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CHUMASH
Parshas Vezos Habracha - Revi'i with Rashi
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Moshe is giving the last brachos to the Yidden before he passes away. Today we learn the brachos for Shevet Yissachar, Zevulun, and Gad:
Yissachar and Zevulun work together — Zevulun will earn money so that Yissachar can learn Torah. Because Yissachar will not be able to learn Torah without Zevulun, Moshe gives Zevulun the bracha first!
Shevet Zevulun should be happy when they go out to work, and Shevet Yissachar should be happy when they sit and learn Torah. The Talmidei Chachomim from Shevet Yissachar will learn all about the moon, and they will be able to calculate when it’s Rosh Chodesh, so all of the korbanos will be at the right times!
Zevulun will earn money by sailing big ships on the ocean and doing business with people from other lands. They will be the ones to get the Chilazon from the sea to dye the Techeiles (blue) strings of the Tzitzis! They will also make a big Kiddush Hashem with the people they do business with, and many of them will come to the Beis Hamikdash and become Yidden.
Shevet Gad already lives on the other side of the Yarden, with non-Jews living right near them. Hashem should help them to be able to have even more land, and to be able to guard the border of Eretz Yisroel so that nobody can come in to fight with the Yidden. Moshe Rabbeinu will be buried in the section of Shevet Gad. Even though nobody will know exactly where the kever is, it will be a zechus for the entire Shevet.
Of course, the men of Shevet Gad will do what they promised and fight in front of the other Yidden to get Eretz Yisroel, and only then will they come back to their section on the other side of the Yarden.
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The first kapitel in today’s Tehillim was said first by Moshe Rabbeinu. Dovid Hamelech later put it in Tehillim. It starts with the words “Tefillah LeMoshe, Ish HaElokim.” “It is a Tefillah by Moshe Rabbeinu, a person of Hashem.”
In fact, in this week’s parsha, Vezos Habracha, Moshe Rabbeinu is also called an “Ish HaElokim,” a person of Hashem!
Why is Moshe Rabbeinu called with this name?
Even though Hashem created the world and runs the world constantly with Hashgacha Protis, Hashem made it in a way that Elokus is hidden. Still, Hashem gave every Yid a shlichus to live their life according to Torah and mitzvos and through that to reveal Elokus in the world.
If Hashem is so hidden in the world, where do we get the strength to be able to reveal Elokus in it?
For this, Hashem gave Yidden a Moshe Rabbeinu, who is “a person of Hashem.” A Moshe Rabbeinu has two parts — one part of him that is “of Hashem” — very close to Hashem, but he is also “a person” — so he can show us how to do this shlichus!
The Zohar says that the neshama of Moshe Rabbeinu spreads to the leaders of the Yidden throughout the generations, so they can help the Yidden fulfill their shlichus. Now, the Rebbe is our Moshe Rabbeinu! By following the Rebbe’s horaos, we will know how to do our shlichus in the world today!
For example, during Chol Hamoed, the Rebbe reminded us to use the time to add in learning Torah and to help other Yidden with the mitzvos of the Yom Tov — Sukkah, Lulav and Esrog, and to bring Simcha to as many Yidden as we can!
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Chof-Beis
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In the letter we learn today, the Alter Rebbe begs Chassidim to work on making sure they have a lot of Ahavas Yisroel.
Of course everyone has things they aren’t doing right and need to change or fix, but that should not stop us from being comfortable with another Yid or group of Yidden. We need to do what the Chachomim say and be humble in front of everyone. Everyone has something special, something they are good at. Even if we don’t see it, the Chachomim said so and we need to believe them! This will help us have more Achdus.
It is also important to be careful not just not to SAY Lashon Hara but even not to THINK it. Thinking is something we do deep inside, so it’s “closer” to the Neshama. It can even be worse to think than to talk!
We need to be VERY careful with how we think about other people. Then we will have Ahavas Yisroel and shalom.
When the Alter Rebbe asks chassidim to work hard to make shalom, he calls chassidim “my loved ones, brothers and friends.” Chassidim explain that when someone works to strengthen his Ahavas Yisroel with other chassidim he becomes close to the Alter Rebbe, like a good friend!
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In Shemoneh Esrei, we ask Hashem for many brachos. One thing we ask Hashem for is that the fields should grow this year, and give us lots of good food!
It is brought in seforim that all year long when we say this bracha, we have in mind the special foods we need for the Yomim Tovim: The wheat for Matzah, and a good Esrog! (Somewhere else it also says wine for Kiddush.)
If our mitzvah foods grow well, everything else will too, of course!
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We are still learning about keeping marriage holy. Today we learn 4 mitzvos about who we can’t get married to:
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #348) A man is not allowed to get married to an animal.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: וּבְכָל בְּהֵמָה לֹא תִתֵּן שְׁכָבְתְּךָ
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #349) A woman isn’t allowed to get married to an animal.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: וְאִשָּׁה לֹא תַעֲמֹד לִפְנֵי בְהֵמָה לְרִבְעָהּ
3) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #350) A man isn’t allowed to get married to another man.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: וְאֶת זָכָר לֹא תִשְׁכַּב מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה תּוֹעֵבָה הִוא
4) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #351) A man isn’t allowed to get married to his father.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: עֶרְוַת אָבִיךָ וְגוֹ׳ לֹא תְגַלֵּה
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In today’s Rambam, Perakim Tes, Yud, and Yud-Alef, we are learning more about Taharas Hamishpacha — making sure that our marriage is tahor.
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According to the Torah, only clothes made of wool or linen need tzitzis, but the Chachomim told us to put tzitzis on clothes made of ANY material with four corners.
Did you know that a kapote can have four corners? If you look at a kapote, you will see that one of the corners is rounded, so it doesn’t count as a corner. If it wasn’t round, you would need to put tzitzis on your kapote too!
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Today’s Ushpizin (special Sukkos guests) are Aharon Hakohen and the Tzemach Tzedek. Both of them teach us the lesson of shalom, peace.
The Mishna says that Aharon made shalom between people, and it is known that the Tzemach Tzedek made shalom between the Chassidim and the Misnagdim.
We get the koach from our two special guests of today to make shalom too!
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In Likutei Torah for the Yom Tov of Sukkos, the Alter Rebbe writes that a Yid can be very excited during davening and feel very close to Hashem. But after he finishes davening, that feeling can go away!
What should we do to KEEP that special feeling?
The way to do it is by learning Hashem’s Torah — Hashem’s Chochma. The Torah tells us how Hashem wants us to act with the Gashmius we use all the time.
When a Yid learns halachos, he is thinking about Hashem all the time, just like when he davens Shemoneh Esrei!
The Rebbe gave us the takana to learn Rambam every day. By learning these halachos during the day, we keep our neshamos connected to Hashem the way they are during davening!
See maamar Ushe’avtem, Likutei Torah
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When we make the bracha on the Lulav and Esrog, we take the Lulav with the right hand and the esrog with the left hand. We do this because the Lulav has 3 mitzvos (three of the minim) and the Esrog only has one. If a person does it the wrong way, he still did the mitzvah, but it is best to shake it again holding it the right way, this time without a bracha. When we hold the Lulav and Esrog by Hoshaanos, we also do it this way.
A lefty uses HIS most important hand, meaning his left hand.
For someone who is ambidextrous (can use both hands the same), he should hold the lulav with his right hand.
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman Tof-Reish-Nun-Alef
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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 Chachomim tell us in the Talmud Yerushalmi that all of the seforim of the Neviim and Kesuvim will be botul in the times of Moshiach. We will only have the Chamisha Chumshei Torah, the five books of the Torah, and the halachos of Torah Shebaal Peh.
But how could this be? The Rambam tells us in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah, that the Torah NEVER changes! How can we say that parts of Torah will be botul?
The answer is that these parts of Torah will not disappear, but we won’t need to learn them anymore!
The Neviim and Kesuvim are mainly an inspiration for Yidden to keep the Torah. When Moshiach comes, and the world is full of the knowledge of Hashem, we won’t need this inspiration anymore. We will be able to understand everything that is in the Neviim and Kesuvim from the Torah itself!
That is also why we won’t need the discussion of the Gemara anymore. When Moshiach comes, we will understand the halachos even without the explanations of the Gemara!
So when Moshiach comes, our main Torah learning will be Chamisha Chumshei Torah, halacha, and the secrets of Torah that will be revealed then!
See Sefer Hasichos 5752 p. 27 (Kuntres Halachos Shel Torah Shebaal Peh She’ainam Beteilim L’olam)
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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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