| |||||||||
|
||
Skin that was hurt looks different than the skin around it. Yesterday, we learned that if a person has tzoraas on a part of his body that was bruised before, some of the halachos are different than for regular tzoraas. Today we learn about tzoraas on skin that was burned before. The halachos are the same as for tzoraas on a bruise, but this tzoraas is counted as a different type! That means that if someone has a white spot that is partly on a bruise and partly on a burn, we measure each part separately. If they are both smaller than a gris (about the size of a lentil bean), then they are too small to be counted as tzoraas. Even though together the spot is bigger than a gris, it is not counted as one tzoraas spot, because they are two different types of tzoraas. Therefore the person is tahor. |
||
|
||
Today we are saying the 15 Shir Hamaalos! Every kapitel in today’s Tehillim (15 kapitelach) starts with the words “Shir Hamaalos” or “Shir Lamaalos.” Maalos means steps, going up! They bring us higher and closer to Hashem! These fifteen kapitelach were first said by Yaakov Avinu when he was in Lavan’s house. They were also said by Dovid Hamelech when he was digging a stream under the place of the Beis Hamikdash, and the underground water was about to make a big flood! Dovid asked a Rav if he can write Hashem’s name on a piece of clay, and when Achitofel said yes, he did it. The water went back down, but too far down! So Dovid Hamelech said the 15 Shir Hamaalos, and the water came up 15,000 amos, so the ground wouldn’t be too dry to grow things. Do you know what else is 15 in Yiddishkeit? Here are some of them! - There are 15 steps in the Seder on Pesach |
||
|
||
Yesterday we learned about two kinds of kavana: The first kind is the kavana from the natural Ahava that a Yid has to be connected to Hashem through Torah and mitzvos. We just have to wake up this feeling, because it is already a part of us! That is compared to an animal, who acts the way it naturally feels. The second kind of kavana comes through hisbonenus, thinking deeply about Hashem until we feel Ahava and Yirah. This is compared to a person, who has sechel! Even though for most of us the main kavana is using the natural Ahava we have for Hashem, and only tzadikim are able to regularly have an ahava that comes through hisbonenus, we shouldn’t feel bad — malochim feel that way too! They also serve Hashem in a natural way, just because that’s how they’re made. But our avodah isn’t as easy — we need to work harder than malochim! We have to do iskafya to keep the mitzvos, NOT doing what our body wants. That gives Hashem a lot of nachas, and accomplishes great things in Shomayim! Because of that, on Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh, a neshama in Gan Eden gets to go up to a higher level of Ruchnius! There the neshama has great pleasure, because it can feel Hashem in a much stronger way. (The neshama goes from Gan Eden HaTachton, which is the world of Yetzirah, up to Gan Eden HaElyon, the world of Beriyah.) Even though our neshamos can only “visit” the higher levels of Ruchnius, our mitzvos actually BECOME part of these higher levels of Ruchnius! The neshama in Gan Eden is able to feel some of the kedusha that shines from the mitzvos it did! |
||
|
||
In the year the Hayom Yom was written, Chof-Zayin Adar Sheini was Shabbos Mevorchim Nissan, and Parshas Hachodesh. The Rebbe reminds us to do the minhagim of Shabbos Mevorchim. In Parshas Shemini, we learn the story of Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aharon Hakohen, who came into the Mishkan without permission, and Hashem made them pass away. The Rebbe Rashab explains in a sicha about how their mistake was that they did “Ratzo without Shuv.” What does that mean? RATZO is when a person wants to come close to Hashem! A person may get very excited after learning a lot of Torah and Chassidus, and want very much to come close to Hashem! But, because of this excitement, with just Ratzo, a person can forget that even MORE important than being CLOSE to Hashem is doing what Hashem WANTS — to do mitzvos in the world. That’s SHUV — remembering that even though we want to be so close to Hashem, we can’t forget that the main thing is to do what Hashem wants. That is also what happened with Nadav and Avihu, that they went into the Mishkan with Ratzo, without Shuv. After that, Hashem gave instructions to Aharon to make sure that this mistake doesn’t happen again. Today’s Hayom Yom shows us the meaning of this posuk according to Chassidus, how the posuk teaches us to make sure not to do Ratzo without Shuv. |
||
|
||
Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #106) is about a Zavah — a woman who has a specific health problem. This makes her Tomei, and there are lots of halachos about how she becomes Tomei, and what else she makes Tomei. |
||
|
||
In today’s Rambam, we learn more about the kinds of Tumah where a PERSON makes other things Tomei! Perek Zayin: This perek teaches us about “Midras” — that anywhere where someone with one of the kinds of “body” Tumah leans, sits, or rides, becomes an “Av Hatumah” (“very” tomei, so it can make many other things Tomei as well). Perek Ches: The Rambam explains what happens if one of these people move something, in lots of different ways. For example, do the things become Tomei if he moved it with a stick he is holding under his chin? Perek Yud: We learn what happens if one of these Tomei people bangs into something and makes it fall. We also learn about times when things get Tumas Midras because they MIGHT have become Tomei. |
||
|
||
In this perek, we learn about giving Maaser from our animals. |
||
|
||
Once a very rich person came to the Rebbe for Yechidus. He wasn’t a chossid, but was very impressed with the Rebbe and the Rebbe’s shluchim. He told the Rebbe that he wanted to give a lot of money to a “big project.” The Rebbe told him that he should give a big donation to Chabad in Eretz Yisroel, for Mivtza Matzah. The Rebbe explained how Chassidim go around to their neighbors and friends, and make sure they each have Shmurah Matzah for the Seder. This can cost a lot of money! The man wasn’t very happy with what the Rebbe said. He wanted to do something big and important, something that would last. He didn’t want to be paying for matzos that nobody remembers after Pesach is over! But the Rebbe explained to him: “You asked me what I think is a big project — for me, this is what I consider a big project.” |
||
|
||
At the end of davening, we say a posuk from Tehillim that starts with the words “Ach Tzadikim.” Even though not every nusach of davening includes this posuk, it is not something new! This posuk is part of the Tefillah written in the Rambam, and in Shulchan Aruch, from the Ba”ch and Ta”z. The Alter Rebbe brings it in his siddur from the Maharshal, R’ Shlomo Luria. The Gemara learns from this posuk that after you daven, you shouldn’t just rush out of shul! You should wait a bit before leaving. According to this, the posuk means: Ach Tzadikim Yodu Lishmecha — Tzadikim will praise Your name, meaning that they daven to Hashem That’s why we say this posuk, to show that we are waiting a moment with Hashem before going on to the next part of our day. See Likutei Sichos chelek Chof-Hey, p. 375, and sources cited |
||
|
||
After Bedikas Chometz, we say a paragraph called Kol Chamira. It is written in Aramaic, and says that any chometz we didn’t find in our search is like nothing to us. If we don’t understand Aramaic, we should say it in English so that we understand it. (For many tefillos, it is best to say it in the original language. For this one, it is more important to know what we are saying!) This is called Bittul Chometz, deciding that our chometz is not important to us and doesn’t even belong to us. The main part of Bittul Chometz isn’t SAYING this paragraph, it’s MEANING it! We need to think that even if we forgot about some yummy chometz, like a bag of bissli or pretzels, a mini brownie bar, or a chocolate covered wafer, we don’t want it anymore! It’s not ours anymore! We don’t care about it! It means nothing to us. In the morning of Erev Pesach, we burn the chometz that is left. After we are finished burning it, we say another paragraph called Kol Chamira, where we say that our chometz is botul. This paragraph is a little bit different than the Kol Chamira we said before, because we say that our chometz is botul “whether I know about it or not.” The first time we said Kol Chamira, we only said that the chometz we DON’T know about is botul, because we were probably saving some chometz to eat in the morning! Now we say that ALL chometz is botul, because we stop eating chometz that morning. See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, Siman Tof-Lamed-Daled |
||
לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק ע״ה בן ר׳ אפרים שי׳ מאסקאוויץ |
||
|
||
The Rebbe taught us that learning Inyonei Geulah is the Derech Hayeshara, the straight path to bringing the Geulah! Let’s learn some Inyonei Geulah from Torah Shebichsav, from the Neviim, which are full of pesukim about Moshiach. Here is one posuk from the Navi Yeshayahu: “Se’i Soviv Einayich U’re’i, Kulam Nikbetzu Va’u Lach; Banayich Mei’rachok Yavo’u, Uvnosayich Al Tzad Tei’amana.” The Navi Yeshayahu is speaking to Yerushalayim, and telling Yerushalayim about the Geulah! “Se’i Soviv Einayich U’re’i:” Yerushalayim, lift up your eyes and see what is happening! “Kulam Nikbetzu Va’u Lach:” See how the Yidden have gathered together from all over the world, and they have come to you! “Banayich Meirachok Yavo’u:” Your sons, the Yidden, will come back, even from far away. “Uvnosayich Al Tzad Teiamana:” And your young daughters will have kings to help with babysitting! See Yeshayahu 60:4, with the Rashi, Metzudas Dovid and Metzudas Tzion |
||
|
||||||||||
לע"נ התינוק זאב ארי' ע"ה בן יבלט"א הרה"ח ר' שניאור זלמן שי' גליק |
||||||||||
Give children around the world the gift of Kids Chitas!
KidsChitas.org/sponsor |
||||||||||
Copyright © 5779 Chitas for Kids, All rights reserved.
Subscribe, sponsor, or learn more at www.kidschitas.org |
Credits: Chumash based on Kehos Chumash | thanks Chabad.org/dailystudy | most images chinuch.org |
✘ unsubscribe from this list | ✔ update subscription preferences |