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CHUMASH
Parshas Shoftim - Shishi with Rashi
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Moshe Rabbeinu is farbrenging with the Yidden more about the mitzvos they will need to be careful with in Eretz Yisroel!
Of course we can NEVER steal, but in Eretz Yisroel there is an extra mitzvah to be careful not to steal someone else’s field by moving over the fence so your field is a little bit bigger.
It is very important to judge people right in Beis Din! That’s why there always have to be TWO witnesses before the Beis Din can punish anyone. (If there is an argument about money, one witness is enough to make the person need to promise using Hashem’s name.)
The Beis Din needs to make sure the witnesses are telling the truth! If a NEW set of witnesses proves that the first witnesses are lying, they are called Eidim Zomemim, and they get the punishment they were trying to make the person get!
When someone hurts another person, the Beis Din needs to make them pay for what they did.
Now Moshe Rabbeinu explains to the Yidden how to fight a war! We need to trust in Hashem when we fight, because it is Hashem who helps us win.
We are not allowed to be afraid when we fight a war Hashem wants us to fight!
The kohen who has the job of encouraging the Yidden is called the “Mashuach Milchama,” that he is anointed for war. He first comes to warn the Yidden not to be afraid, because Hashem fights with us!
Then officers tell everyone to go home if they are afraid of something — like if they just built a house, or planted a new vineyard with grapes, or just got engaged. All these things will make a person worried, because he wants to make sure he gets to use his house, or eat his grapes, or marry his wife, and he might be afraid to be killed in the war!
They also give anyone who is afraid of their aveiros a chance to leave. They are leaving because they are afraid that they don’t deserve for Hashem to save them, but they don’t need to be embarrassed. Everyone will think that they probably built a house or planted a vineyard or got engaged.
Then there are certain soldiers who get a job to make sure nobody runs away, because that will scare everyone else!
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Todya’s kapitelach are Lamed-Hey to Lamed-Ches. The three special kapitelach for Elul are Tes-Zayin, Yud-Zayin, and Yud-Ches.
In today’s Tehillim there is a posuk, “Kol Atzmosai Tomarna,” “all of my bones speak the praises of Hashem.”
The Zohar in Parshas Shoftim explains this posuk when discussing the pesukim in this week’s parsha, which speak about Eidus, saying testimony.
The Zohar says, “Atzmosai Tomarna,” the bones will speak Le’asid Lavo. The bones of a person will say Eidus of what the person did — mitzvos or chas veshalom the opposite.
The Zohar explains that everything we do now, mitzvos or chas veshalom the opposite, become engraved in our bones. At the time of Techiyas Hameisim, the bones will speak, and they will give Eidus about how we live.
There is a recently discovered maamar from the Alter Rebbe, just published for the first time, that starts with the words “Lo Yakum Eid Echod B’Ish,” on the Zohar of Parshas Shoftim. It explains these words of the Zohar according to Chassidus and why it is specifically the BONES of a person that will say this Eidus in the time of Techiyas Hameisim.
See Maamar Lo Yakum Eid Echod B’Ish, Tof-Kuf-Samach-Daled
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Yud-Beis
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In this Igeres Hakodesh, the Alter Rebbe is encouraging Yidden to give tzedakah, even when it is hard!
Every day when we daven and when we bentch, we say “Oseh Shalom Bimromav” — Hashem makes Shalom in Shomayim. Shalom also means bringing two opposite things together. In Shomayim, there are malochim of chesed (like Malach Michoel) and malochim of gevurah (like Malach Gavriel).
Hashem makes shalom with them both! He reminds them that they are not really opposite, they are really the same! They are both malachim of Hashem, and they are both doing exactly what Hashem wants. When they see how they are both the same, they are happy to be together.
When Hashem makes shalom between them, it is like giving Tzedakah — it is helping them in a very special way.
IY”H tomorrow we will learn what this has to do with OUR giving tzedakah!
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The Baal Shem Tov loved light. In today’s Hayom Yom, the Tzemach Tzedek explains why.
The word “light” (Ohr) and the word “secret” (Raz) have the same Gematria (if you add up the letters like numbers). When two words in Torah have the same Gematria, it means there is something the same about them!
What does light have to do with secrets?
When a room is dark, people can’t see what’s happening. So if there are a lot of people in a dark room, nobody will know what is happening! But if even one person knows how to turn on the light, he can make it light so everyone can see!
If people don’t know something that they SHOULD know, because it is still a secret, it is like they are stuck in the dark. But if even one person is able to share the secret with them, then everyone will know what they need to, and won’t be stuck anymore! By telling them about it, it is like bringing them light.
That’s why Ohr (light) and Raz (secret) are the same Gematria — because showing something secret that people should know is just like bringing them light.
The same thing is with Chassidus. Before the Baal Shem Tov came, the Yidden were like people stuck in a dark room — they couldn’t see the truth of what Hashem wants. But the Baal Shem Tov knew the secrets of the Torah, and was able to make it light for everyone!
That’s why the Baal Shem Tov liked light so much — because that was his whole shlichus: To teach the secrets of Torah and bring light to all Yidden!
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In today’s Sefer Hamitzvos, we learn two mitzvos:
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #248) A Yid is not allowed to say that he doesn’t owe money when he really does, or that he doesn’t have something he is watching when he really does. This is an aveira even if he doesn’t make a shevuah about it.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Kedoshim, וְלֹא תְכַחֲשׁוּ
The Gemara discusses the details of this mitzvah in many places in Mesechta Shevuos.
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #249) If a person DOES make a shevuah that he doesn’t owe the money or have the thing he was watching, when he really does, he is also going against another mitzvah: A Yid is not allowed to make a non-true promise in Beis Din to say that he doesn’t owe money when he really does.
We learn this mitzvah from the same posuk in Parshas Kedoshim: וְלֹא תְשַׁקְּרוּ אִישׁ בַּעֲמִיתוֹ
The halachos of this mitzvah are in Perek Hey of Mesechta Shevuos.
There is a different mitzvah for making ANY kind of non-true promise, which we learned about two days ago in Sefer Hamitzvos. But when it is a non-true promise denying that you owe money, then the person gets another aveira.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn halachos about different types of non-true promises.
In Perek Zayin and Ches, we learn the halachos about Shevuas HaPikadon (which is today’s second mitzvah in Sefer Hamitzvos), and in Perek Tes we start to learn the halachos of Shevuas Ha’eidus. This is a kind of false shevuah where someone promises that he didn’t see or know about something he really could be an Eid (witness) about.
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The Rambam explains more about how to stay safe. We make sure food is safe before we eat it. We don’t go into a house that might fall down. We are also careful about not selling something to a person who might use it to hurt Yidden. In fact, we should ALWAYS be careful not to make another person do something wrong!
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During Chodesh Elul, we think about our behavior during the year to make sure we are serving Hashem in the best way we can. Today we will learn what happens when we do mivtzoyim in the best way we can!
A chossid was once in Yechidus with the Rebbe, and the Rebbe told him:
“There is a promise from the Alter Rebbe: When someone does tzedakah begashmius or b’ruchniyus with others (helping them with what they need), his mind and heart become 1,000 times more pure than before! That makes him understand things 1,000 times faster!
“I’ve said before, this is not an expression or an exaggeration — it’s literal!
“To make sure you don’t get confused, I’m saying it again, very clearly; and you should tell this to other people too:
“Someone who does mivtzoyim, which is Ruchnius tzedakah, will have tremendous hatzlacha in his learning. What would take him 1,000 hours to understand, he will understand in one hour! What would take him 500 hours he can now learn in just a half hour!
“You can test me with this! Anyone who does Shlichus and mivtzoim properly — as much as he can and the way it’s supposed to be — will have tremendous hatzlacha in learning Torah, Niglah and Chassidus, and in the chinuch of his children, 1,000 times as much as it would usually take — literally!”
Sometimes a Mommy or Tatty might think, what can I do to help my little boy learn better in Cheder? How can I help my little girl be nicer to her friends? Here we have a solution from the Rebbe! If we look for ways to help other Yidden, we can find a solution for the chinuch of our children 1,000 times faster than it would take us otherwise!
See Chassidim Ein Mishpacha gilyon Reish-Zayin
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After Boruch She’amar on Shabbos, we don’t say Mizmor Lesodah. That is because the Korban Todah was not brought in the Beis Hamikdash on Shabbos.
Instead, we say a different kapitel, Mizmor Shir LeYom HaShabbos. It was the Shir Shel Yom that the Leviim sang in the Beis Hamikdash on Shabbos. It speaks about what will happen when Moshiach comes.
Then we say the next kapitel of Tehillim, Kapitel Tzadik-Gimmel, which starts with the words “Hashem Malach.” It is a continuation of the kapitel before, and speaks about how when Moshiach comes, Hashem will punish the resha’im who destroyed the Beis Hamikdash.
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We are learning the dinim of Kadima B’brachos, which bracha to say first.
In the order of brachos, we make a bracha on Mezonos foods before making a bracha on Shehakol foods. As we learned before, a siman to remember the order is “MaGA AiSh” — first Mezonos, then haGafen, then ha’Aitz, then ha’Adamah, then Shehakol.
Even if we like the Shehakol food best (it is choviv), we should still first make the other brachos in the right order.
But with Ha’eitz and Ha’adamah, the rule is a little different! It is usually better to make Ha’eitz before Ha’adamah, because it is more specific, so it comes earlier in the list of brachos. But if you like one food better (choviv), you make a bracha on it first.
For example, if you have an apple (which is Ha’eitz) and a banana (which is Ha’adamah), and you like bananas more (choviv), you make the Ha’adamah on the banana before making Ha’eitz on the apple.
But this is only for Ha’eitz and Ha’adamah! If you also have a candy (that is Shehakol) that you like even better, you should still make the Ha’eitz and Ha’adamah before the Shehakol!
See Seder Birchos Hanehenin perek Yud, se’if Zayin
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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 Navi Micha lived at the same time as the Navi Yeshaya. Hashem sometimes showed the same thing to both of these neviim! The words each Navi uses to tell the Yidden what they saw are almost exactly the same! Here is another nevuah we learned from Yeshaya, this time the way Micha saw it:
וְהָלְכוּ גּוֹיִם רַבִּים וְאָמְרוּ לְכוּ וְנַעֲלֶה אֶל הַר ה׳ וְאֶל בֵּית אֱלֹקֵי יַעֲקֹב וְיוֹרֵנוּ מִדְּרָכָיו וְנֵלְכָה בְּאֹרְחֹתָיו כִּי מִצִּיּוֹן תֵּצֵא תוֹרָה וּדְבַר ה׳ מִירוּשָׁלִָם
Vehalchu Goyim Rabim — Many nations will go
Ve’amru — and they will say:
Lechu Venaaleh El Har Hashem, V’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!
When Moshiach comes, even the goyim will realize that the Torah is true. But Yidden don’t have to wait for this to happen in the times of the Geulah, we should follow the Torah now!
See Micha perek Daled posuk Beis
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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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