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CHUMASH
Parshas Vaeira - Sheini with Rashi
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In Parshas Vaeira, we are starting to learn about the story of Yetziyas Mitzrayim! But first we will learn about the people who Hashem chose to be the ones to take the Yidden out of Mitzrayim: Moshe and Aharon.
The Torah tells us about Moshe and Aharon’s family. They were from Shevet Levi, an important shevet. They were also from Amram’s family, the leader of the Yidden at that time. This made the Yidden able to respect them. Moshe and Aharon grew up in a house of Torah, a house of Yiras Shomayim, and a family that had Mesiras Nefesh to help other Yidden.
Now that the Torah tells us that both Moshe and Aharon were the right people to have this special shlichus from Hashem, we are ready to learn what happened next.
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Today’s Tehillim is kapitelach Kuf-Chof to Kuf-Lamed-Daled, the 15 Shir Hamaalos!
In the Tehillim Ohel Yosef Yitzchok, before each kapitel there is a short paragraph telling us the message of that kapitel.
In the paragraph before Kapitel Kuf-Chof, the first kapitel of Tehillim for today, it says that in this kapitel, Dovid Hamelech tells people who speak Lashon Hara how terrible this aveira is, that it is even more dangerous than weapons.
In Parshas Shemos, we learned that Moshe Rabbeinu was also very upset about Lashon Hara. When he heard that Yidden were speaking Lashon Hara, he was afraid that it could Chas Veshalom keep them from getting the Geulah!
Why was Moshe so scared about Lashon Hara? The Yidden might have been doing much bigger aveiros than that!
The Rebbe explains that the Geulah from Mitzrayim was meant to bring the Yidden together to become one nation — Hashem’s nation. Instead of being just a big group of separate people, now they would become Am Yisroel!
But Lashon Hara, saying not-nice things about others, makes people feel unhappy with each other. They don’t want to be together anymore. Instead of being together as one, they feel like separate people who aren’t connected to each other.
That’s why Moshe was so worried about the Yidden speaking Lashon Hara — how could they have the Geulah and become one nation if they didn’t want to be together?
In this kapitel also, Dovid Hamelech warns people who speak Lashon Hara how dangerous it is. We can learn from this kapitel to be careful to only say nice things about each other!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Lamed-Alef p. 8
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Yud-Daled
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The Alter Rebbe teaches that every Yid should try to be a Beinoni. But why only a beinoni? Shouldn’t we try to be a tzadik? Wouldn’t that be even better?
Every Yid has the koach to choose how to behave, like a Beinoni, but the koach to be a tzadik is NOT something that Hashem gave to every Yid.
Every one of us is able to be in control of how we act, and we can even decide how we want to think. We can stop ourselves from doing things we shouldn’t do, from saying things we shouldn’t say, and even from thinking about things that aren’t good for us! We can daven properly and learn Chassidus so we will have Ahavas Hashem and Yiras Hashem to help us do what we should.
But the strong Ahavas Hashem that a tzadik has isn’t something that we can make ourselves feel. It is a present from Hashem that He gives to tzadikim, called “Ahava BeTaanugim.”
That’s why the Gemara says that Hashem makes certain people who are BORN able to become tzadikim, but EVERY one of us can become a beinoni!
Still, in tomorrow’s Tanya we will learn that in a certain way, we should try to have something from a tzadik’s Avodah!
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In today’s Hayom Yom we learn a vort from the Alter Rebbe:
Hashem has an ongoing deal with Yidden: We need our gashmius’dike things that only Hashem can give us (like health, money, and nachas). Hashem needs us to bring Yiddishkeit, Torah and mitzvos, into the world — ruchnius!
The problem is that we can’t do our ruchnius unless Hashem gives us the gashmius.
So this is the deal: Hashem gives us the gashmius, and then, we use it to do the things Hashem wants, and the gashmius becomes ruchnius. Then a Yid’s Gashmius IS Ruchnius!
Sometimes, though, Hashem gives a person only a little bit of gashmius. Then, it’s HARDER to make Ruchnius, and we might not be able to give Hashem as much! Still, if we are able to at least give Hashem something small (like the Minchas Ani, the korban a poor person would bring to Hashem in the Beis Hamikdash), that will make Hashem very happy.
Then Hashem will give us A LOT of gashmius and we will be able to make from it A LOT of ruchnius.
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SEFER HAMITZVOS
Shiur #261 - Mitzvas Asei #181, Lo Saasei #309, #298, Asei #184
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1) (Mitzvas Asei #181) Today’s first mitzvah is called “Eglah Arufah.” If someone finds the body of a person who was killed, and nobody knows who did it, the Beis Din needs to make an Eglah Arufah.
The details of this mitzvah are in the last perek of Gemara Sotah, and the Rambam organizes them in Perek Tes and Yud of today’s Rambam.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Shoftim: כִּי יִמָּצֵא חָלָל בַּאֲדָמָה
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #309) We are not allowed to work in the land around the stream where the mitzvah of Eglah Arufah was done.
We learn this mitzvah from another posuk in Parshas Shoftim: אֲשֶׁר לֹא יֵעָבֵד בּוֹ וְלֹא יִזָּרֵעַ
We also learn the details of this mitzvah in the last perek of Mesechta Sotah.
3) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #298) We are not allowed to leave dangerous things around our city or property.
This mitzvah is in the Torah in Parshas Ki Seitzei: וְלֹא תָשִׂים דָּמִים בְּבֵיתֶךָ
The halachos are explained at the beginning of Mesechta Shekalim, and in many places in Seder Nezikin.
4) (Mitzvas Asei #184) We need to take away anything dangerous from our property. For example, we put a rail (Maakeh) around our roof if it is flat, so nobody will fall off, and a wall around a pit so nobody will fall in. We fix up anything dangerous so nobody will get hurt!
In the Torah, this mitzvah is in Parshas Ki Seitzei: וְעָשִׂיתָ מַעֲקֶה לְגַגֶּךָ
The details of this mitzvah are explained in Mesechta Bava Kama.
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Rotzeiach U'Shmiras HaNefesh
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In today’s Rambam, we learn about the mitzvah of setting aside Arei Miklat, and the halachos of Eglah Arufah.
Perek Ches we learn about the cities that need to be set aside. There are six main Arei Miklat. When Moshiach comes, we will add another three! There are also the 42 cities of the Leviim that can be used as an Ir Miklat. The cities need to be ready for a person to run there, and the Beis Din needs to check the roads every year to make sure that a person will be easily able to get to the Ir Miklat quickly!
Perek Tes has the halachos of today’s mitzvah, about the Eglah Arufah. If someone finds the body of a person that was killed, and we don’t know for sure who did it, Beis Din needs to measure to see which city is the closest. The Beis Din of the closest city does the mitzvah of Eglah Arufah, to show Hashem that they were not responsible for the murder.
First they bury the person who was killed. The Beis Din uses the city tax money to buy a young calf, and bring it to a strong stream of water. They cut off the head of the calf, and then the Beis Din and all of the Zekeinim wash their hands in the stream. They announce in Lashon Hakodesh that it wasn’t their fault that this person died, and they didn’t let him leave their city without food or someone to go with him. The kohanim ask that Hashem should forgive the Yidden, and Hashem does.
Perek Yud has more halachos about the Eglah Arufah. We learn about how the place of the Eglah Arufah can’t be used later, like for growing things. Also, if Beis Din didn’t do it for whatever reason, they need to make it up, even if many years already passed!
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The Torah tells us that we are not allowed to marry many of our close relatives — but it is permitted, and even considered a mitzvah for a man to marry his niece!
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The Gemara says that it was in the zechus of the women that we left Mitzrayim! “Bizchus Noshim Tzidkonios Shehayu Be’oso Hador, Nigalu Avoseinu MiMitzrayim.”
But didn’t Hashem PROMISE that the Yidden would come out of Mitzrayim? Why did we need the zechus of the women?
The answer is that Hashem did promise to take the Yidden out of Mitzrayim — after 400 years. But because of the zechus of the Noshim Tzidkonios, the Yidden came out much earlier — after 210 years!
What was this zechus?
We know that Paraoh made a terrible gezeirah that the baby boys should be thrown into the Nilus. It would have made a lot of sense for the Jewish women to say that they don’t want to have any more children, so that these terrible things won’t happen to them!
But the Noshim Tzidkonios in Mitzrayim didn’t think about what might happen. They knew that Hashem wanted them to have children, and so they relied on Hashem to take care of the children — and that is actually what happened! Hashem made nissim and the children were saved, and were even the first to recognize Hashem at Kriyas Yam Suf!
Because they brought so many more Yiddishe neshamos into the world, the shlichus they needed to do in Golus was finished so much faster! Instead of it taking 400 years to finish, the Yidden were able to finish their shlichus in Golus Mitzrayim in just 210 years!
The Rebbe tells us that this teaches us a very important hora’ah!
The Arizal says that the Yidden living right before Moshiach comes are a gilgul, the same neshamos, as the Yidden who came out of Mitzrayim. And just like it was the zechus of the Noshim Tzidkonios in Mitzrayim that brought us out of Golus early, it will be in the zechus of the Noshim Tzidkonios today that Moshiach will come so much faster!
Nowadays there are also reasons to be afraid to have children. Women might be afraid that it will be hard, and that babies don’t give you a lot of time to sleep! They might be afraid that they might not have enough parnasa for so many kids, or that it won’t be easy to give them the right Chinuch.
But the Noshim Tzidkonios shouldn’t think about what might happen. They should have more children because that is what Hashem wants, and rely on Hashem to take care of everything! And in this zechus, with all of these special Yiddishe kinderlach, Moshiach will be able to come right away!
See Farbrengen Parshas Vayechi, Tof-Shin-Mem-Vov
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Chassidus shows us how the Korban Tomid teaches us what davening is all about!
The main part of davening, the way the Anshei Keneses Hagedolah set it up, is Shemoneh Esrei, where we ask Hashem for our needs. Still, the main point of davening is much deeper.
The word “tefillah” also means “connection,” and by davening, we connect ourselves to Hashem. We do ask for our needs in davening, but that’s because only by having the things we need can we really be close to Hashem!
We can learn this from the Korban Tomid, which was a Korban Olah.
When most korbanos are brought, part of the animal is burned on the Mizbeiach, part of it goes to the kohanim, and part of it goes to the person who brought it. But a Korban Olah is different. The ENTIRE korban is burned on the Mizbeiach, and no person gets a piece.
When we daven, we are doing it just like a Korban Olah! We aren’t expecting to get anything for ourselves, all we want is to come close to Hashem and live the way He wants us to.
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Many times we have things that are mixed together, like fruits in a bowl or candies in a bag. Choosing just one or some of them can be the melacha of Borer, which is not allowed on Shabbos.
But the Chachomim teach us that borer is only asur if it is being done in a way of melacha. But we ARE allowed to separate things on Shabbos as part of eating.
They give us three conditions that show that we are choosing things in a way of eating, Derech Achilah. (We learned the first two of them before.) The conditions are “Miyad” (that we are separating it to use right away), “Beyad” (that we are using our hand or a normal eating utensil, not a keili that is made for separating things), and “Ochel Mitoch Pesoles.”
“Ochel Mitoch Pesoles” means to pick out the good food from the waste.
That is a normal way of eating, to pick out the good food and eat it.
(There are a few exceptions when we are allowed to take out the Pesoles first, like when we are peeling a fruit, because that is also the normal way of eating, as we will learn later IY”H.)
In general, if we are choosing the Ochel from the Pesoles, and we are doing it with our hand, and to eat it right away, it is considered Derech Achilah and it is not the melacha of borer.
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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When the Yidden came out of Mitzrayim, besides for Yetzias Mitzrayim, that the Yidden were able to leave Golus, another wonderful thing happened: The Mitzriyim also recognized Hashem and realized that only Hashem runs the world!
But in that Geulah, it only happened through painful Makos.
When Moshiach comes, the Geulah will be in a complete way! The whole world will recognize Hashem — but this time, without Makos, only in a pleasant way!
Likutei Sichos chelek Chof-Hey p. 189
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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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