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CHUMASH
Parshas Shemini - Shishi with Rashi
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In today’s Chumash, we learn which kinds of animals are kosher! An animal that chews its food over and over again (Maaleh Gera, “chews its cud”) and has hooves that are split in half (Mafreses Parsa, “split feet”) is a kosher animal.
There are a few animals that have only ONE of these signs, and they are NOT kosher. One of them is the camel, which chews its cud but doesn’t have split feet. Another is the chazir, which has split feet but does not chew its cud.
We also learn about kosher fish. If a fish has “wings” that it uses to swim with (Snapir, fins) and hard circles over parts of the fish to keep it from getting hurt (Kaskeses, scales), then it is a kosher fish.
When the Torah teaches us about kosher birds, it only tells us which birds are NOT kosher! This is because most birds are kosher, and the Torah only needs to tell us which ones aren’t!
Since nowadays we don’t know the Torah names of all of the birds we see, we can’t be sure that they aren’t the ones that the Torah says not to eat. Because of this, we only eat birds we KNOW are kosher, either because we do know their proper Torah names, or because we know that our Bubbies and Zaidies ate them! (This is called a Mesorah, passed down from generation to generation. For example, one of the birds we don’t know the Torah name of, but we have a Mesora for, is chicken. Many people also have a Mesora for turkey.)
There is also a kind of kosher grasshopper (nowadays, only Sefardim eat these).
Touching a dead non-kosher animal makes a person tomei, and it can also make things tomei. They will need to be toiveled in a mikvah to become tahor again.
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We say the second kapitel of today’s Tehillim as part of Mincha on Erev Shabbos. This kapitel talks about the four groups of people who thank Hashem for miracles that happen to them.
During the week, we end up needing Hashem’s miracles too, for the hardships of our work during the week. These things could be dangerous for our body or our neshama, but Hashem saves us from them! Once we finish our weekday work, at Mincha time on Friday, we praise Hashem for making nissim and saving us.
Here are the four kinds of dangers we speak about:
1) To’u Bamidbar — A person who crosses the desert needs to thank Hashem.
2) Yoshvei Choshech Vetzalmaves — A person who was in jail thanks Hashem for freeing him.
3) Yordei Hayam Be’anios — A person who crosses the ocean thanks Hashem that he crossed safely.
4) Evilim Miderech Pisham — A person who was sick and has a Refuah Sheleimah needs to thank Hashem for the nisim.
See Shaar Hakolel p. 52
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Lamed-Ches
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The Alter Rebbe told us that the main reason a neshama comes into the body is to make the body holy and to make the world holy. That’s why it’s so important to SAY the words of davening and to DO mitzvos, and it’s not enough to just think about them and have kavana.
Still, it IS important to have kavana, because kavanah is like the “neshama” of the mitzvah.
The Chachomim say that a mitzvah without kavana is like a guf without a neshama.
IY”H later we will learn more about kavanah. We will see that there are different levels of kavanah, like there are different levels of a neshama!
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In this week’s parsha, Parshas Shemini, we learn how Aharon bentched the Yidden with Birchas Kohanim. In today’s Hayom Yom, we learn what Chassidus explains about the Ruchinus meaning of Birchas Kohanim.
Were you ever in Shul during Birchas Kohanim? All of the children go under their father’s tallis, because we aren’t allowed to look at the Kohanim during the bracha. The kohanim already washed their hands and took off their shoes. They go to the front of the shul, turn around to face everyone, and pick up their hands, holding their fingers in a special way. They say a bracha saying that Hashem gave them a special mitzvah to give brachos to the Yidden. Then they bentch the Yidden with the words of Yevarechecha.
Without Chassidus, we might think that there are a bunch of different things happening. There are people listening, Kohanim giving a bracha, and a special tune!
But Chassidus tells us that it’s really all one thing! When the Kohanim give a bracha to the Yidden, we all come together.
We learn in Chassidus that for something to be whole, it has to have all ten Sefiros — the 10 different ways of connecting to Hashem. The Rebbe explains how each part of Birchas Kohanim are like certain Sefiros. When we have all of these together, we are all one whole group, connected to Hashem!
The Sefiros can be split into 3 groups: Mochin, Midos, and Malchus. (We learned about them in Tanya in the beginning of the year.) The bracha is Mochin, the kohanim picking up their hands is Midos, and the Yidden (who are called “Bnei Melachim — princes”) are Malchus. With all of them together, we have all 10 Sefiros — shleimus!
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #110) is how we make a person or a house with Tzoraas tahor again! It needs to be done the way the Torah tells us, using two birds, water, and certain plants. For a person, this is all the first step to becoming Tahor.
Here are the things we need:
- a piece of wood from a cedar tree
- a piece of red wool
- a kind of plant called an Eizov
- two birds
- a bowl of water (the kind of water that we can use for a Mikvah)
Together with the mitzvos we learned before, we now see that there are three ways a person can take away tumah from himself:
1) Going in a mikvah (this is for all kinds of Tumah)
2) The ashes of the Parah Adumah (for Tumas Meis)
3) Wood, wool, Eizov, birds, and water (for Tumas Tzoraas)
We learn this mitzvah from many pesukim at the beginning of Parshas Metzora, and it is explained in Mishnayos Mesechta Negai’im.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more about Tzoraas:
Perek Ches: There is a kind of Tzoraas that comes on a part of the head or the chin where the hair fell off, called a Nesek. If there are gold-colored hairs there, or if the spot of Tzoraas grew, the person is Tomei.
Perek Tes: There are many halachos about the Kohen checking to see if the Tzoraas is Tomei. We learn WHO can check (only a Kohen, and only if he knows the halachos or is listening to someone else who DOES know the halachos), WHEN he checks (only certain times during the day, and not during Yom Tov, for example), and HOW he checks (how the person stands).
Perek Yud: This perek tells us the details of the mitzvah we learned about not taking off signs of tzoraas.We also learn about how a Metzora can make other people Tomei, and the halachos of the mitzvah that show how a Metzora needs to act to make sure nobody becomes Tomei by mistake.
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Today we start a new set of halachos, about the Bechor, the firstborn!
In this first perek, we start learning about how a firstborn animal has a special kedusha.
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After the Frierdiker Rebbe came out of jail on Yud-Beis Tammuz, he had to leave Russia. The Frierdiker Rebbe traveled to Riga, Latvia.
In Tishrei, the Frierdiker Rebbe heard the Chassidim who were kohanim in Riga using a special tune for the singing before the words of Birchas Kohanim. (“Ay ya ya ya ya yay”) The Frierdiker Rebbe was very happy with the tune, and asked them where it came from.
One of the kohanim said that his great-grandfather had been in the Mitteler Rebbe’s kapelya (choir). The Mitteler Rebbe once asked them to compose a tune to sing before the words of Birchas Kohanim. They wrote a few tunes, and the Mitteler Rebbe picked this one.
(This is the tune we use today as well!)
The Frierdiker Rebbe explained that there are three levels of niggunim:
1) Niggunim Mechuvonim: Niggunim that were composed by or chosen by a Rebbe are Niggunim Mechuvonim. That means that the niggun fits with the Ruchnius’dike meaning of what the niggun is connected to. The Frierdiker Rebbe explained how this tune for Birchas Kohanim fits with the Ruchnius’dike inyan of Birchas Kohanim, as we learned in Hayom Yom.
2) Niggunim “vos zogen epes”: Many niggunim written by Chassidim have a message, they “say something.” They might be niggunim that bring Ahavas Yisroel, Niggunei Hisvaadus that are good for farbrengens, or Niggunei Hisbonenus that help a Yid think about Hashem.
3) Niggunim Shel Shtus: They may sound good, but the niggunim have no meaning!
See Sefer Hasichos Tof-Reish-Tzadik-Tes p. 335 and sources in Ha’arah 19
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The first posuk of Al Tira is a posuk from Mishlei.
“Al Tira Mipachad Pisom, Umishoas Resha’im Ki Savo.”
“Do not fear a sudden fear, and from the darkness of the Resha’im when it comes.”
Even when a person gets scared of something, and even when he sees Resha’im doing not-good things, a Yid has bitachon! A Yid always knows that whatever happens is from Hashem, no matter what.
The Rebbe tells us that this is the first level of bitachon. Even when we see something scary, we feel that it is from Hashem and we have bitachon that things will be good.
See Likutei Sichos chelek Chof-Alef, sicha for Purim
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Not having chometz on Pesach is a very serious thing. We are not allowed to even have it lying around the house! This is called “Bal Yeira’eh U’bal Yeimatzeh,” that it can’t be seen or found.
Because of this, we need to search around our entire house to make sure that all of the chometz is taken out. We are careful that not even a little bit of chometz should be found, and spend time before Pesach getting rid of it. We are mevatel any chometz that we don’t find, saying that it is like it is worth nothing and doesn’t count.
But what if we do have real chometz that DOES count to us, like chometz that we want to use after Pesach? We can’t say that it is botul, because it is important to us still! But we can’t keep it, because then we would be doing a very serious aveira, and this chometz would be asur FOREVER to use or eat or sell, even after Pesach!
The Chachomim tell us that this chometz can be sold to a goy. This is called Mechiras Chometz. Because the halachos of selling chometz are very complicated, we don’t do this by ourselves. Instead, we authorize the Rav to sell our chometz for us.
(Some Yidden don’t sell real chometz on Pesach, because there can be questions about if the chometz is counted as being completely sold. The Alter Rebbe taught that we should sell our chometz using an Arev Kablan, a type of guarantor, which makes sure that our chometz IS completely sold! See here for an explanation of how this works.)
Any chometz that we want to be sold should be set aside in a separate area that is closed off. We can close it off by sealing it off or covering it completely with a cover that is tied down. We are not allowed to use this area on Pesach, unless we need to go in quickly to take care of something.
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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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During Golus, we don’t look at our guf as something so special B’Ruchnius. We see that the guf makes all kinds of problems in our Avodas Hashem! It has taavos, it gets too tired to do mitzvos, and it distracts us in the middle of davening and learning.
But when Moshiach comes, those things won’t bother us anymore.
Then, we’ll be able to see and appreciate how special and precious a Yiddishe guf is!
Sefer Hasichos Tof-Reish-Tzadik-Tes p. 335
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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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