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CHUMASH
Parshas Bechukosai - Rishon with Rashi
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Hashem promises that if we learn Torah and then follow the mitzvos it teaches us, He will give us many brachos!
Hashem will make rain fall for our fields during times when the rain won’t bother anyone, at night when people don’t usually need to be outside. Hashem will even make the rain fall just on days when everyone is home, like late Friday night!
Even though this isn’t a lot of rain, Hashem will make the fields grow plenty of food! We will feel satisfied from even eating a little bit, so we can store away a lot of food and not be worried in case next season is not as good for growing things.
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In kapitel Kuf-Daled (104), there is a posuk “Moh Rabu Maasecha Hashem!” How great are the works of Hashem!
There are many maamorim in Chassidus that explain this posuk. There is a maamar from the Rebbe Rashab that starts with this posuk and explains it — and there is a story behind it!
Once the Rebbe Rashab was learning with the Poltaver Rav, R’ Yaakov Mordechai Bezpalov. The Friediker Rebbe was 3 or 4 years old, and his bed was in the room where they were learning.
R’ Yaakov Mordechai looked over at the sleeping boy, and said that his shining face showed the kedusha that he had!
When the Rebbe Rashab heard that comment, he felt that he wanted to kiss his son. But he stopped himself, and instead wrote a maamar called Moh Rabu Maasecha Hashem. When the Friediker Rebbe got older, the Rebbe Rashab gave him the maamar, and told him, “this is a Chassidishe kush!” Years later, he told him the story.
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Mem-Tes
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When we say the brachos before Shema, we are talking about how much Hashem loves us. Thinking about that will make us want to love Hashem back! Then we will want to SHOW our love by connecting to Hashem by learning His Torah.
Today the Alter Rebbe reminds us that this isn’t enough to show how we love Hashem back.
We need to SAY the words of Torah and davening, and DO the mitzvos, because Hashem wants us to do mitzvos in this world, using the Gashmius of the world for kedusha.
Because why did Hashem do all of the Tzimtzum? So that we will be able to see Hashem in this world! This will make it light instead of dark, and “sweet” with Kedusha instead of “bitter” from Kelipah!
And that’s our job! To bring down Hashem’s light into the world through our Torah and mitzvos. We can only do this right if we love Hashem so much we’re ready to do ANYTHING for Him.
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Today is thirty-six days of the Omer!
Where are you?
You may be at home, in the car, in school, or at the playground.
Why are you there?
Because Hashem sent you there with His Hashgacha Protis, to accomplish something there!
Today’s Hayom Yom teaches us something that we need to remember, wherever we are:
If Hashem sent us there, it means we CAN do the job He gave us to do there. But it’s up to us! We need to do our avodah, and then we will make it happen.
The Rebbe once said this to the Shluchim: Before a shliach goes to a place, Hashem sets up that all of the things he will need to have hatzlacha will all be there. All the shliach needs to do is go there, and the people to help him and give money for his programs will all be there — the shliach just needs to do his job to make it happen, and he will see all of the brachos!
The same is true for the shlichus we ALL have: The brachos are all there to make us have hatzlacha, we just need to use the kochos Hashem gives us and we will see that it will happen!
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In today’s Sefer Hamitzvos, we learn the last few rules about what we count as one of the 613 mitzvos:
10) Things you need to do before you can do the mitzvah aren’t counted as separate mitzvos (like squeezing the olive oil for the menorah).
11) If a mitzvah has a lot of parts, we still count it as only one mitzvah (like lulav and esrog).
12) If doing the mitzvah has a lot of steps, we still count it as only one mitzvah (like building the Mishkan).
13) Even if we need to do the mitzvah for many days, it is still counted as one mitzvah (like sitting in the sukkah for seven days is only one mitzvah).
14) We don’t count the punishment for each aveira as its own mitzvah.
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In today’s Rambam, the Rambam tells us the list of mitzvos again, but shows us where we’ll learn them in the 14 books of the Rambam. These 14 seforim include 83 sections that teach us different sets of halachos.
Here are the seforim:
1) Mada — “to know.” In this sefer we learn the mitzvos that are important for a Yid to know FIRST, so he will do all of the other mitzvos.We need to know that Hashem is one, and that we can’t serve Avodah Zarah.
2) Ahava — “love.” This sefer has the mitzvos we need to do all of the time, like loving Hashem. It also has the mitzvos that help us love Hashem, like saying Shema.
3) Zmanim — “times.” This sefer teaches us mitzvos that we do on special days, like Shabbos and Yom Tov.
4) Nashim — “women.” In this sefer, we learn the mitzvos that have to do with marriage and divorce.
5) Kedusha — “holy.” Hashem gave us certain mitzvos that show us how a Yid is different than other nations. In this sefer, we learn about who we can’t get married to, and what we can’t eat. For a Yid, getting married is holy, and we can only marry who the Torah says we can. A goy can eat any food that he wants, but a Yid can only eat kosher.
6) Hafla’ah — “separation.” This sefer has the mitzvos about when a person separates HIMSELF from something, by making a promise that he won’t use it.
7) Zera’im — “plants.” In this sefer we learn the mitzvos that have to do with planting, like Shemitah and Yovel, and the terumah and maaser we have to give from things that grow.
8) Avodah — “work.” In this sefer of the Rambam, we learn about the work we do for Hashem in the Beis Hamikdash. We learn the mitzvos of building the Beis Hamikdash, and the korbanos that ALL of the Yidden bring to Hashem, like the Korban Tomid that we bring every day!
9) Korbanos — “sacrifices.” This sefer has the mitzvos about the korbanos Yidden have to bring by themselves, like the Korban Pesach that every Yid has to be part of, and the korbanos a person brings if he does an aveira.
10) Tahara — “purity.” In this sefer, the Rambam will teach us all of the mitzvos that have to do with tumah and tahara.
11) Nezikin — “damages.” In this sefer we have all of the mitzvos about if one person hurts another person or ruins his things.
12) Kinyan — “acquiring.” In this sefer we learn how property can belong to a person, like if he buys it. It also has the halachos about neighbors and partners.
13) Mishpatim — “judgments.” This sefer has the mitzvos about when two people argue about something in Beis Din, like halachos about a person who watches something for his friend, or lends him money.
14) Shoftim — “judges.” In this sefer we learn the mitzvos for a Sanhedrin, like when a person is punished for doing an aveira. We also learn about a king, and the wars he fights — ending off with the halachos about Moshiach!
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more about how food and drinks can become tomei. They can only become tomei if they got wet on purpose with one of seven liquids.
We learn many different cases to see when water is counted as having gotten something wet on purpose.
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This week in Sefiras Haomer, we are working on our midah of Yesod. Chassidus teaches that Yesod is Hiskashrus.
What is hiskashrus?
In the town of Premishlan, there lived a Tzadik called R’ Meir of Premishlan. Premishlan was a town that wasn’t right by the river, but just over the mountain there was a special spring that they used for a Mikvah every day.
During the summer, it didn’t take too long to get to the mikvah. The men would go on the road right over the mountain. But in the winter, it took much, much longer! The road was just too slippery in the snow and ice! The men would need to walk on a long road that went around the mountain so they could use the mikvah before davening.
Only one person walked quickly over the mountain: R’ Meir of Premishlan. He never slipped and fell, no matter how windy or icy or snowy it was!
The Yidden in Premishlan were very proud of their Rebbe, and used to tell people how lucky they were to have such a special Rebbe who could do such special nissim.
One day, two young men came to Premishlan. They were a bit chutzpadik, and didn’t believe that what R’ Meir did was so special. “We can also go on the mountain road, just watch!” they said.
The two young men started climbing up the icy mountain. But they didn’t get too far before they slipped and fell down! People came to help them, and they had to rest in bed for a few days because of all of their cuts and bruises.
When they felt better, they went to R’ Meir of Premishlan to say sorry for not treating him with the right kavod. They asked, though, how DID he manage to go up the mountain without falling?
R’ Meir answered: “Ven men iz tzugebunden fun oiben, falt men nisht unten. When we are connected above — when we are connected to Hashem, we don’t fall down here.”
That is one of the meanings of the midah of Yesod, that we are working on this week — to make sure that our connection to Hashem through Yiddishkeit and Torah and mitzvos is very strong!
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What do you do in your free time?
At a rally, the Rebbe spoke to kids about what we do when we have extra time.
As Jewish kids, we have a different way of doing things! We don’t just look at what everyone else does, we look at what the Torah says we should do.
And what does the Torah say?
Veshinantam Levanecha Vedibarta Bam — Parents and teachers have a responsibility to teach and discuss Torah with their children and their students!
Beshivtecha Beveisecha — When you are sitting in your house, after school or shul, that is also a time for Torah!
Uvelechtecha Vaderech — When you are on your way somewhere, whether you are driving to school or to Bubby’s house, that is a time for Torah too!
Uveshachbecha Uvekumecha — At bedtime and in the morning are also times for Torah!
After school, we are not finished learning! We can find a book, or a game, or a contest that will give us the chance to learn more.
When we are in the car, we can ask our parents to listen to Torah stories or shiurim!
Before we go to sleep, we can make sure we are learning something too! We can review the Tanya or Mishnayos we know by heart, or learn Sefer Hamitzvos.
In the morning, we can start off our day with Chitas or another shiur.
That way, we can be sure that we will be learning Torah in a way of Veshinantam — all the time!
See sicha Yud-Beis Adar Tof-Shin-Mem-Beis
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One very important thing about Yiddishkeit is that Torah doesn’t only teach us about our davening and mitzvos, but about EVERY part of our lives! There are halachos that show us the Torah way to get dressed, eat, and do business.
Some of the halachos about eating are in part of Shulchan Aruch called “Hilchos Derech Eretz B’Seudah” — the halachos about how to behave when we eat.
Unfortunately, we don’t have the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch to see how the Alter Rebbe explained these things, but we do have the regular Shulchan Aruch. Let’s learn some of those halachos!
The Shulchan Aruch teaches that we are not allowed to watch another person eat. We shouldn’t look at him or at his plate to see what and how much he is eating.
The Aruch Hashulchan explains that this means when it might make the person embarrassed to have other people watching. For example, a guest might be embarrassed if people watch him eat, in case they think he is eating too much of their food.
So the halacha is that we shouldn’t look at anyone else’s food or at them while they are eating if they might be embarrassed.
Shulchan Aruch siman Kuf-Ayin se’if Daled
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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 tremendous nisim of the Geulah will make us want to praise Hashem! The Navi Yeshaya told his generation about this:
וַאֲמַרְתֶּם בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא הוֹדוּ לַה׳ קִרְאוּ בִשְׁמוֹ הוֹדִיעוּ בָעַמִּים עֲלִילֹתָיו הַזְכִּירוּ כִּי נִשְׂגָּב שְׁמוֹ
Va’amartem Bayom Hahu — And you will say on that day:
Hodu LaHashem — “Thank Hashem!
Kiru Vishmo — Call out Hashem’s name to praise Him!
Hodiu Vo’amim Alilosav — Let all the nations know what Hashem has done!
Hazkiru Ki Nisgav Shemo — Make sure everyone remembers to praise Hashem’s name, which is so holy!”
This posuk brings comfort to the Yidden and reminds us that the Geulah is coming! It is one of the pesukim we say in Veyitein Lecha, the bracha we give each other at the beginning of the new week, on Motzei Shabbos!
See Yeshaya perek Yud-Beis, posuk daled
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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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