|
|
CHUMASH
Parshas Chukas - Chamishi with Rashi
|
|
Today we learn about four important things that happened to the Yidden in the Midbar: Aharon passes away, Amalek attacks the Yidden, the Yidden complain about the mohn and Hashem sends poisonous snakes, and Hashem tells Moshe to put up a snake on a pole to help the Yidden to do teshuvah and be saved.
Aharon passes away: The Yidden continued going through the Midbar. They came to a mountain called Hor HaHar (that means “The Mountain of the Mountain” — because it looked like a small mountain on top of a big mountain).
Now Aharon will pass away.
Hashem told Moshe that he should speak to Aharon to make him feel better, reminding him that he will see his son Elazar take over as Kohen Gadol before he passes away. This is something that even Moshe Rabbeinu himself did not have with his son.
Hashem told Moshe to bring Aharon and Elazar into a cave in the mountain. There will be a bed with a candle inside. Moshe should help Aharon take off the special clothes of the Kohen Gadol and dress Elazar in them. Then Aharon will lay down on the bed, and close his eyes, and Hashem will take back his neshama with a “kiss.” (Misas Neshikin — only certain tzadikim pass away like this.)
Even though it was hard for him, Moshe did what Hashem said, and Aharon passed away. Then Moshe and Elazar came down from the mountain. The Yidden were very sad, and cried for a whole month. They missed Aharon, who used to make shalom between people, especially bringing Shalom Bayis.
Amalek decides to attack: The clouds that were around the Yidden were in Aharon’s zechus, and Hashem took some of them, the Ananei HaKavod, away when Aharon passed away. The clouds that Hashem took away weren’t the ones that protected the Yidden, but they were there for kavod for the Yidden.
When Amalek saw that the clouds went away, they thought that Hashem would let them fight against the Yidden. They decided to pretend they were from Canaan, so the Yidden wouldn’t be able to daven to Hashem against them — they would be davening for the wrong thing.
Amalek attacked the Yidden, and captured one person (who was really only an Amaleki the Yidden had captured last time).
The Yidden davened to Hashem to save them. They didn’t ask Hashem to save them from the Canaanim, so Amalek’s trick didn’t work! Hashem helped, and the Yidden won. They gave all of the money they got to Hashem.
The Yidden complain about the Mohn: The Yidden were so scared from the war with Amalek, and that Aharon passed away, that they tried to run back to Mitzrayim.
The Leviim chased them and fought with them until they agreed to go back to Eretz Yisroel. But they complained about Hashem and about Moshe. They said that they didn’t like the mohn.
The copper snake of teshuvah: Hashem punished the Yidden for their Lashon Hara about the mohn by sending poisonous snakes. (The reason why Hashem sent snakes was because the snake by the Cheit Eitz HaDaas said Lashon Hara.) The Yidden realized they needed to do teshuvah, and asked Moshe to ask Hashem to stop the snakes.
Hashem told Moshe to make a fake snake and put it on a pole. When the Yidden look at it, they won’t die from the snakebites. When they look up they will think about Hashem, and also they will remember why Hashem was punishing them.
Moshe made this snake out of copper, because the word copper (nechoshes) is like the word snake (nachash)! And just like Hashem promised, if a Yid was bitten by a snake, he looked at the copper snake and Hashem forgave him and didn’t let him die.
|
|
|
|
Today’s shiur Tehillim is kapitelach Mem-Daled to Mem-Ches.
Before Kapitel Mem-Ches (like for most kapitelach) there are a few words that tell us what the kapitel is about. The introduction to this kapitel tells us that the kapitel is about when Moshiach will come! It is about how beautiful Yerushalayim will be, and how we will bring the korbanos and see all of the things the Neviim told us will happen when Moshiach comes.
|
|
|
TANYA
Shaar Hayichud Veha'emunah Perek Yud-Alef
|
|
The creation of the world is through the letters in the Asara Maamaros, and these letters are one with Hashem.
Hashem gives us the holiest language, Lashon Hakodesh. Hashem gave us 22 letters to say all the words in this holy language. Each of them have a special way they sound when we say them, and a way they look when we write them. They help us say what we think or feel in our sechel and midos.
Hashem also uses these special letters to show His sechel and midos, and to make the world! The different ways the letters look and sound shows us how each thing Hashem made is in a different way.
Even though the letters of Hashem are lower than the rest of the Sefiros, they are still higher than anything that was created, because everything is created FROM them. They are even higher than the sechel of Adam Harishon, whose neshama had the neshamos of all of the tzadikim in it — which are even higher than all of the malochim!
Even something so high was created through these letters of Hashem, so we understand that they must be higher than them, a very high level which is meyuchad and one with Hashem.
|
|
|
|
The main love Hashem had for Avraham Avinu was because he brought Yidden closer to Hashem!
Avraham Avinu, the first of the Avos, was very special to Hashem. Hashem made all of the Yidden come from him!
Hashem gave Avraham ten very hard tests to show how much he is connected to Hashem.
Some of these tests were being thrown into the fiery pit of Nimrod for breaking his father’s Avodah Zarah, traveling far away without even knowing where he was going because Hashem said so, and finally the biggest test — to bring Yitzchak as a korban by the Akeidah. Avraham passed them all!
But guess what? That WASN’T the main reason Hashem loved him so much!
So why DID Hashem love Avraham so much?
Because he taught his children and other people around him to come close to Hashem and do what Hashem wants. Teaching and helping other people is the MOST special thing for Hashem!
|
|
|
SEFER HAMITZVOS
Shiur #50 - Mitzvas Asei #165, Lo Saasei #329, Asei #164, Lo Saasei #196
|
|
Today we learn FOUR mitzvos about Yom Kippur!
1) (Mitzvas Asei #165) We need to rest from doing melacha on Yom Kippur.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן הִיא לָכֶם
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #329) We are not allowed to work on Yom Kippur. The dinim of this mitzvah are explained in Mesechta Beitzah, Megillah, and other places.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Emor: וְכָל מְלָאכָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ
3) (Mitzvas Asei #164) We need to do things that aren’t comfortable for our body on Yom Kippur — the inuyim (no eating or drinking, no baths, no shmearing creams, no leather shoes, and married people have to act differently).
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: תְּעַנּוּ אֶת נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם
4) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #196) We are not allowed to eat on Yom Kippur. The dinim of this mitzvah are explained in the end of Mesechta Yoma.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Emor: כִּי כָל הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר לֹא תְעֻנֶּה וְגוֹ׳ וְנִכְרְתָה
|
|
|
|
In today’s Rambam, we learn all three perakim of “Shevisas Asor” — resting on the tenth day of Tishrei, which is Yom Kippur!
One thing the Rambam says is that a kid that isn’t nine years old yet shouldn’t fast on Yom Kippur because it might bring to a sakana. After turning nine, kids can practice by fasting for an hour longer than they are used to waiting before they eat.
Even kids shouldn’t wear leather shoes on Yom Kippur, even though they are allowed to eat and drink.
|
|
|
|
This perek explains the halachos of a person’s responsibility for making sure his animal doesn’t do any damage. Sometimes we say that the person should have been more careful, so it is his responsibility to pay for any damage that the animal did.
For example, if a person didn’t make sure the fence was strong, he needs to pay for anything his animal broke if it escaped. Another example is if a person left his animal outside in the sun. Then he is also responsible, even if the fence was VERY strong, because the animal wasn’t comfortable, so it tried extra hard to escape.
|
|
|
|
In today’s Chumash, Chamishi of Parshas Chukas, we learn about the passing of Aharon Hakohen. After Aharon Hakohen’s histalkus, the Ananei Hakavod were taken away from the Yidden.
There were three special nissim that came along with the Yidden in the Midbar, in the zechus of Moshe, Aharon and Miriam:
1) Mahn fell in the zechus of Moshe
2) The Yidden had water in the zechus of Miriam (Be’eira Shel Miriam)
3) The Ananei Hakavod were in the zechus of Aharon
The Rebbe explains why it was davka the Ananei Hakavod that came in Aharon’s zechus:
We learned in the Chumash that all of the Yidden mourned for Aharon, because he brought Shalom and Achdus to the Yidden.
The Ananei Hakavod were clouds that surrounded the Yidden for kavod. Even though the mahn and the water came to each Yid separately, the clouds were around all of the Yidden together! This also shows the idea of Shalom and Achdus.
That’s why Hashem made the Ananei Hakavod come in Aharon’s zechus, because Aharon’s inyan was bringing Shalom and Achdus to the Yidden. These clouds also brought kavod to all of the Yidden together, uniting all of the Yidden as one.
See Hamaor ShebaTorah Bamidbar p. 330, sichos cited there
|
|
|
▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼
|
|
|
|
In Kriyas Shema She’al Hamitah, in the section of Tachanun, there are a group of four paragraphs, known as “Kabolas Daled Misos.” They start with the words “Yehi Ratzon.”
This tefillah is from the Ramban and the Zohar. It talks about four aveiros that may have been done during the day: Kriyas Shema, Tefillin, Tzitzis, and Tefillah. According to Kabbalah, if someone does one of these aveiros, it takes away some of the chayus that comes through the letters of Hashem’s name into the world.
In halacha a person is not Chayav Misa for not keeping these mitzvos properly. But in Kabbalah, because the person took away some of Hashem’s chayus in the world, it also takes away some of the person’s chayus in Ruchnius.
That’s why in this paragraph, we say that we are ready to accept our punishment if we deserve it, so we can fix the name of Hashem. We say that we are ready to accept the Misas Beis Din to fix up what we did through our aveira.
In Igeres HaTeshuvah, we will see that by saying these words themselves, we are actually fixing the problem with the chayus that comes through the name of Hashem!
|
|
|
|
The paragraphs of Kabolas Daled Misos talk about specific aveiros that a person might do, which would take away some of the chayus of Hashem in the world. But most of these aveiros are only for a man — women don’t put on Tefillin or Tzitzis, for example! So is there a reason to say these paragraphs?
There are two opinions:
1) Skip these paragraphs! Since a woman does not have these mitzvos, these paragraphs are not important for her to say, and she should skip them.
2) Say part of them! When we say the paragraph Ribon Ha’olamim, we skip the part that speaks about Tikun Chatzos, since we don’t say Tikun Chatzos. But we still say the rest of the paragraph! The same way, women should say the paragraph about tefillah which they do have a chiyuv in, and skip the paragraphs about the mitzvos of Kriyas Shema, Tefillin, and Tzitzis, which they don’t need to do.
|
|
לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק ע״ה בן ר׳ אפרים שי׳ מאסקאוויץ
שליח כ"ק אדמו"ר נשיא דורנו למדינת אילינוי
|
|
|
|
The Navi Yirmiyah lived in the times of the first Beis Hamikdash. He saw that the Yidden were not behaving the way they should, and Hashem sent him many nevuos to warn the Yidden to do teshuvah. Most of these nevuos are very sad ones about the Churban.
Still, there are some very famous happy nevuos, about the time of Moshiach! Yesterday, we learned a posuk about how the Goyim will talk about Hashem gathering together the Yidden! Here is the next posuk, which explains why this will happen:
כִּי פָדָה ה׳ אֶת יַעֲקֹב וּגְאָלוֹ מִיַּד חָזָק מִמֶּנּוּ
Ki Fadah Hashem Es Yaakov — Because Hashem has freed the Yidden from Golus
U’Ge’alo Miyad Chazak Mimenu — And saved them from the hands of those who are stronger than them!
This posuk is also part of davening! Do you know where?
See Yirmiyah perek Lamed-Alef posuk Yud-Alef
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
