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CHUMASH
Parshas Kedoshim - Rishon with Rashi
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Now Hashem tells Moshe to tell the Yidden something very important:
“Kedoshim Tiheyu Ki Kadosh Ani” — Hashem says, “I am holy, so you should be holy too!”
We learn many mitzvos now, and are reminded of some we learned before:
- Kibbud Av Va’em
- Keep Shabbos
- Don’t worship idols — only serve Hashem!
- When we bring a korban, we need to remember the halachos of bringing it (that we need to eat it that day), and why we’re bringing it!
- Pe’ah — we need to leave a corner of the field for poor people to take what grows there
- Leket — when we’re harvesting our fields, we need to leave pieces that fall on the floor, for poor people to come take
- Olelos — we can’t pick up small bunches of grapes that fall when we’re picking them — we need to leave them for the poor
- We can’t steal
- We can’t say not-true things to a Beis Din
- We can’t make a not-true promise in Hashem’s name
- We need to pay our workers on time
- We can’t curse people
- Lifnei Iver — we shouldn’t tell someone to do something that isn’t good for them
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Today is the first day of Rosh Chodesh, so we are finishing the entire Sefer Tehillim! You might already know the whole Yom of Tehillim by heart from davening! It’s Ashrei and the paragraphs that start with Hallelukah.
In today’s Tehillim, there is a posuk that it is very important to understand: “Poseiach Es Yodecha Umasbia Lechol Chai Ratzon.” “Hashem opens His hand and gives every living thing what they want.”
In Shulchan Aruch, it says that we need to be very careful to have kavana when we say this posuk in Ashrei! If someone doesn’t have kavana, they need to say the posuk again. (If you listen to the Rebbe davening, the Rebbe stops for a second after this posuk before going on to the next posuk in Ashrei.)
Chassidus also explains this posuk to mean that Hashem gives all of us Ratzon, that we should WANT to act the way Hashem shows us in the Torah!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Mem-Daled
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We learned about two kinds of Ahavas Hashem that every Yid can have. One is to love Hashem because Hashem gives us our chayus, and the other is to love Hashem like a son loves his father.
One of the ways to bring out this ahava is not just to think about it with our minds, but also to use the special koach which is in our voice (like when we speak about how Hashem is the source of our chayus, in Pesukei Dezimra; or that Hashem is our father, in the bracha before Shema). Saying the words together with the kavana will help the kavana be more real!
Today the Alter Rebbe tells us that even if it seems like we’re pretending that we love Hashem, we should do this anyway!
Why?
Because in truth EVERY Yid really loves Hashem inside his neshama! By saying it with our voice and our kavana, we are bringing it out so it will help us do our Torah and mitzvos with the kavana of bringing Hashem nachas, like a son serving his father.
In fact, we are doing the mitzvos to give Hashem TWO kinds of nachas!
1) Our mitzvos make Hashem happy like a king whose son just came out of jail. Our neshama is in Golus in the Gashmius of the world, and when we daven and learn Torah and do mitzvos, our neshama is coming back to Hashem!
2) Hashem also has nachas that now He has a Dira BeTachtonim, a comfortable place in the world because of the mitzvos we did. Now we’re bringing the Geulah in the world!
Even if we aren’t thinking these kavanos while we’re doing the mitzvos, Hashem will connect our mitzvos to the time we thought about it. It is counted as a kind of Ahavas Hashem. That way our mitzvos will have wings to fly up to Hashem!
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Today is fifteen days of the Omer! It is also Rosh Chodesh.
Here are some kinds of farbrengens that should be in Shul:
- The “Shalosh Seudos” farbrengen
- the Shabbos Mevorchim farbrengen
- the Yom Tov farbrengens (like Rosh Chodesh and Chassidishe Yomim Tovim)
Melaveh Malka farbrengens should be in people’s houses.
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #179) is for a Beis Din. When witnesses come and tell the judges about something they saw or heard, they are not allowed to believe them right away and make a decision. They need to ask many questions to make sure they understand what the witnesses are saying before they pasken the din. If they would just pasken right away, they might end up punishing someone who wasn’t guilty!
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: וְדָרַשְׁתָּ וְחָקַרְתָּ וְשָׁאַלְתָּ הֵיטֵב וְהִנֵּה אֱמֶת נָכוֹן הַדָּבָר
The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn about the questions we ask witnesses.
In Perek Beis, we learn what happens if the eidim contradict each other in any of the questions. If one person says “he was wearing black clothes!” and the other person says “he was wearing white clothes!”, we don’t listen to what those witnesses say.
In Perek Gimmel, the Rambam tells us that the Chachomim were not as strict with court cases about money. That’s because if we ask too many questions, there is a very good chance that the witnesses will get confused, and very few cases will be won by people who lend money! If people see how hard it is to get their money back in Beis Din, they will stop lending money. That’s why the Beis Din was not as strict, so more people will help each other by lending money.
Perek Daled teaches us more halachos about not being strict with the witnesses in a money case. For example, if the witnesses saw what happened from different places (like different sides of the street) and didn’t see each other, we still count them as good witnesses. Why? So the special mitzvah of Gemilus Chasadim (which includes lending money to others) will be easier to keep, and Yidden will have the money they need.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more about Tumah and Tahara.
First the Rambam explains how food that is Kodesh (like meat from korbanos) is much stricter with its halachos of Tumah and Tahara than Terumah is. There are eleven ways that kodesh is more strict than Terumah.
Only one of these has a hint to it from the Torah, and it is found in the pesukim of the Nasi that we say in Chodesh Nisan!
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This week, in Sefiras Haomer, we are working on the midah of Tiferes.
What is Tiferes?
One of the ways we show Tiferes when we deal with other people is by showing Rachmanus to another person.
Chesed is giving. Sometimes we need to have Chesed — like we learn from Avraham Avinu. One time we need just chesed if we have a guest. We have to give them food and comfortable things, not think about if they deserve it!
Gevurah is the opposite of Chesed. It is holding back and being strict. Sometimes we need to have Gevurah — which was a midah of Yitzchak Avinu, like how a parent or teacher might have to hold back and not give a child what they want, if it isn’t good for them.
But there are other times when we need to have Tiferes, like Yaakov Avinu. Tiferes lets us have part Chesed, and part Gevurah.
We think about what the person needs, and what the person deserves, with Gevurah. But we might decide to give them something even if they DON’T deserve it — to have rachmanus on them. This is Tiferes.
Let’s say you are upset at your brother for taking something that belongs to you. You know that it’s not okay to take things without asking. At first you think you should tell him not to use your things again! But in the end, you have Rachmanus and let him use them.
You understand that your brother also has a Yetzer Hara, just like you do. You understand that this was a hard nisayon, and probably next time he will do better. You decide not to be so strict with him. That’s Tiferes.
When we use our Tiferes and Rachmonus with another Yid, it makes Hashem act that way to us too! Hashem will also have Tiferes and Rachmonus on us and judge us for the good.
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Many times, the Rebbe spoke about a song that mothers used to sing to their little children. Part of the song is the words, “Torah iz di beste s’chora,” Torah is the best merchandise — the best thing you can get.
When adults go out to work, they look for things to buy and sell. They might want to have a lot of money, a big house, or a fancy car. But really, the BEST thing to have is Torah!
We all got a very special yerusha, something passed down for us to keep. It isn’t money, it isn’t land — it is something much, much better! We have the best s’chora in the world, the Torah for us to learn and keep!
When we say the first posuk of the Twelve Pesukim, Torah Tziva, we can think about this!
Torah Tziva Lanu Moshe — the Torah that Moshe Rabbeinu gave us, is Morasha Kehilas Yaakov — it is a yerusha for each and every Yid. And our yerusha, Torah, is the very best yerusha there could be!
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It is brought in seforim that the name of this month, Iyar, stands for the words “Ani Hashem Rofecha” — “I am Hashem Who heals you.” This is a month that is a special time for refuah directly from Hashem!
The Rebbe wrote an answer to a woman who had a health issue, that we can all learn from:
תְּסַדֵר חַיֶיהָ עַל פִּי שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּךְ (כּוֹלֵל הַפָצַת הַיַהַדוּת בְּסְבִיבָתָה) וְזֶה יוֹסִיף גַם בְּבְּרִיאוּתָה
The Rebbe wrote that she should make sure to follow halacha, including helping others with their Yiddishkeit. This will help her health!
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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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If we look inside the Chumash, we see that we are supposed to come to Hashem’s home three times a year, on Pesach, Shavuos, and Sukkos. But when Moshiach comes, we will come to the Beis Hamikdash much more often!
וְהָיָה מִדֵּי חֹדֶשׁ בְּחָדְשׁוֹ וּמִדֵּי שַׁבָּת בְּשַׁבַּתּוֹ יָבוֹא כָל בָּשָֹר לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֹת לְפָנַי אָמַר ה׳
Vehaya Midei Chodesh Bechadsho — It will be that every Rosh Chodesh
Umidei Shabbos BeShabbato — and every Shabbos
Yavo Chol Basar Lehishtachavos Lefanai — every person will come to bow to Hashem, in the Beis Hamikdash
Amar Hashem — so says Hashem.
See Yeshayahu 66:23
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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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