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CHUMASH
Parshas Beshalach - Shishi with Rashi
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We learned before that the Yidden finished eating the food they took out of Mitzrayim, and they complained there was no food. Moshe told Aharon to tell the Yidden that Hashem will soon speak to them about this.
All of the Yidden were waiting to hear what Hashem would say to them, since they had complained about having no food.
With all of the Yidden standing there, Hashem spoke to Moshe from the cloud.
Hashem said: “I heard what the Yidden complained about! Tell them that they will have meat and bread, and they will know that I am Hashem! They will get the meat in the afternoon, but they will get the bread in the morning, in a loving way.”
The next morning, the mahn fell for the first time! Hashem sent a layer of dew underneath it, so it would be clean, and another layer to fall on top, to protect it. When the sun came up, the top layer of dew disappeared, and the Yidden could see the mahn! They didn’t know what it was exactly, and that’s why it got the name “mahn” — meaning just plain food.
Moshe told the Yidden that this was the bread Hashem sent for them! They should take as much as they need for everyone in their family. The Yidden listened, but some people ended up taking more mahn than they needed, and some people took less. But when they measured it, they found that Hashem made a neis — everyone had EXACTLY as much as they needed!
Moshe warned the Yidden not to save the mahn, Hashem would send more when they needed! But some Yidden didn’t trust that they would get more tomorrow, and they put some away for the next day. The mahn got all rotten and full of worms, and Moshe got very upset at them for not listening and believing in Hashem!
Every morning, after the Yidden took their mahn, the mahn that was left on the ground would melt, and go into the rivers and streams. The meat from animals who drank it was delicious — and all of the goyim could see how Hashem loves the Yidden to send them such special food!
On Friday, the Yidden took as much mahn as they needed — but they found out that they had DOUBLE! They asked Moshe why. (The Yidden knew about Shabbos, but didn’t know Hashem wanted them to keep Shabbos even before Matan Torah.)
Moshe said, “I didn’t tell you this yet, but some of the halachos of Shabbos will be kept starting this week! You won’t be able to cook or bake on Shabbos. Everything will need to be prepared before Shabbos starts.” So the Yidden put the extra mahn aside — and this time, it didn’t get rotten overnight!
Still, the Yidden asked if they should go to get mahn on Shabbos, but Moshe told them no. When they asked again, he realized that they were scared that the mahn might not fall again! Moshe told them not to worry — the mahn would fall again after Shabbos, on Sunday.
Still, some Yidden went out on Shabbos to look for mahn. Hashem was not happy with the Yidden! Even though only some people went, all Yidden are responsible for each other.
The Yidden could have given the mahn a different name, but they decided to keep the name mahn. The mahn was round, like a little seed, and it was white. It tasted like dough fried in honey — unless they wanted it to taste like something else!
Hashem told Moshe to put an omer of mahn in a little jar, to keep forever in the Mishkan — so the Yidden will remember that Hashem always gives us what we need. (When the Mishkan was put up, Aharon did this.)
The Yidden would continue to eat the mahn for 40 years!
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In Kapitel Pey-Alef (81), the posuk says “Tiku BaChodesh Shofar, Bakeseh LeYom Chageinu. Ki Chok LeYisroel Hu, Mishpat Leilokei Yaakov.” These pesukim are talking about blowing the shofar, which is the mitzvah of Rosh Hashana.
The Gemara says that it is also talking about the parnasa that every Yid will have for the coming year. There is an argument in the Gemara whether a person is judged on Rosh Hashana, or every day, or even every hour!
Chassidus explains that it’s really not an argument — they’re just talking about different things! In Ruchnius, on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, it is decided what a person will have. But based on how they act every day and every moment, it is decided whether that Ruchnius koach he deserves will come into Gashmius and give him parnasa, or stay in Ruchnius for Gan Eden.
Some people think that since anyway Hashem decided on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, it doesn’t matter if they daven with a minyan or go to a shiur in Torah or do other mitzvos. Either they will get it or they won’t get it!
But that’s not true! Even if in Shomayim it was decided that a person will get a lot, if he doesn’t earn Hashem’s bracha, he won’t get the bracha in Gashmius. And the opposite is also true — even if someone isn’t supposed to get a lot, with Hashem’s bracha that little can help him even more than a lot would!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Chof-Alef
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We learned yesterday that the mashal of a person’s speaking is different than the nimshal of Hashem’s words which were used to create the world. A person’s words become separated from him after he says them, but NOTHING can become separate from Hashem! So even after Hashem said the words that created the world, the world didn’t become something separate — it is always connected to Hashem.
Did you ever see a one-way mirror? Some shuls have a special kind of Mechitzah where from the men’s side, it looks like a mirror, but from the women’s side, you can see straight through like plain glass! The whole world is a little bit like that! When we look around at the world, it looks like it is something for itself. From Hashem’s point of view, though, the whole world never becomes separate from Hashem.
The whole world is always one with Hashem. It is only that Hashem made many tzimtzumim, like layers of hiding through the different Ruchnius worlds, all the way until this Gashmius world.
Hashem wanted that the things that are created should FEEL separate. Hashem WANTS us to feel like we have an existence of our own, so that we will be able to live in the world and serve Hashem.
The truth is, however, that this is only how we feel. All of the levels of hiding are “see-through” to Hashem, they don’t hide anything at all! What is dark to us is light to Hashem. Even the tzimtzumim are part of Hashem!
When Moshiach comes, we will also be able to see it!
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In Chassidus, we use a certain mashal often:
A person who serves Hashem with all of his heart, who is always excited to do what Hashem wants — that’s called “warm.” A person who feels like he always needs to understand everything — that’s called “cold.”
Being “cold” is not an aveira, but the Rebbe Rashab says that it is very close to kefirah — a person who is cold might very easily forget about Hashem Chas Veshalom.
There is a posuk (in Devarim) that says that Hashem is a fire! Learning Torah and davening needs to be in a “warm” way, with a chayus, with all of your heart! This will make sure that we remember Hashem, and we will be “warm” Yidden!
Hashem created the world in a way that Elokus is hidden. Because the Torah and mitzvos were given to us in a Gashmius world, the Elokus in them is also hidden in some way. That’s why it’s important to learn Chassidus in a way that will inspire us to realize how Hashem is in everything.
For example, when we learn Torah, we could look at it in a “cold” way, seeing only stories and complicated discussions about halachos. But we need to learn it in a “warm” way, and remember that the Torah we are learning is the chochma and the ratzon of Hashem!
When we daven, we could just say the words, since that’s what we’re used to doing. But we need to remember “Da Lifnei Mi Ata Omed,” we are standing before Hashem! When we walk in the street, we need to remember that we are all shluchim of the Rebbe to bring Torah and Chassidus everywhere, and to be a Kiddush Hashem! The same is in everything we do. Our whole avodah needs to be with warmth and chayus!
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Today we will learn the same mitzvah again (Mitzvas Asei #236)! If a person hurts someone else, he has to make up for what he did by paying him for the five kinds of things he damaged: That now he is worth less money because he is handicapped, that it hurt him, for the doctor bills, for the time he couldn’t work, and that he was embarrassed. A Beis Din decides how much money needs to be paid for each of these things.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn about how to be a good neighbor according to Torah.
In Perek Zayin, we learn about a person’s right to have a window. We can’t tell another person to block off his window so he won’t look at us, if he had his window there first. We also can’t block his window by building a wall of our house too close.
Perek Ches teaches us about when a person can build something that reaches out over his neighbor’s yard, like a porch. If his neighbor knew about it and didn’t stop him, the neighbor can’t change his mind later. But building a sukkah doesn’t prove anything, unless it stays up for a whole month after Sukkos, because everyone knows that a sukkah isn’t meant to stay!
In Perek Tes, the Rambam tells us when we need to leave extra space to make sure we don’t ruin something belonging to our neighbor. For example, if we build a tub for laundry, we have to build a strong one, and at least 3 tefachim away from our neighbor’s wall, so that the water won’t leak out and ruin his wall.
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We learn today that there are three special midos that Yidden have: They have rachmanus, they are bayshanim (not chutzpadik) and are kind — gomlei chassadim.
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This week is called Shabbos Shirah, because Parshas Beshalach has in it the shirah, the song that the Yidden sang to Hashem after Kriyas Yam Suf, Az Yashir!
The Frierdiker Rebbe told a story of the Maharal connected to Shabbos Shira:
In the week of Parshas Beshalach, the Maharal would tell parents and teachers to gather all the young children on Shabbos in the courtyard of the shul. There, they should tell them the story of Kriyas Yam Suf, and how the birds chirped along when the Yidden sang Az Yashir! The children had rachmanus on the birds, and picked fruit from the Yam Suf and fed it to the birds.
The Maharal then asked that the children should be given kasha, so that they can also feed the birds.
Then the Maharal would bless the children and the parents that they should be zoche to teach the children properly and raise them to Torah, Chuppah, and Maasim Tovim.
In those days, most families and communities owned animals. It is only allowed to feed animals on Shabbos if they belong to you, so the minhag of feeding the birds can’t be done on Shabbos nowadays. But it is still important to teach children to have Rachmanus, so we tell them this story. Some put out kasha for the birds before Shabbos as well as keeping the minhag of eating kasha on Shabbos.
See farbrengen Parshas Beshalach Tof-Shin-Mem-Tes
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We learn from Moshe Rabbeinu that we need to say Pesukei Dezimra before asking for our needs. Before Moshe Rabbeinu davened to be able to go into Eretz Yisroel, he first praised Hashem for the miracles of Yetziyas Mitzrayim. We learn from this to also praise Hashem’s greatness before davening for the things we need in Shemoneh Esrei.
But there is another reason also:
Not only does Pesukei Dezimra help our davening be proper, by praising Hashem first, but Pesukei Dezimra helps US to daven in the right mood! In the Mishna, the Chachomim teach us that a person shouldn’t stand before Hashem in tefillah when he is depressed, lazy, silly, or busy. Instead, a person should daven with Simcha Shel Mitzvah, with the joy of davening to Hashem!
Saying the words of Torah in Pesukei Dezimra helps put us in a mood of simcha, when we think about Hashem’s greatness and how Hashem takes care of us. This way, we will be able to daven in the right way — with Simcha Shel Mitzvah!
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman Nun-Alef se’if Alef, Likutei Sichos volume 34, p. 70
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Yesterday, we learned about when fruits are Ho’adamah, in connection with Chamisha-Asar B’Shevat. Today, let’s learn another halacha about fruit — when their bracha is Shehakol!
The general bracha for food is Shehakol. But we say a special bracha on specific kinds of foods. For example, vegetables are special since they grow from the ground. Fruits are different because they grow on trees.
But we only make these special brachos when we eat these foods the way they are usually eaten. If we eat them in a strange way, they can lose their special bracha and become Shehakol.
For example, potatoes are a food that most people cook before eating. Raw potatoes don’t taste as good. So if someone decides to eat potatoes raw, that is not considered a normal way of eating. The potatoes don’t get their special bracha, and we make a Shehakol on them.
Oranges are another example. They are delicious raw, but when they are cooked, their flavor changes. Most people don’t eat them that way. So if we have a cooked orange (like on top of chicken), we don’t make a special bracha on it. We make just the general bracha of Shehakol.
See Seder Birchos Hanehenin Perek Vov
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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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In this week’s Chumash, we learn Shiras Hayam, the song the Yidden sang at Kriyas Yam Suf. The Shirah starts with the words “Az Yashir Moshe,” saying that Moshe and the Yidden sang these words to Hashem.
Rashi explains that this is a hint to Techiyas Hameisim from the Torah!
Really, the Torah could have said “Az SHAR Moshe,” “then Moshe SANG.” Instead, it uses the words “Az YASHIR,” which can mean “then he WILL sing.”
When will Moshe sing? At the time of Techiyas Hameisim, when Moshe Rabbeinu will again sing shirah to Hashem, together with all of the Yidden!
The Zohar says that in Az Yashir, there are hints to all of the types of praise that are given to Hashem — the praise that everything in the world gives to Hashem, and the praise that is given to Hashem by the malochim and in Shomayim! By saying Az Yashir every day, we will also be zoche to give this special praise to Hashem when Moshiach comes!
See Rashi on Az Yashir, and Zohar Parshas Beshalach
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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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