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CHUMASH
Parshas Behar - Shishi with Rashi
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In today’s Chumash, we learn about what happens if someone is so poor he sells himself as a slave!
We are not allowed to treat him like a slave, and make him do things like put on our shoes for us or do things we don’t really need just so he will be busy. We have to treat a Jewish slave in a much nicer way, like a regular worker. We even need to make sure his children have food to eat. If we need someone to do work like a slave, we need to buy a non-Jewish slave.
Just like with fields and houses, in a Yovel year a Jewish slave goes free.
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The first kapitel in today’s shiur Tehillim is kapitel Tzadik (90). Dovid Hamelech wrote many kapitelach himself, but this one is different. Dovid Hamelech found this whole kapitel already written, and he was told that it was written by Moshe Rabbeinu! So he decided to include it in the Sefer Tehillim.
This kapitel speaks about how a person should be humble, not a big-shot. It also helps a person to want to do Teshuvah.
One of the pesukim says “Tosheiv Enosh Ad Daka VaTomer Shuvu Bnei Adam” — “Hashem, You make a person feel very small so that he will do Teshuva.” The word “Tasheiv” (“do Teshuvah”) is the same letters as the word Shabbos — because Shabbos is a special chance for every Yid to do teshuva — to become closer to Hashem.
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Mem-Tes
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The Chachomim instituted the brachos before Shema to help us prepare ourselves to fulfill the mitzvah of loving Hashem that we talk about in Shema.
Yesterday we learned what the first bracha should make us feel, and now we look at the second bracha:
In the second bracha, we talk about how much Hashem loves us, even more than all of these malachim. Hashem made the world for US, the Yidden!
Hashem loves us with an “Ahavas Olam” — a love that lasts forever. Olam also means the world, a place that Hashem needs Tzimtzum to be in. Hashem is ready even to hide Himself with Tzimtzum, not to let His light shine all the way, because He wants us to learn Torah and do mitzvos!
And from everyone in the world, Hashem chose us, the Yidden!
If Hashem loves us so much, then for sure when we say Shema we will love Him too!
In tomorrow’s Tanya, we’ll see more about how these brachos make us love Hashem — the mitzvah of Shema!
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Today is thirty-four days of the Omer!
Today’s Hayom Yom comes from a maamar of the Frierdiker Rebbe, which was said when he left Russia and came to Poland, in the year Tof-Reish-Tzadik. The maamar is based on a story in the Gemara, that starts with the words Rava Chazya Lerav Hamnuna. This maamar is a very basic maamar, which explains what Avodas Hashem is all about, and how we are able to make ourselves more aidel by living according to Torah and working on Avodas HaTefillah. The maamar was written in Yiddish and in a simple way, so that everyone could understand it!
At the end of the maamar, there are four paragraphs which speak about what Chassidus is, and what Chassidus does! These paragraphs seem to be based on what the maamar teaches. Today’s Hayom Yom is the second paragraph:
Chassidus is a “Getliche Farshtand,” a Ruchnius’dike way of understanding things. Chassidus teaches us about Hashem and about the kedusha in the world.
Learning about this makes a person realize how small he really is alone, but how great he can become through Avodah! By working on himself through following Yiddishkeit, through Torah and Tefillah, a Yid can become truly great.
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #250) is the same as yesterday’s, that we aren’t allowed to cheat people when we sell them things or buy things. For example, we are not allowed to sell something for much more money than it’s really worth, or pay too little money for something worth much more.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Behar: וְכִי תִמְכְּרוּ מִמְכָּר לַעֲמִיתֶךָ אוֹ קָנֹה מִיַּד עֲמִיתֶךָ אַל תּוֹנוּ אִישׁ אֶת אָחִיו
The details are explained in Perek Daled of Mesechta Bava Metzia.
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In today’s Rambam, we continue to learn the halachos of buying and selling.
In Perek Yud, we learn what happens if a person is FORCED to sell something. Whether it’s because someone yelled at him, or because someone told him he would steal it otherwise, it’s not considered selling according to the Torah!
In Perek Yud-Alef, we learn the halachos about selling things with conditions. For example, if someone said he will sell his house to his neighbor if he finds a new house in Yerushalayim before the summer. If the person finds a beautiful house in Yerushalayim, does his old house belong to his neighbor? The Rambam tells us that it only does if the neighbor FIRST made a kinyan on the old house, to show that they both really meant the deal! (If he makes the kinyan afterwards, it doesn’t count.)
And in Perek Yud-Beis, we start to learn the halachos of today’s mitzvah — not to cheat each other in business. It is counted as cheating if the price is 1/6th higher or lower than what it should be. (If it’s less than that, it isn’t cheating, because that doesn’t bother most people.) But if you sell your bike for $100 when it’s really only worth $60, that’s called cheating according to the Torah, and the person who bought it can ask for his money back!
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This is the last perek of Hilchos Tumas Meis! Today we learn about Tumas Meis inside of a body — for example, if someone swallowed a ring that was tomei with Tumas Meis.
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This week’s Pirkei Avos is Perek Daled. In the first Mishnah, it says, “Ben Zoma Omer: Eizehu Chacham? HaLomeid Mikol Adam.” “Ben Zoma says: Who is a chochom? Someone who learns from every person...”
The Mishnah also says, “Who is a strong person? Someone who wins over his Yetzer Hara... Who is a rich person? Someone who is happy with what he has... Who is a respected person (kavodik)? Someone who has kavod for everyone...”
The Rebbe once explained that this Mishnah teaches us four things that we might think are the opposite!
1) Chochom (a smart person): We would think that a smart person is someone who understands the way things really are — he’ll know who is good, and who is bad.
But no! A chochom is someone who can find something good in everyone and everything!
2) Gibor (a strong person): We would think that a strong person is someone who can pick up heavy things, or can fight with strong people.
But no! Someone who is really strong is someone who holds himself back from using his koach for not good things, and wins over his Yetzer Hara!
3) Ashir (a rich person): We would think that a rich person is someone who is always trying to get more and more money.
But no! Someone who is really rich is someone who is happy with what Hashem gives him!
4) Mechubad (an honored person): We would think that a person is kavodik if he stays separate from other people because he is special, and doesn’t waste his time thinking about other people.
But no! Someone who is really kavodik is someone who is nice to everyone and shows kavod to everyone!
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This bracha, Es Tzemach, is all about the special shlichus of our time — to bring Moshiach. As we tell Hashem all the time, We Want Moshiach Now!
Really, bringing Moshiach isn’t something new. In the times of the Anshei Kneses Hagedolah, they made this part of davening! In Shemoneh Esrei, we say the bracha “Es Tzemach Dovid Avdecha Meheira Satzmiach,” asking Hashem that Moshiach, who is also called Tzemach, should come very quickly — Meheira!
Later in this same bracha, we say “Ki Lishuas’cha Kivinu Kol Hayom,” we hope for Hashem’s saving us all day! We want Moshiach right away, Meheira, but if Moshiach hasn’t come by the afternoon, we will ask Hashem again in Mincha. And if Moshiach isn’t there by night, we will ask Hashem again in Maariv! Not only that, but we hope for Moshiach to come KOL Hayom, ALL day — even not during davening!
We see from this bracha that wanting Moshiach now has always been part of Yiddishkeit! And now that bringing Moshiach is the special shlichus of our time, it is even more important to be asking Hashem all the time that We Want Moshiach Now!
See Children’s Rally, Chanukah 5741 (recently released by JEM)
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Every year, the Arizal used to travel to Meron for Lag B’omer, the hilula of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai. He used to stay there for three days — the day of Lag B’omer, and the two days afterwards.
In a number of sichos and letters, the Rebbe said that this shows us that the inyan of Lag B’omer lasts for three days! So if we missed anything on Lag B’omer, we can make up for it afterwards.
This also fits with the lesson we just learned from Pesach Sheini, that “S’iz Nishto Kein Farfallen,” it is never too late to make up for something good.
Here is one minhag that you might not have gotten a chance to do on Lag B’omer:
There is a minhag to eat bukser (carob) on Lag B’omer. This reminds us of the bukser that Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai and his son Rabbi Elazar ate for 13 years in the cave!
The Rebbe once said at a farbrengen that he remembers eating bukser at his house as a child. It was a very rare fruit, but they had it every year on Lag B’omer.
See also Hisvaaduyos 5742, chelek gimmel, p. 1395
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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 Navi Yeshaya tells us one of the things the Yidden will say when Moshiach comes:
הִנֵּה אֵ-ל יְשׁוּעָתִי אֶבְטַח וְלֹא אֶפְחָד כִּי עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָ-הּ ה׳ וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה
Hinei Keil Yeshuasi — Here is Hashem who saves me from Golus!
Evtach Velo Efchad — Now I feel safe and I am not afraid of anyone.
Ki Azi Vezimras Kah Hashem — The strength and the praise that comes from Hashem’s name becoming whole, in the times of the Geulah
Vayehi Li Liyeshua — that is what saved me.
Rashi explains that until Hashem destroys Amalek in the times of Moshiach, Hashem’s name is not complete. But after Amalek is destroyed and the Yidden are saved, we can see Hashem’s true strength and praise Him with His whole name!
We say this posuk at the beginning of Havdalah, because it is a comforting posuk. We want pesukim that bring us comfort because we are sad that Shabbos is leaving us. When we remind ourselves about the things we will say at the times of the Geulah, we feel much better!
See Yeshaya perek Yud-Beis, posuk Beis
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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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