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CHUMASH
Parshas Vayishlach - Sheini with Rashi
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In today’s Chumash, Yaakov finishes preparing to meet Eisav, by sending him a present. He crosses the river Yabok, but forgets some jars on the other side. When he goes back to get them, he fights with Eisav’s malach and gets hurt. The malach tells Yaakov that he will get another name — Yisrael!
Yaakov sends a present to Eisav: We learned in yesterday’s Chumash that Yaakov had three ways to get ready for meeting Eisav: He would get ready in case Eisav wanted to fight, he would daven to Hashem, and he would give Eisav a big present so he wouldn’t be angry.
Now, in the morning, Yaakov did the third thing, to send a present. After first giving maaser, he picked out what to give Eisav: First he picked out special jewels. Then he chose animals — boys and girls, so they would have new baby animals. (200 girl goats and 20 boy goats, 200 sheep and 20 rams, 30 girl camels with their babies and 30 boy camels, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 girl donkeys and 10 boy donkeys. That’s more than 600 animals!)
Yaakov told his servants to go one at a time, and each of them should bring a few of the presents, so that he will feel like he is just getting more and more presents! They should tell Eisav that they are a present for him, from Yaakov, and that Yaakov is on his way. Yaakov also sent malochim along. These malochim attacked Eisav’s servants (who were going to fight), but stopped when the servants said that they work for Yaakov’s brother.
Yaakov crosses the Yabok: That night, Yaakov took his wives, his 11 sons, and all of the girls, and crossed the Yabok River. He hid Dina in a box so Eisav wouldn’t want to get married to her. (Yaakov was punished for this, because Dina was such a tzadeikes, if she had married Eisav she would have helped him do teshuva.)
Yaakov fights with a malach: Yaakov brought everyone across the river and then brought all of their things across. Then he went back to get some small things (pachim ketanim) that got left by mistake.
When he was all by himself on the other side of the Yabok, the malach that takes care of Eisav pretended he was a person and fought with Yaakov until the morning. The malach saw he couldn’t win, and touched Yaakov’s hip, and it moved out of its place.
Then the malach asked Yaakov to let him go so he could go sing to Hashem, which he was allowed to do once a day. But Yaakov said he wouldn’t let go right away. He wanted the malach to first give him a bracha that he really does deserve the brachos that Yitzchak gave him.
Yaakov will get a new name: The malach asked, “What is your name?” and Yaakov answered, “Yaakov.” The malach said, “Soon Hashem will give you another name. Your name won’t just be Yaakov, you will be called Yisrael, which means an important person, and also ‘fought with Hashem’ — because you fought with me, a malach of Hashem, and with Eisav and Lavan, and won what belongs to you. This new name shows that you deserve the brachos. When Hashem gives you this name, I will give you the bracha.”
Yaakov asked for the malach’s name, but the malach said that his name changes depending on what his shlichus is. Yaakov wanted to get the bracha from the malach right away, before he met Eisav, and didn’t want to wait until he gets his new name. So the malach blessed Yaakov right there, and then Yaakov let him go.
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Today’s kapitelach are Ayin-Beis to Ayin-Vov.
In today’s Tehillim, Dovid Hamelech says to Hashem, “Beheimos Hayisi Imach!” “I act like a beheimah (an animal) with you.”
That sounds very strange. What is Dovid Hamelech saying?
Sometimes people get worried. Will I have enough to eat? Enough money to buy all the things I need? Maybe someone will try to take away my parnasa or other things that belong to me?
That’s what Dovid Hamelech was saying: “I’m not afraid of any of that. I just do whatever you ask from me, Hashem! I’m not worried about anything!”
That’s just like an animal. It doesn’t ever get afraid that someone will take things away from it. It relies on its owner to take care of it! That’s the same way Dovid Hamelech feels with Hashem.
The Rebbe once said in a farbrengen that a Chossid needs to feel like a goat does. The only thing a goat needs to worry about is to give milk. That’s its job. All of the things IT needs, like food and water and a place to sleep, are the owner’s responsibility, and the goat doesn’t need to think about them!
The same is with a chossid: We just need to do our shlichus, and Hashem will make sure that we have all the things we need to make our shlichus the best it can be!
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TANYA
Kuntres Acharon Siman Vov
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Every mitzvah that we do brings the chayus of Hashem into the world. So let’s say we bring a korban in the times of the Beis Hamikdash — a special chayus of Hashem comes into the world. Or if nowadays we do a mitzvah like lulav and esrog, putting on Tefillin, or lighting Shabbos candles. Those things all bring the chayus of Hashem into the world, so that the world can exist!
But what if we don’t do the mitzvah right? If you put tefillin on the wrong hand, or Chas Veshalom light candles in the wrong time, is that a mitzvah?
No! And since they aren’t a mitzvah, they don’t bring any chayus into the world!
That means that the chayus that Hashem gives to the world depends on a detail of the Torah being done the right way!
When Dovid Hamelech was going through hard times, he would think about how special Torah is, and that would bring him joy!
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It is our minhag to bentch holding a cup of wine when there is a Mezuman, even if there is no Minyan! We also learn how we do that.
The Rebbe Rashab once said in a sicha that there are different names we can call a Yid, based on his Avodas Hashem:
One name is Tzadik. That’s someone who is extra special with the mitzvos that we need to do. Then there is Yashar — that’s someone who is very careful with the mitzvos Lo Saasei, things we are not allowed to do. There is also the name Tomim — that’s for someone who is really serious about mitzvos and is very dedicated.
And then there is a Chossid. There are many ways a person could act that would make him deserve to be called a chossid:
One is that he doesn’t let the Gashmiyus of the world get in the way to stop him from the way Hashem wants him to live. That is something EVERY Yid can do!
The second way is that he feels in everything he does how Hashem is there. Not everyone can feel that, but it isn’t impossible!
Then there is the third way a person can act to deserve to be called a Chossid:
A Yid might act the way Hashem wants, because he feels like he wants to be close to Hashem. But a chossid acts in a very special way: Instead of thinking about what HE wants, he thinks about what HASHEM wants! He knows that Hashem wants Moshiach to come, and he thinks about what he can do to bring the Geulah closer!
That’s what the Rebbe teaches us — that we need to want Moshiach now and do everything we can to make it happen right away!
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SEFER HAMITZVOS
Shiur #144 - Mitzvas Lo Saasei #223, Asei #134, #141, Lo Saasei #230, #231
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Today we learn 5 more mitzvos about Shemitah:
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #223) We are not allowed to gather grapes that grow during Shemitah. They can be picked and eaten, but not gathered like usual.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Behar: וְאֶת עִנְּבֵי נְזִירֶךָ לֹא תִבְצֹר
The details are explained in Mesechta Shevi’is.
2) (Mitzvas Asei #134) We need to make all of the fruit that grows in Shemitah “hefker,” so anyone can take it. Making something Hefker means saying that it doesn’t belong to anyone, so any person can take it without permission.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Mishpatim: וְהַשְּׁבִיעִת תִּשְׁמְטֶנָּה וּנְטַשְׁתָּהּ וְגוֹ׳
The details are explained in Mesechta Shevi’is.
3) (Mitzvas Asei #141) In a Shemitah year, we should forgive any money that a Yid owes us.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: וַאֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֶת אָחִיךָ תַּשְׁמֵט יָדֶךָ
The details are explained in the last perek of Mesechta Shevi’is.
4) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #230) We are not allowed to ask someone to pay us back money after a Shemitah year passes.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: שָׁמוֹט כָּל בַּעַל מַשֵּׁה יָדוֹ אֲשֶׁר יַשֶּׁה בְּרֵעֵהוּ לֹא יִגֹּשׂ אֶת רֵעֵהוּ וְאֶת אָחִיו
The details are explained in the end of Mesechta Shevi’is.
5) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #231) It is asur to not lend money to a Yid before Shemitah, even if we are afraid that we will lose money if they don’t pay us back before Shemitah.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ פֶּן יִהְיֶה דָבָר וְגוֹ׳
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Shemitah VeYovel
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Perek Gimmel: We are not allowed to prepare the land before Shemitah so that it will grow better by itself. Because of this, we have to stop working in our fields for some time before Shemitah starts. This is called Tosfos Shviis.
Perek Daled: We are not allowed to take sefichin (vegetables and grain that grow without planting them) during Shemitah, even though they grew on their own. The Chachomim made this Gezeira so that people won’t try to plant things secretly. We are only allowed to take FRUIT that grows by itself, since everyone knows that a fruit tree had to be planted long before Shemitah for it to grow now!
Perek Hey: We treat fruit that grows during Shemitah with respect, since it is holy (Kedushas Sheviis). One halacha is that we shouldn’t feed animals Shemitah fruit that was meant for people to eat.
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In today’s Rambam, we start to learn about an Eruv Techumin. This means that if a person puts some food in a place which is outside of the Techum Shabbos before Shabbos starts, it is counted as if he is there, and it makes his Techum Shabbos only start from 2,000 amos past that place. There are many halachos connected to this, explaining how and when a person can make such an eruv.
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Today is a very special day for Chassidim! It’s the day of the chasuna of the Rebbe and the Rebbetzin, in the year Tof-Reish-Pey-Tes.
The Rebbe told chassidim that Yud-Daled Kislev is a very special day for us!
Since the Rebbe got married to the Frierdiker Rebbe’s daughter, the Rebbetzin, the Rebbe started to help the Frierdiker Rebbe, and because of that, later became Rebbe. “That means,” the Rebbe told chassidim, “that this day is really the beginning of the connection between the Rebbe and chassidim. And the connection between the chassidim and the Rebbe is that together we will do everything we possibly can to bring the Geulah!”
See farbrengen Yud-Daled Kislev Tof-Shin-Yud-Daled
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▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼
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Were you ever listening to a story and then started feeling scared? Or do you sometimes get nervous during a thunderstorm? Some people are worried when they see some kinds of animals. Other kids get nightmares from things.
We might sometimes feel like the world is a scary place!
It feels like we can’t stop things from happening, and we don’t want to get hurt!
The seventh posuk of the Yud-Beis Pesukim helps keep us from being afraid:
Bereishis Bara Elokim — In the beginning when Hashem created
Es Hashomayim — the heavens
V’Es Ha’aretz — and the earth.
From the very beginning, the whole world was, and ALWAYS is, created by Hashem!
Nothing in the world happens by itself, Hashem is always deciding what will happen. So we don’t have to be scared of anything!
Whenever we find ourselves feeling scared, we can think about this posuk. We can remember that this is HASHEM’s world, and Hashem is taking care of everything!
See sicha Lag B’Omer Tof-Shin-Lamed-Vov
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When we daven, we shouldn’t be holding any other things. If we hold something important, like Tefillin, a sefer, or lehavdil a camera or money, we will need to think about it and make sure it doesn’t fall down. That will distract us from thinking just about our davening.
Even though it is fine to hold something that won’t get ruined if it falls, it is better (Mitzvah Min Hamuvchar) not to hold anything except for a siddur which is there to HELP us concentrate in davening!
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman 96
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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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Why do we have Chassidus nowadays when it wasn’t revealed to the Yidden a long time ago?
We learned one reason yesterday. Another reason we need Chassidus now is to help us get ready for the Geulah!
When Moshiach comes, everyone will be busy learning about Hashem. By learning Chassidus nowadays, where we learn about the greatness of Hashem, we are getting ready for the Geulah!
The Frierdiker Rebbe gave a mashal for this, from pearls. A person doesn’t NEED pearls to live, but they make her look much nicer! But during a chasunah, having pearls or other fancy jewelry IS important! At certain times, we need to be fancy.
When we are preparing for the Geulah which is like the chasuna of Hashem and the Yidden we also need to be “fancy.” We need to have plenty of pearls of Chassidus to show how we are prepared!
How do we get these “pearls?” It’s not just enough to make times to learn Chassidus, but we should try to learn whenever we have any free time! This is how we prepare for the Geulah.
See Likutei Sichos chelek chof, sichas Yud-Tes Kislev
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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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