For the safety and security of the Yidden in Eretz Yisrael
and the success of the soldiers fighting for its protection
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In today’s Chumash, we learn how Yaakov Avinu starts traveling down to Mitzrayim. Yaakov said, “I am so happy! Yosef is alive! Let me go see him before I pass away!” Yaakov thought he might pass away in Mitzrayim, so he prepared a place to be buried in Me’aras Hamachpeilah before going. He paid Eisav with big piles of gold and silver that he earned from Lavan, so that Eisav would not fight over this place. Yaakov packed up everything and took the whole family out of Chevron. They stopped at Be’er Sheva and Yaakov gave a korban to Hashem. Be’er Sheva was the last city he stopped in before leaving Eretz Yisroel, and Yaakov was bothered about leaving this holy land. Hashem came to him in a dream and said in a loving way, “Yaakov! Yaakov!” Yaakov said, “Here I am.” Hashem said, “Don’t be afraid to go to Mitzrayim, because that’s where you will really become a big nation. I will come down with you to Mitzrayim, and make sure that you are buried in Eretz Yisroel.” Yaakov and his wives and children went down to Mitzrayim in the wagons. They brought all of the animals and the things that they had from Canaan. All of Yaakov’s children and grandchildren came. |
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Today’s kapitelach of Tehillim are Alef through Tes. Today, we are starting Sefer Tehillim again from the very beginning! IY”H we will finish the whole thing before Rosh Chodesh Shevat! Kapitel Alef talks about how a person should behave in order to have hatzlacha from Hashem. By making sure that we are involved in Torah and not narishkeit, we get lots of brachos! In this kapitel, we say a very interesting posuk: “Ki Im BeSoras Hashem Cheftzo, UveSoraso Yehege Yomam VaLayla.” “HASHEM’S Torah is all he wants, and he is busy with HIS Torah all day and night.” How come it first says HASHEM’S Torah, and then it says HIS Torah (that it belongs to the person learning it)? We are learning now in Tanya that when we are learning a part of Torah for the first time, it feels like it’s something that’s not part of us. But when we learn it again and again, we start to understand it better. When we finally “get it,” the Torah becomes part of us, like food that we eat, which becomes a part of us and gives us chayus. So at first it feels like we’re learning Hashem’s Torah (Besoras Hashem Cheftzo), but once we understand it, it feels like OUR Torah (Uvesoraso Yehege)! |
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We learned in yesterday’s Tanya that when we learn Torah, we become one with Hashem in a way of Yichud Nifla, an incredible connection! In order to have this Yichud Nifla, we need to learn Torah in a certain way: We need to understand it so well that it becomes the way we think! Then, the Torah becomes completely one with us. A mashal for this is the way food works: When we eat something, the koach from the food becomes a part of us and gives us energy and life! The same thing is with Torah! When we learn it well in a way that we really understand it, it becomes food for the neshama and gives it life from the Ohr Ein Sof, the light of Hashem which is in the Torah! Not only is Torah with us in Olam Hazeh, it comes with us in Olam Haba also! The Torah that we learn here becomes the “food” for the neshama in Gan Eden. The mitzvos, though, become the “clothing” for the neshama in Gan Eden. The Alter Rebbe explains that Torah has BOTH maalos — the maalah of Torah AND the maalah of mitzvos! That’s why we say, at the end of Eilu Devarim, “Vesalmud Torah Keneged Kulam.” “Learning Torah is equal to all of the mitzvos!” Torah learned in this way is “food” AND “clothing” for the neshama in Gan Eden! |
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In today’s Hayom Yom, the first Rosh Chodesh in the sefer Hayom Yom, Rebbe tells us a few hanhagos we do in davening on Rosh Chodesh. 1) When we daven in Shul, on a day when we don’t say the whole Hallel, only the chazan says the bracha. (A day like this is Rosh Chodesh, which is today — except that today we DO say the whole Hallel because it’s also Chanukah!) It is our minhag that if we daven without a minyan, we DO say the brachos at the beginning and the end of Hallel, even if we aren’t saying the whole Hallel. (In a farbrengen, the Rebbe told us that the minhag of chassidim is that even with a minyan, we all make a bracha, whether we are saying the whole Hallel or not! See Sichos Kodesh 5741, vol. 4, p. 322) 2) We also don’t say the word “Al” in the last paragraph that starts Yehalelucha. (If you look in your siddur, you’ll see it’s in parentheses.) 3) We don’t wear Tefillin during Musaf. So we put them on and take them off before Davening Musaf (both Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam). In a different HaYom Yom, the Rebbe tells us that there are certain things we are supposed to learn while wearing Tefillin. Even though we take off the Tefillin on Rosh Chodesh before Musaf, we still learn those things AFTER davening, even without wearing the Tefillin. (The reason why we don’t wear Tefillin during Musaf is because in Musaf, we say “Keser Yitnu Lecha Malochim,” that the malochim give Hashem a crown. It is not appropriate for us to be wearing OUR crown of Tefillin when we say this.) |
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #245) is about how a person can sell something or give something to someone else. The Torah teaches us that we need to be koneh things, SHOWING that it belongs to us. One way to show you were koneh something is by picking it up. (We learned this mitzvah many times before, but since there is no special mitzvah for this set of halachos in Rambam, we review it again.) |
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In today’s Rambam, we finish the halachos of neighbors and begin the halachos of making someone a shliach and about partners. In Perek Yud-Gimmel we learn more about the Bar Metzra — the neighbor, who gets the first chance to buy a field next door. We learn that a person can give a PRESENT, he doesn’t have to give it to the neighbor — he can give it to whoever he wants. But if he is only giving it as a present to trick the neighbor so he doesn’t have to sell it to him, the neighbor still has the right to buy it! Perek Yud-Daled finishes the halachos about neighbors. We learn that the Ben Hametzer is only for the NEXT-door neighbor. We also learn about the reason for the halacha, that a person should act like a mentch (“Ve’asisa Hayashar Vehatov”) and give the opportunity to buy to the one who could use it in the best way. Now we start Hilchos Shluchim VeShutfin, about partners and messengers: In Perek Alef we learn about a shliach. When someone sends a messenger (shliach) to do something, it’s like the one who sent him did it himself — if the messenger followed the instructions! So if someone sends a messenger to buy a field, when the messenger buys it, it belongs to the one who sent him. |
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This perek teaches us about what happens when the Mei Nidah is touched or used for a different reason, not for making someone tahor. If it was touched before the mitzvah was done and the water was kosher, then the person becomes tomei. If it was used after the mitzvah was done or if the water was posul, then the person remains tahor. Mazel Tov! We have now finished this set of halachos! |
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Tonight and tomorrow is Zos Chanukah! There is a sefer called the Shaloh written by Yeshaya Halevi Horowitz. He writes that if a person isn’t able to learn for whatever reason, there is a shortcut he can use! He can say the names of the Chumashim, Parshiyos, and Mesechtas, then it will be considered as if he is learning them! There are many maamorim from the Rebbeim about Chanukah and even special maamorim for the last day of Chanukah, called Zos Chanukah. Even if we don’t have enough time to learn the maamorim themselves, we can at least know about them and say the names of the maamorim, and that is also something good! There is a maamar from the Alter Rebbe that speaks about how special the last day of Chanukah is. It starts with the words “Havaya Li BeOzrai VaAni Ereh BeSonai,” “Hashem helps me and I will see that my enemies will go away.” The Tzemach Tzedek also talks about the last day of Chanukah in a maamar that starts with the words “Boruch She’Asa Nissim.” There is also a maamar from the Rebbe on Zos Chanukah, 5738 (which was a Seudas Hoda’ah for the neis of Rosh Chodesh Kislev) which starts with the words, “Mitzvasa MiSheTishkeh HaChama.” |
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A story told by the Frierdiker Rebbe: …At my Bar Mitzvah, my father the Rebbe Rashab called me by my name and said, “Yosef Yitzchok, ask something.” So I asked my father, “It says in the siddur that we should say before davening, ‘Hareini’ — that I am taking on myself the mitzvah of Ve’ahavta Le’reiacha Kamocha. Why does it say this specifically before davening Shacharis? If we are supposed to do Ahavas Yisroel first thing in the morning, it should be connected to morning brachos!” My father answered me: “When a father has many children, his greatest nachas is when he sees that they all have achdus and they love each other. Davening is when we ask Hashem for our needs — both our Gashmius’dike needs and our Ruchnius’dike needs. Before we ask Hashem for our needs, we need to do something that will bring Hashem nachas. For that reason, it was established that we should accept upon ourselves the mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel as a preparation for davening…” See Sefer Hasichos 5700, p. 157 |
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Today is Rosh Chodesh! There is an old minhag that on every Rosh Chodesh, we learn one posuk with Rashi (and other explanations) from your kapitel Tehillim. If your kapitel has less than 12 pesukim (or less than 13 in a leap year), you can learn the same pesukim over again. If your kapitel is long, learn a few pesukim every Rosh Chodesh. Here is the order of davening on Rosh Chodesh during Chanukah: 1) In Shemoneh Esrei, don’t forget Yaaleh Veyavo and Ve’al Hanisim. 2) Right after Shemoneh Esrei, say WHOLE Hallel, with V’Avraham Zakein. 3) Go back and say Shir Shel Yom, Hoshieinu, and Borchi Nafshi. 4) When davening with a minyan, we take out TWO Sifrei Torah and lein for Rosh Chodesh, and then for Chanukah. 5) Say Ashrei and U’va LeTzion. 6) Daven Musaf for Rosh Chodesh, and don’t forget Ve’al Hanisim! 7) Go back and say Kavei, Ein Keilokeinu, Aleinu, etc. |
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לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק בן ר׳ אפרים ע״ה מאסקאוויץ
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Tomorrow is the last day of Chanukah, the eighth day, called Zos Chanukah. Chassidus explains that the number eight is a very special number. Hashem created the world in seven days, so the number seven means the regular way the world works. But eight means HIGHER than that! When Moshiach comes, there will be a lot of things with the number eight. One of them is that Dovid Hamelech’s harp which used to have seven strings will now have eight strings, to play a special Moshiach song! This will show that the time of Moshiach is completely different than the way the world is today. On the eighth day of Chanukah we are reminded of the special time we are in now — right before Moshiach comes! |
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לע"נ התינוק זאב ארי' ע"ה בן יבלט"א הרה"ח ר' שניאור זלמן שי' גליק
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