise, that we can test Him with tzedakah. This will bring even more simcha and taanug into our giving, and we can give as much tzedakah as we want!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Alef, p. 169
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The words of Shema come from the Torah. But in the Torah, it says, “Shema Yisroel... Hashem Echod. Ve’ahavta Eis Hashem Elokecha.” Why do we add “Baruch Sheim” after the first line of Shema?
Before Yaakov Avinu was nistalek, he wanted to tell his children when Moshiach would come. But the Shechinah left him, because Hashem didn’t want him to tell them. Yaakov Avinu was worried that maybe the Shechinah left because some of his children didn’t believe in Hashem properly!
All of his children answered, “Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echod!” “Listen our father Yisroel, we all believe that Hashem is our Aibershter, and Hashem is only One!”
Yaakov Avinu was so happy to hear this! He praised Hashem, saying, “Boruch Sheim Kevod Malchuso Le’olam Va’ed!” “May Hashem’s holy Name be blessed forever!”
Because of this, it became a minhag for Yidden to add the praise of Yaakov Avinu after we say Shema.
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After we wash our hands well, so that the water covers our entire hands, we lift our hands up, as high as our heart, and make the bracha. (By Netilas Yodayim in the morning, we lift our hands up as high as our peyos.) Afterwards, we do “shifshuf,” which we will learn about tomorrow IY”H.
See Seder Netilas Yodayim L’Seudah se’if daled
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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 Tzemach Tzedek once heard Chassidim talking about Moshiach. They said, “Who knows when Moshiach is going to come...?”
The Tzemach Tzedek told them, “That’s the way Bilaam speaks!”
The Chassidim were very surprised, so the Tzemach Tzedek explained: “In Bilaam’s nevuah, he talked about Moshiach as something that will only happen a long time away — ‘I see it but not now.’ But a Yid shouldn’t think about Moshiach that way. We hope that Moshiach will come TODAY!”
Migolah LiGeulah p. 136, Chasidim ein Mishpacha #298
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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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