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CHUMASH
Parshas Terumah - Chamishi with Rashi
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We are learning the instructions Hashem is giving to Moshe Rabbeinu about how the Mishkan should be built. Today we learn about the curtains.
Hashem tells Moshe how to make the Paroches inside the Mishkan, a curtain to separate between the Kodesh and the Kodesh Hakodoshim. It should match the first cover of the Mishkan, made of colorful threads with the shapes of animals on it.
The Paroches should be hung on four wooden pillars (Amudim) covered in gold, that have gold hooks on them. The hooks should hold a rod for the Paroches. At the bottom of the pillars there should be silver boxes, like there are for the Kerashim of the walls of the Mishkan.
When the Paroches is up, the Aron should be put behind it, in the Kodesh Hakodoshim.
The Shulchan, the Menorah, and Mizbeiach Hazahav (the Mizbeiach Haketores, which we learn about next week) should all be put in the Kodesh section.
There should also be a curtain for the door of the Mishkan, like the Paroches that was between the Kodesh and the Kodesh Hakodoshim. It should hang on a rod attached to five wooden pillars covered with gold, but with a copper box on the bottom, instead of silver like all the other pillars.
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One of the pesukim in Kapitel Lamed-Hey (35, the first of today’s Kapitelach) says “Kol Atzmosai Tomarna, Hashem Mi Kamocha?” “All of my bones say, Hashem, who is like You?”
We learn from this posuk that a person should shuckle when they daven or listen to the Torah being leined, and also when they’re learning.
The Baal Shem Tov gave a moshol for this: When a person is Chas Veshalom drowning, they move as much as they can to save themselves.
When we daven, we are trying to save our neshama from drowning in the Golus of the Guf. That’s one of the reasons why we shuckle!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Chof-Zayin
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We learned about the special nachas ruach that Hashem has when we stop ourselves from thinking bad thoughts or about bad taavos. We learned that this avodah is called Iskafya.
Now that we are already talking about iskafya, the Alter Rebbe tells about another kind of iskafya, which is very well known in the avodah of Chassidus: Iskafya from things that are not asur at all!
In the times of the Gemara, people would eat their breakfast three hours after it got light. But the Talmidei Chachomim wouldn’t eat for another two hours, while they learned Torah. Then they would eat and go back to learning.
Why did they do that? To have iskafya!
Iskafya means that when we want to do something that we are allowed to do, we say STOP! I don’t do things just because I want to. I do things because HASHEM wants me to! So we don’t do it right away. We do something for the neshama, to make it think about the ratzon of Hashem, and then we might use what our Nefesh Habehamis was suggesting we use — for Hashem.
For example, let’s say you passed by 7-11 and suddenly realized that you REALLY want a Slurpee! It’s not a fast day, the candy is kosher, and you’re not late for class, so there’s nothing wrong with getting one. But if you get it right now, you’re letting your Nefesh Habehamis decide what you should do! So instead you practice your Tanya Baal Peh and THEN if you think the Slurpee will make you happy so you can do your Avodas Hashem, you go buy one.
We can have iskafya with all kinds of things — with words we want to say, with things we want to think about, and things we want to do.
When we have iskafya, we are reminding the Yetzer Hara that it’s not in charge. That will “shecht” the Yetzer Hara, bring kavod to Hashem, make our neshama stronger, and help us a lot in our Avodas Hashem!
We know many ways to make our neshama stronger by doing mitzvos, not doing aveiros, or davening with kavana. But we see that even just by not doing what the Yetzer Hara wants right away, we are making our neshama stronger too!
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The Rebbe Rashab said: It is a very special thing when Hashem makes someone able to really FEEL that they want to do something nice and care for another person — even more than they care about themselves!
Because for ourselves, we realize that we may sometimes not deserve things to be easier or better; but we can never say that about another person — we want them to ALWAYS have the best!
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Today we learn two more mitzvos about a mashkon.
When a person borrows money, how will the person who lent him money make sure he gets paid back? One of the ways is to have a mashkon, something that belongs to the person who borrowed the money, that he keeps with him until the loan is paid back.
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #241) You can’t take a mashkon from an almanah (a widow), even if she is rich.
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #242) You can’t take kitchen things as a mashkon, or anything used to make food, like for example a knife or a mixing bowl.
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In today’s Rambam, we are learning halachos about what a Beis Din should do when someone comes with a disagreement about a loan.
In Perek Yud-Gimmel, we learn about paying back a loan. If the person who borrowed money didn’t pay it back on time, he may be allowed to sell the mashkon.
Perek Yud-Daled teaches us what happens if someone says “I already paid it back!” and the other person says he didn’t. Sometimes the borrower can make a shevuah (a promise on something holy) in front of a Beis Din to prove he paid it back.
Perek Tes-Vov has halachos about when someone borrowed money with a condition — like saying “you have to pay me back in front of witnesses.”
The Rambam writes that there was a halacha that was not clear in the Gemara, but he found an old Gemara, written on parchment, that was a little bit different. Based on what it said there, everything is clear!
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Now we start learning the halachos about shechting animals.
One halacha is that the knife used for shechting has to be sharp and smooth! The shochet checks his knife before he shechts, to make sure that it didn’t get a nick in it since the last time he shechted.
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We learned in Tanya today about having iskafya, not letting the Yetzer Hara to express itself when it wants, because really the neshama needs to be in charge! We learned about not letting our Yetzer Hara tell us when to eat something or say something, but only doing it when our neshama agrees that it’s good for us.
The Rebbe once said that nowadays, iskafya with food for a bochur in Yeshiva means to eat what the Yeshiva serves. (Mafteiach L’Sichos Kodesh, p. 107)
How is it iskafya to eat?
We can understand based on what we learned in Tanya!
If a bochur in Yeshiva doesn’t eat the food he is served, it’s because he doesn’t like it, or because he doesn’t want it… meaning that his Nefesh Habehamis doesn’t want it!
But who is in charge? The neshama! The neshama knows that to have a healthy body and be able to serve Hashem, we have to eat healthy food. So we have iskafya over our Yetzer Hara, and eat the food that we are served, so that we can serve Hashem properly.
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TEFILLAH
A Thought Process of Kedusha - Mizmor Lesoda
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Our minds get used to thinking in certain patterns. When learning Chassidus and during davening, we teach our minds to think in a pattern of kedusha. This way, we will start thinking in the way of the neshama instead of the patterns of the Nefesh Habehamis!
Here is an example of one way we can have kavana during a part of davening, during Mizmor Lesodah:
De’u Ki Hashem Hu Ha’Elokim — Know that Hashem is our Aibershter!
The way Hashem runs the world is with the name Elokim, the level of Hashem where His chayus is hidden. The world doesn’t always LOOK like Hashem is making it run. But when Hashem makes a neis, we can see that really, “Hashem Hu Ha’Elokim!” It is Hashem that hides in the name Elokim! Hashem is ALWAYS running the world, and the nisim Hashem makes for us are just a peek into Who really is making everything in the world work the way it does!
So all of the things that happen, even though they seem to be just natural, are really Hashem! When we feel satisfied from eating, it is not just that this is the way our body works. It is Hashem Who makes us feel this way! Hashem is making all these things happen just the way they do, and it’s our job to use them for kedusha!
See how this fits into the whole paragraph of Mizmor Lesoda. Based on the Maamar “De’u Ki Hashem” 5701 and 5731
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The Chachomim made a takanah that we should say Havdalah in Maariv and also make Havdalah over a kos of wine. At this Havdalah, we first make a bracha on wine, and then we make a bracha about Havdalah, that Hashem separates between Shabbos and the weekday.
The Chachomim also added two more brachos: A bracha on besamim, and a bracha on a ner (candle). Together there are four brachos, which are the Roshei Teivos of the word “Yavneh” — Yayin, Besamim, Ner, Havdalah.
Why do we use besamim?
On Shabbos, every Yid is given a Neshama Yeseira, an extra neshama.
According to Niglah, this extra neshama is the special peaceful way we feel on Shabbos, because of the resting and the Oneg Shabbos, enjoying Shabbos. According to Kabbalah, this is an actual extra neshama that comes into us for Shabbos.
But on Motzei Shabbos, the Neshama Yeseira goes away. We go back to the regular weekday feelings of hard work, without the special feelings we get from the Neshama Yeseira. This can make our neshama feel sad!
So the Chachomim made a minhag that if we can, we should smell something sweet to make our neshama feel better. Of all of the things our Guf enjoys, smells are the most Ruchnius’dike type of thing, so our neshama enjoys it too. When we smell the besamim, we bring a little bit of simcha to our neshama as it goes into the week, to give it the koach it needs to fulfill the shlichus it has in the world.
See Kitzur Halachos Siman Reish-Tzadik-Zayin, se’if Alef and haoros
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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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When we learn the parshios in the Torah about the Mishkan, we also add in learning from Torah Shebaal Peh about these things.
Today we learn about the way the keilim were set up in the Kodesh.
The Shulchan should be placed on the Tzafon side, the Menorah on the Darom side, and the Mizbeiach between them, but closer to the Mizrach entrance to the Kodesh. Which means that the first thing you see when you go into the Kodesh will be the Mizbeiach Haketores.
Now let’s see what is the inyan of each of these keilim in the Ruchnius’dike Mishkan of every Yid:
- Shulchan: This is being busy with Gashmius
- Menorah: Our Ruchnius, especially learning Torah
- Mizbeiach Haketores: Tefillah, which is compared to bringing Ketores
Just like in the Mishkan, the first thing you approach is the Mizbeiach, the same thing is with the Mishkan of every Yid: First thing every morning, you need to daven! Only after that do you do the rest of your avodah to create a Mishkan for Hashem, through the Gashmius and Ruchnius we are involved with during the day.
See Reshimas Hamenorah; Hamaor ShebaTorah p. 482
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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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