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CHUMASH
Parshas Vayigash - Sheini with Rashi
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Yehuda is arguing with the ruler of Mitzrayim, who is really Yosef, telling him that he shouldn’t keep Benyamin.
Yehudah continued his argument: He said, “If we go back and my father sees that we didn’t bring Binyamin, he will die, and we will be the ones who caused it to happen!
“I personally promised to make sure Benyamin comes home, and if he doesn’t, I won’t be with my father in Olam Hazeh or Olam Haba!
“So please, let me be your servant, instead of Benyamin. I will do a better job than him anyhow! Just please, don’t make me go back without Benyamin — I don’t want to see what would happen to my father.”
When Yosef heard that, he was sure that his brothers had all done teshuvah, and knew that now was the time to tell them who he was. But he didn’t want them to be embarrassed, so he told all of the servants to go out of the room. Yosef started to cry so loudly that everyone could hear — even the people in the other room!
Yosef said to his brothers, in Lashon Kodesh, “I am Yosef. You thought I died because you couldn’t find me. Really, I was alive the whole time! Our father Yaakov was sad for all of these years, because Hashem only makes a person forget someone who passed away! It’s a neis that he is still alive if he was crying so long!”
The brothers were so embarrassed they didn’t answer. They moved away because they were so ashamed.
Yosef then said in a softer voice, “Please come close and see that I am a Yid too. I am Yosef your brother, that you sold to be a slave in Mitzrayim. But don’t feel bad about it, because it is HASHEM Who wanted me to be here so I could give you food. The hunger has already lasted for two years, but there are still five years left! Hashem sent me here to make sure you have food.”
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Today’s kapitelach of Tehillim are Lamed-Hey through Lamed-Ches.
In today’s Tehillim, we have the posuk “Kol Atzmosai Tomarna Hashem Mi Chamocha.” “All of my bones say, who is like Hashem!” Our entire bodies praise Hashem!
We use all the parts of our bodies not only for doing mitzvos, but also for davening and learning. Every part of us thanks Hashem and says how special Hashem is. That’s one of the reasons we shuckle when we daven and learn Torah!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Vov
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In Perek Daled, where we talked about the levushim (Machshava, Dibur, and Maaseh — the things we think, say and do) of the neshama, we said that the thinking can be thinking words of Torah, saying can be saying words of Torah, and doing is doing mitzvos. So what are the levushim of the Nefesh Habehamis?
The Alter Rebbe says that the levushim of the Nefesh Habehamis aren’t always used just for aveiros, but ANYTHING that’s not specifically kedusha is automatically one of the levushim of the Nefesh Habehamis.
Here’s why: Kedusha is something which is especially for Hashem.
If it’s something we’re doing for ourselves, even if it’s not an aveira, it’s not kedusha. Anything that’s not kedusha is called kelipah, and is done using the levushim of the Nefesh Habehamis.
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There is a posuk that says “Da es Elokei Avicha, Ve’avdo Belev Shaleim.” We need to know Hashem, and serve Hashem with a whole heart. How do we do this?
All of the Torah we learn, all of the Chassidus we learn, that helps us “know” Hashem, we need to use it in our avodah — it needs to make us better Yidden and Chassidim! We can’t just learn things and say “oh that’s interesting” and not do anything about it. The things we know need to help us be the way Hashem wants us to be.
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Today we will learn the same mitzvah again, (Mitzvas Asei #109), since our Rambam is still about the same thing — becoming Tahor by using a mikvah.
This mitzvah comes from a posuk in Parshas Metzora: וְרָחַץ בַּמַּיִם אֶת כָּל בְּשָׂרוֹ
The details are explained in Mesechta Mikvaos and Tvul Yom.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn about what makes a Mikvah posul.
Perek Hey: Water that comes from a keili and not from rainwater is called Mayim She’uvim. If there is too much Mayim She’uvim in a mikvah, it is posul! This perek tells us about different ways that Mayim She’uvim could come into a Mikvah and make it posul.
Perek Vov: We learn the halachos about what type of keili makes that water shouldn’t be counted as rain water anymore. Some types of pipes are not counted as a keili, since they aren’t made to HOLD water, just that water should go through them.
Perek Zayin: When things fall into a mikvah, they can sometimes help make a mikvah kosher, or sometimes make it posul. If something falls in that changes the color of the water, it makes the mikvah posul. But if snow or salt fall in, they can count as part of the 40 se’ah we need to have a kosher mikvah! Juice doesn’t count for the 40 se’ah, but it doesn’t make the mikvah posul either.
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This perek has many more rules about a get. If a person gives a get through a shliach, the shliach needs to follow the instructions or the get is not counted.
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The first year after Hey Teves happened, there was singing and dancing and celebrating in 770 for a whole week, until Yud-Beis Teves — just like there’s Sheva Brachos after a Chasuna! Since then, even though the main Yom Tov is Hey Teves, we continue to relive and learn about what Hey Teves means to us until Yud-Beis Teves.
The Rebbe said that the true nitzachon of the sefarim is USING the sefarim! We should make more shiurim, with ourselves and with others, to learn them!
True kavod of sefarim is not that they should have a beautiful place on our bookshelf and that we are careful not to touch them, but that they should get used and worn out. Parents should remind their kids that it’s okay if their sefarim get used and ripped and worn out, and that when they need, their parents will be happy to get them new ones!
See Hamaaseh Hu Ha’ikar, compilation of horaos for Hey Teves, from sicha of Parshas Vayigash 5748 and others
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In the Beis Hamikdash, on Yom Sheini, the Leviim would sing kapitel Mem-Ches. The kapitel starts with the words “Shir Mizmor Livnei Korach, Gadol Hashem Umehulal Me’od.” This posuk speaks about the praise of Yerushalayim and the Beis Hamikdash.
One of the things that were special about the Beis Hamikdash is that even though the whole Beis Hamikdash was holy, there were different levels of kedusha inside of it! For example, there was a separation between the Ezras Yisroel and the Ezras Kohanim, because the Ezras Kohanim was more holy and not everyone could go there. Of course, there was also a separation between the Kodesh and the Kodesh Hakodoshim, where even the Kohen Gadol could not go most times.
That’s why we say this kapitel as the Shir Shel Yom of Yom Sheini. When Hashem made the world, Yom Sheini was the day when Hashem made a separation! Hashem separated between the Mayim Ho’elyonim, the higher Ruchnius’dike waters, and the Mayim HaTachtonim, the lower Gashmius waters. Just like the separations in the Beis Hamikdash, Hashem was separating between different levels of kedusha.
See Rabbeinu Bachaye, quoted in Mesechta Shel Tefillah, Shir Shel Yom
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There is a mitzvah in the Torah that every person should write a Sefer Torah. Nowadays, we fulfill this mitzvah by buying a letter in the Sefer Torah and by buying seforim.
Did you know that there are halachos about which seforim to buy first?
The most important seforim to buy are the ones you need for learning. So before having a nice set of seforim to put on your shelf, you should first make sure you have the ones that will you will need for learning.
Of course we need a Chitas and a Rambam, and basic seforim like a Tanach. But after that, which seforim of learning should we get?
The Alter Rebbe tells us in Hilchos Talmud Torah that the first parts of Torah to learn are the ones that teach us how to behave as a Yid, both halacha seforim that teach us what to do and seforim of Mussar and Chassidus which give us the right hashkafa and Yiras Shomayim.
See Kitzur Shulchan Aruch siman Chof-Ches, se’if Beis, and the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, Hilchos Talmud Torah perek Beis
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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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Before we say the Shir Shel Yom, we say that this is the day “Shebo Hayu Haleviim Omrim Beveis Hamikdash” — when the Leviim would say this kapitel in the Beis Hamikdash.
We say this to remember the Beis Hamikdash and the avodah that was done there, so we will ask Hashem to rebuild the Beis Hamikdash and let us do the avodah there again!
That’s also why, after the Shir Shel Yom, we say the paragraph of Hoshieinu. In this paragraph we are asking Hashem to save us and bring us back to Eretz Yisroel, when Hashem’s kavod will fill the whole world! After saying what would happen in the Beis Hamikdash on this day, we ask Hashem to let us do it again properly in Hashem’s special house.
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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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