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CHUMASH
Parshas Beshalach - Rishon with Rashi
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The Yidden travel towards the Yam Suf... and the Mitzriyim start to chase them!
The Yidden are leaving Mitzrayim! Hashem had the Yidden go a longer way, in case some Yidden would become scared of going into the big empty Midbar, and because of that would later want to run back to Mitzrayim.
When the Yidden traveled, Hashem went in front of them! During the daytime, Hashem went in a big cloud, so they could see where to go. This cloud also made the road easier for them to go on, kept them safe, and cleaned their clothes. At night, Hashem went in a pillar of fire, which also let them see at night.
On the third day of traveling, Hashem told Moshe that they should go back towards the Yam Suf. Paraoh will see the Yidden going backwards, and will think that they are stuck. He will chase after them, and then Hashem will punish him and the Mitzriyim. Now Paraoh will need to realize that Hashem is in charge!
Even though the Yidden might have been afraid to go closer to the Mitzriyim who made them suffer so much, they trusted in Moshe that he was doing what Hashem wanted him to do.
In the meantime, Paraoh changed his mind about letting the Yidden go! He convinced a bunch of Mitzriyim to come with him and make a war with the Yidden, and take back all of the gold and silver they gave them before. Paraoh took all of the horses and wagons that survived the makos, with more than 600 special small and fast wagons. They were so excited, the Mitzriyim decorated these wagons with expensive decorations!
At first, Paraoh wasn’t sure if he should go, but Hashem made him feel stubborn, and he decided to go run after the Yidden.
Meanwhile the Yidden continued going, proud and strong!
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Today’s Tehillim is kapitelach Lamed-Tes through Mem-Gimmel.
According to some meforshim, Kapitel Mem-Alef, in today’s Tehillim, speaks about the mitzvah of Bikur Cholim.
The second posuk says, “Ashrei Maskil El Dal,” fortunate is the person who thinks about someone who is sick, and comes to visit him. The posuk tells us the words he should use to make the person feel better — “Beyom Ra’ah Yemalteihu Hashem,” he should tell the sick person that even if he is having a Yom Raah, a hard day, Hashem will help him and bring him a Refuah Sheleimah!
The kapitel tells us the special reward that Hashem gives the person who does Bikur Cholim like this, and that Hashem will help him when he needs help!
See Rashi and Radak on this kapitel
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Yud-Ches
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We are now starting to learn a new inyan in Tanya, which we will learn from Perek Yud-Ches through Chof-Hey.
Today’s Tanya is an introduction to what we will be learning for the next eight perakim:
Until now, the Alter Rebbe told us what the avodah of a beinoni is, and that being a beinoni is an avodah for every Yid. We learned that the main job of a beinoni is to be constantly in control of his behavior, and that the way to do this is through hisbonenus — thinking deeply about our connection to Hashem and realizing that learning Torah and doing mitzvos is the right thing for a Yid.
We also said that a special time for hisbonenus is during tefillah, and if it’s done right, the Yetzer Hara will fall asleep, and there will be no distractions to the Yetzer Tov during davening — the way it is for a tzadik!
The problem is that not everybody can have hisbonenus. Not everybody knows enough about the inyanim that bring us to have Ahava and Yirah, and not everybody is able to concentrate properly to think about these things.
The Alter Rebbe now is going to explain what we can do to make the right decisions and be successful in our shlichus even for someone who can’t have hisbonenus. So now, for the next 8 perakim, the Alter Rebbe will teach about this. Once we understand this properly, we will not have to have hisbonenus — we will just have to REMIND ourselves of something that is already there, and we will have the koach to make the right decision no matter what!
What is this?
The Alter Rebbe says (as quoted in Hayom Yom): “A Yid Nisht Er Vil Un Nisht Er Ken Zain Opgerisen Fun Getlichkeit” — a Yid NATURALLY doesn’t want to do something against Hashem, and CAN’T do something if he realizes that what he is doing is against what Hashem wants.
We will see that the only thing that CAN get a person to do an aveira is a Ruach Shtus, the foolish thoughts of the Yetzer Hara that convince us that what we are doing does not separate us from Hashem and from our connection to Yiddishkeit. As soon as we realize that this is the plot of the Yetzer Hara, and we know that everything we do IS important to our relationship with Hashem and being a Yid, then we won’t be able to do any aveira! We don’t even need to have hisbonenus for this, we just need to remind ourselves of what is true!
We will first need to learn more about what the nature of a Yid is, and what the Ruach Shtus of the Yetzer Hara is, along with some other inyanim to help us use this koach to win over the Yetzer Hara EVERY TIME.
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When the Alter Rebbe was 9, he learned certain parts of math and science that help us understand how the sun and moon work. When he was ten, he made a Yiddishe calendar for 15 years!
When the Alter Rebbe was just 12, he gave a shiur on the Rambam’s halachos of Kiddush Hachodesh, which explain when we see the new moon for Rosh Chodesh. These halachos are very complicated, and it made the Talmidei Chachomim in shul feel very embarrassed next to this young boy!
The Torah teaches us how the world should be according to Torah. Sometimes you first need to understand how the world works to understand what the Torah wants! One of the examples is that you need to know some math and science to understand the way the Yiddishe calendar works. That’s why the Alter Rebbe learned these things.
The Alter Rebbe, who was a posek in Niglah and Nistar (wrote the Shulchan Aruch and Tanya) knew everything that you need to know in order to understand halacha.
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #110) is how we make a person or a house with Tzoraas tahor again! It needs to be done the way the Torah tells us, using two birds, water, and certain plants. For a person, this is all the first step to becoming Tahor.
Here are the things we need:
- a piece of wood from a cedar tree
- a kind of plant called an Eizov
- a piece of red wool
- two birds
- a bowl of water (the kind of water that we can use for a Mikvah)
Together with the mitzvos we learned before, we now see that there are three ways a person can take away tumah from himself:
1) Going in a mikvah (this is for all kinds of Tumah)
2) The ashes of the Parah Adumah (for Tumas Meis)
3) Wood, wool, Eizov, birds, and water (for Tumas Tzoraas)
We learn this mitzvah from many pesukim at the beginning of Parshas Metzora, and it is explained in Mishnayos Mesechta Nega’im.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more about Tzoraas:
Perek Ches: There is a kind of Tzoraas that comes on a part of the head or the chin where the hair fell off, called a Nesek. If there are gold-colored hairs there, or if the spot of Tzoraas grew, the person is Tomei.
Perek Tes: There are many halachos about the Kohen checking to see if the Tzoraas is Tomei. We learn WHO can check (only a Kohen, and only if he knows the halachos or is listening to someone else who DOES know the halachos), WHEN he checks (only certain times during the day, and not during Yom Tov, for example), and HOW he checks (how the person stands).
Perek Yud: This perek tells us the details of the mitzvah we learned about not taking off signs of tzoraas.We also learn about how a Metzora can make other people Tomei, and the halachos of the mitzvah that show how a Metzora needs to act to make sure nobody becomes Tomei by mistake.
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In this perek, we start learning about how a firstborn animal has a special kedusha.
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In today’s Hayom Yom, we learned that the Alter Rebbe learned certain parts of math and science to understand the halachos of Kiddush Hachodesh. This is connected to the first mitzvah the Yidden got, which we learned about last week, in Parshas Bo: The mitzvah of Kiddush Hachodesh, Hachodesh Hazeh Lochem.
Here’s a story about the Rebbe that shows how understanding how Hashem’s world works helps us understand the halacha properly:
When the Rebbe first came to America, there was a whole discussion about if you’re allowed to use a microphone in shul on Shabbos, so that everyone can hear the chazzan and Baal Korei. Nowadays, of course we all know you can’t do that! But in those days, people weren’t sure, and even some frum shuls wanted to do it. In fact, some Rabbonim even said it’s okay.
The Rebbe said then, “There are some Rabbonim who know the halacha but don’t know how a microphone works. There are some Rabbonim who know how a microphone works and don’t know the halacha... But someone who understands both the halacha and the way the microphone works, will know that it is most definitely asur to use it in a shul on Shabbos!”
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We are going to start learning about the meaning of Birchas Hamazon.
Most of the brachos that we make are from the words of the Chachomim, except for two.
One is the bracha which we say before learning Torah, Birchas HaTorah. The other is Birchas Hamazon, which we say after we eat bread and are full. Both of these are straight from the Torah.
In Birchas Hamazon, there are four brachos. The Gemara in Mesechta Brachos tells us about these four brachos, and shows that they are hinted to in the posuk that tells us to say Birchas Hamazon!
IY”H we will learn about all of these brachos: Where they come from, why we say them, and what they mean. We will learn about the kavana we should have when we bentch!
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When we get ready to make Kiddush, we fill up our becher with wine. One of the ten things the Chachomim say about a Kos Shel Bracha is that it needs to be Malei, full. Our minhag is, not only do we fill it up to the top, we pour even more, so the wine overflows!
The Gemara says that overflowing the cup is a siman bracha, a sign of bracha.
But, the Alter Rebbe says, we need to be careful not to spill wine on the floor. That isn’t kavod for the wine of Kiddush.
Because of this, we put a plate under our becher, so that the wine will pour into a keili and not onto the floor.
See Toras Menachem 5742, vol. 3, p. 1692, Shulchan Menachem vol. 2 p. 65
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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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Usually we say that before Moshiach comes, Eliyahu Hanavi first comes to tell us.
But the Acharonim say that this is only when Moshiach comes at the right time, “Be’ita.”
If Moshiach comes earlier, “Achishena,” then Eliyahu Hanavi doesn’t need to come first — Moshiach can come right away!
See Sefer Hasichos 5748, vol. 2, p. 611
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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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