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CHUMASH
Parshas Shoftim - Revi'i with Rashi
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Moshe Rabbeinu is still talking to the Yidden about how to act in Eretz Yisroel. First he tells them about the kohanim’s job, and then tells the Yidden not to try to figure out what will happen in the future!
Each of the kohanim have turns to go serve in the Beis Hamikdash. It’s not fair for them to go work in the Beis Hamikdash when it’s not their turn!
But there are two times a kohen CAN work in the Beis Hamikdash even if it’s a different kohanim’s family’s turn:
1) If they are bringing their OWN korban, they are allowed to bring it themselves
2) On Yom Tov, EVERYONE is allowed to help!
The kohanim who are working in the Beis Hamikdash share the parts of the korbanos that belong to them.
Now we learn that Yidden are not supposed to try to figure out what will happen in the future:
Learn from the Goyim how NOT to act!
None of the Yidden should do the strange Avodah Zarah that the Goyim do. They also shouldn’t try to figure out what will happen later — like by asking questions to people who use kochos of Tumah.
To Hashem, these kinds of things are very not nice, and He is sending the Goyim out of Eretz Yisroel because they act this way!
Yidden — “Tomim Tihiyeh Im Hashem Elokecha” — Act in an honest way with Hashem, don’t try to figure out what is going to happen, just have bitachon and Hashem will take care of you!
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Today’s shiur Tehillim is kapitelach Chof-Gimmel to Chof-Ches. We also say kapitelach Yud, Yud-Alef, and Yud-Beis for Chodesh Elul.
In today’s Tehillim, there are two pesukim (Kapitel Chof-Hey, pesukim ches and tes) that talk about how Hashem shows us the right way to live. The last words of these pesukim are “VeYelamed Anavim Darko” — Hashem teaches humble people His path.
The Rambam teaches us (in Hilchos Teshuvah) that this is talking about two things that Hashem gives to Yidden to help them do teshuvah and do the right thing:
1) Hashem sends them Neviim (and Rebbeim) who teach them the ways of Hashem and how to do teshuva, and
2) Hashem makes a person to WANT to do the right thing when they learn about it.
These two things together make it much easier for us to do JUST what Hashem wants!
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Yud-Alef
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We are learning a new letter of the Alter Rebbe today! This letter starts with the words “Lehaskilcha Binah,” and is a famous letter which talks about how everything Hashem does is good, even when it might not feel like it. When we know this all the time, it will help us overcome the nisyonos, the hard times we have in our lives.
Sometimes a person will do something that they know they shouldn’t be doing. They daven to Hashem that nobody should see them doing it!
Does that person believe in Hashem? Of course he does. But is his Emunah making him live the way Hashem wants?
In order for the person to LIVE according to his Emunah, the person really needs to understand his Emnah, so he has it in a way of Pnimius.
The Alter Rebbe shows us how our Emunah also needs to make us happy all the time:
Sometimes, chas veshalom, something can happen to a person Begashmius that can make him sad. Maybe he got hurt, or something he likes got lost, or someone got mad at him — or even Chas Veshalom something worse.
That seems like a good reason to get upset, or to be very sad.
The Alter Rebbe tells us, though, that if our Emunah in Hashem is very strong, we won’t be sad! Why? Because everything that Hashem does is really good. The only reason why we don’t see it or feel it is because Hashem hides in the world — even though Hashem is with us all the time, Hashem made the world in a way we won’t feel it. So we might think that something isn’t good...
But if think about and KNOW the truth, how can we be sad? We know everything is from Hashem, so it MUST be good — Hashem is only good!
Hashem sometimes makes things LOOK not good to test us. When we get a test from Hashem, it makes us work hard so that our neshama shines very strong. We have to use ALL of the koach of our neshama to remember and to know that the most important thing is Emunah in Hashem. With that Emunah, we can be happy even when it’s hard.
When we are besimcha even when it’s hard, since we know that Hashem is good, we become very close to Hashem. Then we will be able to see things like Hashem sees them, and we’ll be able to see how everything is really good.
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In today’s Hayom Yom, we learn our minhag for what someone does when he gets an Aliyah. We also learn about the four levels of how a person can be, and how we ALL have the koach to change!
When someone is called up to the Torah in Shul, here’s what he does before making the bracha!
1) Using your tallis, touch the words of the Torah at the beginning and end of the Aliyah we’re about to read.
2) Roll up the Torah so it’s closed.
3) Turn your face a little bit to the right side.
4) Make the Bracha on the Torah
5) We open the Torah up again, and lein the Aliyah!
We are now in Chodesh Elul, and we are working on making ourselves better and better! But CAN we really be better? Today we will see that each of us has the koach inside of us to change!
In the Torah, there are four words that we use that mean “a person.” (Like a Neshama can be called Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama...)
When we use the word “Adam,” we are talking about a person who is special with their sechel — how they understand what Hashem wants.
When we use the word “Ish,” it means someone who has good midos.
“Enosh” is a person who is missing something in their sechel, or their midos, or both.
And “Gever” is someone who works on himself to become better than before — so he won’t be Enosh anymore, but be “Ish” and “Adam”!
That teaches us that we ALL have the koach to change — we can all be “Ish” and “Adam” — to have good midos and good sechel. We just need to work on it!
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Today we started a new sefer — Sefer Hafla’ah — and a new set of halachos in Rambam, about Shevuos, promises. Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #61) is that we are not allowed to make a not-true promise using Hashem’s name — that’s called a Shevuas Bitui or Shevuas Sheker. (We learn what these mean in today’s Rambam!)
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Kedoshim: וְלֹא תִשָּׁבְעוּ בִשְׁמִי לַשָּׁקֶר
The details of how to keep this mitzvah are explained in the third perek of Mesechta Shevuos.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn about the four different kinds of promises (Shevuos) that a person is not allowed to make. Here are two of them:
1) Shvuas Bitui — A Shvuas Bitui is a false promise. One way a person makes a Shvuas Bitui is by promising that he did not do something, but he already did that thing. Another way is if he promises not to do something in the future, and then does it.
2) Shvuas Shav — A Shvuas Shav is a meaningless promise. One type of Shvuas Shav is if someone makes a promise about something that everyone knows is not true (like if he promises that a tree is made of gold). Another kind of Shvuas Shav is a promise that everyone knows is true (like a promise that the sky is the sky).
It is also a Shvuas Shav to make a promise we can’t keep. For example, a promise not to do a mitzvah (we can’t make a promise like that!); or a promise that it’s impossible to keep (like saying we won’t sleep for 3 days).
We also learn what counts as a promise. One halacha is that if a person makes a mistake and says a promise, they are allowed to change their mind if they do it right away.
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This perek has more halachos about the Eglah Arufah. We learn about how the place of the Eglah Arufah can’t be used later, like for growing things. Also, if Beis Din didn’t do it for whatever reason, they need to make it up, even if many years already passed!
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The name of this month teaches us how to do our avodah during the month!
During the month of Elul we have two main jobs:
- Cheshbon (fixing up what happened last year)
- Hachana (getting ready for Rosh Hashana!)
We need to make sure that the things our lives are all about are strong.
What are those things?
We know (from the beginning of Pirkei Avos) that the world (and every person too!) stands on three things: Torah, Avodah, and Gemilus Chasadim.
So those are the things we work on during Elul.
That’s why the name “Elul” has four letters, that are the first letters (Roshei Teivos) of pesukim that talk about these things in the Torah!
- Torah: Ina Leyado Vesamti Lach (a posuk from the Chumash, which talks about an Ir Miklat, because the Torah keeps us safe like an Ir Miklat)
- Avodah (Tefilah): Ani Ledodi Vedodi Li (a posuk from Shir Hashirim, which speaks about the love a Yid has for Hashem, something which we try to feel during davening)
- Gemilus Chassadim (Tzedakah): Ish Lereiehu Umatanos L’evyonim (a posuk from the Megillah, which talks about helping other people)
And in case we ever missed a chance, then we can always do Teshuvah!
- Teshuvah: Es Levacha Ve’es Levav (part of a posuk from the Chumash that talks about Teshuvah)
And finally, everything we do is to bring the Geulah! Elul has a Roshei Teivos for that too: Ashira LaHashem Vayomru Leimor (a posuk from Az Yashir which talks about the Geulah from Mitzrayim)
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Boruch She’amar is the bracha at the beginning of Pesukei Dezimra. In Pesukei Dezimra, we speak about the greatness of Hashem. The Chachomim taught us that we should spend some time praising Hashem before asking for our needs in Shemoneh Esrei.
By speaking about Hashem’s greatness in Pesukei Dezimra, we wake up our feelings of connection to Hashem. This helps us daven with a proper kavana.
The Chachomim made a takana that we should say a bracha before and after Pesukei Dezimra: The bracha before is Boruch She’amar and the bracha afterwards is Yishtabach.
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It’s a Mitzvah Min Hamuvchar (a mitzvah done in the best way) not just to say the right brachos on foods, but to say them in the right order!
We look at the food that we have in front of us, and say the brachos on each kind based on the order of brachos.
(Of course we only say all of these brachos in order if we are planning on eating them! We don’t have to go look for an extra food to eat just because that bracha comes earlier in the list. It is just that the brachos we DO say should be in the right order.)
If there is a good reason why not to, we don’t have to follow this order.
For example, we are allowed to eat in the normal order of the meal. Even if we have dessert in front of us, we can first make a bracha on the main course, even if the bracha on dessert comes earlier in the list of brachos. So if you have meat and potatoes for supper, and cake for dessert, you don’t have to make the Mezonos on the cake before making the bracha on the meat and potatoes!
Health reasons are also a good reason why not to follow the order of brachos. If someone needs a drink so that he will be able to swallow, he can first make a Shehakol and take a drink, before going on to make the rest of the brachos on the list in order.
See Piskei Teshuvos siman 211, se’if Alef; Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch siman 249, Kuntres Acharon 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 Navi Micha teaches us wonderful things that will happen at the end of the Golus!
The Navi tells us these things as if they already happened, because in his nevuah he was already able to see that it happened this way!
עָלָה הַפֹּרֵץ לִפְנֵיהֶם פָּרְצוּ וַיַּעֲבֹרוּ שַׁעַר וַיֵּצְאוּ בוֹ וַיַּעֲבֹר מַלְכָּם לִפְנֵיהֶם וַה׳ בְּרֹאשָׁם
Ala Haporetz Lifneihem — The Poreitz (the person who breaks through things to make the way easier) went up before them!
Some meforshim say that this is talking about Eliyahu Hanavi who helps the Yidden do teshuvah, and the Medrash says that it is talking about Moshiach, who comes from the family of Peretz!
Partzu Vayaavoru Shaar Vayeitzu Vo — They broke through a gate and went out through it!
They broke through anything that was stopping the Geulah from coming!
Vayaavor Malkam Lifneihem — And their King Moshiach went in front of them!
VaHashem Berosham — And Hashem was before them!
The Shechinah of Hashem again rested before the Yidden in the Beis Hamikdash!
See Micha perek Beis posuk Yud-Gimmel
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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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