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CHUMASH
Parshas Ki Sisa - Revi'i with Rashi
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In yesterday’s Chumash, Moshe Rabbeinu asked that Hashem should only dwell between the Yidden. Hashem told Moshe He would do that.
Now Moshe saw that it was an Eis Ratzon, a special time when Hashem is accepting his tefillos! So he asked Hashem for one more thing: He asked if he could see the kavod of Hashem.
Hashem accepted this request too! Hashem told Moshe that He would show him a special secret, the Yud-Gimmel Midos HoRachamim, so Moshe would know how to daven using them. Moshe will then be able to teach them to the Yidden. When the Yidden will daven and say the Yud-Gimmel Midos, Hashem will give them what they need even if they don’t completely deserve it!
Hashem told Moshe to stand near a certain rock on the mountain, and Hashem would pass in front of him and teach him how to say the Yud-Gimmel Midos. But Moshe will only be able to see the knot of Hashem’s Tefillin Shel Rosh, from the “back.” Moshe will not able to look directly at the “face” of Hashem.
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Kapitel Ayin-Ches reviews all of the Nissim that Hashem did for the Yidden, starting from Yetzias Mitzrayim, until He made Dovid Hamelech the king over the Yidden! (There is a beautiful Chassidishe niggun on the words in the kapitel which say that Hashem chose Dovid Hamelech as the king. The words were added to a Niggun Simcha in the year 5739 in honor of the Rebbe’s birthday. Vayivchar Bedovid)
One of the pesukim in this kapitel is “Vayikatz Keyashen Hashem” — Dovid Hamelech asks Hashem to wake up!
What does this mean? Does Hashem sleep?!
Chassidus explains (in the Bar Mitzvah maamar) that during Golus, the chayus that the world feels is like the chayus a person feels when he is sleeping. When someone is asleep, the neshama goes up to Shomayim and the person can only have dreams, and not think about things that make sense. The world doesn’t feel most of the chayus of Hashem, it only feels the little bit of chayus, like enough to make a person dream.
So we ask Hashem to bring Moshiach, when everyone can see and feel the chayus of Hashem in the world like a person who is awake! We want Hashem’s chayus to be revealed and strong. When we learn Torah and do mitzvos, we make this happen and bring the Geulah closer!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Chof-Tes
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We say at the end of Shemoneh Erei, “Venafshi K’afar Lakol Tihiyeh, Psach Libi Besorasecha” — “my neshama should be like dust to everyone, open my heart to Your Torah.” In order for a Yid’s heart to be open to serving Hashem, it has to feel humble inside. There are things a person can think to make himself feel humble. We learned earlier that a person should remind himself that he is not a tzadik, and the Yetzer Hara is still there in its full koach.
One thing we can think about is what the Zohar says about dreams: Strange dreams come because a person is busy with narishkeit during the day. The malach in charge of dreams thinks that’s funny, and he sends him even more narishe dreams.
When a person realizes how silly his dreams are, he will see for himself that he thinks about narishkeit during the day, and he shouldn’t be so proud of himself.
There are also other things brought in seforim which a person can think about to make him feel humble. (For example, in today’s Hayom Yom, we learn that if a person isn’t thinking Torah when he walks in the street, he is really no different than an animal.)
In addition to these thoughts, a person should also speak to his Yetzer Hara in his mind with strong words. He should call it all the names that the Chachomim use for the Yetzer Hara, telling it to leave him alone!
He calls it, “Ra, Rasha, Meshukatz, Metuav, Menuval!”
The Yetzer Hara’s chutzpa is only there because Hashem gave it permission to challenge a person. When we use these eitzos, Hashem takes away the koach of the Yetzer Hara.
The Alter Rebbe explains a story in the Torah that shows us this idea:
When the Meraglim came back from Eretz Yisroel, they cried that it was too hard for them to fight with the nations that were in Eretz Yisroel. All of the Yidden got Timtum — they were thinking so much about how they felt, and how they would be scared, they didn’t think about Hashem and the shlichus they were given!
So Hashem told Moshe to scream at them, and tell them that they’re not going into Eretz Yisroel.
Right away, they said that they were ready to go!
Why did the Yidden change their minds? Moshe Rabbeinu didn’t show them any nissim!
Really, there WAS no problem with going into Eretz Yisroel. Their neshama really knew that this was the right thing to do, and that they would be able to do it. When they heard the strong words of Moshe Rabbeinu, their Timtum went away. Right away they were able to feel how their neshama REALLY felt — that they wanted to go into Eretz Yisroel so much!
Similarly, when the Yetzer Hara comes to a Yid and throws in doubts in Emunah or bothers a Yid from living like a Yid, we will know that it’s not really who we are! It’s just from the Yetzer Hara. By following these directions in Torah, we can take away the koach the Yetzer Hara is given to bother us, and our neshama will be able to shine!
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We don’t say Tachanun, also on Shushan Purim Katan!
Chabad Minhagim: Before we make a Hamotzi, we scratch the bread with the knife, but are careful not to cut the bread. We say “Savri Maranan” before the bracha, even if we’re making Kiddush on Challah.
The Navi Chabakuk says that when Moshiach comes, rocks and wood will talk! Now, they don’t say anything. You can step on them, and they are quiet.
But there will come a time when the wood and stones will have a complaint, if a person stepped on them without saying or thinking words of Torah! The ground is waiting for thousands of years, and being stepped on by animals and people. It is waiting for a Yid or two to pass by and say words of Torah! And if he doesn’t, the ground is very upset! It will say to the person, “You are also like an animal!”
Once, the Alter Rebbe went for a walk with the Tzemach Tzedek, outside of Liozhna. He told the Tzemach Tzedek a story:
The Baal Shem Tov once was with his talmidim in the field. He told them to stand in a circle, and each of them should put their hands on the shoulders of the ones standing next to them. When the circle was complete, they suddenly saw many Yidden davening with their talleisim.
The Baal Shem Tov told his students, “These are from the tefillos that were davened here over 300 years ago.” He added that it’s not the actual tefillos, since the tefillos went up to Hashem. It is just a reshima, a mark that is left over from something in kedusha.
The Frierdiker Rebbe said this story in a sicha, and he added: If we would know what we accomplish, and the reshima we leave, from saying a posuk of Chumash or Tehillim wherever we are, we would be totally different, and we wouldn’t go around without Torah.
(Story from Sefer Hasichos Tof-Reish-Tzadik-Vov p. 151)
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Many years ago, when you went shopping, you couldn’t just buy a bag of apples or a bag of flour. You might go to the miller, and ask him to give you flour that weighs a maneh. The miller would pull out his “one maneh” weight, and put it on one side of a scale. Then he would pour flour onto the other side, until the scale was balanced. That’s how he would know how much to sell you!
What do you think would happen if somebody cut just a little part off of the “one maneh” weight? Then the miller might SAY he was selling you a maneh of flour, but really it would be just a little bit less! The Torah says that doing that would be Geneivah — stealing.
Today’s three mitzvos are about how important it is to make sure that when we measure things to sell them, we have to measure EXACTLY.
1) (Mitzvas Asei #208) The first mitzvah is that we have to make sure to have scales and weights that “tell the truth” — they have to be exactly the right amounts.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Kedoshim: מֹאזְנֵי צֶדֶק אַבְנֵי צֶדֶק אֵיפַת צֶדֶק וְהִין צֶדֶק יִהְיֶה לָכֶם
The halachos of this mitzvah are explained in Perek Hey of Mesechta Bava Basra.
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #271) It is asur to not tell the truth when we are measuring land to see who it belongs to, or weighing something to sell. We can’t just guess how much it measures or weighs.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Kedoshim: לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ עָוֶל בַּמִּשְׁפָּט בַּמִּדָּה בַּמִּשְׁקָל וּבַמְּשׂוּרָה
3) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #272) We aren’t even allowed to even just HAVE a scale or weights that aren’t the right amounts, even if we aren’t using them at all, and even if we use them for a different reason, like as a toy!
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Ki Seitzei: לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ בְּכִיסְךָ אֶבֶן וָאָבֶן גְּדוֹלָה וּקְטַנָּה
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In today’s Rambam, we learn how to stay away from things that are stealing!
Perek Daled teaches us what happens if something is stolen while another person is watching it. It isn’t counted as being returned until the owner is sure that he got it back!
Perek Hey explains that we aren’t allowed to buy or sell something that is stolen. If somebody does, the owner can buy it back and make the thief pay him back that money.
Perek Vov teaches that we aren’t allowed to buy something that probably was stolen. For example, we aren’t allowed to buy something from a person who tells us to hide it, or from a person who usually doesn’t have that kind of thing, unless we are SURE it belongs to them!
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In this perek, we learn about tumah in a house.
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In a year with two Adars, besides for the regular Purim in the second Adar, we also have Purim Katan in the first. Should we celebrate that day or not?
In Shulchan Aruch, the Rama brings two opinions. He paskens that we should have a little nicer seudah on Purim Katan, because of the opinion that we should celebrate. He finishes, “Vetov Lev Mishteh Tamid,” a person with a good heart always looks for a reason to celebrate.
But does that mean only Purim Katan, or to celebrate also on Shushan Purim Katan? There are two opinions about that too!
The Rebbe explains that from the words of the Rama it seems that we should celebrate on Shushan Purim Katan also! The Rama adds the words “Vetov Lev Mishteh TAMID,” that a person with a good heart ALWAYS looks for a reason to celebrate, so we can understand from this that any time there might be a reason to increase in simcha, we should! So, on Shushan Purim Katan, we should also add a little bit in our seudah!
In the sicha, the Rebbe explains what it means to be a “Tov Lev” (a good heart) based on Rashi and the Gemara. We learn that through being a Tov Lev, Hashem rewards us by giving us Mishteh Tamid — that we will always have what we need and have reason to celebrate!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Alef, sicha Purim Katan (p. 175)
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In the times of the Alter Rebbe, many Chassidim earned money by making and selling mashke. One year, the government decided to stop allowing this. They made a new law that only the government is allowed to produce and sell mashke.
This was a very big problem for many chassidim! Suddenly, their parnasa was taken away from them! Now how would they have enough money to live?
A group of the closest Chassidim came to the Alter Rebbe to ask him to beg Hashem for Rachmonus. (In this group were the Mitteler Rebbe, R’ Aharon MiStrashele, and R’ Pinchas Reizes.)
The Alter Rebbe told them that when Hashem gives brachos from Shomayim, you need to have kelim down here to catch the brachos. The kelim for Hashem’s brachos are Ahava and Achva (love and friendship), and staying away from jealousy and rechilus (gossip).
The Alter Rebbe told them that this explains the bracha that the kohanim say before Birchas Kohanim: “Asher Kidishanu … Levarech Es Amcha Yisroel B’Ahava.” This means that the bracha of the kohanim is given with Ahava, and it also means that they bentch the Yidden to have Ahava between themselves! This way they will have the kelim to get all of the brachos in Birchas Kohanim!
After telling this to the group of Chassidim, the Alter Rebbe went out to the big Beis Medrash. The Alter Rebbe had a powerful, sweet voice, but he still went up onto the Bima to make sure everyone was able to see and hear.
The Alter Rebbe said, “Mechalkel Chaim Bechesed — Hashem gives life with chesed! (These words are from the second bracha of Shemoneh Esrei).
“Hashem gives life with Chesed, not with mashke factories!
“Hashem’s Chesed is not like a person’s chesed. The chesed of a person is not the real reason for why the other person got something. The chesed of Hashem IS the hashpa’ah, the chesed of Hashem is what gives a person life!
“But to receive this Chesed, you need the keilim of Ahava and Achva.”
Then the Alter Rebbe stepped down from the Bima.
That year, Chassidim were bentched with tremendous parnasa!
See how the Frierdiker Rebbe tells the story in Sefer Hasichos 5698 p. 283; and the Rebbe’s retelling and beautiful conclusion in the sicha of Acharon Shel Pesach 5718
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If I have a pareve food that was cooked in a fleishige pot, do I become fleishig?
According to halacha, as long as there was no meat or grease from meat in the pot, even if the pot wasn’t so clean, the food won’t make you fleishig. It is fine to have milchigs right after eating from that pot.
See Kitzur Shulchan Aruch siman 46, se’if yud
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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 Rebbe Rashab would sometimes take a walk with his son, the Frierdiker Rebbe. Once, on one of these walks, the Rebbe Rashab explained how the small Beis Hamikdash inside of each of us works.
The Rebbe Rashab said that when Hashem told the Yidden, “Veshochanti Besocham,” “I will live among you,” a small Beis Hamikdash came into the heart of every Yid — from then until the time of Moshiach. When a Yid would come to the Beis Hamikdash, it would make the Shechinah in his small Beis Hamikdash shine, just like in the big Beis Hamikdash!
The Rebbe Rashab explained (at length) how this happens in a similar way when a chossid goes to the Rebbe for Yechidus. By going to the Rebbe, it makes the Shechinah shine inside of the little Beis Hamikdash of the chossid!
See Sefer Hasichos 5699, p. 297
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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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