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CHUMASH
Parshas Terumah - Chamishi with Rashi
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We are learning the instructions Hashem is giving to Moshe Rabbeinu about how the Mishkan should be built. Today we learn about the curtains.
Hashem tells Moshe how to make the Paroches inside the Mishkan, a curtain to separate between the Kodesh and the Kodesh Hakodoshim. It should match the first cover of the Mishkan, made of colorful threads with the shapes of animals on it.
The Paroches should be hung on four wooden pillars (Amudim) covered in gold, that have gold hooks on them. The hooks should hold a rod for the Paroches. At the bottom of the pillars there should be silver boxes, like there are for the Kerashim of the walls of the Mishkan.
When the Paroches is up, the Aron should be put behind it, in the Kodesh Hakodoshim.
The Shulchan, the Menorah, and Mizbeiach Hazahav (the Mizbeiach Haketores, which we learn about next week) should all be put in the Kodesh section.
There should also be a curtain for the door of the Mishkan, like the Paroches that was between the Kodesh and the Kodesh Hakodoshim. It should hang on a rod attached to five wooden pillars covered with gold, but with a copper box on the bottom, instead of silver like all the other pillars.
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In Kapitel Tes-Vov (15), we learn about the special midos that a Yid needs so his neshama will be able to go to Gan Eden.
One of the things it says is “Nivzeh BeEinav Nimas” — “he is embarrassed of himself, and thinks he is disgusting.”
What kind of midah is that?!
The Alter Rebbe tells us what it means soon in Tanya: That when our Yetzer Hara is getting too big and too proud, and not leaving room to think about Hashem and another Yid, we need to do something about it! We need to spend some time thinking about the part of us that is a Nefesh Habehamis, and how it’s disgusting that it tries to take us away from Hashem.
Then we’ll be able to make room in our hearts for Hashem, and daven like a Yid and win over our Yetzer Hara!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Chof-Zayin
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When a person is feeling sad, he doesn’t have enough energy to fight with his Yetzer Hara and only listen to his Yetzer Tov!
One of the things that can make a person feel sad and slow is that even when he’s doing other things, his mind keeps trying to think about aveiros! A person might say, “I only want to think about GOOD things, why do such terrible things keep coming into my head?”
The Alter Rebbe says that he is making a big mistake! Instead of being SAD about it, he should be HAPPY! Because when a person says “NO! I won’t think about that aveira!” he is doing a mitzvah, which should make him very happy!
The Chachomim say that a person who is tempted to do an aveira but stops himself, gets a reward just like he did a mitzvah! So when a person thinks something he shouldn’t be thinking, and he stops and think something else instead, he should be happy that he is able to do this mitzvah, and will be rewarded for it, just like for any other mitzvah.
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The Avodah of Chabad that the Alter Rebbe set up for Chassidim is to find the pnimius in our Avodas Hashem. We need to have kavana in the mitzvos we do, and do them with an Emes!
What does that mean?
It means that when we do a mitzvah, we need to know what we are doing.
For example, when we are learning a posuk in Chumash, we need to know that these are the words of Hashem! When we are davening, we need to prepare ourselves and know that we are standing before Hashem. When we say a bracha, we need to have kavana that we are bringing kedusha into the world. When we do a favor for another Yid and help him, it should be with a feeling of Ahavas Yisroel, not just because it makes us feel good!
In order to accomplish this, we need to learn Chassidus, which teaches us all of these things, and try to understand it the best we can. Then we need to make it part of our lives, and part of the way we live as a Yid.
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Since we are learning a set of halachos that doesn’t have its own mitzvah, Hilchos Keilim, we are reviewing other mitzvos from Sefer Tahara, since keilim can also get these kinds of tumah!
Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #106) is about a Zavah — a woman who has a specific tumah that comes from her body. This mitzvah is that we need to follow the halachos of when she becomes Tomei, and what else she makes Tomei. Even though it is important to know this mitzvah and its halachos always, as part of Torah, it was actually kept when we had a Beis Hamikdash, since someone tomei is not allowed to go into the Beis Hamikdash or eat from the korbanos!
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In today’s Rambam, we learn about clay keilim and when they can become Tomei.
In Perek Yud-Ches we learn that a clay keili is only tomei if it is a Klei Kibul — it has a place to hold things inside.
Perek Yud-Tes teaches us about when a clay keili is broken — when are the pieces big enough that they are counted as their own keilim, so they can still become tomei?
Perek Chof is about things that are attached to a clay keili, to know when they are counted as a keili by themselves.
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In this perek, we learn about when a Zav can become tahor — he needs to wait a week after his sickness is over.
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In Chodesh Adar, it’s a mitzvah to ADD in simcha in the month of Adar: Mishenichnas Adar, Marbim Besimcha! Every day needs to be more than the day before.
One way we can learn how to be happier each day is from the last posuk of the 12 Pesukim! “Yismach Yisroel Be’Osav” — every Yid should be happy because we know that Hashem is happy that we are learning Torah and doing mitzvos and bringing Moshiach closer!
When we add each day in Torah and mitzvos and have more Ahavas Yisroel, that makes Hashem happy. When we know Hashem is happy that we are making a Dira Betachtonim and fulfilling our shlichus in the world, that will make US feel happy too!
See Sefer Hasichos 5752, Parshas Terumah
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In this week’s Chumash, we learn about the mitzvah of “Ve’asu Li Mikdash Veshachanti Besocham” — that we should build Hashem a Mishkan. Even though we can’t do the mitzvah nowadays by building a Mishkan or a Beis Hamikdash, it is still a mitzvah for us to do nowadays.
How? By making sure that we are a Mikdash for Hashem, and that our home is a Mikdash for Hashem!
When we learn Torah, daven to Hashem, and have Ahavas Yisroel, we are like a Mishkan! When we learn Torah, it is like we have an Aron, which had the Luchos with the words of Torah inside. The Chachomim tell us that davening is in the place of korbanos, so when we daven, it is like we are bringing korbanos on our own Mizbeiach. When we do Gemilus Chasadim to give others food and other things they need, we are like the Shulchan, which was full of warm bread that the kohanim would later eat.
The Rebbe taught us that children need to make sure that their own rooms are a Mikdash for Hashem! By having Seforim like a Chumash, a Siddur, and a Pushka, our room is a mini-Mishkan. But it’s not just enough to HAVE them, we need to DO the avodah of the Mishkan by USING them too!
Do you have a Chumash, siddur, and pushka in your room? Do you use them regularly?
See Likutei Sichos chelek Chof-Vov, p. 412
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TEFILLAH
Two Kinds of Needs - Shemoneh Esrei
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The Chachomim put together Shemoneh Esrei as the main part of each tefillah. In Shemoneh Esrei, we ask Hashem for all of our needs.
Here is how the brachos of Shemoneh Esrei are organized:
- The first three and last three brachos of Shemoneh Esrei are praise and thanks TO Hashem.
- The middle 12 (now 13) brachos are what we ask FROM Hashem.
These middle brachos are split up into two sections as well:
- First, we ask for our personal needs. These are the first six of the middle brachos. We are asking Hashem for the things we need for ourselves, like sechel, health and parnasa, and a personal Geulah from the things that bother us from living the way a Yid should.
- Then, we ask for what we need for all Yidden together, in the other six middle brachos.
What do we need for all Yidden together? We ask Hashem to return the status of Yidden to the way it used to be, so that we can again fulfill all of the mitzvos properly in Eretz Yisroel. In other words, these brachos ask Hashem to bring Moshiach!
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By stopping ourselves from thinking about aveiros, we are doing a mitzvah!
When someone gets an idea of a taavah or another aveira he wants to do, he might want to think about it. But by stopping himself from even thinking about it, he is doing a mitzvah — the mitzvah of “Velo Sasuru.”
According to the Rambam, one of the 613 mitzvos is “Velo Sasuru Acharei Levavchem Ve’acharei Eineichem,” not to let our minds be busy thinking about things that are asur or taavos that are not helpful for our Avodas Hashem.
So for example, when a person is walking outside or is riding in a car, he might accidentally notice a sign with a non-tznius picture on it, or a picture of a delicious-looking non-kosher food. By not thinking about these things, and thinking about something else instead, we are doing this mitzvah of Velo Sasuru!
Like we learned in today’s Tanya, doing this mitzvah should make a person very happy!
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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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When we learn the parshios in the Torah about the Mishkan, we also add in learning from Torah Shebaal Peh about these things.
Today we learn about the way the keilim were set up in the Kodesh.
The Shulchan should be placed on the Tzafon side, the Menorah on the Darom side, and the Mizbeiach between them, but closer to the Mizrach entrance to the Kodesh. Which means that the first thing you see when you go into the Kodesh will be the Mizbeiach Haketores.
Now let’s see what is the inyan of each of these keilim in the Ruchnius’dike Mishkan of every Yid:
- Shulchan: This is being busy with Gashmius
- Menorah: Our Ruchnius, especially learning Torah
- Mizbeiach Haketores: Tefillah, which is compared to bringing Ketores
Just like in the Mishkan, the first thing you approach is the Mizbeiach, the same thing is with the Mishkan of every Yid: First thing every morning, you need to daven! Only after that do you do the rest of your avodah to create a Mishkan for Hashem, through the Gashmius and Ruchnius we are involved with during the day.
See Reshimas Hamenorah; Hamaor ShebaTorah p. 482
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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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