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CHUMASH
Parshas Toldos - Sheini with Rashi
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There was a hunger, but Yitzchak was not allowed to leave Eretz Yisroel. Instead Hashem told him to go to Gerar, which would later become part of Eretz Yisrael.
Yitzchak went to live in Gerar. Because he was afraid that the people there weren’t good people, he did what his father Avraham did, and told the people of Gerar that Rivkah was his sister.
Avimelech, king of Gerar, didn’t take Rivkah to his palace, so Yitzchak stopped worrying about it, and didn’t keep it such a secret that they were really married.
When Avimelech found out that they were married, he got very angry! “Why didn’t you tell me that you were married? I might have tried to marry her, and then we would be in trouble!” Avimelech warned everyone in Gerar not to bother Yitzchak or Rivkah.
Yitzchak planted grain, hoping to be able to give some to tzedakah. And even though it was a year of hunger without rain and Gerar wasn’t such a great place to plant things, Hashem made a neis and it grew 100 times as much as he expected! Then, when he counted the grain to give maaser, Hashem made another neis, and it grew to be 100 times more than that!
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In one of today’s Kapitelach is a posuk we all know very well, because we say it every day at the end of davening! “Ach Tzadikim Yodu Lishmecha!”
In Tof-Shin-Mem-Daled (5744/1984), the Rebbe asked that EVERYONE, not only chassidim, should say this posuk after davening, and also to say Hareini before davening, to bring shalom in the world.
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TANYA
Kuntres Acharon Siman Gimmel
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We learned in an earlier part of Tanya that it is important to have kavanah when we daven. A davening without kavanah is like a guf (body) without a neshama!
But what if we are not able to have kavana in every part of davening every day?
The Alter Rebbe tells us that Hashem makes a special deal with us! If we have kavana at least in one little piece of davening every day, Hashem will put all those little pieces together. That way, after a year, we will have davened every part with kavana, and Hashem will count it as if we had that kavana every single day of the year!
Many chassidim would make a “kneitch” in their Siddur, folding down a corner to remember which part of davening they had kavana in, to make sure they would daven each part with kavana at least once!
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The year the Hayom Yom was written, today was Shabbos Mevorchim Kislev! The Rebbe reminds us to say the whole Tehillim before davening, and that today is a day for farbrengen.
The Frierdiker Rebbe made a takana that we should say the day’s kapitelach of Tehillim every day with a minyan after davening, and to say the whole Tehillim on Shabbos Mevorchim. Today we learn about saying Tehillim.
Saying Tehillim is very special — so special that we really cant even KNOW what it accomplishes and how much nachas Hashem has from it!
But one thing we do know: By saying Tehillim, Hashem will bentch us with health and good parnasa and nachas from our families, and that it will bring good things in Gashmiyus and Ruchniyus for all Yidden!
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Today's mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #108) is about Mei Nidah — the water that is mixed with the ashes of the Parah Adumah. There are some kinds of things that it makes tamei, and other things that it makes tahor! (For example, it makes someone who gets sprinkled with it, tahor; but someone who touches it when they are not sprinkling it on someone becomes tomei!) The mitzvah is to follow all of these halachos.
At the end of this mitzvah, the Rambam tells us the source of all of the mitzvos of Tumah and Tahara in the Torah (Parshas Shemini, Tazria, Metzora, and Chukas) and where they are explained in Mishnayos (Seder Taharos), and which mesechtos explain which mitzvos.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn halachos of the Mei Nidah:
Perek Ches: We learn about BRINGING water to mix with ashes of the Parah Adumah. We are not allowed to make a hefsek, to do something else along the way, or while carrying the water. We ARE allowed to do things we need to do in order to bring the water, like making a path to walk on. If someone does something that was NOT needed for the water before he mixes the water with the ashes, the water is posul and can’t be used.
Perek Tes: In this perek we learn about MIXING the water with the ashes — we learn how to do it, and things that can make it posul.
Perek Yud: The Rambam teaches us about USING the water of the Parah Adumah (haza’ah) — how we sprinkle it, and who is allowed to sprinkle it.
We learn that one person can sprinkle even on hundreds of people, and as long as they each get at least a drop of water sprinkled on them, they are all tahor!
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In today’s Rambam, we learn about Chanukah! Even though lighting the menorah and hearing the Megillah are mitzvos, since they are mitzvos from the Chachomim, they don’t count as part of the 613 mitzvos.
One of the things we learn is about saying Hallel on Chanukah. Did you know that there are 18 days a year when we say the whole Hallel? (8 days of Sukkos, 8 days of Chanukah, first day of Pesach, and Shavuos.) Outside of Eretz Yisroel, we say the whole Hallel 21 days — can you figure out why? (Saying Hallel on Rosh Chodesh is a minhag, and that’s why we don’t say the whole Hallel.)
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In today’s Hayom Yom, we learn about saying Tehillim. Do you know what Tehillim can accomplish?
In the back of our Tehillim, Ohel Yosef Yitzchok, there are many letters printed, with some stories that teach us how special saying Tehillim is. Here is one of those stories:
In the time of the Baal Shem Tov, there was once a gezeira that Chas Veshalom something not good would happen to a Yiddishe town. The Baal Shem Tov’s neshama went to Shomayim and saw that there was nothing that could be done to change the gezeira.
But right before his Neshama came back, he saw a very great light in one place in Gan Eden. When he asked what it was, he was told that this light comes from a Yid in a village that says Tehillim five times every day while he works.
The Baal Shem Tov traveled to the Yid and asked him: If he knew that with his Olam Haba he could save a Yiddishe village, would he do it? The Yid answered, “If I have such an Olam Haba, for sure I would!” — and the gezeira was changed.
This is one story of very many that show us how precious saying Tehillim is to Hashem.
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▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼
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Sometimes we are having a hard time with our learning, with our davening, or with our shlichus. We write to the Rebbe and ask for a bracha. We are expecting that right away, like a neis, we will have a chayus in learning, we’ll enjoy our davening, and see hatzlacha in our shlichus!
There were many people who wrote letters to the Rebbe asking for these kinds of things. The Rebbe would often answer, “Lo Yogaata Umatzasa, Al Taamin!” If someone tells you that he had hatzlacha without putting in effort, then you shouldn’t believe him! These kinds of things don’t come without us working for them, and they don’t happen right away.
But we are promised that if we do put in the effort, if we do try hard, and we don’t give up just because we didn’t see it work right away, then we will definitely have hatzlacha, and hatzlacha in a way of Motzosi, way MORE than the effort we put in!
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When we wake up in the morning, we have a Ruach Ra, a kind of tumah, on our hands.
The only way to take off this kind of tumah is to pour water on one hand and then the other, three times. This is washing Negel Vasser.
Now that Ruach Ra is in the water we used for Negel Vasser!
We need to be careful not to use this water for anything, or to leave it around. We don’t want anyone to get this tumah, because it can be dangerous.
That’s why it is very important to dump out our Negel Vasser right away, so that the tumah doesn’t stay in our house!
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman Daled, se’if Tes
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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 Mishna, we learn about remembering Yetziyas Mitzrayim every day, which we do in Kriyas Shema during davening. The posuk says, “Lemaan Tizkor Es Yom Tzeis’cha Mei’Eretz Mitzrayim Kol Yemei Chayecha,” that Hashem wants us to remember Yetziyas Mitzrayim all the days of our lives.
The Mishna explains that the extra word “kol” (“all”) means to include the days of Moshiach: “Kol Yemei Chayecha Lehovi Limos Hamoshiach,” “All the days of your life, including the days of Moshiach.” Even when Moshiach comes, we will need to talk about Yetziyas Mitzrayim in davening.
The Frierdiker Rebbe tells us a deeper meaning:
The Mishna didn’t say “Lerabos Yemos Hamoshiach,” which is usually how you would say “including the days of Moshiach” in the language of the Mishnah. Instead the Mishnah uses the words, “Lehovi Liyemos Hamoshiach,” which also means, “to BRING the days of Moshiach.”
According to this, the Mishnah has two lessons for us:
1) “Kol Yemei Chayecha,” everything during your life, “Lehovi Liyemos Hamoshiach,” brings us to think about the times of Moshiach. Whatever we see or use makes us think, how will we use this when Moshiach comes?
2) “Kol Yemei Chayecha,” all of the days of your life ARE “Lehovi Liyemos Hamoshiach.” Our whole lives, we have one main goal: To bring Moshiach!
At the Kinus Hashluchim in Tof-Shin-Nun-Beis, the last Kinus where we were zoche to hear a sicha from the Rebbe, the Rebbe spoke about Lehovi Liyemos Hamoshiach. The Rebbe told us that this needs to be the main focus now in the avodah of the shluchim and every Yid, to make sure that everything we are doing should lead to this main goal, to prepare to actually greet Moshiach!
See Sefer Hasichos Tof-Shin-Gimmel p. 73, Migolah L’geulah p. 128
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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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