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CHUMASH
Parshas Vayeira - Shlishi with Rashi
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In today’s Chumash, we learn how the malochim come to save Lot and his family before Sedom is destroyed.
The malachim who were sent to destroy Sedom had walked very slowly to give Avraham a chance to daven to save the cities. It was already night when they came to Sedom.
The people of Sedom chose Lot to be the judge that day, so he was sitting in his place at the gate of the city. When he saw the malachim, he invited them to sneak into his house so nobody would see, and they could rest and then leave early in the morning before people woke up.
The malachim said that they didn’t need to come to his house, they could sleep outside. But Lot, who had learned about Hachnosas Orchim from Avraham, begged them so much that they finally agreed to be his guests. Since it was Pesach, and Lot did some of the mitzvos, he made them matzah to eat.
The malachim asked Lot about the people of Sedom. Lot agreed they were not good people, but he made excuses for them.
Even before they went to bed, many wicked people of Sedom surrounded the house. Nobody tried to stop them, even though they knew they were going to do something mean.
They told Lot to send out the guests, and they would do something very not nice to them.
Lot wanted to take care of his guests, and would not agree. He offered to send out his daughters instead.
But the people told Lot they don’t want his daughters, they want the guests! They tried to break down the door and take them by force! The malachim pulled Lot inside, and made the wicked people blind so they couldn’t find the way into the house.
The malachim told Lot: “Now you can’t make excuses for them anymore! You see how bad they are! Tell us who else is in your family. They all need get out of here, because Hashem sent us to destroy the city!”
Lot told his sons-in-law to come, but they didn’t want to — they thought he was joking.
By now it was almost morning, the time for the cities to be destroyed. The malachim told Lot to at least take his daughters, or else he would be stuck in the city when it was destroyed!
Lot wanted to save his things, and he wasn’t ready to leave right away. The malachim grabbed his hands and his wife and two daughters, and pulled them outside the city. Then the malach in charge of them told them to run for their lives, and not to look — because they really deserved to be punished too. “Go run to Avraham!”
Lot didn’t want to run to Avraham, because he knew that next to Avraham, he looks very bad. So he asked if he could run to a different city, Bela, which was not as bad as the others. (Even though this was one of the 5 cities that were supposed to be destroyed, we will see that Hashem agreed not to destroy it as a favor to Lot.)
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Today’s kapitelach of Tehillim are Ayin-Tes through Pey-Beis.
When these kapitelach were the Rebbe’s kapitelach for his Yom Huledes, there was a niggun made up for each one! Do you know them all?
In Kapitel Pey, Dovid Hamelech starts asking Hashem that “Roei Yisroel Haazina, Noheg Katzon Yosef.” “The Shepherd of Yidden, listen, the One who takes care of Yosef like sheep.”
In this posuk, Yidden are called with TWO names: Yisroel and Yosef.
We know Yidden are called Bnei Yisroel, because we are all children of Yaakov Avinu, who is also called Yisroel. But why are all Yidden called with the name Yosef, if he was only one of the Shevatim?
The reason is because in the time when there was no food in Eretz Yisroel, Yosef was the one who fed all the Yidden. Since he gave all the Yidden chayus, we are all called by his name!
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Chof-Zayin
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After the histalkus of a tzadik or a Rebbe, a part of the neshama of the Rebbe can come inside of each one of the Chassidim! If a chossid works hard to learn the Rebbe’s Torah and follow the Rebbe’s horaos, he gets this special koach.
With the extra koach from the tzadik’s neshama, it is easier to live the way the Rebbe taught! With this koach, the chassidim can really understand the things the Rebbe said, because part of the Rebbe becomes a part of them in a way of Pnimius!
Besides for that, there’s ANOTHER special koach that the Chassidim get after the histalkus of a Rebbe: A part of the neshama of the Tzadik that comes in a way of Makif, and doesn’t become a part of us in a way we can understand. This koach brings in thoughts that help us do teshuvah and do mitzvos in a more beautiful way.
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A person has a koach in their neshama called machshava, which means thinking. This koach is ALWAYS working — a person is ALWAYS thinking! But where does this koach find things to think about? From the koach of the neshama called sechel, things a person knows or learns.
So if a person knows or learns good things, things about Torah and Yiddishkeit and Ahavas Yisroel, that’s what he’ll be thinking about! But if what a person knows is just about Gashmius, or just what he sees and hears about in the street, then THAT’S what he will think about.
So we need to make sure to learn Torah every day. This will fill up our sechel with good things, and keep our machshava busy thinking about them!
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We learn two mitzvos today, about korbanos that need to be brought for someone to finish becoming Tahor:
1) (Mitzvas Asei #74) To become tahor enough to eat korbanos, a Zav (a man who has a certain kind of tumah from his body) needs to bring a korban of two birds.
We learn this from the words of the pesukim in Parshas Metzora: וְכִי יִטְהַר הַזָּב מִזּוֹבוֹ וְגוֹ׳ וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי יִקַּח לוֹ שְׁתֵּי תֹרִים וְגוֹ׳
2) (Mitzvas Asei #77) After a Metzora gets better from Tzoraas, he needs to bring three animals for korbanos — an Olah, a Chatas, and an Asham — and oil. (A poor person brings one animal and two birds.) Until he does this, he isn’t tahor enough to eat meat from korbanos.
We learn this mitzvah from another posuk in Parshas Metzora: וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי יִקַּח שְׁנֵי כְבָשִׂים תְּמִימִם וְכַבְשָׂה אַחַת בַּת שְׁנָתָהּ תְּמִימָה
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Mechusrei Kaparah
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more about the Mechusrei Kaparah, people who are Tahor, but still need to bring korbanos to become completely tahor.
Perek Gimmel: In this perek, we learn about when a Zav can become tahor — he needs to wait a week after the tumah stops coming from his body.
Perek Daled: The Rambam teaches us about the Metzora, and how he brings these korbanos to become completely tahor.
Perek Hey: Now we learn what happens if something isn’t done right with the korbanos of the Metzora.
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Today the Rambam tells us how to calculate where the moon will be on any day. There are a few steps to take, but if you follow the Rambam’s instructions, you can figure it out!
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One of the special things about this year is that it is a Shana Me’uberes, an Ibur Yahr.
In an Ibur Yahr, we have an extra month — a second Chodesh Adar!
The Rebbe tells us that there is an important message to learn from a year like this:
Since we have an extra month, it means we have a lot of extra days to learn Torah and do mitzvos! Hashem gives us more kochos than what we have in a regular year, and we need to accomplish much more than in a regular year.
Even though it is only one MONTH that is added, the whole YEAR is called a Shana Me’uberes! Every single day of the year, even in a regular month like Cheshvan, is part of this special kind of year.
That teaches us that EVERY day of this year has to have something extra!
Every single day of the year, we need to do a little more in our Avodah, with an extra chayus in our learning, our davening, and doing mitzvos.
Then we are zoche to EXTRA reward from Hashem, especially to win over our Yetzer Hara and to have hatzlacha in our shlichus!
See farbrengen Yud-Ches Tishrei 5749; Der Rebbe Redt Tzu Kinder vol. 6, p. 121
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The sixth posuk of the Yud-Beis Pesukim starts with the words “Vehinei Hashem.” This posuk comes from the Tanya, in Perek Mem-Alef. The Alter Rebbe uses these words to strengthen our Yiras Shomayim, by remembering that Hashem is always watching us to see if we will behave in the right way!
Vehinei Hashem Nitzav Alav — Hashem is standing right next to us!
U’melo Chol Ha’aretz Kevodo — And even though Hashem’s glory fills the world,
U’mabit Alav — Hashem is looking specifically at US!
Uvochein Klayos Valeiv — Hashem checks to see what we are thinking and feeling
Im Ovdo Kara’ui — To see if we are serving Hashem the way we should.
When we think about this, we will be careful to always do what Hashem wants!
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Hachnosas Orchim, inviting guests, is a big mitzvah. Avraham Avinu teaches us how to do this mitzvah in the best way!
The Rebbe teaches that the MAIN part of Hachnosas Orchim is not what we do, but how we do it! We need to show our guests that we are happy to have them and enjoy having them at our house.
That is one of the reasons why it is so important to walk our guests to the door when they leave. We are showing them that we are glad they came and sorry that they have to go.
See The Jewish Home (Sichos In English), Hospitality
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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 name of something in Lashon Kodesh is more than just a name — it shows us what the thing really is.
If we look at the letters of “Golah” (Golus) and “Geulah,” we will see that they are almost exactly the same! The only difference is that Geulah has one extra letter: An Alef.
That’s because really, Geulah is made up of all of the things of Golus together with an Alef.
What does that mean?
Hashem created the world as an Olam, from the same word as Helem, hidden — a place of hiding. The world was made in a way that Hashem will be hidden, and the creations there can’t see that Hashem is the Creator.
Because of this, even though it’s such a beautiful world, many terrible things can happen. There can be wars, hunger, sickness and jealousy.
But the Alef changes all of this!
What is an Alef?
One of the things “Alef” means is “Aluf,” master.
When Moshiach comes, the Aluf, the Master of the world, won’t be hidden anymore. The Alef will appear! So even though all of the Gashmius of the world will be the same as it was in Golus, everyone and everything will recognize that Hashem is the Master of the world!
When Hashem isn’t hidden anymore at all, and the world is a world of Geulah, none of these things will be able to happen. There will be no more hunger, no more war, and no more jealousy. Everything will be good for everyone!
See farbrengen of Parshas Emor, Tof-Shin-Nun-Alef
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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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