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CHUMASH
Parshas Chukas - Shlishi with Rashi
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Moshe and Aharon hit the rock to give water to the Yidden. Hashem told them that because of this, they will need to stay in the Midbar and not go into Eretz Yisroel.
Even though the Yidden didn’t ask nicely for water after Miriam passed away, Hashem still wanted to give them water.
Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu to take his stick and bring all of the Yidden to see. He should talk to the rock where Miriam’s well used to come from. Then it will give water again, in MOSHE’S zechus.
Moshe and Aharon got all of the Yidden together. It was a neis that everyone was able to see!
But they had a problem — they couldn’t find the rock where Miriam’s well used to be from! It had gotten mixed up with other rocks. The Yidden said, “We don’t care which rock you get water from!” But Moshe was upset at them — “Do you think we can get water from a rock that Hashem didn’t ask us to get water from?”
To show them, he spoke to one of the rocks like Hashem said — and it didn’t give any water, because it wasn’t the right one. Moshe and Aharon thought that maybe they need to hit it — since the first well the Yidden had in the Midbar came from a rock that Moshe hit.
By Hashgacha Protis, Moshe hit the RIGHT rock, instead of the one he spoke to before! But since he was supposed to TALK to the rock, it only gave out a little bit of water. So Moshe hit it again, and the water came out. Now the Yidden had water to drink for themselves and for their animals. This well stayed with the Yidden until Moshe passed away.
Hashem was upset with Moshe and Aharon, because they could have made a big Kiddush Hashem! All of the Yidden would see how even a ROCK listens to Hashem. But since Moshe and Aharon didn’t talk to the rock, Hashem will need to punish them. Now they won’t be allowed to go into Eretz Yisroel.
This water got a name “Mei Merivah” (the water of argument), since the Yidden had argued with Hashem. Hashem punished the Yidden for this by not giving them the lands of Amon, Moav, and Edom now — they will have to wait until Moshiach comes.
Chassidus explains that hitting the rock was not the MAIN REASON why Moshe shouldn’t go into Eretz Yisroel — it was like an excuse. Really, the main reason is because Moshe Rabbeinu was the Rebbe of the Yidden in the Midbar. Even though Moshe Rabbeinu was ready to go into Eretz Yisroel, since his nation had to stay in the Midbar, Hashem wanted him to stay with them — until the time of the Geulah, when Moshe Rabbeinu will bring these Yidden with him into Eretz Yisroel!
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Today’s kapitelach are Lamed-Hey to Lamed-Ches.
In Kapitel Lamed-Zayin, Dovid Hamelech tells people not to be jealous of the hatzlacha of Resha’im, so that they won’t try to copy them.
The first posuk starts “L’Dovid Al Tis’char Bamereiim Al Tekanei Be’osei Avla” — “A kapitel by Dovid: Do not make competitions with people who do bad things, do not be jealous of those who do aveiros.”
The Medrash Yalkut Shimoni teaches that there is a similar posuk in Mishlei, written by Shlomo Hamelech. That posuk also tells us when we SHOULD be jealous — we should be jealous of people who have Yiras Shomayim!
The Medrash explains that the world couldn’t last without this good kind of jealousy! If people weren’t jealous of other people for the good things they do, people would never plant a field, get married, or build a house. In fact, without jealousy, Avraham Avinu could not have become the first of the Avos, and began the entire Yiddishe nation!
When did that happen?
Avraham Avinu was once speaking to Malki-Tzedek (another name for Sheim, one of Noach’s sons). Avraham asked him: “What zechus did you have to be able to come off the teivah alive and well?”
Malki-Tzedek said, “It was because of the tzedakah that we gave on the teivah.”
Avraham Avinu was confused! “What tzedakah? Were there any poor people on the teivah? Only Noach and his sons were there!”
Malki-Tzedek explained, “We gave tzedakah to all of the animals and birds! We never went to sleep until we made sure that every single animal and bird had the food it needed.”
When Avraham Avinu heard this, he said: “If doing this kind of chesed to animals and birds was enough of a zechus to leave the teivah, imagine how special it will be if I do chesed for PEOPLE, who are created B’Tzelem Elokim, to look like Hashem!”
He then decided to set up an “Eishel.” The word Eishel stands for Achilah (food), Shesiyah (drink), and Leviyah (bringing them on their way). Avraham Avinu set up his tent in the middle of the desert to give people food and drink, and bring them on their way!
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TANYA
Shaar Hayichud Veha'emunah Perek Yud
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In today’s Tanya we learn an example of how Hashem made the world using all of the different sefiros.
Today in Tanya, we learn about how Hashem made the world using ALL of His holy Sefiros! Since Hashem is one, everything Hashem does uses all of the Sefiros together.
The Alter Rebbe gives us some examples of how parts of the world were made with ALL of the Sefiros. For example, on the first day of Briyas HaOlam, Hashem’s Chesed was very strong! Hashem said “Yehi Ohr” and made light, mainly using His Chesed! But Hashem’s Chesed also has Gevurah, which made the light a Gashmius’dike light that can be used in this world. (Chesed has no limits, but Gevurah gives it limits.)
On the second day, Hashem’s Gevurah was shining strong! Hashem said “Yehi Rakia” and made the sky to split the world into Gashmius water and Ruchnius water. Separating something shows Hashem’s Gevurah. But this also shows Hashem’s Chesed, since Hashem needed to split the water so we could have a place to live!
PEOPLE can have Midos separately, but Hashem’s Midos are ALL together. So Hashem’s Chesed isn’t just Chesed, and Hashem’s Gevurah isn’t just Gevurah! We call it “Chesed” when Chesed is the strongest, but with Hashem they are all one.
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Chassidus explains that the chayus Hashem gives to the world comes in three different levels:
1) Penimi (something we can feel inside)
2) Makif Hakarov (something surrounding us, but close to us)
3) Makif Harachok (something surrounding us, but far from us)
These three levels are also in our neshama and in our Torah and mitzvos.
What do they mean?
Chayus that comes in a way of Pnimius is a chayus we can understand and appreciate. We can feel how it makes a difference for us! For example, the mitzvos of how to do business properly — we understand why we do these mitzvos and we feel how they change things for us.
Chayus that comes in a way of Makif Hakarov is chayus we can’t understand yet. We can tell that it makes a difference, but we can’t feel it in a strong way. As our connection to Yiddishkeit becomes stronger, we can make it into Pnimius!
Chayus that comes in a way of Makif Harachok is chayus that we will never be able to understand. For example, the mitzvah of Parah Adumah — we know that it is there, but we can’t feel it or understand it. In a way, this kind of chayus is even MORE important and makes a BIGGER difference in our Yiddishkeit!
In today’s Hayom Yom, the Rebbe explains how we can start to understand and appreciate the makif part of mitzvos, the part we usually can’t understand! There are certain mitzvos that help make makif into pnimi.
One of these mitzvos is tzedakah.
Giving tzedakah is a keili to help us understand and feel other mitzvos. That is why it is good to give tzedakah before we do mitzvos, so we will be able to feel our mitzvos in a way of Pnimius!
There is also a way to connect to Makif Harachok, the chayus that is much higher than we can understand. Learning Torah connects us to Makif Harachok, which connects us to Yiddishkeit in an even higher way!
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Today we review a mitzvah we learned before (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #320): We are not allowed to do any of the kinds of work called melacha on Shabbos.
In Rambam we are learning about Eiruvin, which is Miderabanan — it doesn’t have a mitzvah from the Torah of its own. Since the time we need an eiruv is on Shabbos, during this set of halachos, we review some of the mitzvos of Shabbos.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Yisro: לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה כָל מְלָאכָה
The details are explained in Mesechta Shabbos.
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In today’s Rambam, Perakim Gimmel, Daled, and Hey, we are learning about an Eruv, but not the kind of eruv we usually think about — it’s not an Eruv around your backyard!
The kind of Eruv we’re learning about right now is called an Eruv Chatzeiros. It shows that even though there are many families in a certain place, they are joining together as one group. If a few families live in an apartment building, they might need this kind of eruv to carry in the hallways.
How do we make an Eruv Chatzeiros?
Everyone gives some food, and then one person makes a bracha “Al Mitzvas Eruv” and then says that everyone can carry things from one person’s house to another.
In today’s third perek we also learn about something called “Shitufei Mevuos.” This means a “partnership for a street.” Cities used to have many streets called a “Mavui.” Each Mavui had a few courtyards, Chatzeiros, and each Chatzer had a few houses inside. The Rambam teaches us how all of the families living on the same Mavui could make themselves partners so they could carry within their own street.
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The Rambam explains more about the halacha that things that break while the animal is walking in public aren’t the owner’s responsibility, and he doesn’t have to pay. We also learn about times when it’s partly the owner’s fault, and he has to pay half.
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In the beginning of this week’s parsha, Parshas Chukas, we learn about the mitzvah of the Parah Adumah. The Torah calls this mitzvah a chok (“Chukas HaTorah”), a mitzvah that doesn’t have a reason we know about. Hashem did not give us the reason for this mitzvah, and some parts of it don’t even make sense to us! (For example, even though the Parah Adumah makes a person tahor from the most serious kind of tumah, anyone who helps prepare the Parah Adumah becomes tomei and needs to go to the mikvah!)
The Medrash tells us that Hashem told Moshe that He would reveal the reason for the Parah Adumah only to him. But if Moshe Rabbeinu knew the reason for the Parah Adumah, why is it called a chok for everyone?
The Rebbe explains in a maamar that even though Moshe Rabbeinu was very great in Torah, that is not what Moshe is all about. The MAIN inyan of Moshe Rabbeinu is that he was the Nasi of the Yidden, taking care of every Jew.
If a Yid didn’t have something, Moshe Rabbeinu would feel like something was missing, even if he had it himself. This was also true with understanding: If the Yidden didn’t understand something, that was what was important to Moshe Rabbeinu. Even if he knew what it meant himself, he felt like it was not understood as long as the Yidden didn’t understand it.
That is why the Parah Adumah is called a chok for everyone, also for Moshe Rabbeinu, because the Yidden didn’t know the reason, and that meant that even Moshe Rabbeinu felt that it was not understood. Because that was the main inyan of Moshe Rabbeinu, that he was the Nasi taking care of every Jew. So if there was something missing in their understanding, it was missing for Moshe too.
See Kuntres Yud-Beis Yud-Gimmel Tammuz 5751
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After the paragraph of Yaalzu in Kriyas Shema She’al Hamitah, we say part of Kapitel Tzadik-Alef of Tehillim, which starts with the words “Yosheiv Beseiser Elyon.”
In the Gemara in Mesechta Shevuos, it says that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi would say this kapitel at night for protection against the kelipos that are stronger at night. It is called “Shir Shel Pega’im,” the song that protects us against not-good things happening.
This kapitel speaks about Hashem’s protection until the words “Ki Ata Hashem Machsi.” We read these words, and then finish the posuk, “Elyon Samti Me’onecha.”
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In Kriyas Shema She’al Hamitah, there are many different nuschaos and minhagim. The nusach that the Alter Rebbe chose is based on the kavanos of the Arizal, and on things explained in Kabbalah.
One of the things we do in our nusach is to say certain pesukim in Kriyas Shema three times. We say the pesukim describing Shlomo Hamelech’s bed three times, and then again the words Birchas Kohanim three times. (We also repeat many pesukim later on in Shema.)
In Kabbalah, it explains the reason for repeating the pesukim of Hinei Mitaso Shelishlomo three times: These pesukim have 20 words all together. If we say the pesukim three times, we end up with sixty words. This matches the sixty letters in Birchas Kohanim!
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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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Most of Sefer Yirmiyah is the Navi warning the Yidden to do teshuvah, or else Hashem will cause the Churban of the Beis Hamikdash. So this sefer is not a very happy one.
In fact, even though the Frierdiker Rebbe learned the whole Tanach baal peh when he was a child, the sefer Yirmiyah was very hard for him to do. It was much too sad.
Still, there are some happy pesukim, where Yirmiyah gives nevuos about Moshiach!
In one of these pesukim, Hashem says through the Navi that all of the Yidden will gather together in Yerushalayim:
הִנְנִי מֵבִיא אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ צָפוֹן וְקִבַּצְתִּים מִיַּרְכְּתֵי אָרֶץ בָּם עִוֵּר וּפִסֵּחַ הָרָה וְיֹלֶדֶת יַחְדָּו קָהָל גָּדוֹל יָשׁוּבוּ הֵנָּה
Hineni Meivi Osam Me’Eretz Tzafon — I will bring them from the north land (where they were in Golus)
Vekibatztim MiYarkesei Aretz — And I will gather them from the furthest parts of the world (this is talking about the 10 shevatim that were scattered very far)
Bam Iver U’fiseiach — Including those who are blind and those who can’t walk
Hara Veyoledes Yachdav — Together with the mother who is pregnant and one who just had a baby.
Kahal Gadol Yashuvu Heina — A big group will come back there (to Yerushalayim)!
You may know this posuk from a song about Hakhel! This posuk talks about the big Hakhel of all of the Yidden together, which will happen when Moshiach comes!
See Yirmiyah perek Lamed-Alef posuk Zayin
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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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