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CHUMASH
Parshas Chayei Sarah - Chamishi with Rashi
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Eliezer was sent on a shlichus by Avraham to find a wife for Yitzchak. He discussed it with Rivkah’s family, and they agreed to the shidduch. Today we learn that Eliezer tries to make things happen sooner, and has hatzlacha! He brings Rivkah back, and she marries Yitzchak.
Eliezer took out gold and silver jewelry and clothing and gave them to Rivkah. He gave fruits from Eretz Yisroel to her brother Lavan and her mother Milka.
Eliezer and the men with him ate and drank, and slept over that night.
In the morning, Lavan and Milka said that she should follow their custom and stay home for a year to get all the jewelry she needs. Since she only got SOME jewelry from Eliezer, she needs at least 10 months.
Why did only Lavan and Milka say this? Where was her father Besuel? Rashi tells us that Besuel had plans to stop Eliezer from doing his shlichus, so a malach came and he died that night.
Eliezer answered them, “Don’t make me wait now! I showed you that all of Avraham’s money belongs to Yitzchak, and everyone agreed that this is from Hashem. She doesn’t need to get jewelry herself!”
Lavan and his mother decided to ask Rivkah what she wanted to do.
Rivkah said that she wanted to go, even if her mother and brother didn’t want. So they said goodbye to Rivkah, and sent her along with the woman who fed her when she was little. They gave her a bracha that Avraham’s brachos should come true through her and her children (to have many descendants, and inherit their enemies’ lands).
Rivkah went on the camels, following Eliezer.
Yitzchak had just come from Be’er Lachai Ro’i, where he was bringing Hagar back to remarry Avraham, so he would have a wife.
Yitzchak went out to the field to daven Mincha — he was the first one to daven Mincha! He looked up and saw camels coming. When Rivkah saw Yitzchak, she realized he was very holy, and slid partway off of her camel. She asked Eliezer who that person was. Eliezer told her it was his master, and Rivkah covered herself with her veil.
Eliezer told Yitzchak about everything that had happened, how Hashem had made nisim for him to find the right person. Yitzchak brought her into Sarah’s tent to be in charge of the house. Right away he saw that Rivkah was like his mother Sarah — all of Sarah’s nisim came back when Rivkah was in the tent!
Yitzchak saw that Rivkah deserved to be the next of the Imahos, and married her. Yitzchak loved her, and now was comforted from when Sarah passed away.
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Today’s Tehillim is kapitelach Kuf-Vov and Kuf-Zayin.
Kapitel Kuf-Zayin starts with the words “Hodu LaHashem Ki Tov, Ki LeOlam Chasdo!” “Thank Hashem because He is good, His kindness is forever!”
The first word is “Hodu,” which means to thank. But it also means something else! Hodu also means to “admit.”
What are we admitting to?
The Tzemach Tzedek explains that we know that Hashem is creating the world EVERY SECOND and is here inside us EVERY MOMENT. But we don’t see it! So we need to admit that it’s true anyway.
But when Moshiach comes, we won’t have to admit it anymore — we will all be able to see it!
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Chof-Tes
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We explained before that the neshama needs “clothes” to appreciate the light of Hashem in Gan Eden.
The Alter Rebbe shows us where this is written clearly in the Zohar, that through doing mitzvos in this world, the neshama is later able to see Elokus in Gan Eden.
But this is only in Gan Eden Ha’tachton, the lower level of Gan Eden.
In the higher level of Gan Eden, Gan Eden Ha’elyon, there is a different type of “clothes” for the neshama to be able to see Elokus. The Zohar says that these clothes are the KAVANA of learning Torah and davening which the person had in this world.
So the kavana we have when we do the mitzvos is the “clothes” we need so the neshama can also see Elokus in the higher level of Gan Eden, Gan Eden Ha’elyon!
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In today’s Hayom Yom, we learn how special it is to do a mitzvah in this Gashmius world!
The Alter Rebbe first came to his Rebbe, the Maggid of Mezritch, at the end of the summer in the year Tof-Kuf-Chof-Daled (5524) and he stayed for about a half a year, until Pesach.
One of the first “Torahs” he heard then from his Rebbe was about how special it is to do a mitzvah in this gashmius’dike world. The Maggid explained how Hashem created so many ruchnius’dike madreigos and “worlds” and malochim — but the main reason for all of these amazing things is that a Yid should do a mitzvah in this gashmius’dike world!
The Maggid showed how the Medrash says this about Avraham Avinu:
The ruchnius’dike midah of chesed complained to Hashem: “Before Avraham Avinu, I had plenty of work to do to bring the Chesed of Hashem into the world. But now Avraham is doing the Chesed instead of me! ”
Even though the midah of chesed is such a strong Ruchnius koach, it was jealous of Avraham Avinu! It was jealous that Avraham was able to use the chesed of Hashem not only in Ruchnius, but as a GASHMIUS’DIKE mitzvah, to do Hachnosas Orchim and spread the knowledge of Hashem in the world.
Even the malochim are jealous of our mitzvos! We are so lucky that we are able to do so many mitzvos in this Gashmius world!
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Today we learn three mitzvos, about the three kinds of Maaser Sheini we are not allowed to eat outside of Yerushalayim. There is a separate mitzvah for each kind of food.
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #141) We are not allowed to eat grain of Maaser Sheini outside of Yerushalayim.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: לֹא תוּכַל לֶאֱכֹל בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ מַעְשַׂר דְּגָנְךָ
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #142) We are not allowed to drink wine of Maaser Sheini outside of Yerushalayim.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: לֹא תוּכַל לֶאֱכֹל בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ מַעְשַׂר דְּגָנְךָ וְתִירשְׁךָ
3) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #143) We are not allowed to consume olive oil of Maaser Sheini outside of Yerushalayim.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: לֹא תוּכַל לֶאֱכֹל בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ מַעְשַׂר דְּגָנְךָ וְתִירשְׁךָ וְיִצְהָרֶךָ
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Maaser Sheini VeNeta Reva'i
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In today’s Rambam, we learn the next three perakim of Hilchos Maaser Sheini.
Perek Hey: We learn about being podeh Maaser Sheini, changing it for money. Usually when we are podeh the Maaser Sheini we need to pay an extra fifth. One of the things we learn in this perek is when we need to add that extra fifth AND when we don’t.
Perek Vov: We learn what happens when Maaser Sheini, or money from being podeh Maaser Sheini, gets mixed up with other food or money, and other sfeikos about Maaser Sheini.
One interesting halacha is about a son whose father passed away, and he is not sure where the Maaser Sheini of his father is. If he has a dream that it is in a certain place, then even if he finds the food there like he heard in the dream, it’s not considered maaser. Words in dreams don’t count in halacha.
Perek Zayin: We learn halachos for the things that are bought with the money of Maaser Sheini.
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The Rambam teaches us about the Nesech (wine) and Mincha (flour and oil) that we bring along with each Korban. We learn how much we bring for each kind of Korban.
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We learn in Pirkei Avos that “Yafah Sha’ah Achas BeTeshuvah Umaasim Tovim BaOlam Hazeh, Mikol Chayei Olam Haba.” “One hour of Teshuvah and mitzvos in the world is better than the whole Olam Haba!”
Why is that? Because the only way to appreciate the light of Hashem in Gan Eden is like we learned in Tanya — through using “clothes” made of mitzvos, that will let us see it. Otherwise, we can’t see the light of Hashem!
In our parsha, the Torah says that Avraham grew old. The Torah uses the expression that he was “Ba Bayamim,” “coming along in days.” The Zohar explains that he “came with his days” — Avraham came with the koach of every single day! He never missed a chance to do a mitzvos, so he had the mitzvos of every day of his whole life with him in a complete way!
What does that mean to regular people like us, who might have missed some chances to do mitzvos?
With the koach of teshuvah, Hashem can help us make up for any chances we missed so that we can also have complete days, like Avraham Avinu.
See maamar Vayiheyu Chayei Sarah 5745
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In today’s Chumash, Chamishi of Parshas Chayei Sarah, we learn that Yitzchak Avinu davened Mincha.
Chassidus explains that davening is not only a time to ask for our needs, tefillah is also a time of connecting ourselves with Hashem.
Our koach, and the hatzlacha we have in everything we do, depends on our connection with Hashem.
Every morning, we spend time to make that connection strong, by davening Shacharis. But it slowly becomes weaker during the day because we are busy with Gashmius things. So in the middle of everything we are doing, we stop and daven Mincha.
The Alter Rebbe says in Shulchan Aruch that even women need to be careful to daven Mincha (at least Shemoneh Esrei) to refresh their connection with Hashem.
That way, we are connected to Hashem the entire day, which brings bracha and hatzlacha in everything we do.
See Likutei Sichos chelek Beis p. 410, Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 106:2
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“Who knows what is this week’s parsha?”
For many generations, it has been a Minhag among Yidden for a father to test his children on Shabbos. He should ask them about what they learned during the week, especially about the parsha that they learned about in school and heard being read in shul!
See Sicha Shabbos Hagadol 5749
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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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Lashon Kodesh is a very special language. We can learn about what something is by the letters of the name it has!
By looking at the word Geulah, we can see what the Geulah is about.
The letters of the word Geulah are almost the exact same letters as the word Golah, which is Golus. There is only one difference: The word Geulah has an alef added.
We learn from this that the Geulah has the same things as Golus, but with one important difference that changes everything — an Alef!
What is the Alef that makes Geulah so different?
So far, we learned two things we can understand from the Alef:
First of all, the Alef is Alufo Shel Olam. An Aluf is a master, and Alufo Shel Olam is the Master of the world — Hashem! In the time of the Geulah, every creation will be able to see that the world has an Aluf. Everyone and everything will realize that it was created by Hashem! Then everything will be the way Hashem wants it to be.
Alef is also connected to the word Ulfena, which means to learn or teach. In the times of the Geulah, we will have the Torah in a way of Shleimus — completely. We will all be able to learn the entire Torah and do all of the mitzvos it teaches!
There is also a third thing that the Alef shows us about the Geulah:
Alef is also the same letters as the word Peleh, which means a wonder. Many things that will happen in the time of the Geulah will be miracles and wonders. One of the main ones will be the great miracle of Techiyas Hameisim, when all those who passed away will come back to life! We will also all be able to see the great wonders of Torah, Pnimius HaTorah, the secrets of Torah that will be revealed to everyone!
See Sichas Parshas Emor 5751
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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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