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CHUMASH
Parshas Terumah - Sheini with Rashi
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Yesterday we learned about the Aron. Today we learn about the cover of the Aron (the Kapores) and the Shulchan.
Hashem tells Moshe Rabbeinu to make the cover for the Aron, called the Kapores. The Kapores should be made out of a thick piece of gold.
On the Kapores, there should be Keruvim, that look like malochim with the face of little children. They will be facing each other and have their wings spread over the Kapores. But Moshe shouldn’t make the two keruvim and then attach them to the Kapores — instead he should use one piece of gold and make the whole Kapores with the Keruvim from that piece.
Hashem will speak to Moshe from between the two Keruvim, telling him everything that needs to be told to the Yidden!
Hashem also tells Moshe to make the Shulchan, a special table for the Mishkan. It should be made of wood and covered with gold! It will have shelves to hold 12 loaves of Lechem Hapanim.
The Lechem Hapanim (“face bread”) is a kind of bread with a shape that looks a little bit like both sides are facing and looking at each other! Even though the Lechem Hapanim is called bread, it will be made the way we make matzah, so it isn’t chometz.
Hashem tells Moshe never to leave the Shulchan empty — every week a fresh batch of Lechem Hapanim should be put on the Shulchan.
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In Perek Chof-Beis (22), one of today’s kapitelach of Tehillim, it says how Yidden have bitachon in Hashem. When there is a problem, we cry to Hashem and He saves us: “Becho Bot’chu Avoseinu...” “Our fathers trusted in You...” (Do you know the niggun to these words?)
A big tzadik named Rabbeinu Bachaye wrote a sefer teaching Yidden how to serve Hashem. His sefer is called Chovos Halevavos. One of the sections is called “Shaar Habitachon.” It teaches how a person can have bitachon in Hashem. It’s not something that is always easy — a person needs to work hard to trust in Hashem. The Rebbe would tell many people to learn this part of Chovos Halevavos so they can learn how to have bitachon.
Another thing the Rebbe would tell people to strengthen their bitachon are the words of the Tzemach Tzedek, “Tracht Gut Vet Zain Gut!” When we think about how Hashem is always with us and is taking care of all of our needs, we won’t be worried! Then our strong connection with Hashem will bring down the brachos so it WILL be good!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Chof-Zayin
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To be able to win over our Yetzer Hara, we need to have zerizus, enthusiasm, which is the opposite of atzlus, being slow and lazy. When people are happy, they use zerizus! When they are upset, they act with atzlus.
One of the things that can make people upset is feeling bad about themselves. We can feel bad that we have not good thoughts, or taavos for something that isn’t kedusha.
Let’s say there is a person walking down the street, trying to find his way to his friend’s house. He is looking for the street signs, and suddenly sees a picture that isn’t tznius, or hears someone talking about something not appropriate! He might first think, “Oh, that sounds good!” But right away he stops himself from thinking about it, because thinking about an aveira can separate a person from Hashem (chas veshalom). Afterwards, he might still be upset. He thinks, “What kind of person even WANTS something against Hashem? Why do I have to stop myself from thinking about terrible aveiros?”
In yesterday’s Tanya, the Alter Rebbe told us a way to make sure we stay happy:
If you are able to give a lot of money to tzedakah, or you help an old lady cross the street, or you say a lot of Tehillim on Shabbos Mevorchim, how do you feel? You feel happy, because you did a mitzvah! Doing a mitzvah connects a Yid to Hashem, and brings bracha in Gashmius and in Ruchnius!
Well, stopping ourselves from thinking about aveiros is a mitzvah too! It is a Mitzvas Lo Saasei, called “Lo Sasuru.” Every time we think about something else so we won’t think about something not allowed, we are doing a mitzvah! So every time a bad thought pops into our minds, we should be excited — now we have another chance to do a mitzvah! Just like through any other mitzvah, we are able to connect to Hashem and get lots of brachos in Gashmius and in Ruchnius!
Today, the Alter Rebbe adds another point about this:
We might have gotten upset that we want things that aren’t kedusha. But wanting things like that is NORMAL for a person with a Yetzer Hara! If we’re upset about it, it means we think that we’re really supposed to be like a tzadik, who doesn’t have a Yetzer Hara to give us these ideas.
But that’s gaavah! A person needs to be Makir Mekomo, to know who he really is. Our avodah is the avodah of a beinoni, who DOES have a Yetzer Hara, and needs to work hard to win over it.
If you know that it’s your avodah to not let your Yetzer Hara make you think about these kinds of things, you won’t be upset when they pop into your mind! You will know you’re just doing your job!
Tomorrow we will IY”H learn more about the special avodah we have to win over our Yetzer Hara (called iskafya), and the great nachas ruach it brings to Hashem.
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The Alter Rebbe said that the mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel is even for a Yid you never even saw… and FOR SURE to a person who lives near you and is part of your community!
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Even though it’s a mitzvah to let a Yid have longer to pay back money he owes, we are supposed to make sure a goy who doesn’t believe in Hashem pays back right away. (Since goyim do this to each other, they expect us to do the same. If we don’t, it would be a loss for a Yid’s money.) That is today’s mitzvah in Sefer Hamitzvos (Mitzvas Asei #142).
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Re’eh: אֶת הַנָּכְרִי תִּגֹּשׂ
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In today’s Rambam, we learn about not taking neshech, interest.
In Perek Daled, we start to learn about interest. What is interest? Let’s say Reuven asks Shimon to lend him $100, and Shimon tells Reuven he has to pay him back $105 instead of $100. Any time we want someone to pay us back more than what he borrowed, that’s interest and it’s asur. The Rambam says that this is a big aveirah, and someone who does it is like denying Hashem and Yetzias Mitzrayim!
In Perek Hey, we learn that it is a mitzvah to charge interest to a goy, but it’s a bigger mitzvah to lend another Yid without interest.
Did you know that even WORDS can be interest? If someone gives you a loan, you have to be careful about thanking him — because those words can make him feel good, and that will be like giving him interest! You also can’t do him any extra favors because of the loan.
Perek Vov: Sometimes when a person borrows money, he gives a Mashkon to show that he will pay it back. If the Mashkon is something that a person could benefit from, like a field that grows fruit, or a house that a person can live in, it can be interest if the person eats the fruit or lives there. This perek teaches how to be careful about this kind of interest!
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We start to learn about when a food is botul and is considered as if it’s not there. Let’s say you have a big pot of chicken soup cooking on the stove, when your baby brother comes into the kitchen. He takes his bottle of milk and throws it on the floor. It opens, and the milk splashes all over the kitchen! Is it still okay to eat the chicken soup, since some milk splashed inside? The answer is yes, because it is botul. There is SO MUCH chicken soup, and SO LITTLE milk that it doesn’t make the food non-kosher.
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Adar is a very special month. The Chachomim tell us that Mishenichnas Adar Marbim Besimcha, that we need to add in simcha in the month of Adar.
This year is different than most other years. Most years, we have this special month for just one month, but this year, because it’s a leap year, we have two months — 60 days of Adar! (Adar Alef has 30 days, and Adar Beis has 29 days, plus the first day of Rosh Chodesh Adar Alef)!
This means we have lots of extra days of this mazel’dike month!
Since we get all of these extra brachos, we have to make sure to also add lots of extra simcha during these two months!
How? Here are some ways:
- We can think about how Hashem is always with us! We are never alone, even in the darkness of Golus.
- We can learn Torah or do mitzvos more carefully. This will bring us simcha, since mitzvos make a Yid happy!
- We should also make ourselves and everyone around us more happy, using the Gashmius things we are allowed to use! The Gemara says that there were two people who used to make jokes to make other people happy. Because of this they had a special place in Olam Haba!
The Rebbe teaches us that not only does making another Yid happy bring us to Olam Haba, it also gives us a full Olam Hazeh — because when we are happy and other Yidden are happy, we live our life to its fullest and we have much hatzlacha in everything we do!
See Sefer Hasichos 5752 vol. 2, p. 391
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Boruch She’amar is the bracha at the beginning of Pesukei Dezimra. 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, which is one of the reasons why we say Pesukei Dezimra.
By speaking about Hashem’s greatness in Pesukei Dezimra, we wake up our feelings of connection to Hashem. This helps us daven with a proper kavana.
We say the bracha of Boruch She’amar at the beginning of Pesukei Dezimra, and the bracha of Yishtabach at the end. It is one continuation, which is why Yishtabach doesn’t start with the word Baruch.
This is why the halacha is that we are not allowed to interrupt in the middle of Pesukei Dezimra, except for certain things, like for saying Amen, which is also part of the ways of praising Hashem.
See Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch siman Nun-Alef
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We learned in the Hayom Yom today about the mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel.
The main point of Ahavas Yisroel is to show concern about the needs of another person. Just like we think about and take care of all the things we need ourselves, we should also be concerned about what another person needs. It doesn’t matter who this person is, or how old he or she is — we care that they should have all that they need.
We see this very clearly in davening! At the beginning of our tefillos, where we will ask Hashem for our needs and our family’s needs, we say Hareini Mekabel. We first take upon ourselves the mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel, showing that we are concerned for another Yid’s needs together with our own.
By showing this Ahavas Yisroel, this causes Hashem to accept our tefillos, and give us all we ask Him for!
See the letter of the Frierdiker Rebbe that today’s Hayom Yom comes from
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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 Rebbe told us to learn the parts of Chumash that talk about the Mishkan with more explanations from the Gemara and other parts of Torah. By learning and understanding what the Torah says about the Mishkan, which is the foundation for the Beis Hamikdash, it will make Hashem build the Beis Hamikdash Hashlishi faster!
One of the pesukim in today’s Chumash says, “Lechem Hapanim Lefonai Tomid” — the Lechem Hapanim should always be on the Shulchan, in front of Hashem.
The Medrash says that the Lechem Hapanim was a kapara that brought the Yidden forgiveness from Hashem.
So what would be their kapara when there is no Mishkan or Beis Hamikdash? What will bring Hashem to forgive the Yidden?
The Medrash answers that Torah is compared to lechem, bread. When Yidden are busy with learning Torah, it will be like putting Lechem Hapanim on the Shulchan in the Mishkan, and bring the Yidden a kapara even in the time of Golus!
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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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