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CHUMASH
Parshas Beshalach - Shlishi with Rashi
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Paraoh finally sent the Yidden out of Mitzrayim, but as soon as Hashem hardened Paraoh’s heart again, he changed his mind and started chasing the Yidden to bring them back.
The Yidden were afraid since Paraoh was chasing them! Moshe started to daven to Hashem also, but Hashem said, “Now is not the time to daven! Now it’s time to DO something! I will take care of the Mitzriyim, but you have a job — tell the Yidden that they can keep on going! I have already decided to split the Yam Suf for them, and the zechus of their Avos and the zechus of the Emunah they have is enough that they should be saved. Pick up your stick and the Yam Suf will split, so the Yidden can walk through on dry land. The Mitzriyim will follow, and drown in the sea! Then they will realize that I am Hashem.”
Now that the Mitzriyim were even closer, the malach of Hashem that usually went in front of the Yidden went behind them, to keep the Mitzriyim from hurting any Yidden. At night, instead of disappearing, the cloud also moved behind the Yidden. It made it dark so the Mitzriyim couldn’t see the Yidden at all! They kept trying to shoot arrows, but the cloud caught them so none of the Yidden got hurt.
Moshe picked up his arm over the Yam Suf, and Hashem made a strong wind blow all night, splitting the Yam Suf and turning it into dry land. The water all over the world also split, so everyone would know about the neis!
The Yam Suf split into 12 paths, one for each Shevet. The Yidden, starting with Shevet Binyamin, went through on dry land.
The cloud followed the Yidden into the Yam Suf, and then the Mitzriyim could see the Yidden again! They chased after the Yidden, right into the Yam Suf! Then Hashem sent the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire to punish the Mitzriyim. The pillar of cloud made the ground turn into mud, and the pillar of fire made the mud boiling hot! The shoes fell off of the horses, and the wheels fell off the chariots. The Mitzriyim got shlepped through the hot mud, and banged around. The Mitzriyim realized that Hashem was fighting for the Yidden!
As the Yidden came out of the Yam Suf, they were able to see Hashem so clearly — even a very simple person then was able to see even more than the greatest Neviim were able to see!
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Today’s Shiur Tehillim is kapitelach Samach-Tes, Ayin, and Ayin-Alef.
One of the pesukim at the end of kapitel Samech-Tes (69) is “Ki Elokim Yoshia Tziyon,” “Hashem will save Yerushalayim!” The Medrash tells us a story about this posuk:
One time there was a king who had sheep which were watched by a shepherd. One day, the king got upset and sent the sheep away, took apart the fence, and took away the shepherd. Later on, he decided to bring back the sheep. So he rebuilt the pen for the sheep, but didn’t call back the shepherd. So the shepherd went to the king and said, “You built the pen and brought back the sheep — but what about me?”
Dovid Hamelech was saying that he is like the shepherd taking care of the Yidden who are in Golus. He is so busy helping Yidden and making sure that Hashem brings them back, that he doesn’t have enough time to take care of himself!
That’s why the next kapitel starts with the words “Lamenatzeiach LeDovid Lehazkir” — “A song for Dovid to REMEMBER.” Dovid Hamelech asked Hashem to please remember him too! So Hashem gave him a special bracha to have extra hatzlacha in his own needs.
The same thing is true for anyone who takes care of other Yidden, like Mommies and Tatties and Shluchim — Hashem gives them a special koach that they should have hatzlacha to have everything they need for themselves!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Chof
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The Alter Rebbe is telling us in short what Achdus Hashem (the oneness of Hashem) means.
Understanding Achdus Hashem will help us understand how every MITZVAH is a CONNECTION with Achdus Hashem, and every AVEIRA is chas veshalom a SEPARATION from it. Then we will not let the Ruach Shtus from our Nefesh Habehamis convince us that there is anything too small or not worth it when it comes to doing what Hashem wants!
We say in davening, “Ata Hu Ad Shelo Nivra Ha’olam, Ata Hu Mishenivra Ha’olam” — Hashem is the same now that He created the world, just as He was before He created it. That is part of the Emunah Peshutah (simple Emunah) that every Yid has.
The Alter Rebbe will explain this emunah and make it part of our Chabad, part of our understanding. When it’s not just emunah, but we understand it also, it will change the way we feel and behave, and the Ruach Shtus won’t be able to trick us!
We could ask, how is it possible that Hashem is the same as He was before He created the world? The world is so big, so important and complicated — how can you say that Hashem didn’t change at all from it?
We learned before that “Bidvar Hashem Shomayim Naasu” (the Shomayim was made through the word of Hashem). This mashal of a word will help us understand! Because just like one word that a person says makes absolutely no difference to who he is, the world, which is just the “word of Hashem,” doesn’t make any change to Hashem! The world isn’t so big after all — it’s like nothing next to Hashem.
Now let’s take a closer look at this mashal to understand it better, how one word of a person makes no change to who the person is.
Hashem made a person with an unlimited koach to speak. If a person wanted to, he could talk all day without stopping, from morning to night! So a single word that a person says is like nothing compared to what he is able to say.
But don’t think that the koach of SPEAKING is so powerful and important either! Remember that a person can only say something he thought of first, and a person thinks a lot more than he speaks! Even if someone is talking all day long, he is still thinking way more than that, because thought is much faster and more powerful.
And don’t think that the koach of THINKING is so special and powerful either! Before a person is even able to think about something, he first has to WANT it with his midos, and even before that, he needs to KNOW about it (sechel)! That knowing and wanting doesn’t even have words, and the amount of things you can know about and want are unlimited!
For example, imagine going into the biggest library in the world, and pulling out just one book. Open that book and look at one word. Is that word important at all compared to everything you can learn from all of the books in the library?
Or imagine asking for a treat. Is that word important compared to all of the delicious kinds of foods that there are in the world that you can find out about and want?
So to go back to our one word: It’s like nothing compared to the koach of speaking. And our koach of speaking is like nothing compared to our koach of thinking. And our koach of thinking is also like nothing compared to our koach of midos or sechel!
We understand that one word of a PERSON is like nothing compared to what the person is able to know and want, and who he is. So we can understand that since the world is like a single word of Hashem, it is like nothing compared to Who Hashem is!
This gives us words to understand our emunah that Hashem is the same as He was before the world was created.
Besides the world not being important compared to Hashem, we will see starting in tomorrow’s Tanya that the world is still a part of Hashem! The world is not able to change Hashem at all.
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Today is the yartzeit of Rebbetzin Shterna Sarah, the Frierdiker Rebbe’s mother. The year the Hayom Yom was written, it was her first yartzeit. So if you look inside, before today’s Hayom Yom there is a halacha about the first yartzeit.
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When the Rebbe Maharash was a little boy, he knew the whole Nach (the books of the Torah after the Chumash, like Navi and Tehillim) baal peh! The Tzemach Tzedek would sometimes test him, and the Rebbe Maharash would ask questions about things he learned.
One time, when he was 7 years old, the Rebbe Maharash asked the Tzemach Tzedek about a certain posuk, where it says that Hashem made a person straight, “yashar.” The meforshim explain that it means that Hashem did a chesed to make people walk standing up.
The Tzemach Tzedek explained why this is such a big chesed: Because an animal has all four feet on the ground, so it doesn’t look up at the sky.
But a person, who stands, DOES look up and can see Shomayim.
Why was the Tzemach Tzedek telling this to him? The Frierdiker Rebbe explains this in a letter. The posuk says that a person is born like a wild animal. Animals don’t care about acting the way Hashem wants, just what they want. But when the child’s parents and teachers show him how to act, he starts to live the way a Yid should and be a mentch.
The Tzemach Tzedek was telling the Rebbe Maharash that we need to remember the chesed that Hashem does for us that we are “Yashar Holech” — that we are able to walk on two feet like a person. We don’t just have to look down at the Gashmius like an animal and think only about what we want or need, we can look up to Shomayim and think about how Hashem wants us to act!
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #245) is the same mitzvah AGAIN! (When we are learning many halachos connected with the same mitzvah in Rambam, we just keep reviewing it in Sefer Hamitzvos!) When we do business, buying or selling things, we need to do it the way the Torah teaches us.
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Zechiya U'Matana
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more about a present from a person who is very sick (a “Shechiv MeRa”).
Perek Yud explains what we do when the Shechiv Mera says that money belongs to another person, or if another person says that the Shechiv Mera owed him money.
In Perek Yud-Alef the Rambam tells us what to do when the words of the Shechiv Mera aren’t so clear. Like if he says, “give this money to Tuvia,” what do we do if two people called Tuvia come and ask for the money? (If one of them is a Talmid Chochom, we say that probably the Shechiv Mera meant him, or if one of them is his friend we say it is probably him.)
In Perek Yud-Beis we learn about how carefully we listen to the words of a sick person and do exactly what he asked.
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Today we learn about women that a kohen is not allowed to get married to.
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There are so many special things that will happen in the time of the Geulah! Each of those special things will happen because of something we did during Golus.
Taking care of our guf to make sure that it is healthy to serve Hashem properly also brings the special way the guf will be Le’asid Lavo!
How will the guf be Le’asid Lavo?
Let’s first learn more about the guf:
What is the main part of ourselves? Our guf, or our neshama?
Our neshama, of course! It is what gives us chayus! A body without a neshama cannot live.
But at one point after Moshiach comes, L’asid Lavo, things will change! Really, the guf of a Yid comes from an even HIGHER source than the neshama, closer to Hashem! At that point in time Le’asid Lavo, the guf will be the MAIN thing. It won’t even need the chayus of the neshama anymore! Instead, the neshama will get chayus from the guf!
That’s why the Chachomim say that at a certain time Le’asid Lavo, the guf won’t need food or drink anymore to stay alive, because the guf will have such strong chayus that it won’t need to get it from anywhere else! In fact, the guf will be a source of chayus for the neshama!
Everything in the time of Moshiach happens because of something we did in Golus. So what is it that we do that will make this happen?
We need to take care of our guf now, since we know how special it will become! We need to be careful to be healthy, and not do anything that can hurt our body. When we do this, remembering that it is a mitzvah, it will help us be ready for the time when we will be able to see how special the guf of a Yid really is!
The Rambam says that for a Yid, it is not correct to take care of ourselves just because we want to be healthy. The reason to take care of ourselves is so that we can serve Hashem with a healthy body!
Keeping this in mind not only makes taking care of ourselves into something of kedusha, but it is also preparing ourselves for the special way the guf of a Yid will be when Moshiach comes!
See Toras Menachem Hisvaaduyos, Parshas Beshalach 5714, os zayin
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In Pesukei Dezimra, we speak about the greatness of Hashem. The Chachomim taught us that we should spend some time praising Hashem before asking for our needs in Shemoneh Esrei.
The Shulchan Aruch tells us that it is not appropriate to rush through Pesukei Dezimra in order to get to Shemoneh Esrei faster. Doing this shows that we are only thinking about ourselves and what we want, and not about Hashem!
We should say the words of Pesukei Dezimra clearly and properly, and try to have kavana by these parts as much as we can. This will show that we are thinking about Hashem, and Hashem will surely answer our tefillos!
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman nun-alef, se’if gimmel
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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.
Borer is not only for food. We are also not allowed to separate other types of things on Shabbos, including clothes, books, and toys.
Today we will learn more about borer with clothes.
To be considered the issur of borer, there needs to be a mixture of at least two different kinds of things to choose from.
If the clothes are not mixed together, even if they are different types, it is not the melacha of borer at all.
For example, imagine if we have many shirts hanging in a closet. Some are Shabbos shirts, some are weekday shirts, and many of them are different sizes. Would it be borer to choose one?
Clothes that are each hanging on a separate hanger are not counted as mixed together. We would be allowed to take the shirt we want on Friday night, even not to use Miyad — like if we will only be wearing it on Shabbos morning.
See Shabbos Kehalacha perek Yud-Beis (based on reasoning with seforim, p. 219, footnote 219)
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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 today’s Chumash, we learned about Kriyas Yam Suf. Do you feel bad that you missed Kriyas Yam Suf? Don’t worry! Something similar will happen again, as part of this Geulah!
וְהֶחֱרִים ה׳ אֵת לְשׁוֹן יָם מִצְרַיִם וְהֵנִיף יָדוֹ עַל הַנָּהָר בַּעְיָם רוּחוֹ וְהִכָּהוּ לְשִׁבְעָה נְחָלִים וְהִדְרִיךְ בַּנְּעָלִים
Vehecherim Hashem Eis Leshon Yam Mitzrayim — Hashem will cut off the sea of Mitzrayim to dry it up, so that the Yidden can easily return to Eretz Yisroel
Veheinif Yado Al Hanahar Ba’eyam Rucho — And Hashem will lift His hand over the river Pras (on another side of Eretz Yisroel, for the Yidden coming from that direction) with the strength of His wind
Vehikahu Leshiva Nechalim — And Hashem will force it into seven streams, for the Yidden coming from each kind of Golus there
Vehidrich Bane’alim — And He will lead the Yidden through them in dry land.
Then the next posuk concludes:
וְהָיְתָה מְסִלָּה לִשְׁאָר עַמּוֹ אֲשֶׁר יִשָּׁאֵר מֵאַשּׁוּר כַּאֲשֶׁר הָיְתָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל בְּיוֹם עֲלֹתוֹ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם
Vehaysa Mesilah Li’she’ar Amo — And for the rest of the Yidden, coming from other parts of the world, there will be a clear path through the water
Asher Yisha’er Me’Ashur — For the Yidden who were left in Ashur,
Ka’asher Haysa LeYisrael — Like there was for the Yidden
Beyom Aloso Me’Eretz Mitzrayim — On the day they came out of Mitzrayim!
See Yeshayahu perek Yud-Alef, pesukim Tes-Vov and Tes-Zayin, and Rashi there
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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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