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CHUMASH
Parshas Matos-Masei - Chamishi with Rashi
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Today in Chumash we are learning instructions Hashem gives Moshe Rabbeinu about when the Yidden come into Eretz Yisroel, and about the borders of the land.
Get rid of Avodah Zarah: Hashem tells Moshe to make sure the Yidden know to get rid of all Avodah Zarah in Eretz Yisroel! Any idols need to be knocked down, and any Goyim who want to serve Avodah Zarah have to be sent out of Eretz Yisroel. If not, Hashem will treat the Yidden the way they should have treated the Goyim, chas veshalom...
The borders of Eretz Yisroel: Now Hashem tells Moshe which parts of the land are considered Eretz Yisroel. It is very important to know what is counted as part of Eretz Yisroel, because there are mitzvos that are only kept in Eretz Yisroel!
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Today’s kapitelach are Kuf-Lamed-Hey until Kuf-Lamed-Tes.
Kapitel Kuf-Lamed-Tes (139) is a very special kapitel. It teaches a person how to serve Hashem — there is no other kapitel that does this in such a special way!
One of the things that Dovid Hamelech says is about how Hashem created Adam HaRishon — “Achor VaKedem Tzartani” — “You created me last and first.”
What does that mean? How can Adam be created last AND first at the same time?!
We learn today in Tanya that you can have two opposite things together if they are for different reasons!
The Alter Rebbe explains in Likutei Torah that “Achor” (last) means that he is created on the LAST day of Creation, and he is the lowest madreiga, because he can do an aveira — going AGAINST what Hashem wants. Only a person can do an aveira!
But he is FIRST because he has a neshama, which no other creation has! And even his Guf is also very close and precious to Hashem.
See Likutei Torah Parshas Matos, dibur hamas’chil Vayedaber Moshe El Roshei Hamatos
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TANYA
Igeres Hateshuvah Perek Yud-Alef
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We said that a person should do Teshuvah Tata’ah and Teshuvah Ila’ah at different times, because they make us have different feelings. Teshuvah Tata’ah makes a person feel serious, and Teshuvah Ila’ah makes us feel besimcha! So we usually do Teshuvah Tata’ah at night, and Teshuvah Ila’ah in davening in the morning.
Today the Alter Rebbe tells us that really we can feel both kinds of Teshuvah AT THE SAME TIME in davening, even though they are different feelings! Since they come for two different reasons, we won’t be confused.
Teshuvah Tata’ah comes because we have rachmanus for what our aveiros did, and Teshuvah Ila’ah is because we are so happy that we can still become so close to Hashem!
Here is a story that shows us how we can feel both ways at the same time:
One time Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai was learning with his son R’ Elazar. They were learning secrets of the Torah about the Churban of the Beis Hamikdash. When R’ Elazar heard these secrets, he felt happy and sad! He was sad because the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, but he was happy to hear these secrets from Hashem’s holy Torah.
The same way, we can also feel Teshuvah Tata’ah and Teshuvah Ila’ah at the same time!
Another thing that makes it possible to feel BOTH is that when we are sure that Hashem forgives us for what we did wrong, we aren’t so sad, even with Teshuvah Tata’ah! We are happy that even though aveiros can bring Golus, Hashem forgives us anyway, and promises us that by doing teshuvah we will bring the Geulah. This way BOTH kinds of teshuvah make us happy, and we can feel them both in davening at the same time!
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A while back in Hayom Yom, we learned how important it is to live in a place with healthy air. If someone is R”L sick, many times they will try to go to a place with better air, so they will become healthier.
In Ruchnius, we also need to have clean air. The air becomes cleaner by us saying words of Torah wherever we go. This way we can feel that we live in a Ruchniusdike atmosphere.
Today the Rebbe tells us that each of the Rebbeim had certain maamorim that they would say over every two or three years just for this reason — to make the Ruchnius air better!
Here are one of these maamorim from each of the Rebbeim that were said for this reason:
Alter Rebbe: Heichaltzu (from this week’s parsha, Parshas Matos! It is printed in Likutei Torah, with notes from the Tzemach Tzedek)
Mitteler Rebbe: Yafa Sha’ah Achas (it’s in the Mitteler Rebbe’s sefer Derech Chayim, explained in the first 10 perakim)
Tzemach Tzedek: Mah Tovu (in Likutei Torah, which we learned in Parshas Balak — it’s about Teshuvah)
Rebbe Maharash: Mi Chamocha BaEilim
Rebbe Rashab: Veyadaata Hayom (it was said in “Moskove Nun-Zayin” — in Moscow. It talks about the koach a Yid has to overcome nisyonos!)
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In Sefer Hamitzvos, we learn the same mitzvah again, since we’re busy learning SO MANY halachos about it in Rambam! The mitzvah is Mitzvas Asei #5, that we serve Hashem by davening to Him.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Mishpatim: וַעֲבַדְתֶּם אֵת ה׳ אֱלֹקֵיכֶם
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Perek Yud-Alef: In this perek, we learn about a shul! In a place where there are 10 Yidden, we need to make sure there is a shul. A shul has to be treated with kavod, and we have to keep it clean — sweeping and mopping the floors!
Perek Yud-Beis: Now we learn halachos about Kriyas HaTorah! Moshe Rabbeinu taught us to lein from the Torah on Mondays, Thursdays, and Shabbos, so that there are never 3 days in a row without hearing the holy words of the Torah.
Perek Yud-Gimmel: In this perek, the Rambam teaches us the halachos about leining the parshios each week, so we finish the whole Torah every year. Did you know that some people had a minhag to read shorter parts of the Torah, and only finish it every three years?
The Rambam writes that finishing the Chumash in three years isn’t the minhag haposhut. Based on this Rambam, the Rebbe taught two ways to learn the daily Shiur of Rambam: To finish it in one year, or to finish it in three years. The Rebbe said that just like we finish Torah Shebichsav (the Chumash) in one year, the minhag haposhut should be also to finish Torah Shebaal Peh (the halachos of Rambam) in one year.
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We are not allowed to force different kinds of animals to get married to each other. We can only help sheep to get married to sheep and have baby sheep! We don’t have them get married to goats and have baby... shoats?
We are not allowed to make two kinds of animals work together to pull a wagon or other piece of farm equipment. It is asur to even sit in a wagon pulled by two kinds of animals, because that makes them shlep it! But a PERSON is allowed to help an animal pull a wagon — people aren’t kilayim with animals!
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During the Three Weeks, we add in learning Torah (especially halacha) and in tzedakah and Gemilus Chassadim, to speed up the Geulah. We see this in the posuk “Tzion Bemishpat Tipadeh Veshaveha BeTzedaka” — that Yerushalayim will be redeemed through learning Torah (mishpat) and giving tzedakah! To do these right, we need to also work on our Tefillah, where we make our connection to Hashem stronger, which helps us to learn Torah and give tzedakah properly.
Here is a story about how we should think about giving tzedakah and helping others:
One time the Rebbe Rashab told his son, the Frierdiker Rebbe, to travel to a place and help a certain businessman there.
When the Frierdiker Rebbe came back, he told his father what had happened. “I did everything you told me to do. I did the favor for the businessman in the best possible way.”
The Rebbe Rashab answered, “You are making a mistake. You did the favor to yourself, not to that person! For that person, Hashem did him a favor, by sending a shliach to help him. But what you did helped yourself much more.
“Like the Medrash says, ‘Yoser MiMah SheBaal HaBayis Oseh Im Ha’Oni, Ha’Oni Oseh Im Baal HaBayis.’ ‘More than the rich person does for the poor person (by giving him tzedakah), the poor person is doing for the rich person (by giving him the chance to do a mitzvah)’.”
See Igros Kodesh of the Frierdiker Rebbe, vol. 4 p. 46
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The Chachomim gave us many brachos to say, to make it easier for us to say 100 brachos every day. In Birchos Hashachar, we say a list of many brachos, thanking Hashem for the things we benefit from every morning.
These brachos go in order of how people used to get up in the morning in the times of the Anshei Kneses Hagedolah. So far we learned from when people hear the rooster crowing until they get dressed. Today we will learn the rest of these brachos:
7) Then he would put his feet on the floor, and thank Hashem for making solid ground to stand on — Roka Ha’aretz Al Hamayim (“Who spread the ground over the water”)
8) He would then put on his shoes, and thank Hashem for having good shoes to protect his feet — She’asa Li Kol Tzorki (“Who gives me all of my needs”)
9) Then he would start to walk around, and bless Hashem that he can — Hameichin Mitz’adei Gaver (“Who prepares the footsteps of man”)
10) He would put on a gartel for kedusha and tznius, to separate the upper part of the body from the lower half of the body. He would bless Hashem for this — Ozer Yisrael Bigevruah (“Who girds Yidden with strength”)
11) He would cover his head, also for kedusha and tznius — Oter Yisrael Besifara (“Who crowns Yidden with beauty”)
12) He would bless Hashem for giving him mitzvos. He would thank Hashem that although goyim have 7 mitzvos, Yidden have 613 — Shelo Asani Goy (“for not making me non-Jewish”)
13) He would then thank Hashem for not making him a slave, who does not have the same chiyuv to do mitzvos as a free person does — Shelo Asani Aved (“for not making me a slave”)
14) Boys and men would thank Hashem for giving them more mitzvos than a woman, who does not have a chiyuv to keep certain mitzvos that have a specific time — Shelo Asani Isha (“for not making me a woman”)
15) Finally, he would wash his face, wiping away the sleepiness — Hamaavir Sheina Me’einai (“Who removes sleep from my eyes”).
This bracha continues with the paragraph of Vihi Ratzon, which finishes with the words Hagomel Chasadim Tovim Le’amo Yisrael. We will IY”H learn about the rest of this bracha tomorrow.
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The paragraph of Vihi Ratzon, which ends off with a bracha, is really connected to the bracha before, “Hamaavir Sheinah.” This is called a “Bracha Arucha,” a long bracha.
Since both brachos are connected, we don’t say amen until after finishing the whole thing. So we don’t say Amen when we hear someone say Hamaavir Sheina; we only answer Amen at the end of “Hagomel Chasadim Tovim Le’amo Yisrael.”
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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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According to the Rebbe’s hora’ah of learning inyonim of Geulah and Moshiach, beginning with Torah Shebichsav, we are learning some of the pesukim in Torah Shebichsav which have in them the nevuos of the Geulah.
In Perek Lamed-Daled of Yechezkel, the Navi warns the leaders of the Yidden to change the way they are acting!
The Navi uses a mashal when he speaks to them. He tells them that the Yidden are like a flock of sheep, goats, and rams. The leaders of the Yidden are like the shepherds.
Yechezkel tells them, “You are supposed to be taking care of the Yidden, but you are only taking care of yourselves! You use your power to rule over the Yidden, but you do not care about them. Now the Yidden are like sheep without a shepherd. Some are lost, and some are running wild because nobody is teaching them how to act.
“Hashem says that He will not let you stay the leaders! Hashem will gather all of the lost Yidden and bring them back. Hashem will judge the leaders for the way they were treating the Yidden they were supposed to be taking care of.
“Hashem will instead give the Yidden a true shepherd, a leader who cares about each one and will show them how to behave — Moshiach, who comes from the shepherd of the Yidden, from Dovid Hamelech!”
וַהֲקִמֹתִי עֲלֵיהֶם רֹעֶה אֶחָד וְרָעָה אֶתְהֶן אֵת עַבְדִּי דָוִיד הוּא יִרְעֶה אוֹתָם וְהוּא יִהְיֶה לָהֶן לְרֹעֶה
Hashem says:
Vehakimosi Aleihem Ro’eh Echad — I will give the Yidden one leader
VeRa’ah Es’hen — And he will take care of them like a shepherd takes care of his sheep.
Es Avdi Dovid — This is Moshiach, who comes from My servant, Dovid Hamelech!
Hu Yir’eh Osam — He will be the one to take care of the Yidden
Vehu Yihiyeh Lahen LeRo’eh — And he will be the only one to be their leader.
See Yechezkel perek Lamed-Daled posuk Chof-Gimmel
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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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