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CHUMASH
Parshas Toldos - Shishi with Rashi
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In today’s Chumash, Yaakov gets the brachos, and needs to run away when Eisav finds out.
Yaakov’s brachos: Yitzchak Avinu thought that Yaakov was really Eisav! He gave him ten brachos!
Some of the brachos are that he should have rain, so his food will grow well. He should rule other nations and other nations should not rule over him! People who curse him should be cursed, and people who give him brachos should get brachos too. We read these brachos at the beginning of Veyitein Lecha, that we say on Motzei Shabbos!
Eisav’s brachos: After getting the brachos, Yaakov left. Just then, Eisav came back with the food he prepared. He told Yitzchak to come eat, so he could get the brachos.
“Who are you?” Yitzchak asked.
“I am your oldest son, Eisav,” he answered.
When Yitzchak heard this, he was very confused. He also saw Gehennom opening in front of Eisav, and he started to shake! “So who brought me food before? I gave the brachos to him already! But I see he deserved the brachos, so he will keep them.”
Eisav was very upset! He screamed, “Give me a bracha too!”
“But I already gave your brachos to Yaakov — he came in a tricky way and I thought it was you.”
“So that’s why you called him Yaakov!” Eisav cried. “Yaakov can mean to trap — and he already trapped me twice! First, he took away the bechorah from me (the zechus and responsibility of being the oldest), and now he also took my bracha!”
Now Yitzchak saw that this wasn’t a mistake at all! Eisav sold his bechorah, so Yaakov really DID deserve to get the brachos for the oldest! He told Eisav that Yaakov had a bracha now to rule over him, but Eisav still cried that he wanted a bracha too.
Yitzchak gave Eisav a bracha that he would have rain so his plants will grow, even if he didn’t deserve it. And if he would see Yaakov’s children (the Yidden) doing aveiros, he would be allowed to rule over them until they do Teshuvah.
Yaakov runs away: Eisav was very angry at Yaakov! Because of Yaakov, he got a less special bracha! Eisav wanted to kill Yaakov, but he decided to wait until Yitzchak passed away, so he wouldn’t make his father upset.
Rivkah knew about Eisav’s plan through Ruach Hakodesh, and warned Yaakov to run away. She told him to go to Lavan’s house in Charan, and stay there until Eisav isn’t angry anymore. “I will send you a message when you can come home,” she told him. “Don’t try to fight Eisav, because then his children will try to kill you.”
Rivkah wanted Yaakov to have even more brachos. She told Yitzchak that she was worried that Yaakov would marry a Chiti girl like Eisav. So Yitzchak gave Yaakov a bracha to go find a wife from Rivkah’s family in Padan Aram, and that many children should come from him. He gave him many of the brachos that Hashem gave to Avraham Avinu, and a bracha that Eretz Yisrael will belong to HIS children, not Eisav’s!
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Today’s shiur Tehillim is kapitelach Chof-Gimmel to Chof-Ches.
In Kapitel Chof-Hey it says “Zechor Rachamecha Hashem Vachasadech Ki Me’olam Heimah” — “Hashem should remember His mercy and His kindness, because they are forever.”
The Mitteler Rebbe explains (in a maamar about Chanukah!) that the word “meiolam” (forever) also means “from the world.”
Which world?
When Hashem made the world, he made a special light that we can’t see today, because it is hidden until Moshiach will come. Because Yidden needed special kochos in the time of Chanukah, Hashem took this light and made it shine for Yidden in order to help them to do Teshuvah, come closer to Hashem, and win over their enemies who wanted to destroy them!
How did the Yidden deserve to use this light? The Mesiras Nefesh Yidden would have for Torah and mitzvos made Hashem want to shine the light of Moshiach in the world!
That’s what it means, “Hashem should remember His goodness and kindness from the world — that Hashem should make the special light which shined from the beginning of the Creation of the world, to help Yidden overcome the hardships of Golus.
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TANYA
Kuntres Acharon Siman Daled
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The Alter Rebbe teaches that DOING a mitzvah is very special! Even if a person is able to THINK about how great Hashem is, and that makes him FEEL very close to Hashem and love Him very much, or to be afraid to do things that aren’t what Hashem wants, it’s not the same as DOING a mitzvah.
In this section of Kuntres Acharon, the Alter Rebbe explains why!
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In today’s Hayom Yom, we learn about how chassidim wash Mayim Acharonim before bentching: We pour water over our fingertips, then pass our fingers over our lips while they are still wet.
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #112) is that if a person has Tzoraas, he needs to show people that he is Tomei, so they don’t become Tomei from him. He needs to rip his clothes, let his hair grow, and cover his face down to his mouth so people know to stay away from him.
This is only for a man who is a Metzora. A woman with Tzoraas, or people with a different kind of tumah also need to let people know that they are tomei, but they don’t have to use these same signs.
We learn this from a posuk in Parshas Tazria:
וְהַצָּרוּעַ אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ הַנֶּגַע בְּגָדָיו יִהְיוּ פְרֻמִים וְרֹאשׁוֹ יִהְיֶה פָרוּעַ וְעַל שָׂפָם יַעְטֶה וְטָמֵא טָמֵא יִקְרָא
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more about Tzoraas.
Perek Hey: In this perek, we learn about Tzoraas on a place where a person was hurt: From a burn, which is called a Michvah, and from other things, which is called Shechin. We also learn about Tzoraas in a bald spot, which is called Karachas or Gabachas, depending on where on the head it is.
Perek Vov: This perek teaches us about when a sign of Tzoraas might not be considered Tzoraas, for example, the bottom of a person’s foot.
Perek Zayin: In this perek, the Rambam teaches us about a person who has Tzoraas that spread all over his entire body, which can make him tahor.
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Today we start learning the halachos of Kiddushin.
There are many different ways for a man to tell a woman that she is married to him. For example, a man can say to a woman, “You are my wife,” when he gives her something worth at least a perutah. But if he says, “With this I am your husband,” they are not married.
The Rambam also tells us that someone else can be sent as a shliach to do the Kiddushin, for example sending someone to bring money to the kallah and say that she will become the wife of the man who sent him. Still, it is better for the chosson to do it by himself.
Before we do many mitzvos, we say a bracha. Before the mitzvah of Kiddushin, we also say a special bracha. (This bracha is the first bracha that is said under the chuppah, in the Rambam’s nusach, “Asher Kidishanu Bemitzvosav Vehivdilanu Min Ha’arayos...” )
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We will learn a vort from the Baal Shem Tov about Ahavas Yisroel:
It says in the posuk that when Hashem created Adam Harishon, Hashem said, “It is not good for a person to be alone. I will make him an Eizer Kenegdo, a helper.”
The Baal Shem Tov explains, if a person was alone, he could make a mistake and think that he is perfect. So Hashem helps him by giving him another person. By seeing the chisaron in the other person, he will know that he also has a similar chisaron in himself.
See Keser Shem Tov siman 302, Chasidim Ein Mishpacha gilyon vov
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The tenth posuk in the Yud-Beis Pesukim is the posuk of Ve’ahavta.
Ve’ahavta Lereiacha Kamocha — You should love your friend like yourself!
Rabbi Akiva Omer — Rabbi Akiva says about this
Zeh Klal Gadol BaTorah — That it is a very important rule in the Torah!
This posuk speaks about the very special mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel!
The Rambam tells us that there are two main ways we keep this mitzvah: We should be as careful with our friend’s kavod as we are with our own kavod, and we should be as careful with our friend’s money as we are with our own money!
A person’s kavod is very important to them. We don’t like being embarrassed in front of other people, or when other people make us feel silly or left out. Part of the mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel is to be careful about other people’s kavod too! We should be careful not to embarrass other people or make them feel left out.
A person’s money is also important to them. We don’t like if people ruin our things, or make us spend money that we worked hard to earn for no reason. Part of Ahavas Yisroel is being careful with other people’s money too! We should be careful with their toys and their books, and not make them spend money when they don’t want to.
Even though, as we learned before, this mitzvah includes all of the mitzvos Bein Adam Lechaveiro, the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch bring these two specific things which we learn from this mitzvah itself.
When we do that, we are following one of the lessons of this posuk!
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It is a very good minhag of women to put on their Shabbos clothes before bentching licht. It shows kavod for the Shabbos licht and for Shabbos itself, which starts right after lighting our candles!
But if someone is running late, it is better to bentch licht wearing weekday clothes, than to bentch licht very close to Shkiyah, which might chas veshalom possibly end up as Chillul Shabbos.
See Kitzur Dinei Uminhagei Neiros Shabbos Kodesh VeYom Tov by Rabbi N. Dubov, p. 11
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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 Rebbe points out something amazing about nowadays:
Throughout all of the years of Yidden being in Golus, many countries had rules that made it hard to be a Yid, and especially to teach Yiddishkeit to others.
For the first time ever, almost everywhere in the world, Yidden are free to practice Yiddishkeit and share Yiddishkeit, without anyone stopping us!
Now it is just up to us, to use this special time to do as much as we can!
This is a very important preparation for the Geulah, when Moshiach will unite the world to know Hashem!
See sicha Parshas Vayigash, Sefer Hasichos 5752 p. 224
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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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