|
|
CHUMASH
Parshas Acharei-Kedoshim - Rishon with Rashi
|
|
After Nadav and Avihu passed away, Hashem speaks to Aharon Hakohen.
Nadav and Avihu did the wrong thing by bringing Ketores in the Kodesh Hakodoshim when they wanted to come close to Hashem. But there is a time when Aharon SHOULD come close to Hashem in this way! That is on Yom Kippur.
In today’s Chumash, Hashem tells Aharon about the special avodah of Yom Kippur. When he does this avodah, he will bring forgiveness for himself and for all of the Yidden!
To do the Yom Kippur Avodah, he will need:
- White linen clothes
- Two animals that he will bring as korbanos for the Kohanim
- Three animals that will be a kapara for the Yidden (two as korbanos, and one as the Se’ir L’azazel)
- Special ketores
Even though much of the Avodah done on Yom Kippur is done with the regular golden clothing of the Kohen Gadol, he doesn’t wear them when he goes into the Kodesh Hakodoshim. When he goes into the Kodesh Hakodoshim, he wears simple white clothes. The Kohen Gadol is asking Hashem to forgive the Yidden, so he does not wear any gold which would be a reminder of the Cheit Ha’eigel, the aveira done with the golden calf.
After finishing the Avodah in the Kodesh Hakodoshim, these white clothes are put away and not used again.
|
|
|
|
In Kapitel Lamed-Zayin (37), Dovid Hamelech says, “MeiHashem Mitzadei Gever Konanu” — “Hashem decides where each person goes,” “Vedarko Yechpatz” — “and He wants His way.”
We learned in Hayom Yom that these two things are connected: Because Hashem wants His way, meaning for something to be done there in Hashem’s way of Torah and mitzvos, THAT’S why He decides where each person goes. Hashem puts each of us into the place where we are, to do our special shlichus there.
So when we end up somewhere, it is Hashgacha Protis. We need to remember that we’re there because Hashem has a shlichus for us to do there, and we should make sure to do it right!
A certain melamed from Cherson once came to the Rebbe Rashab for Yechidus.
The Rebbe Rashab asked him if his community has a regular shiur in Chassidus during the week and on Shabbos. The melamed said that the balebatim are Chassidim and Yerei Shomayim, but they don’t really like learning Chassidus, so they only learn on Shabbos, not during the week.
The Rebbe Rashab said to him: “Why did Hashem take you from where you lived before, near Vilna, to the city you live now, in Cherson? If it was so that you would have talmidim to teach, Hashem could have found you talmidim near where you lived before! Did you think about the fact that “MeiHashem Mitzadei Gever Konanu,” that Hashem brought you there for a specific reason?”
The Rebbe Rashab was telling this tomim that the reason he lives in his city is not just for his parnasa, but to bring the local people a chayus in learning Chassidus!
We are also in the place we live for a specific reason. We are there to share the light of Yiddishkeit and Chassidus with the people around us!
See Igros Kodesh of the Frierdiker Rebbe, chelek Daled p. 341 (parts of this letter are quoted in many Hayom Yoms)
|
|
|
TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Mem-Daled
|
|
Our mitzvos can become more aidel and Ruchnius’dik by bringing out an Ahava for Hashem. The Alter Rebbe taught us two kinds of ahava that every kind of person can have, because they are part of our neshama! We can feel the ahava of “Nafshi Ivisicha” (נַפְשִׁי אִוִּיתִיךָ), that Hashem is our chayus, and the ahava of “Kivra D’ishtadel” (כִּבְרָא דְּאִשְׁתַּדֵּל), like a son who serves his father. Both of them are a very high level in Ruchnius.
The Alter Rebbe even taught us ways to wake up these kinds of ahava easily, without needing to work very hard!
But today the Alter Rebbe tells us that we need something more.
We need to try to make our Ahava for Hashem in a way of Ahavas Olam, meaning that we feel it because of our hisbonenus. We make our ahava strong by learning and thinking a lot of Chassidus, which teaches us about the greatness of Hashem. We also daven with avodah, so that we will feel it!
An Ahava that we learn how to feel OURSELVES is better than one that we just get by waking up what is already inside of us!
Also, the Zohar says that the world was created so we can know Hashem (בְּגִין דְּיִשְׁתְּמוֹדְעוּן לֵיהּ). By learning Chassidus, where we learn about the greatness of Hashem, we are fulfilling the reason for the creation of the world!
|
|
|
|
Today is twenty-one days of the Omer!
The Chachomim say that before you say goodbye to a friend, you should tell him a halacha.
Our Rebbeim explained the Chassidishe meaning of “Halacha”:
The word halacha is like “hiluch”, going. Neshamos are also called “mehalchim”, “going,” getting closer to Hashem. This is even more special than malachim, who are called “omdim”, “standing”, because they can’t get as close to Hashem as a Neshama can.
How does a neshama accomplish even more than a malach? By the mitzvos it does, especially the mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel! This makes the neshama go closer to Hashem.
Before we say goodbye to a friend, we should say a piece of Torah, that is “halacha” like the word “hiluch”, “going”— something that will help him GO (hiluch) closer to Hashem like only a neshama can!
What type of Dvar Torah will accomplish this? Something that will inspire the other person in Ahavas Yisroel, to do a favor for another Yid in Gashmius and especially in Ruchnius.
|
|
|
|
Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #245) is — you guessed it, the very same mitzvah again! When we buy things and sell things (or even give presents), there are rules in Torah about how to do it, and who the things belong to when.
|
|
|
RAMBAM
Hilchos Shluchim VeShutfim
|
|
In today’s Rambam, we learn more about partners:
In Perek Hey we learn about what happens when one of the partners doesn’t do what they agreed. If he sold the potatoes for too cheap, he needs to pay his partner back for the money that was lost. But if he sold them for more money than they decided on, they need to split the extra money equally!
Perek Vov teaches us about a kind of partnership where one person just gives the money, and the other person does all the work. This called Eisek.
Perek Zayin tells us what happens when the person doing all the work doesn’t do it right.
|
|
|
|
Today’s Rambam teaches us many halachos about non-kosher animals and bugs.
|
|
|
|
In this week’s Likutei Torah, Parshas Kedoshim, there is a very famous maamar called “Vehadarta Pnei Zakein.” The Rebbe would tell many people to learn this maamar to help them have a good memory in learning Torah!
In this maamar, the Alter Rebbe talks about the importance of a special kind of Torah learning: Learning in a way that we will know it by heart. When we know the Torah by heart, then the Torah is always with us, even if we aren’t thinking about those words at that time — because these words of Torah are already a part of us!
The Alter Rebbe tells us that of course it is best to know ALL 613 mitzvos, but at least we should learn the whole Chumash (which has all the mitzvos hidden inside), and Mishnayos Kodshim which the Chachomim say helps a person get forgiveness for a person’s aveiros.
We all have a head start, since we know the 12 pesukim baal peh! But don’t stop there — try to learn more parts of Torah baal peh! Lines of Chumash, Tanya, Hayom Yom, Mishnayos...
When the Rebbe taught the first 6 pesukim, on Rosh Chodesh Iyar, one thing that the Rebbe suggested was that every month we should learn a new piece of Torah by heart!
|
|
|
▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼
|
|
|
|
When we want to learn something by heart, we need to review it many times! That’s why many people say the Twelve Pesukim every day after davening, or after saying Shema every night. They want to review the words many times so they will know them Baal Peh!
Since we need to not only know the WORDS by heart, but also the MESSAGE by heart, we will need to review what each posuk means many times! Let’s review the first two of the Twelve Pesukim and what we’re supposed to learn from them. Both of these pesukim are from the Chumash, and the Chachomim say that they are the first pesukim we should teach a child who has just learned to speak.
Torah Tziva — The first posuk is Torah Tziva. We say, “Torah Tziva Lanu Moshe,” the Torah which Moshe Rabbeinu commanded us, is “Morasha Kehilas Yaakov” — a yerusha to the whole Jewish people.
This means that the entire Torah, together with all of the parts of Torah that Moshe Rabbeinu got on Har Sinai, belongs to every single Yid!
The posuk teaches us that every Yid, even a young child, needs to know that the whole Torah is THEIRS, and that we should appreciate how precious the Torah is! That’s why right when a baby is born, we hang up words of Torah like Shir Hamaalos where the baby sleeps, and mothers sing songs about Torah, so the children will always know that “Torah iz di beste s’chora,” Torah is the best thing they can ever have!
Shema Yisroel — The second posuk is Shema. We say, “Shema Yisroel!” Listen Yidden! “Hashem Elokeinu,” Hashem is our Aibershter, and “Hashem Echod,” Hashem is one.
Besides for what we need to know for our own neshama, that Hashem gave us the Torah as a gift that is very special and very good for us, we need to know about the world too! When we go into the big world, which has seven heavens and stretches out so far in four different directions, we need tor remember that it’s not something that exists on its own! It LOOKS like it exists by itself, but it was created by Hashem, and it was created for a reason!
The heavens and the earth, in all four directions, are all one with the Alef — with Hashem, the Alufo Shel Olam. The whole world is one with Hashem Who created it, and all of it is there so that we can use the special gift Hashem gave us, the gift of Torah and mitzvos! The whole world and everything in it exists so that we can use all of it in order to serve Hashem.
See Der Rebbe Redt Tzu Kinder chelek Hey
|
|
|
|
On Shabbos, we are not allowed to move things that are muktza.
The Chachomim explain that this is talking about moving things in a normal way, with our hands. But moving something in an unusual way is called Tiltul Kil’achar Yad, which IS mutar. For example, we are allowed to push away muktza with the back of our hand, move it by kicking it out of the way, pushing with our elbow, head, or stomach, or pulling with our mouth.
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman Shin-Ches
|
|
לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק ע״ה בן ר׳ אפרים שי׳ מאסקאוויץ
שליח כ"ק אדמו"ר נשיא דורנו למדינת אילינוי
|
|
|
|
In the farbrengen of Parshas Tazria-Metzora Tof-Shin-Nun-Alef, the Rebbe told us that the Derech Yeshara, the straight path to bringing Moshiach, is through doing the avodah of today’s Sefira, Malchus Shebetiferes.
What is that avodah?
One way to show Tiferes is by learning Torah, and Malchus in Tiferes is learning Torah about Malchus — about the Malchus of Moshiach! So Malchus Shebetiferes is learning Inyonei Moshiach U’Geulah! This is the Derech Yeshara to bringing Moshiach!
Learning Inyonei Geulah is important EVERY day, and especially on the sefira of Malchus Shebetiferes!
Today we will learn something else about Moshiach from the Navi Yeshaya:
The Navi Yeshaya (Perek Beis, posuk Gimmel) continues his nevuah about how the world will look at Yidden and Torah when Moshiach comes. He tells the Yidden that it makes no sense to copy the goyim, since soon even they will realize that the truth is in the Torah! When we realize that, we will act the way the Torah teaches, knowing that soon everyone else will be doing it too.
וְהָלְכוּ עַמִּים רַבִּים וְאָמְרוּ לְכוּ וְנַעֲלֶה אֶל הַר ה׳ אֶל בֵּית אֱלֹקֵי יַעֲקֹב וְיֹרֵנוּ מִדְּרָכָיו וְנֵלְכָה בְּאֹרְחֹתָיו כִּי מִצִּיּוֹן תֵּצֵא תוֹרָה וּדְבַר ה׳ מִירוּשָׁלִָם
Vehalchu Amim Rabim — Many nations will go
Ve’amru — and they will say:
Lechu Venaaleh El Har Hashem, El Beis Elokei Yaakov — “Let’s go up to Hashem’s mountain, to the home of Hashem, the Beis Hamikdash,
Veyoreinu Midrachav, Veneilcha Be’orchosav — Let Hashem teach us His ways, and we will follow what Hashem says.”
Ki Mitziyon Teitzei Sorah — They will come there, because the Torah will be taught from Tzion (Yerushalayim)
Udvar Hashem MiYerushalayim — And the word of Hashem will come from Yerushalayim!
The end of this posuk is the last posuk we say from all of the pesukim on Simchas Torah, in Ata Horeisa. At the farbrengen of Simchas Torah Tof-Shin-Nun-Beis, the Rebbe explained this posuk based on what we know from Chumash and Rashi. The word “Ki,” because, can also mean “Kaasher,” when.
In the 17 pesukim of Hakafos we speak about Hashem’s praises and many special things. This last posuk is telling us WHEN we will be able to see all of these special things! All of the things we say in Ata Horeisa will be fulfilled Ki, when, Mitziyon Teitzei Sorah, the time when this nevuah will be fulfilled, the time of the Geulah!
|
|
|
|
|
לע"נ התינוק זאב ארי' ע"ה בן יבלט"א הרה"ח ר' שניאור זלמן שי' גליק
נפטר ב' מנחם אב ה'תשע"ג
|
|
Give children around the world the gift of Kids Chitas!
KidsChitas.org/sponsor
|
|
|
