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CHUMASH
Parshas Beshalach - Chamishi with Rashi
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After Kriyas Yam Suf, the Yidden started to travel in the Midbar.
The Yidden came to a place called Eilim. There they found twelve springs of water, and 70 date trees. They camped there near the water. Rashi tells us that Hashem put the springs of water there to hint to the twelve Shevatim, and the 70 date trees were there in connection with the 70 Zekeinim.
One month after they got out of Mitzrayim, the Yidden ran out of matzah. They complained to Moshe and Aharon that they had no food — instead of trusting in Hashem or asking nicely. They wanted to have bread and meat!
Even though Hashem wasn’t happy with how the Yidden asked, He told Moshe that He will send mahn for the Yidden to eat! It will fall down from Shomayim every day in the morning, except on Shabbos. On Friday they will have to take a DOUBLE portion of mahn, so they will have enough for Friday AND Shabbos.
Moshe also told the Yidden that Hashem didn’t like the Yidden’s complaining. Hashem would give them bread in the morning, and today they will also get Slav bird meat in the afternoon. Since bread is something that is a real need, Hashem will give it in the morning which is a better time to get it, and in a more respectful way. The meat they will get in the afternoon, and not in as a respectful way.
He told them that soon Hashem wants to talk to them about it! All of the Yidden gathered together, and they saw how Hashem was ready to speak to Moshe from inside a cloud.
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Today’s Tehillim is kapitelach Ayin-Zayin and Ayin-Ches.
In today’s Tehillim, we have a posuk: “Vayivchar BeDovid Avdo.” This posuk means that Hashem chose Dovid Hamelech to be the leader of all the Yidden.
Throughout the generations, we find that Yidden have many leaders and teachers. We have leaders to show the Yidden what to do, parents and teachers to help us, and Rabbonim and others who tell us the right way to act.
But there is only one Nasi Hador! That is one person that Hashem chooses to be in charge of ALL of the Yidden.
What is the difference between the Nasi Hador and all of the other leaders?
The way our parents and teachers and leaders guide us is like food. Every person gets what he needs. Some people need more, and some people need less!
But the Nasi Hador gives us the Nekudas Hayahadus, waking up a part of the neshama that is the same for everyone!
We see an example of this in Parshas Beshalach. ALL of the Yidden sang Az Yashir together as one, including great and simple Yidden, and even the small babies! That means that it came from a deep part of the neshama, where every Yid is the same.
But in order for everyone to sing this praise to Hashem together, the Nasi Hador had to wake up that part of every Yid’s neshama! That is why we see in the posuk, “Az Yashir Moshe U’vnei Yisroel.” First Moshe, the Nasi Hador, had to wake up their neshamos, and then that made all of the other Yidden to be able to praise Hashem together in the same way.
See Likutei Sichos chelek Lamed-Alef, Beshalach sicha Alef
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Chof-Alef
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In Tanya now the Alter Rebbe is teaching us how to have Mesiras Nefesh to do whatever Hashem wants all the time! We do this by using the special Ahavas Hashem in our neshama, which is passed down from the Avos. This strong love we have for Hashem makes us never want to be separate from Hashem Chas Veshalom!
If we ALWAYS felt this strong connection to Hashem, we would never even think of doing an aveira! But Hashem wanted us to CHOOSE to do mitzvos, not just have it happen by itself. So Hashem made this ahava an Ahava Mesuteres, a HIDDEN kind of Ahava. We only feel it when we realize that what we are about to do will keep us connected to Hashem and Yiddishkeit, or chas veshalom the opposite. The rest of the time, Hashem lets the Yetzer Hara hide it so that we will have to choose.
But with Avodah, learning and practice, we can feel this Ahava much more often, and use it to help us always make the choice to do what Hashem wants! We need to realize that Hashem isn’t only there at times when a person needs to stop himself from doing a “big” aveira like Avodah Zarah, Hashem is there with EVERY little choice we make! The more we understand that, the more we will be able to feel our Ahava Mesuteres, and always choose to stay connected to Hashem.
To understand how Hashem is always with us even though the world seems to be something that exists on its own, the Alter Rebbe is helping us understand that the world is really nothing on its own, it is one with Hashem.
In today’s Tanya, the Alter Rebbe is teaching us more about the mashal we use to understand how Hashem makes the world: The Torah says that Hashem creates the world in a way of Dibur, speaking. This is a good mashal, because speaking is a way of showing what we feel, and through Hashem’s dibur, Hashem lets us see a world — which is created with the chayus of Hashem!
But in some ways, our talking is NOT a good mashal for Hashem’s talking. Once a PERSON says a word, it’s not part of him anymore. But for Hashem, nothing can ever become separate, because Hashem is everywhere.
Hashem “speaks” words to give chayus to the world. That chayus of Hashem is as much a part of Hashem as our thoughts are, before we even think them — while they’re still in the koach of our neshama!
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We don’t say Tachanun, because it’s Chamisha Asar Bishvat.
Today we will learn something about Likutei Torah, which we actually begin learning in Parshas Beshalach!
The Tzemach Tzedek wrote notes on the maamorim in the second half of Torah Ohr (called Likutei Torah). Some of the chassidim found out about them, and when they were about to print Likutei Torah, they asked the Tzemach Tzedek if they could put the notes into the sefer.
At first, the Tzemach Tzedek said no.
Then the Tzemach Tzedek had a dream that his zeideh, the Alter Rebbe, came to him and told him to print the notes. The Tzemach Tzedek didn’t tell anyone, but three of the Tzemach Tzedek’s sons had the same dream! When they told him, he agreed to print the notes in Likutei Torah.
So even though Likutei Torah seems to be just the second half of Torah Ohr, it is very special because it has something new — the notes of the Tzemach Tzedek inside of it!
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #236) is the same mitzvah again in Sefer Hamitzvos: If someone hurts somebody else, or does something that makes them get hurt, they need to pay them back for five things: That they’re not worth as much, for the pain that they had, for their doctor bills, for the time they couldn’t go to work, and for their being embarrassed.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn a bunch of halachos about neighbors. There are some things you CAN do even if your neighbors don’t like it, and other things that you CAN’T do because they bother someone else.
In Perek Daled we learn about upstairs and downstairs neighbors who share a house or part of a mountain garden. One halacha is that if the house falls down, the person downstairs HAS to build his part of the house so that the upstairs neighbor can build his. If he doesn’t, the upstairs neighbor can build the bottom floor and live there himself until his neighbor pays him back for all of his work.
Perek Hey teaches us about people who share a courtyard. There are many halachos that teach us about privacy. For example, we can’t build a new window that faces the courtyard, because then we can look at our neighbors all the time and see what they are doing.
In Perek Vov, we learn about people who share a city or a road. We learn that if there is something that the city needs, everyone who lives there has to help pay for it.
One thing that you can do even if the other people don’t like it is to teach kinderlach Torah — even if they are noisy and the neighbors don’t like the noise!
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Today we learn more about women that a kohen is not allowed to marry.
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Today is Chamisha Asar Bishvat, the new year for trees!
Chassidus explains that every Yid is like a little Eretz Yisroel! Just like Eretz Yisroel has seven special fruits, we also have these seven special “fruits” inside us.
There are many pesukim and Maamorei Razal about these fruits, which are used in Chassidus to show how to use our “fruits” to do better in our Avodas Hashem. Here are two examples:
Gefen (grapes): The pesukim say that grapes, which make wine, make Hashem and people happy. Chassidus teaches us that our “gefen” in Avodas Hashem is the simcha we need to have! In everything that happens, we should look for the good parts, and that will make us happy.
Rimon (pomegranate): The Gemara says that every Yid is full of mitzvos like a pomegranate. In our Avodas Hashem, we should be trying to fill ourselves up with mitzvos, by always looking for more mitzvos to do! We can try to find ways to learn more Torah, do favors for other people, or say Tehillim!
(Here is a link to a poem that explains each of the fruits according to the Rebbe’s sicha of Chamisha Asar Bishvat, Tof-Shin-Nun-Beis.)
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Before we daven and ask Hashem for our needs, we prepare words of praise to Hashem, and speak about His greatness. When the Chachomim set up the davening, they chose the last six kapitelach of Tehillim to be the main part of Pesukei Dezimra, where we praise Hashem. These kapitelach speak about Hashem’s kavod in a very organized way.
Where do we learn that we need to praise Hashem properly before asking Him for what we need?
We learn this from Moshe Rabbeinu, when he begged Hashem to be able to go into Eretz Yisroel. In Parshas Va’eschanan, Moshe Rabbeinu told the Yidden how he davened. First he praised Hashem and the miracles of Yetzias Mitzrayim, “Ata Hachilosa…”, and only afterwards did he ask “E’ebra Na,” that he should be allowed to go into Eretz Yisroel.
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If you ask anyone what bracha we make on fruit, they will answer right away — Ha’eitz!
But there are some fruits that are NOT Ha’aeitz, like bananas. Why?
The halacha is that for something to be counted as a tree to make a bracha Ha’eitz, it has to have its branches all year, even in the winter when the fruits aren’t growing.
The banana tree doesn’t work that way though! Even though part of the trunk usually stays all year, the banana tree loses all of its branches in the winter, and they grow again in the spring. So according to the Alter Rebbe, the banana tree isn’t counted as a tree, and we make the bracha Ho’adamah.
This is also why other foods that we call “fruits” are really Ho’adamah.
Visit this link to see pictures and learn more about these halachos.
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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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Planting an orchard is hard work. It starts by planting a seed, watering it, and waiting patiently for months and months. Once the tree starts growing, it needs careful trimming and watering, and protection from bugs and animals.
So why does a farmer spend so many years growing an orchard?
Because the fruit that will grow in the end is worth it!
This is one of the lessons of Chamisha Asar Bishvat. The minhag on this day is to eat delicious fruit. This reminds us how wonderful the fruit is, and we will know that it is worth all the effort to grow it!
Knowing about the fruit that comes at the end gives us encouragement for the avodah that a Yid does in the time of Golus.
The Geulah is the same way. It takes a lot of hard work to do what we are supposed to do during Golus, but eating the delicious fruit on Chamisha-Asar B’Shvat reminds us that it is worth it to do all of this difficult work for the delicious “Geulah fruit” which we will get in the end when Moshiach comes!
See sicha of Chamisha Asar Bishvat 5741
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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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