|
|
CHUMASH
Parshas Beshalach - Revi'i with Rashi
|
|
The Yidden finally left Mitzrayim, after Makas Bechoros! Hashem hardened Paraoh’s heart again, and he chased after the Yidden, to bring them back to Mitzrayim. Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu that the Yidden should not be afraid, because Hashem will save them. Hashem told Moshe to lift his hand over the water, and the water split! The Yidden walked through on dry land. The Mitzriyim didn’t stop chasing the Yidden, and followed them in. Hashem made the ground muddy and hot and the Mitzriyim saw that Hashem was fighting against them.
Hashem said to Moshe: “Pick up your hand over the sea, so the water will stop standing like a wall, and it will drown the Mitzriyim.”
Moshe did, and the water went back to being a regular sea. The Mitzriyim were so confused, they ran INTO the water instead of away from it! Hashem made the water throw the Mitzriyim around, so they would be punished for longer, and then they all drowned.
The Yidden couldn’t see what happened to the Mitzriyim, and they were scared that maybe the Mitzriyim came out of the water also and would start chasing them again! So Hashem made the Yam Suf spit out the bodies of the Mitzriyim, and then they disappeared into the ground.
When the Yidden saw this, they really believed in Hashem and Moshe, His servant! They sang a special song to Hashem, called Az Yashir (we say it every day in davening!) This song thanks Hashem for the nissim of Kriyas Yam Suf.
The women also wanted to sing to thank Hashem. Miriam took her tambourine and all of the women danced with their tambourines, singing to Hashem.
After singing and thanking Hashem, the Yidden collected the gold and silver decorations from Paraoh’s chariots. There was so much, it was even more than all they got before leaving Mitzrayim! The Yidden were so busy taking the gold, Moshe had to force them to leave when it was time to travel.
Then the Yidden began to travel in the Midbar.
For three days, the Yidden walked in the desert without finding any water. Finally, they found a stream called Marah, but the water was very bitter! Instead of asking Moshe to daven for them, the Yidden complained, “What should we drink?”
Moshe davened to Hashem, and Hashem showed him a tree. Moshe threw a branch of the tree into the water, and it became sweet!
Near Marah, Hashem gave the Yidden some Torah to learn, including about the Parah Adumah. Hashem said that if the Yidden do the mitzvos, even the ones they don’t understand, Hashem won’t bring any of the sicknesses like He gave the Mitzriyim during the makos. If they ever do get sick, “Ani Hashem Rofecha” — “I am Hashem Who heals you” — if you do the mitzvos, Hashem will make you feel better.
|
|
|
|
Today’s shiur Tehillim are Ayin-Beis through Ayin-Vov.
When we say Kapitel Ayin-Daled (74), one of the things we think about is how much we want the Geulah. It speaks to us about how the Mishkan and Beis Hamikdash were destroyed, and we don’t see nisim from Hashem anymore. We need the Geulah so much, and we cry out to Hashem “Ad Mosai!”
One of the pesukim in the kapitel is “Ad Mosai Elokim Yechoref Tzar” — “Hashem, Ad Mosai? How long will You let the goyim say chutzpa’dike things?”
Still, even in Golus, there are times when Hashem shines in the world and we can see real nissim!
These kinds of nisim remind us that Hashem is WITH US in Golus and that the Geulah is coming very soon!
|
|
|
TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Chof-Alef
|
|
Did you ever hear a story of Mesiras Nefesh? Did you hear about a Yid who did not eat Chometz on Pesach, even when he didn’t have anything else to eat? Or a person who wouldn’t work on Shabbos, even if it meant losing his job?
When we hear these stories, we know that we would do the same thing!
All of these Yidden had Mesiras Nefesh because they knew that these big aveiros would separate them from Hashem and from Yiddishkeit, and they loved Hashem too much to ever do that!
Now imagine if we could have Mesiras Nefesh not say Lashon Hara, even if we will be embarrassed, or not to eat a snack that we aren’t sure about the hechsher of, even if it means we will be hungry until lunch.
It might seem easier to have Mesiras Nefesh not to work on Shabbos than not to do those things!
But the Alter Rebbe is teaching us a way to have Mesiras Nefesh not to do ANY aveira or to put in effort to do ANY mitzvah! We can do this by realizing that ANY aveira separates us from Hashem and from Yiddishkeit, and we love Hashem too much to ever do that!
To really feel this way, we need to understand Achdus Hashem, how the whole world is one with Hashem.
The Alter Rebbe explains that the whole existence of the world ONLY comes from the Dvar Hashem, the words that Hashem uses to create it! Even though a person’s words are separate from him, nothing is separate from Hashem, and so the whole world and everything in it is all one with Hashem.
We will IY”H learn more about how this helps us have Mesiras Nefesh over the next few perakim.
|
|
|
|
In today’s Hayom Yom we learn about the hiskashrus that a Rebbe has to Chassidim.
Tonight is Chamisha Asar B’Shevat, so we don’t say Tachanun when we daven Mincha.
All of the Rebbeim ask Hashem to help their Chassidim. Even more, they also make special times to think about each chossid, thinking about the chossid’s hiskashrus to the Rebbe, and connecting to them too in a similar way.
Thinking about a person brings out special kochos inside of them. We see this in Gashmius, that even by just looking very hard at another person — that it will cause the other person to turn around and look at you too. When a Rebbe thinks about his chossid, it also wakes up the chossid’s inner kochos to “turn around” and become closer to Hashem.
The Rebbe said in a farbrengen (Yud Shevat Tof-Shin-Chof-Alef) why it is important to know this: If a Chossid all of a sudden feels a strong feeling of connection to the Rebbe, it could be that this feeling came because the Rebbe is thinking about him then. So if it happens, he shouldn’t think that it came from his own hiskashrus! It could be it was because the Rebbe was thinking about him, and because it didn’t come from his own avodah, it won’t stay! So he should be very careful to DO something of what the Rebbe wants, so that this hisorerus will stay and become a part of him.
|
|
|
|
Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #236) is a review of one we learned before! If a person makes someone else get hurt, he needs to pay him to make up for what he did. (In fact, we learn that he has to pay for 5 kinds of damage that he did: For the part of him that got hurt, the pain, the doctor bills, that he is missing work, and that he was embarrassed.)
|
|
|
|
In today’s Rambam, we start to learn the halachos of partners and neighbors.
In Perek Alef we learn that partners can decide that they want to split up and stop being partners. If they do, they split what they have if it is big enough.
Perek Beis speaks a lot about houses that two partners decide to split, and about making walls for separation.
And Perek Gimmel talks about what happens if the wall between two properties falls! Who gets the stones, and how should they rebuild it?
|
|
|
|
Today we learn more about women that a kohen is not allowed to marry.
|
|
|
|
We learned in today’s Hayom Yom that we don’t say Tachanun in Mincha, because it’s Erev Chamisha Asar B’shvat.
What is Chamisha Asar B’shvat? It says in the first Mishna of Mesechta Rosh Hashana that there are four “Rosh Hashanas,” four days in the year that are the beginning of the year for certain things.
Chamisha Asar B’shvat is the beginning of the year for mitzvos that have to do with trees, for taking off terumah and maaser, which need to be taken off for each year separately.
Even though some of these mitzvos aren’t kept nowadays, and none of them are kept outside of Eretz Yisroel, it is a minhag to celebrate on Chamisha Asar B’shvat!
The Torah says the words, “Ki Ha’adam Eitz Hasadeh.”
It is written in seforim based on this posuk that a person has things that are similar to a tree. Just like a tree grows and gives fruit, a person needs to constantly grow in Yiddishkeit and Torah and mitzvos, and also be an example for others so they will grow too.
In the year Tof-Shin-Chof-Beis, there was a group of students that came to the Rebbe for Yud Shevat. Before they left, they had a yechidus. (This yechidus was later edited by the Rebbe, and printed in Likutei Sichos.) The Rebbe spoke to them about Chamisha-Asar B’Shvat. The Rebbe told them that we need to learn from how a tree is always growing, to always make sure to make tomorrow even better than today!
The Rebbe gave them brachos, since they are learning in the Rebbe’s yeshiva, that Hashem should help that they should fulfill the horaos of the Rebbe and always grow in their Yiddishkeit! They should be a constant source of nachas to their families, their teachers, and the Rebbe.
See Mishna Rosh Hashana perek Alef, and Likutei Sichos chelek Beis, p. 518
|
|
|
▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼
|
|
|
|
In halacha, the mitzvah of tefillah means to ask Hashem for our needs. We have a mitzvah to ask for our needs directly from the One Who gives them to us — Hashem! Only Hashem can provide us with the things we need, because everything else in the world is nothing more than a shliach of Hashem to help us. Therefore, we ask only from Hashem.
If that’s the mitzvah, why do we have to say Pesukei Dezimra, the praises of Hashem, first?
The Chachomim tell us, “Le’olam Yesader Adam Shevacho Shel Makom, Ve’achar Kach Yispallel.” “First arrange the praises of Hashem, and then daven.”
But why? We have a mitzvah to ask Hashem for our needs — so go ask! Why do we need to say these praises first?
When we wake up in the morning, our neshama is hidden. We mainly feel the guf and the Nefesh Habehamis. This makes it hard to feel a connection to Hashem, Who we are going to daven to!
By praising and thinking about Hashem in Pesukei Dezimra, we are setting up a connection to Hashem. This way, we can go and daven to Hashem, Who will give us everything we need.
See Maamar Lag B’omer 5745
|
|
|
|
On Chamisha Asar B’shvat, we eat fruit from trees, especially fruits which Eretz Yisroel is praised for, and also bukser, or carob.
There are some minhagim kept by Sefardim, who say parts of Torah related to fruits, and in Kabbalah there are explanations for each of the fruits which are eaten. It is not our minhag to say these things.
From 5731 to 5752, the Rebbe made farbrengens almost every year and spoke about Chamisha Asar B’shvat. This was a new minhag for Chassidim! The Rebbe encouraged the following things:
1) Make sure to keep the minhag to eat fruits during Chamisha Asar B’shvat.
2) Make farbrengens in honor of Chamisha Asar B’shvat.
3) Speak about the meaning of the seven fruits of Eretz Yisroel in our Avodas Hashem, and the connection a Yid has to trees and growing. (We will learn a little bit about that tomorrow IY”H!)
4) Make hachlatos to grow in our Avodas Hashem, especially in a way that we’ll enjoy, the same way we enjoy eating fruits!
|
|
לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק ע״ה בן ר׳ אפרים שי׳ מאסקאוויץ
שליח כ"ק אדמו"ר נשיא דורנו למדינת אילינוי
|
|
|
|
One of the hardest plants to grow is a fruit tree. It needs a lot of care to make sure that it will grow strong and tall! Still, it is worth all of the hard work, because of the many delicious fruits that will grow from each tree.
The Rebbe teaches us that Torah learning is like growing a tree!
In the year Tof-Shin-Lamed-Alef, on Chamisha-Asar Bishvat, the Rebbe told us that now is the time to change the world by working harder in our Torah learning. Besides for looking for more time to learn, we also should work harder on what we are already learning — by paying more attention, trying to understand it better, or reviewing more. This is called learning with yegiah, hard work!
Just like with growing a tree, this hard work in learning Torah is also worth it! Working hard in learning Torah means that our Torah learning will have hatzlacha! This is what we say in the Yud-Beis Pesukim, when we have Yagaata — we work hard, then Matzasa — we will succeed!
But, the Rebbe said, we will not have to wait that long!
When we plant a tree, it takes years for any fruit to grow. But in the times of Moshiach, food will grow right away! We learn this from a Nevuah said by the Navi Amos.
The Gemara and Medrash tell us that there were even some times that this already happened, like in the times of the Navi Yoel, where the world already acted in a Moshiach’dike way, and things people planted grew right away!
The Rebbe tells us that our Torah learning will certainly also be in a this way, and we will see hatzlacha from our yegiah in Torah learning right away!
See Likutei Sichos vol. 6 p. 312
|
|
|
|
|
לע"נ התינוק זאב ארי' ע"ה בן יבלט"א הרה"ח ר' שניאור זלמן שי' גליק
נפטר ב' מנחם אב ה'תשע"ג
|
|
Give children around the world the gift of Kids Chitas!
KidsChitas.org/sponsor
|
|
|
