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CHUMASH
Parshas Yisro - Sheini with Rashi
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Before we learn how Hashem gives the Yidden the Torah, which is the main point of this parsha, first we finish learning what the Torah tells us about Yisro, even though this happened later. This story happened the day after Moshe Rabbeinu came down with the second set of Luchos on Yom Kippur, which we learn in Parshas Ki Sisa.
Yisro saw that Moshe was spending a long time answering people’s questions and judging people who had an argument. Moshe would be sitting, and everyone there would stand.
Yisro asked Moshe why everyone needed to stand — you don’t need to stand in front of a judge!
Moshe explained that they weren’t standing because of him, they were standing because they were coming to hear the words of Torah that he heard from Hashem.
Yisro told Moshe that he didn’t think it was a good idea for Moshe to teach all of the Yidden himself. It is too much for one person to teach an entire nation! He suggested that if Hashem agreed, Moshe should choose certain Yidden to be judges for groups of Yidden. This way they won’t have to ask every question to Moshe Rabbeinu.
Yisro told Moshe to look for people that deserve to be judges. They should be rich so that they don’t need to make other people happy to get things from them. They should have Yiras Shomayim, so they will be trying to do the right thing. They should be people who keep their promises, so people will trust them and listen to them. And they should be people who don’t like to fight about money.
There should be one person in charge of every group of 10 Yidden, one in charge of every group of 50, another in charge of every group of 100, and another in charge of every group of 1,000! Only if someone asks them a very hard question that they can’t answer themselves, THEN they should come to Moshe.
Yisro told Moshe that if Hashem agrees and he does this, everything will work out well for everybody.
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In today’s Tehillim, we have the kapitel that the Leviim would sing in the Beis Hamikdash on Shabbos — the Shir Shel Yom for Shabbos.
One of the pesukim in this kapitel speaks about how everybody thanks Hashem on Shabbos.
Chassidus explains that the words “Tov Lehodos LaHashem” (it is good to praise Hashem) are talking about Shabbos.
Hashem is always good, but on Shabbos we can FEEL it! That’s why especially on Shabbos Hashem’s goodness makes us want to thank and praise Hashem!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Chof-Gimmel
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In the Zohar, mitzvos are called “Eivarim Demalka” — the “body parts” of the King (Hashem):
We have many parts in our body — our hands, feet, eyes, and mouth. But each of these parts don’t try to go do different things, they are all just tools for a person to do what he wants (his ratzon). If we have a ratzon to go get a drink, our feet and hands work together automatically to do what we want. If we have a ratzon to say something nice to a friend, our mouth will right away move to say those nice words.
The same thing is true with mitzvos, the “body parts” of Hashem! They are all ways to express what Hashem wants, what Hashem’s ratzon is in the world!
Lighting Shabbos candles, putting on Tefillin, and giving tzedakah are all tools to show what Hashem wants. So just like our whole body is always part of our ratzon, because it’s always ready to do exactly what WE want, the mitzvos are always part of HASHEM’s ratzon, they are what Hashem wants!
That’s why even though Hashem hides in the rest of the world, mitzvos show us what Hashem really wants — so Hashem isn’t hidden in the mitzvos!
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The Rambam tells us what each of the 613 mitzvos are (in the Sefer Hamitzvos and the Rambam). The first mitzvah, the Rambam tells us, is the first thing Hashem told us in the Aseres Hadibros: To know that there is an Aibershter, Who makes everything be, and that all of our chayus comes only from Hashem.
This mitzvah uses a special part of ourselves that most other mitzvos don’t! Tefillin, lighting Shabbos candles, and giving tzedakah all use our hands. To go to shul or to visit a sick person — we use our feet. The havdalah candle uses our eyes. Saying nice things to a friend uses our mouth.
But this mitzvah is a mitzvah for our MIND, our brain.
Every Yid believes in Hashem, and is ready to do whatever Hashem wants. But this mitzvah tells us that it’s not enough to believe in Hashem — we need to use our mind to understand about the existence of Hashem as much as we can! (We fulfill this mitzvah by learning Chassidus, which explains to us about Yediyas Hashem!)
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #245) is the very same mitzvah again! Do you know it by heart yet? When we buy things or sell things, we need to follow the Torah rules for doing it.
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Shluchim VeShutfim
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In today’s Rambam, we are learning more about sending someone else to do something for you (a shliach) and about partners working together (a shutaf).
One of the things we learn in Perek Beis is that someone who is under a certain age can’t be a shliach. If someone sends a kid as a shliach, it’s his own fault if something gets broken or lost!
Of course, even a kid can be a shliach of the Rebbe!
Perek Gimmel teaches us about how a person can send a shliach to argue for him in Beis Din. (That’s like a lawyer.)
In Perek Daled we start learning about how people can become partners in business.
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We also start to learn a new set of halachos — about keeping ourselves holy, through only eating kosher! The food that we eat is very important, because it becomes part of us.
In today’s Rambam we learn about kosher and non-kosher animals and birds. Do you know what signs a kosher animal has to have?
- it chews its cud (swallows its food, but then goes back and chews it again and again)
- it has split hooves (hard feet that are split in half)
The Torah tells us the names of 24 birds that are not kosher, all other kinds of birds are kosher. But if you don’t know all of these birds and what they look like, you can only eat a kind of bird that you KNOW is kosher.
The Rambam also gives us signs to know what’s a kosher or a non-kosher bird. One way to know that a bird is NOT kosher is if it attacks other birds or animals with its claws and eats them. Can you think why that kind of bird is not kosher?
We also learn the signs of kosher locusts, and kosher fish. Do you know what signs a kosher fish has?
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One of the maamarim in this week’s Torah Ohr is the famous maamar called “Bachodesh Hashlishi.” This maamar speaks about the koach of Torah!
The guf can sometimes make it hard for the neshama to do what it is supposed to. But Torah can change that!
Torah is called “Oz Vetushiya.” It is Oz (strength), because it gives strength to the neshama, and it is Tushiya (a helper), because it helps us make the Yetzer Hara weaker.
To get this koach of Torah in the best way, the Alter Rebbe tells us that we need to learn Torah in a special way: We need to remember that it’s HASHEM’S Torah, like by Matan Torah, when we could SEE that Hashem was giving it to us.
Whenever we learn Torah, we should remember that the words we are saying are the same words that were said by Matan Torah, and the same words that the Chachomim explained to us over the years. We are just repeating them! This is called learning Torah with bittul. We aren’t thinking about ourselves, we are thinking about the Torah of Hashem!
When we learn Torah this way, the Torah has the koach of Oz Vetushiya, so we can have hatzlacha in doing our shlichus in the world.
This maamar was said by the Alter Rebbe in preparation for the Yom Tov of Shavuos. It was put in Torah Ohr by the Tzemach Tzedek, because it is also connected to Yisro where we learn about Matan Torah. The Rebbe sometimes asked that it be learned on Shavuos, and would speak about the maamar both on Shavuos and in Parshas Yisro.
In Tof-Shin-Nun-Beis, the last sicha of Parshas Yisro that we heard from the Rebbe, the Rebbe spoke a lot about this maamar.
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TEFILLAH
Why Isn't There Pesukei Dezimra in Mincha?
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When a Yid wakes up in the morning, his neshama is mostly hidden. This makes it hard to feel a connection to Hashem.
By praising Hashem in Pesukei Dezimra, we make a connection to Him. This way, we can stand before Hashem in tefillah and ask for all of our needs.
Once we already made this connection, it lasts all day! We don’t have to set up a new connection to Hashem by saying Pesukei Dezimra again before Mincha, or any time during the day that we want to ask Hashem for something. By davening Shacharis with Pesukei Dezimra, we are always connected and it is much easier for us to ask Hashem for whatever we need at any time.
See Maamar Lag B’omer 5745
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We are learning the halachos of borer on Shabbos, separating something from a mixture, which is one of the Lamed-Tes Melachos.
What do we do about pits in fruits or vegetables on Shabbos? Are we allowed to take them out, or is it the isur of borer?
Something that is Derech Achilah (a way of eating) is allowed on Shabbos. Since it is the normal way of eating to take out a pit before eating a fruit, we are allowed to do it.
For example, we cut an avocado in half and take out the pit. If we can shake it out without touching it that is best, but if a pit is stuck inside, we are allowed to take it out with our hand or a spoon.
We are also allowed to take out a stem from a fruit or vegetable we are eating, like the stem of a grape or a tomato.
Still, we can only take out the pit or the stem with our hand or a regular keili like a spoon or knife, not a keili made especially for separating things. And we can only do it right before we will eat the food. This way we show that we are taking out the pits or stems in a way of eating, not as the melacha of borer.
See Hilchos Shabbos by Pansaim, p. 35
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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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The Gemara says that before Moshiach comes, there will be very hard times for Yidden. Every day will be harder than the day before…
Why would the Torah tell us something like that? So that we can get into a bad mood? To make us upset or sad Chas Veshalom?
The Rebbe teaches us that the reason why the Torah tells it to us is because before Moshiach comes there will be new special kochos every day — that we can use to overcome the new challenges every day!
The Torah tells it to us so we will realize that when Hashem gives us kochos, they aren’t just a nice thing to have. Hashem gives them to us because we NEED them to overcome the hardships and bring Moshiach! So we have to be very careful to use all of the kochos Hashem gives us as much as we can!
How many times a year did your parents (or grandparents) get to see or hear the Rebbe?
Today, we can watch videos of the Rebbe, hear sichos, and learn from the Rebbe like we were never able to do before! What a special gift Hashem gives to us! But this isn’t just a nice thing — Hashem gives it to us because we NEED it to overcome the challenges of Golus.
What ways were your parents able to spread Yiddishkeit to others before? How many ways can we do it today?
It’s not enough to just use the kochos we had before, since the darkness of Golus gets more as we get closer to Moshiach. We need to use all of the kochos we are given to bring Moshiach now!
See farbrengen Shavuos 5738
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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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