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CHUMASH
Parshas Vaeira - Rishon with Rashi
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In last week’s parsha, Moshe complained to Hashem that things were now WORSE for the Yidden!
Hashem told Moshe that he shouldn’t complain, Hashem will keep His promises! Sometimes it doesn’t look better right away, but Hashem will always do what He says.
“Now tell the Yidden that I am about to keep the promise I made to the Avos, that I will give their children the land of Eretz Yisroel! I will take them out of Mitzrayim, and bring them to Eretz Yisroel!”
Moshe told the Yidden what Hashem had said, but things were so hard in Mitzrayim, that the Yidden didn’t feel better by hearing this.
Then Hashem told Moshe to tell Paraoh to let the Yidden go. Moshe said, “But even the Yidden didn’t listen to me — how will Paraoh listen?”
Hashem gave Moshe and Aharon instructions: He told them to be patient with the Yidden, and speak to Paraoh with kavod.
We will IY”H see the continuation of their shlichus in the Chumash for Yom Shlishi.
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Today’s Tehillim is very special! We are finishing the LONGEST kapitel in the whole Tehillim, kapitel Kuf-Yud-Tes! This kapitel is so long that we don’t even say the whole thing in one day — it is split up between Yom Chof-Hey and Yom Chof-Vov!
One of the pesukim in today’s half is, “Sas Anochi Al Imrosecha Kemotzei Shalal Rav” — “I am so happy with Your words (the Torah), like someone who finds a huge treasure!”
The Rebbe’s father, R’ Levi Yitzchak, explains this posuk: He shows us that the first letters of the words “Kemotzei Shalal Rav” (like finding a big treasure) are “Kosher!”
How is “kosher” a big treasure?
The Rebbe explained during a rally for children what it means that kosher is a big treasure. This is something very important for us to know when we’re fighting with our Yetzer Hara: A person might think that it shouldn’t matter if a teeny little candy isn’t kosher. But the truth is, if we don’t listen to our Yetzer Hara, and only eat kosher candies, it’s like a HUGE treasure for Hashem! Even just a “small” thing that we win over the Yetzer Hara is a VERY big deal!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Yud-Daled
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In today’s Tanya we learn how EVERY Yid should try to become a beinoni!
Every person can behave like a beinoni at any time. Because, what is a beinoni? Not someone who doesn’t have a Yetzer Hara. A beinoni is someone who DOES have a Yetzer Hara and not good desires, but will not let the Yetzer Hara be in charge of the body and do the not-good things it wants to do!
Even when the Yetzer Hara comes up with foolish ideas of things it wants to think about or do, we can stop ourselves and think about something else!
How do we stop ourselves?
The Alter Rebbe gives us something we can think about and tell ourselves, which will stop us from doing an aveira. This way we will be able to act like a beinoni at any time!
We should think about how we are ready to even have Mesiras Nefesh to stay connected to Hashem!
This is what we can say in our mind:
“I don’t want to be separated from Hashem for even one second! I want to serve Hashem and be connected to Hashem always.
“Any aveira, no matter how small, separates my neshama from Hashem.
“I know that really everyone would be ready to even have MESIRAS NEFESH not to separate from Hashem! Even a person who usually lets the Yetzer Hara be in charge would also have Mesiras Nefesh not to do something that he KNOWS will separate him from Hashem. The only reason why he usually lets his Yetzer Hara be in charge is because of a Ruach Shtus, a foolish thought that says that only big aveiros separate a Yid from Hashem, and that his connection to Hashem doesn’t change by doing a little aveira.
“But I know the truth! I know that EVERY aveira separates a Yid from Hashem! I don’t want to be a fool like him, and chas veshalom lose my connection to Hashem for a time by doing this aveira. It’s not worth it!”
By remembering the koach of Mesiras Nefesh which every Yid has, it gives us the power to act like a beinoni at any time!
Not everyone can love Hashem strongly enough to become a tzadik, that is a special gift from Hashem... but every one of us can decide to act like a beinoni at any time!
By telling ourselves that we don’t want to and cannot be separated from Hashem, it will help us do the right thing all the time!
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In today’s Hayom Yom, we learn the reason for a minhag in Tefillah.
We learned in Tanya that there are two kinds of kelipah — one kind that is called “Shalosh Kelipos Hatmeios” (the three kelipos that are all tomei and can’t become kedusha), and “Kelipas Noga” (the kind of kelipa that we can change to kedusha if we use it right).
In today’s Hayom Yom, the Rebbe tells us how to say a certain bracha in Shmoneh Esrei which hints to these two kinds of Kelipah. In the bracha “Velamalshinim”, there are four words in a row: “se’aker, u’se’shaber, use’mager, ve’sachnia” (“pull out, break, crush, and push down”). We are asking Hashem to destroy these kelipos.
When we say these words, we stop for a second between saying the word “use’mager” and “ve’sachnia” because of the Ruchnius’dike meaning of these words of davening. The first three words (se’aker u’seshaber usemager) are talking about the Shalosh Kelipos Hatemeios, the kelipos which need to be completely destroyed.
The fourth word, “vesachnia” is talking about Kelipas Noga. Kelipas Noga is something we need to be “machnia” — to push it down, but we don’t have to completely break it, because it can be used for kedusha.
That’s why we make a separation, because we are asking Hashem to help us deal with the last kind of kelipah, Kelipas Noga, in a very different way. We ask Hashem that the not-good parts should be pushed away, and that we should be able to use what is good inside of it for kedusha!
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SEFER HAMITZVOS
Shiur #260 - Mitzvas Asei #247, Lo Saasei #292, #297, Asei #182
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Today in Sefer Hamitzvos, we learn four more mitzvos about a person who kills someone else:
1) (Mitzvas Asei #247) If someone is chasing after another person to kill him (Rodef), we need to do whatever we can to stop him! If we can do it by hurting the Rodef, we should, but if not, we need to kill him instead of letting him kill the other person.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Ki Seitzei: וְקַצֹּתָה אֶת כַּפָּהּ לֹא תָחוֹס עֵינֶךָ
The details of this mitzvah are explained in Perek Ches of Mesechta Sanhedrin.
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #293) We are not allowed to feel bad for the Rodef — we need to kill him to stop him from doing what he wants to do. (If he already did the aveira, we can’t kill him — the Beis Din needs to take care of it.)
We learn this from the same posuk as the mitzvah before, and the dinim are also explained in Perek Ches of Mesechta Sanhedrin.
3) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #297) “Lo Saamod Al Dam Reiacha!” We are not allowed to ignore when someone is in danger or his things are going to be ruined. We need to try to help!
For example, if someone is drowning, if we know how to swim, we have to jump in and save him! And if a person is being taken to court, if we know the truth, we need to go be a witness to save his money.
We learn this from a posuk in Parshas Kedoshim: לֹא תַעֲמֹד עַל דַּם רֵעֶךָ
4) (Mitzvas Asei #182) We need to set up Arei Miklat in Eretz Yisroel, and make roads leading to them. These cities are a “safe place” for someone who killed by mistake.
The Torah tells us this mitzvah in Parshas Shoftim: תָּכִין לְךָ הַדֶּרֶךְ וְשִׁלַּשְׁתָּ אֶת גְּבוּל אַרְצְךָ
The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin, Makos, Shekalim, and Sotah.
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Rotzeiach U'Shmiras HaNefesh
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In today’s Rambam, we learn about a person who kills by mistake.
Perek Hey has the halachos about when a person would need to go to an Ir Miklat. For a kohen, the top of the Mizbeiach is also a safe place, just like an Ir Miklat!
Perek Vov teaches us about three kinds of “accidental killing:”
1. Someone who didn’t know that what he was doing would kill someone — a real mistake. He needs to stay in the Ir Miklat.
2. When it was a kind of thing that doesn’t usually happen — like throwing something heavy into a place where people don’t usually go. That person doesn’t need to stay in an Ir Miklat, and the Goel Hadam is not allowed to kill him.
3. Where the person was being careless, we don’t consider that an accident. It won’t help for him to be in an Ir Miklat, and he won’t be safe there.
Perek Zayin teaches us about the Ir Miklat. The Ir Miklat is a city where a person will be safe from the Goel Hadam. Two Talmidei Chachomim come run with the person to the Ir Miklat where he will be safe. The Talmidei Chachomim are there to try to convince the Goel Hadam not to kill him.
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We start learning a new set of halachos, about who we are allowed to marry.
The Rambam starts by giving us general rules about this, for example that we don’t need to prove that people are relatives.
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At the beginning of this week’s parsha, Hashem tells Moshe Rabbeinu something about the Avos. Even though many hard things happened to the Avos, they never asked Hashem why. They always trusted with Emunah!
But Moshe Rabbeinu DID ask Hashem why, when he saw how hard the Golus was for the Yidden.
The Rebbe explains that Moshe Rabbeinu was the one who would teach the Torah to the Yidden. His main Avodah was with Chochmah, understanding things. So when he saw that the Golus was so painful for the Yidden, he couldn’t keep on doing his shlichus, because he didn’t understand why Hashem made it so hard for them. He was stuck!
Hashem was telling Moshe that even though his main Avodah was to understand things and teach Torah, that is not enough. There are times when we need to use Emunah, like the Avos, like when something is too hard to understand.
This wasn’t just a lesson for Moshe Rabbeinu, it is a lesson for all of us!
Since we know so much Torah nowadays, we all have the Avodah of Chochmah, understanding things. But sometimes this Golus is SO hard and SO terrible that we just can’t understand!
But we shouldn’t get stuck and stop doing our shlichus. At times when things make no sense, we need to use the koach of Emunah from the Avos. We need to trust in Hashem and keep working on bringing the Geulah!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Gimmel, Parshas Vaeira
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The second paragraph that starts “Vayedaber” is about the Korban Tomid.
After cleaning off the ashes from the Mizbeiach in the morning, the kohanim were ready to bring the first korban of the day, the Korban Tomid. This korban was a sheep that was brought as an Olah, meaning that the entire animal was burned on the Mizbeiach, and no meat was left for the kohanim to eat. The Korban Tomid (“tomid” means “always”) was brought twice every day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The Korban Tomid was a kapara for certain aveiros that the Yidden did, and helped Hashem forgive them.
Our davening Shacharis and Mincha is instead of bringing the Korban Tomid in the morning and afternoon. We can’t bring the actual korban, but we bring ourselves close to Hashem by connecting to Him in tefillah. By saying the words of the Torah describing the Korban Tomid, Hashem will also count it as if we are bringing this important korban!
On a day that we say Tachanun, we also say a short tefillah before, asking Hashem that our davening should be mechaper our aveiros just as the Korban Tomid was mechaper on the aveiros of the Yidden.
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If there are things that are mixed together, taking just one of them might be the melacha of Borer, choosing or separating things.
The Chachomim explain that borer is only asur if we’re separating in a way of a melacha, but it’s not a problem to separate things as part of eating. There are three conditions to know if we are doing something in a way of eating. Today we will learn more about the second one.
Part of the normal way of eating is to take something with your hand or with a regular keili like a spoon or fork. That is called “Beyad,” separating with your hand.
There are some tools that are used especially for separating things, like a strainer or a spoon with holes. Using those kinds of tools on Shabbos would be a problem of borer.
(It is only counted as Beyad if we use these tools in the regular way. If we use a spoon to strain out the broth from the soup, or use a fork to drain out the dressing from a salad, that is Borer not in the regular way of eating.)
See Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch siman Shin-Yud-Tes, se’if alef to gimmel; Shabbos Kehalacha perek Yud-Beis; Hilchos Shabbos by Pansa’im
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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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We say every day in davening, “Sheyiboneh Beis Hamikdash Bimheira Veyameinu, Vesein Chelkeinu Besorasecha!” The Beis Hamikdash should be built very soon, and Hashem should give us a chelek in His Torah!
What do those two things have to do with each other? Why don’t we say, “The Beis Hamikdash should be built, and we should bring korbanos?” Why do we say that after the Beis Hamikdash will be built, we will have a chelek in Torah?
When Moshiach comes, and the Beis Hamikdash will be rebuilt, we also have another promise from the Navi: That we will have helpers to take care of all of the Gashmius things for us. This way, we will be able to spend all of our time — learning Torah!
That’s why only when we have the Beis Hamikdash will we be able to have our proper chelek in Torah.
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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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