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CHUMASH
Parshas Tetzaveh - Sheini with Rashi
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In this week’s parsha, we are learning all about the clothing of the Kohanim. Today Hashem tells Moshe Rabbeinu about the Choshen Mishpat.
Yesterday we learned about two stones with the names of the shevatim. These two stones should be put into gold settings, and attached to the two top straps of the Efod. Two golden chains should be attached to the bottom of the gold settings, and the Choshen Mishpat will hang from these chains.
The Choshen Mishpat should be made of the same material as the Efod. It will be a long piece of material that is square when it is folded in half. There should be 12 precious stones attached to it, in gold settings — one specific stone for each Shevet. They will have the names of the Shevatim written on them, and on the first stone it will also say “Avraham Yitzchak Yaakov”, and on the last one it will say “Shivtei Yeshurun.” This way every letter of the Alef-Beis will be on the Choshen.
Inside the fold of the Choshen will be a special piece of parchment with Hashem’s name: This is called the Urim VeTumim. With the Urim VeTumim, Hashem will answer important questions of the Kohen Gadol by making the letters on the stones of the Choshen light up.
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One of the pesukim in Kapitel Lamed-Hey (35, the first of today’s Kapitelach) says “Kol Atzmosai Tomarna, Hashem Mi Kamocha?” “All of my bones say, Hashem, who is like You?”
We learn from this posuk that a person should shuckle when they daven or listen to the Torah being leined, and also when they’re learning.
The Baal Shem Tov gave a moshol for this: When a person is Chas Veshalom drowning, they move as much as they can to save themselves.
When we daven, we are trying to save our neshama from drowning in the Golus of the Guf. That’s one of the reasons why we shuckle!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Chof-Zayin
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We learned about the special nachas ruach that Hashem has when we stop ourselves from thinking bad thoughts or about bad taavos. We learned that this avodah is called Iskafya.
Now that we are already talking about iskafya, the Alter Rebbe tells about another kind of iskafya, which is very well known in the avodah of Chassidus: Iskafya from things that are not asur at all!
In the times of the Gemara, people would eat their breakfast three hours after it got light. But the Talmidei Chachomim wouldn’t eat for another two hours, while they learned Torah. Then they would eat and go back to learning.
Why did they do that? To have iskafya!
Iskafya means that when we want to do something that we are allowed to do, we say STOP! I don’t do things just because I want to. I do things because HASHEM wants me to! So we don’t do it right away. We do something for the neshama, to make it think about the ratzon of Hashem, and then we might use what our Nefesh Habehamis was suggesting we use — for Hashem.
For example, let’s say you passed by 7-11 and suddenly realized that you REALLY want a Slurpee! It’s not a fast day, and you’re not late for class, so there’s nothing wrong with getting one. But if you get it right now, you’re letting your Nefesh Habehamis decide what you should do! So instead you practice your Tanya Baal Peh and THEN if you think the Slurpee will make you happy so you can do your Avodas Hashem, you go buy one.
We can have iskafya with all kinds of things — with words we want to say, with things we want to think about, and things we want to do.
When we have iskafya, we are reminding the Yetzer Hara that it’s not in charge. That will “shecht” the Yetzer Hara, bring kavod to Hashem, make our neshama stronger, and help us a lot in our Avodas Hashem!
We know many ways to make our neshama stronger by doing mitzvos, not doing aveiros, or davening with kavana. But we see that even just by not doing what the Yetzer Hara wants right away, we are making our neshama stronger too!
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The Rebbe Rashab said: It is a very special thing when Hashem makes someone able to really FEEL that they want to do something nice and care for another person — even more than they care about themselves!
Because for ourselves, we realize that we may sometimes not deserve things to be easier or better; but we can never say that about another person — we want them to ALWAYS have the best!
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Today’s mitzvah, (Mitzvas Asei #109) is the same as yesterday’s: That a person or thing can become tahor by following the halachos about going into a Mikvah. This includes the halachos of having a kosher mikvah, the halachos of chatzitzah (that nothing should block the mikvah water from touching every part of the person or keili), and Tvul Yom (that a person who went to the mikvah only becomes tahor when it becomes night).
The mitzvah isn’t that you have to go to the mikvah if you are tomei, but that if you want to become tahor (for example to be able to go into the Beis Hamikdash) then you need to follow this mitzvah to do it properly.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more halachos about the Mikvah.
Perek Beis tells us what is counted as a chatzitzah for a person who needs to go to the mikvah. A chatzitzah is something that blocks the water of the Mikvah from touching the whole person, so they don’t become tahor. Something that a person doesn’t mind being stuck to him usually isn’t a chatzitzah, it’s just counted like part of him. A loose necklace isn’t called a chatzitzah, since the water of the Mikvah can still get under it.
Perek Gimmel tells us what things are chatzitzos for things that we put in the mikvah, like keilim and clothes. Blood stains on clothes ARE a chatzitzah — unless they are on the clothes of a butcher, who is used to having blood on his clothes!
Perek Daled explains that a Mikvah can’t be water that a person put there, it has to be water that Hashem put there, like rainwater or water from a spring. As long as there are 40 se’ah of water from rain, though, we can mix in water that a person brought from another place — like from a barrel.
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The Rambam explains what kind of words a person might use to make a switch (Temurah), and when it is counted that the aveira was done.
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We learned in Tanya today about having iskafya, not letting the Yetzer Hara to express itself when it wants, because really the neshama needs to be in charge! We learned about not letting our Yetzer Hara tell us when to eat something or say something, but only doing it when our neshama agrees that it’s good for us.
The Rebbe once said that nowadays, iskafya with food for a bochur in Yeshiva means to eat what the Yeshiva serves. (Mafteiach L’Sichos Kodesh, p. 107)
How is it iskafya to eat?
We can understand based on what we learned in Tanya!
If a bochur in Yeshiva doesn’t eat the food he is served, it’s because he doesn’t like it, or because he doesn’t want it… meaning that his Nefesh Habehamis doesn’t want it!
But who is in charge? The neshama! The neshama knows that to have a healthy body and be able to serve Hashem, we have to eat healthy food. So we have iskafya over our Yetzer Hara, and eat the food that we are served, so that we can serve Hashem properly.
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In the first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei, we mention the zechus of the Avos, so that with their zechus, Hashem should answer our tefillos.
R’ Shimon ben Lakish once explained that the words of first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei are based on a promise Hashem made to Avraham Avinu when he left his father’s house in Parshas Lech Lecha.
When Hashem promised, “I will make you a great nation,” Hashem was hinting that the Yidden would mention him in the first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei, “Elokei Avraham.”
When Hashem said, “I will bentch you,” He was hinting that the Yidden would mention his son, “Elokei Yitzchak.”
And when Hashem said, “Va’agadla Shemecha,” “I will make your name great,” this was hinting to mentioning the name of Avraham’s grandson, Yaakov, as well — “Veilokei Yaakov.”
That is why we say the names of each of the Avos separately in the first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei — Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, Ve’ilokei Yaakov.
But the end of the bracha does not again say the names of all of the Avos. Hashem told Avraham, “Veheyei Bracha” — “YOU will be a bracha.” This first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei mentions all of the Avos, but ends only with the name of Avraham Avinu, “Magein Avraham.”
See Gemara Pesachim 117b
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The best way to daven Shemoneh Esrei is to say the words quietly, but in a way that you can hear it by yourself.
Still, if someone said the words of Shemoneh Esrei so quietly that only his lips were moving, and he couldn’t hear the words, he is still yotzei.
But if someone just THOUGHT the words without saying them at all, it is not counted as davening.
In Tanya, the Alter Rebbe explains why saying words is so important:
The reason the neshama came into the world was not to make itself holy, but to make the body and the world holy, by using them for kedusha. Thinking does use the body, but not in a way that we can see. To do most mitzvos, we are supposed to actually say words or do things, which use Gashmius in a way that can easily be seen. That’s why even with the mitzvah of davening, where the main thing is kavana, it is very important to actually SAY the words using at least our lips.
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman Kuf-Alef and Tanya Perek Lamed-Ches
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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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Today we learned about the Choshen Mishpat. There were two parts of the Choshen:
1) The Choshen was one of the Bigdei Kehunah, the clothing of the Kohanim. Even though some of the special parts of the Beis Hamikdash were missing during the time of the second Beis Hamikdash, the Choshen was always there, as part of the clothing of the Kohen Gadol.
2) Inside of the Choshen there was a piece of parchment which had Hashem’s holy name written on it. It is what made the letters of the Choshen Mishpat light up with answers from Hashem, so the Yidden would know what to do. This part was missing during the second Beis Hamikdash.
When Moshiach comes, we will again have the full Choshen Mishpat, the way it is supposed to be!
See Rashi in today’s Chumash, and Likutei Sichos chelek Yud-Alef, parshas Tetzaveh
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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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