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CHUMASH
Parshas Metzora - Shlishi with Rashi
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Today’s entire Chumash teaches the way a metzora becomes tahor if he can’t afford the regular korbanos.
We learned about the korbanos that a metzora needs to bring to the Beis Hamikdash in order to become tahor.
What happens if someone is poor and can’t buy THREE sheep for the korbanos? The Torah says that he can bring one sheep and two birds instead. He also needs to bring the flour and the oil for the Mincha, as well as the log of oil that we learned about yesterday.
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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 says that this is talking about two things that Hashem gives to Yidden to help them do teshuvah and do the right things! Here they are:
1) He sends them Neviim who teach them the ways of Hashem and how to do teshuvah.
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!
We say this kapitel after Shemoneh Esrei, in Nefilas Apayim, on a day when we say Tachanun.
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Lamed-Tes
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Now the Alter Rebbe is telling us about kavana, how the things we are thinking about that bring us to learn Torah and do mitzvos make a difference in what we actually do.
Sometimes a person does a mitzvah for the wrong reason — like learning a lot of Torah so other people will respect him as a Talmid Chochom.
If someone does a mitzvah like this, the mitzvah is in Golus! But as soon as he does teshuvah, his mitzvah can go up to Hashem.
That’s why the Chachomim tell us, “L’olam Yaasok Adam BaTorah Afilu Lo Lishma, Shemitoch Shelo Lishma, Ba Lishma.” It is good to do mitzvos even if we do them for the wrong reason, because every Yid will do teshuvah in the end, and then what was done with the wrong kavana will go up to Hashem along with his teshuvah.
But that’s only if someone did the mitzvah for the WRONG reason.
But if someone does a mitzvah for NO specific reason, meaning without kavana, then even though the mitzvah does not go up to Hashem, the person does not need to do teshuvah to fix that. Instead, as soon as he does the same mitzvah for the RIGHT reason, with kavana for Hashem, then the mitzvah he did before ALSO goes up to Hashem! Also if we daven without kavana, the next time we daven WITH kavana, ALL of our tefillos will go up to Hashem!
That is why it’s a good idea, like we learned in Kuntres Acharon, to daven at least one piece of the davening each day with extra kavana. Because even if we just had kavana one time, it brings up all of the times we said that piece without kavana!
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The Hayom Yom has lessons for all different kinds of Yidden. A few days ago, we learned things that are important for a Rav to know. We also learned lessons for women. Later we will see lessons for a yeshiva bochur. Now we will see a lesson for a business person!
People who are in business might think that their job is to make money to support themselves and their family, and to give tzedakah. But that’s not all! It is true that those things happen because of the work they do. But in the work itself, they have a very special avodah, with two parts!
The first part is to keep their own connection to Hashem strong. They need to have some seforim in their business and use their free time to learn. They also need to have some Torah that they know by heart so that when they are walking outside they can think words of Torah.
Today there are so many things that make it easier for us to do this, like in a car or with a computer or phone!
Another part of this avodah is to help connect other Yidden to Hashem. When they are speaking to other Yidden for business reasons, they should try to find a way to talk about something from Torah or to encourage them to go to a shiur.
The Rebbe also tells us in sichos that if a business person meets goyim at work, they should use that opportunity to speak about doing their mission in the world by keeping the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach. This will help save Yidden from any not good gezeiros (Chas Vesholom) and bring Moshiach much closer. People might think that they are dealing with the goyim just for their own good, to make money, but the truth is that the main reason is to help the goyim do the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach and bring the Geula closer!
The Rebbe gave an example of someone who influenced the goyim that were working for him to become closer to Hashem and keep the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach! See Chabad.org/2516760 (English translation of a sicha where the Rebbe told the story of Mr. David Chase and the yacht).
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Even though it’s a mitzvah to let a Yid have longer to pay back money he owes, we are supposed to make sure a goy who doesn’t believe in Hashem pays back right away. (Since goyim do this to each other, they expect us to do the same. If we don’t, it would be a loss for a Yid’s money.) That is today’s mitzvah in Sefer Hamitzvos (Mitzvas Asei #142).
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: אֶת הַנָּכְרִי תִּגֹּשׂ
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In today’s Rambam, we learn about not taking neshech, interest.
In Perek Daled, we start to learn about interest. What is interest? Let’s say Reuven asks Shimon to lend him $100, and Shimon tells Reuven he has to pay him back $105 instead of $100. Any time we want someone to pay us back more than what he borrowed, that’s interest and it’s asur. The Rambam says that this is a big aveirah, and someone who does it is like denying Hashem and Yetzias Mitzrayim!
In Perek Hey, we learn that it is a mitzvah to charge interest to a goy, but it’s a bigger mitzvah to lend another Yid without interest.
Did you know that even WORDS can be interest? If someone gives you a loan, you have to be careful about thanking him — because those words can make him feel good, and that will be like giving him interest! You also can’t do him any extra favors because of the loan.
Perek Vov: Sometimes when a person borrows money, he gives a Mashkon to show that he will pay it back. If the Mashkon is something that a person could benefit from, like a field that grows fruit, or a house that a person can live in, it can be interest if the person eats the fruit or lives there. This perek teaches how to be careful about this kind of interest!
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This perek teaches us the halachos of how the kohen decides that a house is Tomei with Tzoraas, and how to make it Tahor again.
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Based on the Rebbe’s hora’ah to teach part of the maamarim in Likutei Torah of that week even to children under Bar or Bas Mitzvah, we will learn something from this week’s Likutei Torah, the Chassidishe Parsha:
The Gemara says that a person should learn a lot of Torah, even if he forgets it, and even if he doesn’t properly understand it. The Alter Rebbe explains in Likutei Torah of this week why this is so important:
We know that a neshama has the kochos of Chochma, Binah, and Daas. The koach that is the closest to Hashem is chochma, and this is the koach that gives us bittul and makes us able to have Mesirus Nefesh for Hashem. When a Yid says a lot of words of Torah and tefillah, then the chochmah of the neshama shines in the body of the Yid who is using his Gashmius mouth to say words of Torah!
The Alter Rebbe says that this is also the way for a metzora to fix up the Ruchnius sickness of tzoraas that he has:
In the Zohar, it explains that tzoraas appears on a Yid’s body if the chochma of the neshama is not used.
If a person thinks that everything needs to make sense to him, he isn’t using his koach of Chochma at all. (Nowadays we don’t get tzoraas, but the Ruchnius’dike sickness still comes. When we think that we need to understand all of the mitzvos and appreciate everything we do, and if not we don’t want to do the mitzvos, we have the Ruchnius’dike reason for tzoraas.)
The way to cure this problem is by saying lots of words of Torah and Tehillim and tefillah, even if we don’t understand them. Because Hashem wants us to do this, it is showing our bittul. This brings back the chochma of our neshama and helps us be good Yidden.
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Don’t forget to say the Nasi! Today’s Nasi is from Shevet Reuven.
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As part of Biur Tefillah, we are also learning some of the parts of the Haggadah, as a preparation for Pesach.
In the beginning of the Alter Rebbe’s Haggadah Shel Pesach, we have the bracha before we start Bedikas Chometz and the paragraph Kol Chamira afterwards, saying that the chometz is botul (means nothing to us and doesn’t belong to us); and another paragraph Kol Chamira which we say when we are burning the chometz in the morning.
After Biur Chometz, we say a paragraph asking Hashem that just as we are destroying the chometz from our homes and our reshus, Hashem should destroy the tumah, the Yetzer Hara, and all negative things from the world, like Hashem did in Mitzrayim!
In some nus’chaos, this tefillah is written in Lashon Yachid (singular), “May it be Your will Hashem, MY Hashem and the Hashem of MY fathers.” But in the Alter Rebbe’s nusach, it is written in Lashon Rabim (plural) — “OUR Hashem, and the Hashem of OUR fathers.”
The Rebbe explains that our nusach is based on the Gemara in Brachos, where Abaye says that when you say Tefillas Haderech, even if you are traveling yourself, you should include yourself with everyone else, and say the tefillah in Lashon Rabim (plural). Because when you include yourself with others, the tefillah is accepted better.
That’s why in this tefillah also, we say it in Lashon Rabim, so it will be accepted more easily by Hashem.
See the Rebbe’s Haggadah, Dibur Hamas’chil Yehi Ratzon; Halacha Newsletter by Rabbi Lesches
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For our Pesach mivtzoyim, we give out Shmurah Matzah and invite Yidden to our Seder.
There is another important part of Mivtza Pesach: To help Yidden sell their chometz!
Even if we are worried that these Yidden might chas veshalom use something chometz’dik on Pesach, it is still worth it for them to sell their chometz. (The Rebbe explained the reason for this in halacha.) So we should make sure that EVERYONE is able to sell their chometz!
How do we do this? We make sure to have Mechiras Chometz forms or let people know where they can sell their chometz online, and encourage as many people as possible to sell their chometz for Pesach!
See Halachos Uminhagei Chabad p. 181
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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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In the famous sicha of Chof-Ches Nissan, the Rebbe said that every Yid needs to do everything in his power to bring the Geulah. The Rebbe said that when Yidden are stubborn to do what they can and ask Hashem for the Geulah, it will work, and Hashem will give it to us!
We see a similar thing with the Navi Micha. Hashem gave the Navi a beautiful promise, “Kimei Tzeischa Me’Eretz Mitzrayim Arenu Niflaos.” Hashem promised that He would make wonders and miracles for the Yidden at the time of the Geulah, like the nisim of Yetziyas Mitzrayim!
But Hashem only told this to Micha after Micha asked Hashem to take care of the Yidden like at the time of Yetziyas Mitzrayim! We see from here that we need to ask Hashem for the Geulah, and that when we do, Hashem will answer us and make it happen!
See Sefer Hasichos 5751 chelek Beis p. 474 and ha’ara 54 (Hebrew)
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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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