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CHUMASH
Parshas Pekudei - Shlishi with Rashi
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Yesterday, we learned that the Yidden made the Choshen and the Efod. Today we learn that Betzalel and Oholiav made the rest of the kohanim’s clothes, the four pieces of clothing for the Kohen Hedyot (the regular kohanim), and the rest of the eight pieces for the Kohen Gadol:
1) The Me’il for the Kohen Gadol with the bells and pomegranates on the bottom
2) The Kesones, the kind of shirt which was worn by all kohanim, including the Kohen Gadol
3) The Mitznefes, the hat for the Kohen Gadol and the Migbaas, the hats for the kohanim
4) The Avnet — the gartel which was worn by the kohen, both the Kohen Hedyot and the Kohen Gadol
5) The Michnasayim, the pants, which were worn also by both the Kohen Hedyot and the Kohen Gadol
6) The Tzitz for the Kohen Gadol
In last week’s parsha, they had finished building the Mishkan, and today, once they finished the clothing, the entire Mishkan was complete! The Torah tells us that the Yidden did it exactly the way Hashem commanded Moshe.
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In today’s Tehillim there are some kapitelach we say during Shacharis on Shabbos. The kapitel “Hodu Lashem Ki Tov, Ki Le’olam Chasdo”, also called Hallel HaGadol (Kapitel Kuf-Lamed-Vov), is one of them. We also have Al Naharos Bavel in today’s Tehillim, which we say before bentching on a weekday.
In Hallel Hagadol, one of the things we thank Hashem for is the big lights that shine on the world — the sun, the moon, and the stars. We say, “Le’oseh Orim Gedolim, Ki Le’olam Chasdo! — Hashem makes the big lights — because He has so much chesed!”
We learn from this that Hashem is ALWAYS making the world! Because it doesn’t say “Hashem MADE the big lights,” but “Hashem MAKES the big lights” — Hashem is always creating the world from nothing, every single second! (We say this in davening — at the end of the first bracha before Shema. Can you find where it says this?)
This also shows us how important every single thing we do is — Hashem is creating the world just at this moment for you to do a mitzvah.
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Lamed-Beis
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The Alter Rebbe is telling us that the main way to have Ahavas Yisroel is by realizing that the neshama is the most important part of us. But there are certain cases where this Ahavas Yisroel is done in a little bit of a different way.
Today we go back to learning about someone who IS frum, and is our friend, but who is not behaving properly and doesn’t want to stop, even after we do the mitzvah of Hocheiach Tochiach with all of its details. The Gemara says that “Mitzva Lesanoso,” it is a mitzvah to hate him. But the Alter Rebbe explains that this means just to hate the bad behavior — we still need to love the good inside of him, which is the neshama!
How is it possible to love someone and not like his behavior at the same time?
The Alter Rebbe tells us that the feeling of Rachmonus is able to do this. Because when we have Rachmonus, instead of being upset at the person for what he did, we will feel bad for his neshama which is in Golus inside of him, because he is not behaving properly. Then, even though we should not like his behavior, our Rachmonus will help take away that not-good feeling and bring out a feeling of love for him.
(The Alter Rebbe also adds, in brackets, that there is a kind of person that the Torah says we should NOT have Ahavas Yisroel for: They are Apikorsim, people who are trying to destroy Yiddishkeit. Dovid Hamelech says that he hated this kind of person. But the Rebbe tells us that nowadays we can’t know who is a real apikores, and so we should always assume that someone who seems like an apikores is really just far from Torah and doesn’t know better.)
So we see from here that we really do need to have Ahavas Yisroel for EVERY Yid.
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If you look in the Siddur, there are many things we say before and after saying Shema at night! For example, the posuk “Beyodcha Afkid Ruchi,” which even little children say, is all the way at the end of the Kriyas Shema She’al Hamita!
Today the Rebbe tells us the Minhag Chabad about what parts of Kriyas Shema we skip on Shabbos and Yom Tov, which pesukim we say three times, and that we say the word Emes at the end of Shema. The Rebbe also tells us minhagim about Tikun Chatzos (which we don’t say nowadays).
All of these minhagim are already printed in the Siddur, so if you look inside when you say Kriyas Shema you’ll do it all like it says in today’s Hayom Yom!
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SEFER HAMITZVOS
Shiur #261 - Mitzvas Asei #181, Lo Saasei #309, #298, Asei #184
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1) (Mitzvas Asei #181) Today’s first mitzvah is called “Eglah Arufah.” If someone finds the body of a person who was killed, and nobody knows who did it, the Beis Din needs to make an Eglah Arufah.
The details of this mitzvah are in the last perek of Gemara Sotah, and the Rambam organizes them in Perek Tes and Yud of today’s Rambam.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Shoftim: כִּי יִמָּצֵא חָלָל בַּאֲדָמָה
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #309) We are not allowed to work in the land around the stream where the mitzvah of Eglah Arufah was done.
We learn this mitzvah from another posuk in Parshas Shoftim: אֲשֶׁר לֹא יֵעָבֵד בּוֹ וְלֹא יִזָּרֵעַ
We also learn the details of this mitzvah in the last perek of Mesechta Sotah.
3) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #298) We are not allowed to leave dangerous things around our city or property.
This mitzvah is in the Torah in Parshas Ki Seitzei: וְלֹא תָשִׂים דָּמִים בְּבֵיתֶךָ
The halachos are explained at the beginning of Mesechta Shekalim, and in many places in Seder Nezikin.
4) (Mitzvas Asei #184) We need to take away anything dangerous from our property. For example, we put a rail (Maakeh) around our roof if it is flat, so nobody will fall off, and a wall around a pit so nobody will fall in. We fix up anything dangerous so nobody will get hurt!
In the Torah, this mitzvah is in Parshas Ki Seitzei: וְעָשִׂיתָ מַעֲקֶה לְגַגֶּךָ
The details of this mitzvah are explained in Mesechta Bava Kama.
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Rotzeiach U'Shmiras HaNefesh
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In today’s Rambam, we learn about the mitzvah of setting aside Arei Miklat, and the halachos of Eglah Arufah.
Perek Ches we learn about the cities that need to be set aside. There are six main Arei Miklat. When Moshiach comes, we will add another three! There are also the 42 cities of the Leviim that can be used as an Ir Miklat. The cities need to be ready for a person to run there, and the Beis Din needs to check the roads every year to make sure that a person will be easily able to get to the Ir Miklat quickly!
Perek Tes has the halachos of today’s mitzvah, about the Eglah Arufah. If someone finds the body of a person that was killed, and we don’t know for sure who did it, Beis Din needs to measure to see which city is the closest. The Beis Din of the closest city does the mitzvah of Eglah Arufah, to show Hashem that they were not responsible for the murder.
First they bury the person who was killed. The Beis Din uses the city tax money to buy a young calf, and bring it to a strong stream of water. They cut off the head of the calf, and then the Beis Din and all of the Zekeinim wash their hands in the stream. They announce in Lashon Hakodesh that it wasn’t their fault that this person died, and they didn’t let him leave their city without food or someone to go with him. The kohanim ask that Hashem should forgive the Yidden, and Hashem does.
Perek Yud has more halachos about the Eglah Arufah. We learn about how the place of the Eglah Arufah can’t be used later, like for growing things. Also, if Beis Din didn’t do it for whatever reason, they need to make it up, even if many years already passed!
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There are three ways to keep Tumas Meis from spreading to something under the same ohel:
1) If it is in a sealed container
2) If it is under an Ohel inside of the Ohel
3) If it was swallowed.
Swallowing something keeps tumah from spreading — something tahor that is swallowed stays tahor even if the person becomes tomei, and if something tomei is swallowed, the tumah is not able to spread.
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In this week’s Likutei Torah, the Alter Rebbe teaches us how Yidden are a Ruchnius Mishkan for Hashem. In Nach, the posuk says “Heichal Hashem Heimah” — Yidden are called the Heichal (Mishkan) for Hashem!
How do we become a Mishkan for Hashem?
We do this by doing the things the Torah tells us, staying away from things we shouldn’t be doing (the Mitzvos Lo Saasei), and doing the things we should (the Mitzvos Asei).
The Alter Rebbe explains how our mitzvos bring Hashem to rest among the Yidden. Through a Mitzvas Asei we bring kedusha into the world. But there is a higher level of Hashem that we can’t bring down by ourselves. Hashem will help us do it, when we have iskafya! Any time that we stop ourselves from using our senses for something we shouldn’t do — like not looking or listening to things that aren’t good for our neshama — this brings a much HIGHER level of Hashem into ourselves and all Yidden!
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When the Anshei Kneses Hagedolah put together the davening, they set up 18 brachos to say as Shemoneh Esrei, the main part of davening where we ask Hashem for our needs.
Later, in the times of Rabban Gamliel, there were many Yidden who stopped following Yiddishkeit the way it had been kept since the times of Matan Torah. They stopped following the Torah Shebaal Peh, and only did whatever they wanted to of the Torah Shebichsav. Unfortunately, this confused many Yidden, who thought that this was a real way to follow the Torah.
Since this was causing many Yidden to stop keeping the Torah and mitzvos, Rabban Gamliel’s Beis Din put together another bracha and added it to the Shemoneh Esrei. In this bracha, “Velamalshinim,” they asked Hashem that all of these new ideas and philosophies shouldn’t stop Yidden from acting like Yidden. They asked Hashem that these people should do teshuvah and shouldn’t be able to affect anyone else to copy their strange ways.
Even today, many groups of Yidden come up with new ideas of how to act — and many of them are not the way the Torah teaches us to behave. When we say the bracha of Velamalshinim, we are asking Hashem to make sure that Yidden are connected to Yiddishkeit in the proper way.
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There are four mitzvos of Purim, and many other halachos and minhagim. It is very important for us to keep them all. But the Rebbe teaches us that we need to have Ahavas Yisroel and make sure other Yidden can keep these mitzvos too!
Over the years, the Rebbe spoke about Purim mivtzoyim many times! Here is a collection of some of the things the Rebbe told us about:
1) Teach about Purim: We should make sure that people are able to learn more about Purim! We should not only teach about the halachos of Purim, but about the Ruchnius’dike meaning of Purim. Some ways to do this are by teaching classes, and including information about Purim in things we give or send out.
2) Do at least the easy mitzvos: Some of the mitzvos of Purim are very easy for almost ANYONE to do, like giving Shalach Manos and Matanos L’evyonim. We should make sure we are getting as many people as possible to do these mitzvos — including children! Some ways to do this are by bringing coins and a pushka along with us, and having people GIVE (not just get) Shalach Manos.
3) Help people do the harder mitzvos properly: If someone is ready to hear the Megillah, we should make sure they have a Baal Korei who can lein it the way halacha teaches!
4) Spread Simchas Purim: It is a mitzvah to be happy on Purim! So even if a person isn’t able to do the mitzvos, at least they should be happy! Especially in a place where there isn’t much happiness, like in a hospital or nursing home or prison, we should share the joy of Purim so they can celebrate it too!
Based on Sichos of Purim throughout the years — see Otzar Minhagei Chabad, Purim
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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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A chossid once wrote a letter to the Rebbe, sharing good news.
In the letter the Rebbe sent back, the Rebbe asked that this chossid shouldn’t just share this kind of good news, he should also include another very important kind of good news! “Ain Tov Ela Torah” — “There is no good except for Torah!” The Rebbe asked the chossid that he should also write about his learning Torah, especially Chassidus!
Learning Chassidus is especially important, since it brings the Geulah! As R’ Chaim Vital, a talmid of the Arizal, explains, not learning enough Pnimius HaTorah keeps the Geulah from coming faster.
The Rebbe writes in the letter that the Gr”a, the Vilna Gaon, also writes about this, in his pirush on Mishlei.
So we need to learn Chassidus ourselves, and spread the teachings of Chassidus to others, so that we bring the Geulah much faster!
See Igros Kodesh chelek Yud-Gimmel, p. 32
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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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