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CHUMASH
Parshas Chayei Sarah - Shvi'i with Rashi
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Now that the Torah tells us that Avraham Avinu passed away, it shows us how Hashem kept His promise to make Avraham’s sons into great nations.
First the Torah tells us about Yishmael. Yishmael had 12 sons, and they each had cities, living from Mitzrayim to Ashur! That’s how Hashem made them great.
Yishmael went back to live in the desert. He did teshuvah before he passed away at 137 years old.
Now that Avraham had passed away, Yishmael’s family was not protected by Avraham’s zechus anymore, and his enemies kept on trying to bother him.
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Today’s Tehillim is kapitelach Kuf-Yud-Gimmel through Kuf-Yud-Ches.
Today’s Tehillim is the kapitelach which make up Hallel!
One of the things we say in Hallel, in Kapitel Kuf-Yud-Daled, is that after Hashem took the Yidden out of Mitzrayim, He did many miracles for us!
In the next kapitel (Kuf-Tes-Vov), we say “Lo Lanu Hashem, Lo Lanu, Ki L’Shimcha Ten Kavod.” “Don’t do it for us Hashem, don’t do it for us! Do it instead to give honor to Your name.”
During the time of Golus, we don’t see Hashem’s nissim as much. That’s why we ask Hashem to treat us in a way of nissim — not because of how we act, but because we are Hashem’s nation. We ask Hashem to do this just for the sake of Hashem’s holy name, which will get honor by the chesed Hashem will do with Yidden.
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Lamed
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What if someone started giving $100 to tzedakah every week, but then they started to earn less money at work? Should they start giving $50 instead? The Alter Rebbe says no! In today’s Tanya, the Alter Rebbe explains why it’s so important to keep giving the same amount of tzedakah, even if you have less money.
The Gemara says that if someone stops coming to shul, Hashem asks where they are. And the same thing is with other mitzvos too — if someone stops doing a mitzvah, Hashem “asks” about it! He is waiting for them to do their mitzvah.
Our tzedakah brings chayus of Hashem into the world from very high places in ruchniyus. We need to give at least the same amount of tzedakah, so at least the same amount of Hashem’s special chayus (and not chas veshalom less) will keep coming into the world!
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It is easy to look around and see people who have better gashmiyus’dike things than us — a nicer computer, or bike, or fancy toy.
But that’s not how we should think!
For gashmius things, we should look around and see someone who has even LESS gashmius than us — someone who has NO bike at all or NO toys. That will make us thank Hashem for all of the things we DO have!
It is also easy to look around and see someone who is less frum than us, or less Chassidish than us. That makes us feel proud of ourselves, since we think we are better than they are.
But that’s not how we should think!
In ruchnius things, we should look at someone who has even MORE mitzvos than we do. We should look at how someone else davens with more kavana, or has good midos, or goes on mivtzoyim more often.
We should ask Hashem to help us learn from that person, and give us koach to become better!
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Today we are going to finish learning the halachos about Maaser Sheini, and start a new section of halachos in the Rambam, about Bikurim!
1) (Mitzvas Asei #131) On Erev Pesach, on the 4th and 7th years since Shemitah, there is a mitzvah called “Vidui Maaser.” A person needs to say to Hashem that he separated and gave all of the Terumah and Maaser that he was supposed to over the past three years.
Just like there is a mitzvah to actually separate the terumah and maaser and do what we are supposed to with them, there is a mitzvah to SAY on Erev Pesach of these years that we did our responsibility the way we were supposed to.
The first perek of today’s Rambam tells us how this is done.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Ki Savo: וְאָמַרְתָּ לִפְנֵי ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ בִּעַרְתִּי הַקֹּדֶשׁ מִן הַבַּיִת וְגַם נְתַתִּיו לַלֵּוִי וְלַגֵּר לַיָּתוֹם וְלָאַלְמָנָה וְגוֹ׳
The details are explained in the last perek of Mesechta Maaser Sheini.
2) (Mitzvas Asei #125) We also learn the mitzvah of Bikurim — we bring the first fruit of the Shiva Minim that grow in our fields to the Beis Hamikdash, for the kohanim. (This mitzvah is only in Eretz Yisroel, when we have the Beis Hamikdash.)
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Mishpatim: רֵאשִׁית בִּכּוּרֵי אַדְמָתְךָ תָּבִיא בֵּית ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ
The details are explained in Mesechta Bikurim.
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Maaser Sheini VeNeta Reva'i - Bikurim
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Perek Yud-Alef: The year after we give Maaser Ani for the poor (the 4th and 7th year), we need to do Vidui Maaser. Vidui Maaser is telling Hashem formally that we gave all of the presents and maaser we needed to give. We can’t do this until we actually gave them to the poor, the kohanim, or the Beis Hamikdash — it’s not enough to just set them aside.
Now we start learning Hilchos Bikurim:
Perek Alef: There are 24 presents that belong to the kohanim. Eight of these presents can only be eaten by the kohanim in the Beis Hamikdash, and five others can only be eaten inside Yerushalayim! In these perakim, we will learn halachos about these presents that we didn’t learn about already in other parts of the Rambam.
Perek Beis: Now we start learning about the present of Bikurim! We bring bikurim from the seven special fruits of Eretz Yisroel: Wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. We take bikurim from the nicest fruits that grew in our fields. We have to bring the actual fruit — we can’t bring pomegranate juice instead of whole pomegranates. If we live too far away from Yerushalayim we are allowed to bring dried figs and raisins, since the fresh ones will get bad on the way.
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We learn about WHEN Korbanos are allowed to be brought (during the day) and also what we need to think about when we bring the Korban — Kavana!
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Imagine you are feeling sad that you don’t have a new backpack this year. Instead you are using the same old one from last year. Is that the right way to feel?
Or imagine that you are making yourself happy by thinking about how you daven much more nicely than everyone else in your class. Is that the right way to feel?
Someone wrote to the Rebbe once, telling the Rebbe that things were a bit hard for him. His parnasa was not so good, but he had bitachon that things would get better. His children were not doing as well in Yiddishkeit as he hoped, but he made himself feel better by realizing that at least they were better than some others.
In the Rebbe’s answer, he saw that it’s not always good to be happy with the way things are!
The Rebbe answered with the words of a posuk, “Bashomayim Mimaal Ve’al Haaretz Mitachas.” In the Torah, this is saying that “In the heavens above and on the earth below, there is nothing aside for Hashem!”
In many sefarim, these words are explained in another way: Bashomayim, in Shomayim things, meaning about Hashem and kedusha, we look Mimaal, above — we look at people on a HIGHER level than us and try to be like them.
Only in Gashmius things, “Al Haaretz,” things that are on the earth, we look “Mitachas,” below. In those things we look at people who have less than us, and realize that we should be happy with what we have. Then we will truly feel rich — “Aizehu Ashir, Hasameiach Bechelko!” “Who is rich? Someone who is happy with what he has.”
This is the same idea as what we learned today in Hayom Yom. Many times the Rebbe would remind Chassidim that it’s good to be happy with our Gashmius, but we should always look at others to see how to make our Ruchnius better!
See Igros Kodesh chelek Hey, page 237
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In a sicha, the Rebbe once spoke about shluchim who said that they weren’t having hatzlacha. They complained that they were trying to spread Yiddishkeit and Chassidus, but it wasn’t working, and they wanted to leave their shlichus.
The Rebbe said that the way to fix their problem and start to have hatzlacha in shlichus is by davening properly!
The Alter Rebbe says in Likutei Torah, Parshas Ki Savo, that there are three things we need to do to prepare for davening:
1) Learn Chassidus
2) Go to the mikvah
3) Give tzedakah
When the shluchim will prepare for davening so that they can daven properly, and then do their shlichus with all of their kochos, they will definitely see hatzlacha in their shlichus!
See Farbrengen Simchas Torah Tof-Shin-Tes-Vov
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Before the Fellers went on shlichus to Minnesota, they had a yechidus with the Rebbe.
The Rebbe told the Fellers some horaos about how to do their shlichus, and had a very important question for Rabbi Feller: What halacha sefarim did he have?
The Rebbe wanted to make sure that he was bringing along a Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, the Mishnah Berurah, as well as a new set of seforim, “She’arim Hametzuyanim Behalacha.” These sefarim went according to the order of the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, but had answers from more recent Rabbonim. The Rebbe told him that even though most of the answers were kulos, not strict, the chumros inside were very good.
We see from here how important it is to be constantly learning halacha when we are doing the Rebbe’s shlichus!
Yechidus in 1962, from JEM interview with Rabbi Feller, shown on Living Torah #377
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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 Gemara in Sotah says that it was in the zechus of the righteous women that we left Mitzrayim! “Bizchus Noshim Tzidkonios Shehayu Be’oso Hador, Nigalu Avoseinu MiMitzrayim.”
What did they do that was so special?
Even though Paraoh made a wicked gezeira that their children would be thrown into the water, the women just ignored it! They continued having children anyway, not thinking about what would be.
We can learn from them how to bring the Geulah nowadays!
The world says that we need to worry about what will happen with our children when they get older, if we don’t teach them secular subjects so they can make a good parnasa. We should ignore them! We should educate our children to have a chayus in Torah and mitzvos, and Hashem will take care of the children (and parents too!) with whatever they need at the right time.
This will both save our own children and bring the Geulah for all of the Yidden!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Alef p. 113
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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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