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CHUMASH

Parshas Eikev - Shvi'i with Rashi

Moshe is still talking to the Yidden, begging them to listen to Hashem so they can have all the brachos!

“If you keep all the mitzvos, and stay close to Hashem (by learning from the Chachomim and Tzadikim), Hashem will send away all of the Goyim from Eretz Yisroel! The WHOLE land will belong to the Yidden!

“Nobody will try to make problems for the Yidden, because Hashem will make them scared of you!”

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TEHILLIM

108 - 112

Today’s shiur Tehillim is kapitelach Kuf-Ches to Kuf-Yud-Beis.

In Kapitel Kuf-Yud-Alef, the pesukim have every letter of the Alef-Beis! The first half of the posuk has one letter, and the second half has the next letter. (The last two pesukim have 3 parts, with 3 letters.)

Dovid Hamelech says: “Koach Maasav Higid Le’Amo, Lases Lahem Nachalas Goyim.” (Do you see how the first part of the posuk starts with Chof, and the second half starts with Lamed?) “Hashem told Yidden the great things He did, so He could give them a land that the Goyim lived in.”

What does this mean?

The first Rashi in Chumash tells us that Hashem made the Torah start with — not mitzvos — but the story of how Hashem made the world. This way, if the Goyim get mad that we took Eretz Yisroel, we will tell them that HASHEM made Eretz Yisroel, and Hashem let the Goyim live there, but then He wanted the Yidden to have it, and so He gave it to us!

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TANYA

Igeres Hakodesh Siman Zayin

“Ashreinu Mah Tov Chelkeinu!” This letter of the Alter Rebbe starts off with those words. It teaches us something very important about having chayus in our mitzvos!

There are two parts of Torah, Niglah and Nistar.

Niglah is the part of Torah that teaches us the mitzvos we need to do, which is mainly what our Guf (body) needs to do.

Nistar helps us learn about Hashem who gave us the Torah, and how we need to serve Hashem with our Neshama. First that was called Kabbalah, and only special people learned it. Then parts of it were called Chassidus, which is for EVERYONE to learn!

Besides for teaching Kabbalah to all of the Yidden, Chassidus answered some very hard questions that even people who knew Kabbalah had before!

One question is how Hashem can be so great that everything is like NOTHING next to Hashem, but at the same time, Hashem is EVERYTHING, and everything is Hashem!

The Alter Rebbe was the first to explain how it can be. He explained that it is called “Ohr Ein Sof,” with a mashal of the sun. (The Rebbe Rashab tells us how special this explanation is, and how it makes many confusing things in Kabbalah make sense!)

The Alter Rebbe uses Ohr Ein Sof in many places to explain lots of parts of Torah!

In this letter, the Alter Rebbe will explain how it gives us a chayus to keep the mitzvos!

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HAYOM YOM

Chof-Gimmel Menachem Av

Today we are going to learn something about how special our neshama is!

The Alter Rebbe teaches us in Tanya that our neshama is a “Chelek Eloka Mimaal Mamosh!” — “A part of Hashem from above — Mamosh!”

What does “mamosh” mean?

It means FOR REAL! Like you can touch it!

But that seems like two opposites! We said it’s from Hashem above, so it’s very Ruchnius’dik, and we’re also saying that it’s Mamosh — it’s like Gashmius!

When the Rebbe Rashab learned this with the Frierdiker Rebbe (when he was 11), he explained that the reason why he says both of these things is because that this is the whole point of the neshama! Even though it’s SO Ruchnius’dik, it’s still able to do its Shlichus and make the Gashmius holy!

Some people think that being a Yid is using the neshama just for learning and davening. But Chassidus teaches us how the neshama of a Yid needs to and is able to serve Hashem with EVERYTHING we do — even eating and drinking and playing!

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SEFER HAMITZVOS

Shiur #94 - Mitzvas Lo Saasei #353, Asei #149

Today we learn one last mitzvah about keeping marriage holy, and then we learn a mitzvah from the next part of Rambam — keeping kosher!

1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #353) A person should be careful not to do things that might make him want to marry someone he’s not allowed to get married to.

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: אִישׁ אִישׁ אֶל כָּל שְׁאֵר בְּשָׂרוֹ לֹא תִקְרְבוּ לְגַלּוֹת עֶרְוָה

The details are explained in Mesechta Yevamos perek Daled.

2) (Mitzvas Asei #149) It is a mitzvah to check animals before we eat them, to make sure they are kosher kinds of animals.

We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Shemini: זֹאת הַחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר תֹּאכְלוּ וְגוֹ׳

The details are explained in Mesechta Bechoros and Mesechta Chulin.

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RAMBAM

Hilchos Isurei Biah - Maachalos Asuros

Today’s Rambam are the last two perakim of Isurei Biah, Perek Chof-Alef and Chof-Beis, and the first perek of Maachalos Asuros.

In today’s first two perakim, we finish the halachos about keeping marriages holy.

In Yiddishkeit, getting married and having children is a very holy, very special thing. Chassidus teaches that a married man and woman are a reflection of two special kinds of chayus of Hashem in this Gashmius world!

Since it is so HOLY, the Yetzer Hara tries very hard to stop us from getting married in a way of Kedusha. All of the mitzvos and halachos we are learning aren’t always easy to keep, but they make sure that our marriage is only in the way Hashem wants.

If you’re young, you might not understand why it’s so hard to keep these mitzvos. That’s because Hashem doesn’t give a person this Yetzer Hara until the body is more mature — usually at least 8 or 9, and often only around Bar or Bas Mitzvah.

One of the things the Rambam teaches us is that when a person reaches marriageable age, parents have a responsibility to help their children get married right away. This way, the Yetzer Hara won’t bother them so much.

In Perek Chof-Beis, the Rambam speaks about the halachos of Yichud, which are important for everyone to know. Yichud means that a man and woman who are not married should not be alone together in a private place. The Chachomim made these halachos to keep aveiros from happening.

We also start to learn a new set of halachos — about keeping ourselves holy, through only eating kosher! The food that we eat is very important, because it becomes part of us.

In today’s Rambam we learn about kosher and non-kosher animals and birds. Do you know what signs a kosher animal has to have?

- it chews its cud (swallows its food, but then goes back and chews it again and again)

- it has split hooves (hard feet that are split in half)

The Torah tells us the names of 24 birds that are not kosher, all other kinds of birds are kosher. But if you don’t know all of these birds and what they look like, you can only eat a kind of bird that you KNOW is kosher.

The Rambam also gives us signs to know what’s a kosher or a non-kosher bird. One way to know that a bird is NOT kosher is if it attacks other birds or animals with its claws and eats them. Can you think why that kind of bird is not kosher?

We also learn the signs of kosher locusts, and kosher fish. (Do you know what signs a kosher fish has?)

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RAMBAM PEREK ECHOD

Hilchos Chovel U'Mazik - Perek Zayin

In this perek we learn about kinds of damage that you can’t see — like making something tomei, where it doesn’t look different. We also learn about doing something that makes something get damaged, like moving a pillow away when a glass is falling, and when someone isn’t sure how much damage he did.

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INYANA D'YOMA

Shtus D'Kedusha

The Rebbe told a story about his father, R’ Levi Yitzchak (whose yartzeit was on Chof Av):

It was getting closer to Pesach. In Yekatrinoslav, one of the biggest cities in Ukraine, the government officials knew that soon the Yidden would be looking for matzah.

Back then, the Russian government owned EVERYTHING. Nobody could have their own store, or their own factory, or their own Matzah Bakery. The government would need to arrange for matzah to be baked. Since Yidden would only buy matzah with a hechsher, the government decided to ask R’ Levi Yitzchak (the Rav in Yekatrinoslav) to say that it was kosher.

R’ Levi Yitzchak agreed — but when he explained how they would need to make the matzah Shmurah, they didn’t want to follow all of the rules. It would cost the government more money and be complicated to make the matzah properly! They wanted R’ Levi Yitzchak to give a hechsher even without doing it right. They tried to convince R’ Levi Yitzchak to agree.

The Russian government in that time would give people very big punishments, even for little things. (This actually happened to R’ Levi Yitzchak later in his life, and he passed away early because of it.) Everyone had to listen to exactly what they said — or else!

Even though the Russian government was so powerful and so scary, R’ Levi Yitzchak didn’t think about what would happen. He knew that it wasn’t right to give a hechsher to matzah that wasn’t made exactly the way halacha teaches. He told the government that he did NOT agree!

Really, that would have been enough for R’ Levi Yitzchak to deserve a huge punishment! How dare he tell the government that he won’t do what they told him to!

But instead of punishing him, they said that they can’t follow all of his rules unless they get permission from the higher officials in Moscow. They sent him there to ask himself.

R’ Levi Yitzchak traveled to Moscow, and told the government officials there firmly what he needs to give a hechsher. Amazingly, they agreed to what he said! They wrote an order that all of the mills where they grind the flour for matzah have to follow the rules that Rabbi Schneerson gives — even if it ends up being more expensive for them!

What R’ Levi Yitzchak did sounds CRAZY! How could he think of not listening to the big scary Russian government?

It WAS crazy — but a good kind of crazy. In Chassidus this is called Shtus D’Kedusha. We can learn from here that we should do what we know the Torah wants us to, and not be scared of what might happen! We can be strong even if it sounds meshugah, because we know we are doing the right thing!

For example, if Mommy asked us if we washed negel vasser in the morning but we forgot, we know we need to tell the truth. We don’t think about what’s going to happen — how we will have to stop eating and go wash negel vasser and Mommy might be upset. We just do what we need to do!

Or, for example, a Tatty who needs to learn Torah and go to a shiur, but is scared that if he goes, he might miss a chance to earn a lot of money. He needs to do what the Torah tells him to, and not worry what could happen!

Or a Mommy who was asked by someone to do a favor, and she does it — not thinking about how she might miss a chance to go shopping and get the things she really wanted to.

It might seem crazy to not do something that’s fun or good for you, but if you’re doing what Hashem wants you to, that’s a GOOD kind of crazy! That’s Shtus D’Kedusha, which comes from a very deep part of the neshama. Acting in this way brings us special brachos from Hashem!

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TEFILLAH

Ana B'Koach

Another reason why we say Ana B’koach here in davening is to ask Hashem for Moshiach!

After we spoke about all of the daily korbanos in the Beis Hamikdash, we want Hashem to know that we miss the Beis Hamikdash, where we can do the avodah the way it should be done.

In the words of Ana B’koach, we are asking Hashem to take us out of Golus and bring us into Geulah!

There is a beautiful translation of this tefillah into Yiddish, which shows how every line is asking Hashem to bring Moshiach! See Hakriyah Vehakedusha, Tamuz Tof-Shin-Alef.

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HALACHOS HATZRICHOS

Kavod for Sefer Torah

One of the ways we show our kavod for the Sefer Torah is to be melaveh, to escort the Sefer Torah.

If the Torah passes by a person (like if he is sitting on the end seat) on its way to the Aron Kodesh, he should join in and go along with it until it reaches the Aron Kodesh. If it didn’t pass by him, a person should still follow it with his eyes, by looking at the Sefer Torah until it reaches where it belongs.

In a very big shul (like 770), a person shouldn’t push to join the line of people going with Sefer Torah. There are so many people there, you will probably end up squishing someone or pushing them. That wouldn’t be kavod for the Sefer Torah at all!

But if someone is in a smaller shul and the Torah passes by him, he should join along with the Torah and bring it to the place it belongs.

See Shulchan Aruch siman 149, and Piskei Teshuvos vol. 2, p. 208

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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GEULAH U'MOSHIACH

Fifteen Neviim About Moshiach

In one of the nevuos of the Navi Hoshea, Hashem says that He bought the Yidden with 15 silver coins.

The Metzudas Dovid explains that this is talking about Hashem’s promise about the Geulah! Hashem sent His promise about Moshiach to the Yidden through fifteen Neviim who clearly speak about the Geulah:

1) Dovid Hamelech (in many kapitelach of Tehillim)
2) Yeshaya
3) Yirmiyah
4) Yechezkel
5) Hosheia
6) Yoel
7) Amos
8) Ovadiah
9) Micha
10) Chavakuk
11) Tzefania
12) Daniel
13) Chagi
14) Zechariah
15) Malachi

See Hosheia perek Gimmel posuk Beis with Metzudas Dovid

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