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CHUMASH
Parshas Mikeitz - Shlishi with Rashi
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In today’s Chumash, Paraoh makes Yosef second to the king. He starts collecting food for the hunger, and has two sons, Menasheh and Efrayim.
Paraoh said to Yosef, “Just like you said, we need a very smart person to be in charge of the food. Since Hashem made YOU know about this and nobody else, that means that there is nobody as smart as you! I am making you in charge of saving the food. Everyone will have to listen to you, and even though I am still the king, you can do anything just like a king.” (Paraoh ignored what the butler said, that Yosef wouldn’t be a good person to have a job for the king.) He gave Yosef his ring, and fancy clothes, and a special necklace that shows he is a big officer.
Paraoh had Yosef ride through the city in one of the royal carriages, telling everyone to bend their knees in front of Yosef. He said to Yosef in front of everyone: “I am Paraoh, and I am in charge. I am making a decree that nobody can even hold weapons or ride on a horse without your permission!”
Paraoh gave Yosef the name “Tzofnas Paneiach,” which means “the one who explains hidden things” (because he explained the dream that nobody understood) and gave him Osnas, Potifera’s daughter, to marry. (Potifera is the name the Torah now uses for Potifar.) Yosef was now 30 years old, and he went all around Mitzrayim to save food for the hunger years, when nothing will grow.
During the seven years when there was a lot of food, people brought grain to the storehouses where they would keep all of it. They took some of the earth from the places where it grew, to help keep it from going bad. There was so much grain, more than could be counted!
Yosef had two sons before the hunger years started. One son was called Menasheh, which means “makes you forget.” Hashem made Yosef forget the hard years he went through, and he wanted to thank Hashem for that! He also chose this name to help him remember that he is a Yid, because being so great can chas veshalom make a person easily forget. The second son was called Efrayim, because Hashem made him grow in Mitzrayim.
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Usually, the months of the year go in a pattern, called “Kesidran.” First we have a month with 30 days, then the next month has 29. Nissan has 30 days, Iyar has 29, and so on. But there are two months that don’t always fit the pattern, Cheshvan and Kislev. They can have 29 OR 30 days.
This year, Kislev has only 29 days. So we also need to say the Tehillim for Yom Lamed today, and we finish the entire Tehillim. We will also need to learn TWO pieces of Tanya, for Yom Chof-Tes and for Yom Lamed!
You might already know the second half of today’s Yom of Tehillim by heart! It’s Ashrei and the paragraphs that start with Hallelukah, which is the main part of Pesukei Dezimra in davening.
These paragraphs are explained in the first sefer of Chassidus to be printed after the Tanya!
After the Tanya, the first sefer of Chabad Chassidus printed was the Siddur Im Dach. This is a siddur which has maamarim of the Alter Rebbe printed together with the siddur. It was put together by the Mitteler Rebbe, and is sometimes called the Mitteler Rebbe’s siddur.
The maamarim on these kapitelach in Pesukei Dezimra are very special! Usually a maamar explains one posuk according to Chassidus. But these maamarim explain EVERY posuk of these kapitelach according to Chassidus!
Even though the maamarim were said separately, one posuk at a time, they were put together in the siddur. This helps us understand ALL of the pesukim in the main part of Pesukei Dezimra according to Chassidus!
See maamar Vayishlach 5743 and 5747
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Daled
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In today’s Tanya, we learn that the “Levushim” (“clothes”) of the neshama connect all of the other parts of the neshama to Hashem!
We learned that before the neshama comes into the body it needs to make a promise that it will be a tzadik and it won’t be a rasha. We know that it isn’t easy to keep this promise that we all made, because the first nefesh that comes into our body, the Nefesh Habehamis, is only interested in Gashmius and things it enjoys.
But Hashem also gives each person a neshama which will help us keep our promise. Even though the neshama is hidden, Hashem gives the neshama ways to come out of hiding in the body. First we learned that we can do this through connecting to a tzadik whose neshama doesn’t hide as much (hiskashrus). Then the Alter Rebbe taught us that by learning about the greatness of Hashem with the Chochma, Bina, and Daas of the Neshama (Sechel), it wakes up the feelings of the neshama (Midos) to want to be close to Hashem. We do this by learning Chassidus and davening B’Avodah.
Now in Perek Daled, the Alter Rebbe tells us about something that is even MORE powerful! Waking up the neshama’s feelings helps us WANT to be close to Hashem, but there is a way for the neshama to ACTUALLY be close to Hashem! This is through Torah and mitzvos, which are called the Levushim of the neshama.
What are the Levushim of the neshama?
1) Maaseh — Doing all the mitzvos of the Torah that we are able to
2) Dibur — Learning with our speech all 613 mitzvos and their halachos (like we do in Sefer Hamitzvos and Rambam!)
3) Machshavah — Thinking as much Torah as we can, in all of the different parts of Torah
The Alter Rebbe tells us that the neshama has 613 parts. By doing the 613 mitzvos in Machshava, Dibur and Maaseh the best we can, we connect these 613 parts to Hashem!
The Levushim also help us connect the neshama-kochos of Sechel and Midos with Hashem!
Thinking Torah in Machshavah connects our Chochma, Bina and Daas (the Sechel of our neshama) to Hashem.
And when we do mitzvos in Dibur and Maaseh, we connect our Midos, the feelings we woke up of wanting to be close to Hashem, with actually being close to Hashem!
That’s how learning Torah and doing mitzvos connects every part of the neshama to Hashem!
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We learned yesterday about the “Latkes Ovent” which the Rebbeim made. The Rebbe learns from there that it is important to make gatherings for children, and to speak there about the nissim of Chanukah! In today’s Hayom Yom, we learn (in very short) about the neis of Chanukah.
The Yidden in the time of the Greeks did many aveiros. They spent a lot of time with the Greeks, learning all about how they did things, not keeping Shabbos or Yom Tov, not eating kosher, and not keeping Taharas Hamishpacha.
The punishment for this was that Hashem made the Beis Hamikdash become full of tumah and idols, and many Yidden died or became slaves.
But because the Yidden did teshuvah and had Mesiras Nefesh, Hashem made the neis of Chanukah!
Today’s Hayom Yom was a summary of the story of Chanukah, which the Frierdiker Rebbe said during a Purim Farbrengen in Tof-Shin-Alef, where he spoke at length about the stories of Purim and Chanukah, and horaos we learn from them. You can see the longer version of the story, in the words of the Frierdiker Rebbe, here (translated into English; see sections 2–5)
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Since we are learning a set of halachos that doesn’t have its own mitzvah, Hilchos Keilim, we are reviewing other mitzvos from Sefer Tahara, since keilim can also get these kinds of tumah!
Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #100) is about the kind of Tumah that a woman gets when she has a baby, called Tumas Yoledes. These are the halachos about how she can make other people or things tomei. Even though it is important to know this mitzvah and its halachos always, as part of Torah, it was actually kept when we had a Beis Hamikdash, since someone tomei is not allowed to go into the Beis Hamikdash or eat from the korbanos!
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more about Keilim and when they can become Tomei. Today we learn about ovens and stoves!
In Perek Tes-Vov we learn about when an oven or stove is counted as finished and can become Tomei.
Perek Tes-Zayin teaches us about when an oven or stove is broken — can it still get Tumah?
Perek Yud-Zayin has the halachos about parts of an oven, or things that are attached — like a towel rack or a shelf for spices. If the oven is Tomei, do they become Tomei too?
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This perek has many halachos about writing a Get. If a sofer wrote a get for practice, nobody can ever use it for a real get, even if they have the same names!
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Today is a Hillel day of Chanukah!
Did you know that Hillel and Shamai had a machlokes about how to light the Menorah? Shamai said that we should start with 8 candles on the first night, and light one less each night, until we light one the last night. Hillel said we should do it the way we do it nowadays — start with one and light one more each night.
So let’s see:
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NIGHT #
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HILLEL
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SHAMAI
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1
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1 candle
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8 candles
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2
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2 candles
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7 candles
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3
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3 candles
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6 candles
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4
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4 candles
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5 candles
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5
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5 candles
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4 candles
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6
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6 candles
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3 candles
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7
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7 candles
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2 candles
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8
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8 candles
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1 candle
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The first night that Hillel says to light MORE candles than Shamai is the FIFTH night! That’s today!
Shamai teaches us about being strict in Torah things. We should look at things that aren’t right and try to stop them — Sur MeRa.
Hillel teaches us about looking for GOOD things, and trying to do them more — Asei Tov.
That’s the lesson from today, to look for ways to always be doing more good things, and in a way of Maalin Bakodesh, adding more every day!
See rally 5th night of Chanukah 5746
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TEFILLAH
Ve'al Hanisim in Davening and Bentching
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What is the neis of Chanukah?
There are actually TWO main nissim: That the oil in the menorah lasted for eight days, and that the Yidden won the war against the Greeks!
The main neis that the Chachomim set up the Yom Tov for is the neis of the oil. That’s why the main mitzvah of Chanukah is lighting the menorah.
But we also thank Hashem for the other neis, that the Yidden won the war! We do this when we say Ve’al Hanisim, which thanks Hashem for making the small Yiddishe army win against the big Greek army.
We say Ve’al Hanisim in Shemoneh Esrei, and in bentching.
If we forget to say it, as long as we haven’t said Hashem’s name in the end of the bracha (in Shemoneh Esrei, “Hatov Shimcha” and in bentching “Al Ha’aretz Ve’al Hamazon”), we go back and say from Ve’al Hanisim again.
In bentching, we have another chance! If we remember in time, there is a special Horachaman that we can say before Horachaman Hu Yezakeinu (where we add Horachamans for Shabbos and Yom Tov), and then say the paragraph of Bimei Matisyahu. (In our siddurim, this Horachaman is printed in small letters before Ve’al Hanisim.)
But if we only remember when we are finished, even though it is important, we don’t bentch or daven Shemoneh Esrei again.
See Shevach Hamoadim, Hilchos Chanukah, siman tes
For a full review of the halachos of Chanukah, see the Halacha Day by Day by the Badatz of Crown Heights or the Halacha Newsletter by Rabbi Lesches
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Some people have a minhag to eat foods made out of milk or cheese on Chanukah. We do this to remember the neis that happened with Yehudis and the cheese:
Yehudis, the daughter of Yochanan Kohen Gadol, was very brave. She thought of a plan to save the Yidden of her city. She went out to the Greek general, bringing him a present of very salty cheese. He was very happy, and let her feed him a lot of it. Then the general was very thirsty, so Yehudis gave him lots of strong wine. The wine made him so drunk, he fell asleep! Yehudis pulled out his sword and chopped off his head.
When the soldiers found out that their general was dead, they were so scared that they all ran away! The Yidden were saved.
To remember this neis, we also eat milchig foods on Chanukah.
See Shevach Hamoadim, Kitzur Hilchos Chanukah
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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 Golus, the world can look very messy. There are many times when it is hard to do mitzvos, there are lots of taavos all around us, and many sad or uncomfortable things.
It isn’t always easy to ignore those challenges and do what we are supposed to anyway.
Chassidus teaches us that all of these problems come from the Kelipah and Sitra Achara that Hashem put into the world. And hiding inside of that Kelipah and Sitra Achara are sparks of kedusha!
Our job is to find and fix up those sparks of kedusha, so that the world can become a comfortable place for Hashem, a Dira Betachtonim. We do this by making sure that our Torah, Avodah and Gemilus Chasadim are strong, and by helping Yidden who got stuck in kelipah and taavos, or grew up that way, to come closer to Yiddishkeit. By doing this, we are making the world ready for Moshiach!
When we realize that the hardships were PUT THERE just for us to overcome them, it won’t be HARD to do our avodah, it will be EXCITING! We will know that every time we see something hard in the world, it is because Hashem wants us to find the kedusha inside of that kelipah! We will be so excited to do our part in bringing the Geulah!
See Maamar Zos Chanukah 5738
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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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