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CHUMASH
Parshas Lech Lecha - Shvi'i with Rashi
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In today’s Chumash, Avraham Avinu does Hashem’s mitzvah to make a bris. Sarai gets a new name, Sarah, and they are promised that they will have a special son, Yitzchak!
Hashem promised Avraham that the Yidden will follow Hashem, and He will be their Hashem! He will give them the special land of Eretz Yisroel, and be especially close to the Yidden that live there.
And what does Avraham have to do to deserve this? To have a Bris Milah himself, and for every Jewish boy who is born.
Hashem then gave Sarai a new name: Sarah! (Hashem took a letter Yud away from her name — later He would give that Yud to Hoshea, and he would be called Yehoshua!)
Sarah will also become young again, and she will have a baby even though she is almost 90 years old! Avraham laughed, he was so happy! What a neis to have a baby when he is almost 100 years old!
Avraham told Hashem that he doesn’t even deserve such a neis — he would be happy if Yishmael would be a Yerei Shomayim. Hashem said that still, Avraham would have a son, and should name him Yitzchak. Only Yitzchak’s children will be Hashem’s special nation.
But Avraham shouldn’t feel bad for Yishmael — Hashem will give him brachos and he will have many many children.
Then Hashem finished speaking to Avraham, and the Shechinah went back up.
Avraham asked his friends, Aner, Eshkol and Mamrei, if he should do a bris. He wanted them to also have a part of it, so everyone would know that he is making this deal with Hashem! Mamrei was the only one who said it was a good idea to do anything for Hashem, Who made such nissim for Avraham!
Avraham gave himself a bris when he was 99, and Yishmael had one when he was 13. Hashem helped Avraham to do his own bris, since he was afraid his hands would shake. Avraham also gave a bris to everyone else in his house.
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Today’s kapitelach are Samach-Tes, Ayin, and Ayin-Alef.
The first kapitel of today’s Tehillim is kapitel Samach-Tes. If you look through the kapitel, the beginning looks very sad. Dovid HaMelech is asking Hashem to please save him from everyone who wants to hurt him.
At the end, though, Dovid HaMelech is sure Hashem will help! He says that he will sing and praise Hashem, because He always listens to people who need His help! The skies and the seas will sing to Hashem when he rescues the Yidden — “Ki Elokim Yoshia Tzion” — “because Hashem will redeem Yerushalayim.”
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Chof-Zayin
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A tzadik is more alive after his histalkus through the chayus his neshama gives to his Chassidim, and his tefillos for them in Shomayim!
The Zohar says that a tzadik is alive even more after his histalkus — “Ishtakach Bechulhu Almin Yatir Mibechayohi.” At that time, more chayus comes from his neshama to all of his Chassidim. Since this gets them to do more mitzvos and to serve Hashem with more chayus, the tzadik becomes more alive in this world through the mitzvos that they do!
But this isn’t only in Ruchnius things! After a tzadik’s histalkus, the brachos and help that a tzadik gives his chassidim in Gashmius things become stronger too! Like the Zohar says, if not for the tzadik’s davening in Shomayim, the world wouldn’t be able to exist for one moment.
This letter is the only one in the whole Tanya that has an additional explanation called a biur, which we will IY”H start to learn tomorrow!
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The Baal Shem Tov used to teach Gemara, with a lot of meforshim. He would teitch the Gemara into Yiddish.
In the Gemara called Erchin it says about Lashon Hara that “Lishna Tlisa’i Katla Tlisa’i”, that Lashon Hara kills three people.
Usually we say that those three people are the one who says the Lashon Hara, the one who accepts the Lashon Hara, and the one who it’s about.
The Baal Shem Tov teitched it differently: He said that the three people are “The one who makes up the Lashon Hara, the one who says it, and the one who hears it.” The Lashon Hara kills these three in a Ruchnius way, which is even worse than killing b’Gashmius!
Chassidus teaches us that it’s not only wrong to SPEAK Loshon Hara, but that even to make it up, or just to think about it, can Chas Veshalom hurt our neshama. Even what we think has a strong koach to help or to hurt! (We learned about this in Igeres Hakodesh in Tanya, that when a not-good thought about someone pops into our mind, we should think about something else instead.)
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #71) is that a person who does certain aveiros needs to bring a ram as a Korban Asham, called an Asham Vadai. It is brought for four kinds of aveiros:
- Someone who does Me’ilah (using something that is holy and belongs to the Mizbeiach or to the Beis Hamikdash)
- Someone who gets married to a Shifcha Charufa (a slave girl that is engaged to someone else, and was set free by one of her owners)
- Someone who steals money (Gezeilah) and then lies in Beis Din that he did not steal, and even makes a shevuah
- Someone who has something that belongs to someone else that he needs to give back, and lies in Beis Din when he makes a shevuah, saying that he doesn’t have it (Shevuas Hapikadon)
The dinim of these mitzvos are explained in Mesechta Krisus.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn about more korbanos a person brings if they do an Aveira.
Perek Tes: We learn the halachos of the Asham Vadai brought for an aveira a person knows that he did (the details of today’s mitzvah).
Perek Yud: The Rambam teaches us about the Korban Oleh V’yored that depends if a person is rich or poor.
Perek Yud-Alef: The aveira of coming into the Beis Hamikdash or eating korbanos when a person is Tamei has different halachos than other aveiros that a person brings a Korban Oleh V’yored for.
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The Rambam now gives us an introduction before we start calculating how and when the moon will be seen for the first time each month. The Chachomim used the simplest way to figure it out. Even though some of the numbers are not exact, the Chachomim knew that it wouldn’t make enough of a difference to change things.
What we will calculate is when the moon can be seen in Yerushalayim for the first time in a month.
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After the war with the kings, Avraham Avinu was worried. So many nisim had happened to him, he was afraid he had used up all of his reward from Hashem! But Hashem told Avraham not to be worried, his reward would be very great.
Why was Avraham Avinu so worried about his reward? The Rambam tells us that Avraham Avinu is an example of serving Hashem because he LOVED Hashem, not serving Hashem to get a reward!
The Rebbe explains that for Avraham Avinu, the reward wasn’t for HIM. He wanted everyone to see that by serving Hashem properly, you get good things. He wanted the reward so that people would want to serve Hashem.
That’s why Avraham Avinu was worried that he used up his reward. Then people might not realize how good it is to serve Hashem! Hashem promised him that he would be rewarded fully, and his shlichus would be successful.
Likutei Sichos Chelek Chof, p. 44; Dvar Malchus Lech Lecha
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The fifth posuk of the Yud-Beis Pesukim starts with the words Ki Karov.
The Alter Rebbe uses this posuk in the Shaar Blatt of Tanya, telling us that this is what the Tanya is all about! It is Karov — close to us and doable — to do all of Hashem’s mitzvos because we love Hashem!
Ki Karov Eilecha Hadavar Me’od — This is very doable and easy for you
Beficha — in your mouth, to say words of Torah and Tefillah
Uvilvavcha Laasoso — and to do mitzvos with your heart, with Ahavas Hashem and Yiras Hashem!
We might feel that we are only interested in doing other things, like playing games or eating delicious foods. But by learning what it says in Tanya, we will know how special and precious our mitzvos are! Then it will be easy for us to do the mitzvos — and not just to DO them, but to do them with our whole heart!
Then, even if we enjoy doing other things, or if we don’t really like doing the mitzvos, we will want to do the mitzvos anyway!
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Something that only started to be able to be used on Shabbos is called Nolad, and we are not allowed to use it on Shabbos.
Some Chachomim say that if something is a solid, changing it into a liquid would also be part of Nolad. For example, if we put ice cubes in a bowl, they will melt and become a bowl of water. That water would be Nolad, something that was new on Shabbos. So there are opinions that we should not put ice cubes into a bowl by themselves on Shabbos.
But if we put in some water into the bowl before putting in the ice cubes, it is fine, because you will not be able to see which water is new.
See Kitzur Shulchan Aruch siman Pey, Shulchan Aruv Harav site
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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 this week’s parsha, Hashem promises Avraham that his children will get the WHOLE Eretz Yisroel, all 10 lands.
But first, the Yidden will need to go through a Golus of 400 years — Golus Mitzrayim.
Really, we won’t get the WHOLE Eretz Yisroel until Moshiach comes. So why does Hashem’s promise only talk about the Geulah from Mitzrayim?
The Maharal brings from the Medrash that the Torah uses the word “vegam” (“and also”) to hint to us that there will be more Golus after that one. Golus Mitzrayim was the main Golus, and every other Golus comes from it. Hashem was telling Avraham about EVERY Golus that would happen, and promised that at the end we would leave even this last Golus “Birchush Gadol,” with great riches!
Gevuros Hashem perek Tes, Yalkut Moshiach U’Geulah p. 259
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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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