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CHUMASH
Parshas Vezos Habracha - Rishon with Rashi
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We are now starting to learn the last parsha of the Torah. It is the last day of Moshe Rabbeinu’s life — Zayin Adar. Now that he finished farbrenging with the Yidden about how they should act in Eretz Yisroel, he is going to ask Hashem for brachos for each of the Shevatim.
Moshe Rabbeinu first says how much the Yidden deserve brachos! Even though Hashem asked ALL of the people in the world if they wanted the Torah, only the Yidden wanted it. Hashem gave them the Torah on Har Sinai, like a Chasunah!
By Matan Torah, Hashem held Har Sinai over the Yidden like a chuppah! The Yidden all came closer under the mountain, because they wanted to have to keep the Torah.
The Yidden were ready to go wherever Hashem wanted in the Midbar.
They will also keep the Torah even when things are hard in Golus and it looks like Hashem is nicer to the Goyim! They will say, “Torah Tziva Lanu Moshe...” — “the Torah is like a present that belongs forever to the ‘family’ of Yidden, and we will keep it forever!”
Reuven: Moshe asked Hashem to forgive Reuven for moving Yaakov’s bed. He should be able to go into Olam Haba, and his Shevet should stay a Shevet.
Yehudah: Moshe asked the same bracha for Yehudah: Yehudah promised Yaakov that if he didn’t bring Benyamin back with him, he will lose his part of Olam Haba. Even though he DID bring Benyamin back, a promise of a Tzadik is still a promise!
But when Yehudah told the truth about doing something wrong with Tamar, it made Reuven realize that he should do Teshuvah too. Since Hashem will forgive Reuven, He should of course forgive Yehudah, who made Reuven do Teshuvah! (And right when Moshe Rabbeinu said this, Yehudah WAS let into Olam Haba!)
Shimon: Moshe didn’t give Shevet Shimon its own bracha, because Zimri was from Shimon, and many Yidden passed away in Shittim because of Shevet Shimon. Still, he hinted to Shimon in his bracha to Yehudah, by using the word “Shema” — like “Shimon.”
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Today’s Kapitelach of Tehillim were the Rebbe’s Kapitel in the early “Mems” (1980’s), and every Kapitel has a niggun!
One of the niggunim is “Roeh Yisroel Haazinah.” Hashem is like our shepherd, taking such good care of us. We ask Hashem, please listen to our tefillos!
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Chof-Beis
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Yesterday the Alter Rebbe told Chassidim not to come to him for eitzos in Gashmiyus. Today he explains why.
The Goyim can get chayus from Hashem only because Hashem needs to give chayus to EVERYTHING in the world. But Yidden get chayus because Hashem loves Yidden and WANTS to give them chayus!
Hashem loves Yidden so much that if a Yid gets “dirty” from aveiros, Hashem will “clean” him. Sometimes this can hurt (like it can hurt if you need to scrub off dirt)!
Also, sometimes we might need to learn a lesson, and we learn it from something that happens that we don’t like. But it is only from Hashem, and it’s because Hashem loves us so much!
When something in Gashmius happens to us that we don’t like, we shouldn’t run to the Rebbe to save us! We should remember that it is from Hashem, and it is only happening because Hashem loves us.
So what should you do then? We will see the answer to this IY”H tomorrow!
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On the second night of Sukkos, in kiddush first we say Shehecheyanu, and THEN Leisheiv Basukah (the first night was the opposite order).
The Tzemach Tzedek said:
The Alter Rebbe had a farbrengen in the year Tof-Kuf-Samach-Tes. He said a maamar that starts with the words “Ushe’avtem Mayim” that is now printed in Likutei Torah. It was the SIXTH time that the Alter Rebbe said this maamar!
The Gemara says that Tzadikim used to get special hisorerus (inspiration) from Simchas Beis Hashoeiva. Yonah Hanavi got a hisorerus for Nevuah!
The Tzemach Tzedek said that from hearing this maamar that talks about Simchas Beis Hashoeva, Chassidim got a hisorerus too — a hisorerus about Moshiach, which is the reason Hashem made the whole world!
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SEFER HAMITZVOS
Shiur #87 - Mitzvas Lo Saasei #105, #330, #331, #332, #332, #334
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In today’s Sefer Hamitzvos, we learn one last mitzvah about a sotah, and then we start to learn about who we’re not allowed to marry, in the next sefer of Rambam!
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #105) We are not allowed to put levonah (a kind of spice) on the Korban Mincha for the sotah, even though we usually put this spice on every other Korban Mincha.
We learn this from a posuk in Parshas Naso: וְלֹא יִתֵּן עָלָיו לְבֹנָה
A person is not allowed to get married to:
2) His mother (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #330)
We learn this from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: אִמְּךָ הִוא לֹא תְגַלֶּה עֶרְוָתָהּ
3) His step-mother (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #331)
We learn this from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: עֶרְוַת אֵשֶׁת אָבִיךָ לֹא תְגַלֵּה
4) His sister (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #332)
We learn this from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: עֶרְוַת אֲחוֹתְךָ בַת אָבִיךָ וְגוֹ׳ לֹא תְגַלֶּה עֶרְוָתָן
5) His half-sister on his father’s side (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #333)
We learn this from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: בַּת אֵשֶׁת אָבִיךָ מוֹלֶדֶת אָבִיךָ אֲחוֹתְךָ הִוא לֹא תְגַלֶּה עֶרְוָתָהּ
6) His granddaughter (his son’s daughter) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #334)
We learn this from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: עֶרְוַת בַּת בִּנְךָ וְגוֹ׳ לֹא תְגַלֶּה
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Sotah - Hilchos Isurei Biah
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Perek Daled: In today’s Rambam, we finish learning the halachos about a sotah. We learn what happens if the sotah changes her mind and doesn’t want to drink the water. (If Hashem’s name was already dissolved in the water, Beis Din could force her to drink it).
The Rambam finishes off this set of halachos with a lesson for a father: A father needs to feel the responsibility to make sure that his wife and children are doing what they are supposed to and following the way of Torah.
Mazel Tov! Now we finished Sefer Nashim in Rambam! We start a new sefer, called Sefer Kedushah!
Perek Alef: We start learning a new set of halachos, about who we are allowed to marry. The Rambam starts giving us general rules about this, for example that we don’t need to prove that people are relatives.
Perek Beis: The Torah tells us that we are not allowed to marry many of our close relatives — but it is permitted, and even considered a mitzvah for a man to marry his niece!
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Now that we learned all of these halachos, we understand that there are 20 ways for a Sefer Torah to be posul. Here are two examples: 1) if two letters are touching, or 2) if the ink isn’t black.
We also learn how to treat a Sefer Torah: One halacha is that a Sefer Torah can only be sold if someone doesn’t have anything else to sell and wants to learn Torah or to get married.
The Rambam also tells us how we treat all kinds of kedusha things, and what needs to go into sheimos!
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Imagine you were in the Beis Hamikdash on Sukkos. With korbanos, we always pour wine on the Mizbeiach (called Nesachim). But on Sukkos, we also pour WATER on the Mizbeiach!
The Yidden were so excited to do this special mitzvah, that they danced all night long! The kohanim lit huge torches so it wouldn’t be dark, and Yidden would dance and Tzadikim would juggle while the Leviim played happy songs on their instruments!
The women would watch from upstairs in the Ezras Noshim (because it was very crowded downstairs, and it wouldn’t be Tznius if they were squashed in together with the men!).
Nowadays, even though there is no Beis Hamikdash, we still can do part of this mitzvah — to dance and be happy just like the Yidden did then!
Chassidim used to farbreng all night until they got so excited they would get up and dance! The Rebbe said that nowadays, EVERYONE needs to be happy, and we shouldn’t only wait for the simcha that comes from talking about Chassidus — we should go right away and dance in the streets to bring simcha to everyone!
We shouldn’t only do this in big cities, but we should bring the simcha of Yom Tov to Yidden EVERYWHERE!
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TEFILLAH
Amidah for Shalosh Regalim, Part 3
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The Shemoneh Esrei for the Shalosh Regalim is different than the rest of the year. The middle bracha has special paragraphs just for these Yomim Tovim.
First we say that Hashem chose the Yidden (Ata Vechartanu), and then we speak about the Yom Tov Hashem gave us (Vatitein Lanu and Yaaleh Veyavo)!
Then we ask Hashem to give us the special bracha of this Yom Tov, “Vehasi’einu.” We ask that we should be able to feel and appreciate the kedusha and the kochos of this day, so they will become a part of us and help us do our avodah the entire year.
Like in the tefillos on Shabbos, we continue by asking Hashem to make us holy with His mitzvos, to give us a part of His Torah, make us happy by saving us, and help us do our avodah with emes!
We finish off by praising Hashem for making Yidden and the Yomim Tovim both holy: Mekadeish Yisroel Vehazmanim.
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When we do a mitzvah, it is important to have kavana! But the kavana is usually a separate thing, not part of the actual mitzvah. But for some mitzvos, we aren’t doing the mitzvah properly unless we have kavana!
The mitzvah of eating in the sukkah is one of the mitzvos that NEED to have kavana.
What kavana do we need to have?
We should think about how we are sitting in the sukkah to do a mitzvah from Hashem, to sit in a sukkah which reminds us of how Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim and protected us with the Ananei Hakavod.
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman Tof-Reish-Chof-Hey
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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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Our guests for today are Yitzchak Avinu and the Maggid.
One of the things we can learn from Yitzchak Avinu is how we can live with Moshiach! The name of Yitzchak means to laugh. When Yitzchak was born, it brought joy to Avraham Avinu and to everyone around him!
The name Yitzchak has a Yud at the beginning, meaning “he WILL laugh” — it is talking about something in the future. That is because the REAL laughing, and the REAL joy, will be when Moshiach comes!
But already, when Yitzchak was born, Yitzchak was already bringing joy. We can learn from this how to live with Moshiach. Even though the MAIN joy of Moshiach hasn’t come yet, we can already have a taste of it now!
See Sefer Maayanei Hayeshuah
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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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