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CHUMASH
Parshas Vayechi - Shvi'i with Rashi
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In today’s Chumash, we learn about the end of Yosef’s life. He passes away, and his Aron stays with the Yidden in Mitzrayim. Before he passes away, Yosef tells the Yidden that Hashem will take them out of Mitzrayim!
The Shevatim were worried that maybe Yosef would be mean to them, now that Yaakov passed away. “Don’t worry,” Yosef told his brothers, “I will take care of you and make sure you have food.” Still, Yosef didn’t have as many family parties as he used to while Yaakov was alive. When the Mitzriyim saw that, they stopped treating the Shevatim as nicely. Now the Shevatim realized that soon the Yidden would become slaves, like Hashem told Avraham.
Yosef lived in Mitzrayim his whole life, 110 years. He was able to learn even with his great-grandchildren before he passed away!
Yosef told his brothers that he would pass away, but that Hashem will remember them and take them out of Mitzrayim. Hashem will bring them to the land promised to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov — Eretz Yisroel.
Before he passed away, Yosef asked his brothers to make sure the Yidden take his Aron along when Hashem takes them out of Mitzrayim. Until that happened, the Aron of Yosef stayed with the Yidden in Mitzrayim!
Chazak, Chazak, Venis’chazek! We have just finished learning the entire Chumash Bereishis!
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Today’s kapitelach are Pey-Ches and Pey-Tes.
One of the things it talks about in Kapitel Pey-Tes (89) is how Hashem gave the melucha (being kings) to Dovid Hamelech and his children. “Zaro Leolam Yihiyeh, Vechiso Kashemesh Negdi” — “His children will be forever, and his throne like the sun before me.”
Moshiach (Melech Hamoshiach) comes from Dovid Hamelech, so Hashem’s promise to Dovid Hamelech really does go forever! Melech HaMoshiach comes from the family of Dovid!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Yud-Alef
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In today’s Tanya, the entire Perek Yud-Alef, we learn about a Rasha.
We learned in the last perek that a tzadik is someone whose Yetzer Tov becomes so strong, that the Yetzer Hara becomes very weak and has no say to stop him from doing the Will of Hashem!
Today we learn that the OPPOSITE can happen Chas Veshalom if a person lets their Yetzer Hara make them behave however it wants: It can get so strong that it will always be in charge of what the person does, and the Yetzer Tov won’t be able to say anything to stop it. This is what the Alter Rebbe calls a Rasha.
By some people the Yetzer Hara can be in charge only once in a while, and only with a small aveira. For other people, the Yetzer Hara can be in charge more often, and with bigger, more serious aveiros.
We said that with a tzadik, even though the Yetzer Tov is in charge there could still be some Yetzer Hara left inside. That’s called a Tzadik Vera Lo. That means that he is a tzadik, but there is still some of the Yetzer Hara left hidden inside.
With a Rasha the opposite is true. Even though the Yetzer Hara is in charge, the Yetzer Tov is still inside. It can make the person think and feel thoughts of Teshuvah, even if it’s not strong enough to keep the person from doing the wrong thing. This is a Rasha VeTov Lo.
That’s why a person feels bad after doing an aveira (“Reshaim Melei’im Charatos”). The good that’s inside of him is making him feel like he acted in the wrong way.
But really there are different levels in Rasha VeTov Lo. By one person, the Yetzer Tov that is inside may be strong enough to give the person enough koach to do a proper teshuvah, and not do it again. By another person, he may just feel bad, but not be strong enough to do teshuvah properly and stop acting in his not-good ways.
Then there is a Rasha VeRa Lo. This is someone who got so used to doing the wrong thing that the Yetzer Hara pushed the Yetzer Tov out. He can’t feel the good inside of him anymore, and won’t even feel bad for doing the aveira.
Still, the Yetzer Tov doesn’t ever COMPLETELY leave a Yid. Even in the Rasha VeRa Lo, it is still there, connected to him, even though he can’t feel it. That’s why he is still counted as a part of a minyan and can bring the Shechina down when there are ten Yidden together.
So what does a person do if his Yetzer Tov isn’t strong enough? What if he’s so used to doing something he shouldn’t be doing, that he can’t control himself? One thing he can do is to get help from someone else to help his Yetzer Tov become stronger, so he will be able to choose to do the right thing again! (As we learn in Hayom Yom, when two people talk together to become stronger in their Avodas Hashem, there are two Yetzer Tovs fighting against one Yetzer Hara. So together with another Yid’s help, everyone is able to make the Yetzer Tov win!)
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In today’s Hayom Yom, we learn how to be full of life, even in Golus!
In the year the Hayom Yom was written, today (like this year!) was Shabbos Parshas Vayechi.
First we learn a minhag about Kriyas HaTorah: The person who gets the last Aliyah of the Chumash says Chazak Chazak Venis’chazek together with the rest of the minyan.
We also learn a minhag about Shabbos davening: In Maariv of Motzei Shabbos after Shemoneh Esrei, we say the posuk “Orech Yomim” two times — but not when we say this same posuk in Shacharis on Shabbos in the beginning of Pesukei Dezimra.
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When the Tzemach Tzedek was a little boy, his teacher taught him, according to the pirush of the Baal Haturim, that Yaakov lived the best years of his life when he was in Mitzrayim. The Tzemach Tzedek couldn’t understand how living in a kelipah-filled place like Mitzrayim could be the best part of his life, and he asked his zeideh, the Alter Rebbe, this question.
The Alter Rebbe answered him that Yaakov was able to live his best years in Mitzrayim because he first sent Yehudah to set up a yeshiva there. The words of the posuk that teach us this (Lehoros Lefanav Goshna) can also be explained that “when we learn Torah (lehoros) we come close (goshna) to Hashem!”
Yaakov had the Torah, which is called a Torah of life, in Mitzrayim. Learning Torah brings a Yid closer to Hashem than anything else! Because he had Torah in Mitzrayim, he was able to have Vayechi — a life, and the best part of his life — even in Mitzrayim.
That’s also how we are able to be full of life, even in Golus: With the koach of Torah which connects us to Hashem!
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #265) is that we are not allowed to figure out a way to get something that we are jealous of, that belongs to another person.
If I see my friend’s new pencil case, and I am jealous of her, I am not allowed to buy it from her — even for $100! I can’t try to convince her that mine is better, and she should switch, and I’m not allowed to get someone else to tell her to give it or sell it to me.
This aveira is only if someone DOES something to try to get what he wants.
We learn this from a posuk in Parshas Yisro, from the Aseres Hadibros: לֹא תַחְמֹד בֵּית רֵעֶךָ
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Gezeilah VaAveidah
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In today’s Rambam, we learn about how a robber can make up for what he did.
Perek Zayin teaches us the halachos about how a person does teshuvah for making a not true promise in a Beis Din that he doesn’t owe someone money. When he admits the truth, he has to pay back the amount he lied about, plus an extra fifth.
Perek Ches explains what a robber should do if the person he robbed from passed away. The halachos are also different if the person he robbed from was a Ger.
Perek Tes has the halachos about doing teshuvah for selling a stolen field. We learn what happens if the field gets ruined, sold, or taken away by the king!
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In the last perek of Hilchos Yibum V’Chalitzah, we learn halachos of how to do the mitzvah when we are not sure if we need to do Yibum or Chalitzah.
Mazel Tov! We have now finished learning this set of halachos!
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The Rebbe gave each and every one of us a shlichus, to spread Yiddishkeit and Chassidus to ourselves, to our families, and to all the Yidden around us — wherever we can reach.
The Rebbe tells us in a sicha that the word “Shliach” is the same Gematria as “Sameiach” (each letter in the Alef-Beis is also a number — and the numbers in these words both add up to 348).
This teaches us that when we do our shlichus, we shouldn’t feel frustrated, or overwhelmed, or like it’s too hard. Doing our shlichus should make us happy! We need to be so happy that we have this special zechus to be partners with the Rebbe to bring Moshiach now!
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There are times when we need to look at all the good things we are doing, and remind ourselves that we are working hard to serve Hashem!
But there are other times when it is the right thing to remind ourselves that we are NOT so special, to think things that make us feel humble.
We are supposed to use our heart to daven, and if we are feeling too proud of ourselves, it makes it hard to feel kedusha in our heart. The Yetzer Hara fills it all up and blocks it from thoughts of kedusha.
That is why it is important to think thoughts that make us feel more humble.
For example, a person can think about what is important to him: That he should have enough money, that people should be nice to him, and that he should be healthy. But that is all about Gashmiyus! How is that different than an animal? The only difference is that animals think about hay, and he thinks about bread.
A Yid should be worried about other things that are more important: He should be trying to accomplish more things in Torah, and to do mitzvos in a more beautiful way.
When we realize that we are not the way we should be, our heart becomes more humble and can think about Hashem. It is ready to feel kedusha and connect to Hashem by davening.
In our davening, there is a section that helps us to be more humble. Before korbanos, we say a paragraph starting “Le’olam Yehei Adam,” reminding ourselves that we aren’t coming to connect to Hashem and ask for our needs because we are special. We are coming to daven only because of Hashem’s Rachmanus, and with the zechus that we are children of the Avos, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov Avinu, and that we have a neshama.
See Tanya Perek Chof-Tes, Maamar Shemini 5716
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Wearing something outside as clothing is not called carrying. This is called “Derech Malbush.”
Still, the Chachomim want to make sure that it is something that we will not take off and carry around! Two of these halachos are just about kids:
For example, if a kid goes outside in Tatty or Mommy’s shoes, the shoes will probably fall off. Then he will end up carrying them. So going outside in Tatty or Mommy’s shoes on Shabbos is not allowed because of hotza’ah!
But a shirt that is too big won’t usually fall off by itself. So even if it looks silly, a kid IS allowed to go out on Shabbos with a shirt that is too big, and it’s not a problem of carrying. We are not worried that it will bring him to carrying outside.
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, 301:3
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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’s takana of learning Rambam and Sefer Hamitzvos is a very special way to get ready for Moshiach!
Why?
When we have a birthday party coming up, we make sure to prepare the things that will happen at the party! We figure out the rules for the games we will play, which hachlata we make, and decide how we will set the table and when we’ll say the pesukim.
The Rambam says in the halachos about Moshiach that in the times of Moshiach, we are going to be able to do ALL of the mitzvos just like we used to when the Beis Hamikdash was standing, exactly the way Hashem wants!
What is the best way to get ready for that? We can learn and know about all of the mitzvos and halachos so we’ll know what Hashem wants. There is only one sefer that teaches us EVERYTHING we need to know (including the halachos about the Beis Hamikdash and bringing korbanos): The Rambam!
So what’s a better way to get ready for Moshiach? Let’s make sure to learn Rambam every day!
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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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