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There are no Rashis in today’s Chumash, because we are reviewing what we already learned in Parshas Terumah, and Rashi explained it there.
In today’s Chumash, we see how Betzalel and Oholiav made the Menorah, the Mizbeiach Haketores, the Shemen Hamish’cha (oil for getting things ready to be used for a special kedusha job), and the Ketores — just like Hashem told them to!
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In today’s Tehillim there are some kapitelach we say during Shacharis on Shabbos. The kapitel “Hodu Lashem Ki Tov, Ki Le’olam Chasdo”, also called Hallel HaGadol (Kapitel Kuf-Lamed-Vov), is one of them.
In Hallel Hagadol, one of the things we thank Hashem for is the big lights that shine on the world — the sun, the moon, and the stars. We say, “Le’oseh Orim Gedolim, Ki Le’olam Chasdo! — Hashem makes the big lights — because He has so much chesed!”
We learn from this that Hashem is ALWAYS making the world! Because it doesn’t say “Hashem MADE the big lights,” but “Hashem MAKES the big lights” — Hashem is always creating the world from nothing, every single second! (We say this in davening — at the end of the first bracha before Shema. Can you find where it says this?)
This also shows us how important every single thing we do is — Hashem is creating the world just at this moment for you to do a mitzvah.
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Lamed-Beis
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The Alter Rebbe is telling us that the main way to have Ahavas Yisroel is by realizing that the neshama is the most important part of us. But there are certain cases where this Ahavas Yisroel is done in a little bit of a different way.
Today we go back to learning about someone who IS frum, and is our friend, but who is not behaving properly and doesn’t want to stop, even after we do the mitzvah of Hocheiach Tochiach with all of its details. The Gemara says that “Mitzva Lesanoso,” it is a mitzvah to hate him. But the Alter Rebbe explains that this means just to hate the bad behavior — we still need to love the good inside of him, which is the neshama!
How is it possible to love someone and not like his behavior at the same time?
The Alter Rebbe tells us that the feeling of Rachmonus is able to do this. Because when we have Rachmonus, instead of being upset at the person for what he did, we will feel bad for his neshama which is in Golus inside of him, because he is not behaving properly. Then, even though we should not like his behavior, our Rachmonus will help take away that not-good feeling and bring out a feeling of love for him.
(The Alter Rebbe also adds, in brackets, that there is a kind of person that the Torah says we should NOT have Ahavas Yisroel for: They are Apikorsim, people who are trying to destroy Yiddishkeit. Dovid Hamelech says that he hated this kind of person. But the Rebbe tells us that nowadays we can’t know who is a real apikores, and so we should always assume that someone who seems like an apikores is really just far from Torah and doesn’t know better.)
So we see from here that we really do need to have Ahavas Yisroel for EVERY Yid.
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If you look in the Siddur, there are many things we say before and after saying Shema at night! For example, the posuk “Beyodcha Afkid Ruchi,” which even little children say, is all the way at the end of the Kriyas Shema She’al Hamita!
Today the Rebbe tells us the Minhag Chabad about what parts of Kriyas Shema we skip on Shabbos and Yom Tov, which pesukim we say three times, and that we say the word Emes at the end of Shema. The Rebbe also tells us minhagim about Tikun Chatzos (which we don’t say nowadays).
All of these minhagim are already printed in the Siddur, so if you look inside when you say Kriyas Shema you’ll do it all like it says in today’s Hayom Yom!
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In today’s Rambam, we are finishing the set of halachos called Sanhedrin, and starting to learn Hilchos Eidus, which is all about witnesses. So today, we will have one mitzvah from Hilchos Sanhedrin, and one mitzvah about Eidus.
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #317) We aren’t allowed to curse another Yid.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Kedoshim: לֹא תְקַלֵּל חֵרֵשׁ
This posuk means, “You should not curse a person who is deaf.” The Rambam explains how we learn today’s mitzvah from this posuk:
When someone gets angry, he wants to take revenge — to hurt the other person the way he feels that he was hurt, to make things “fair.” Depending on how angry he is, he might think it is fair to destroy the other person’s things, or even to hurt him very badly! Then he will calm down and not be angry anymore.
If the other person did something small, he might only be a little angry. He will feel better after he screams at the other person, or even only curses him quietly, so the other person can’t hear.
We might think that there is nothing wrong with this! Why should it matter if we curse someone when he can’t hear, and it won’t hurt his feelings?
That’s why the Torah says “don’t curse a person who is deaf.” We might think, why should it matter if we curse someone who is deaf and can’t hear?
The Torah teaches us that the reason why not to curse another person is not only that the other person will hear and feel bad, but because WE shouldn’t be cursing other people! We are not allowed to let ourselves get angry and take revenge on another person.
The details of this mitzvah are explained in Mesechta Shevuos perek Daled.
2) (Mitzvas Asei #178) If a person knows about something that Beis Din is judging, he needs to come be a witness, an Eid.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Vayikra: וְהוּא עֵד אוֹ רָאָה אוֹ יָדָע
The details of this mitzvah are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin and Mesechta Shevuos.
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Sandhedrin - Eidus
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Perek Chof-Hey: In this perek, we learn halachos about how a judge needs to treat his community. (This is probably important for ANY person who works with the community!) The Rambam reminds a judge not to act in a mean way to the people, because even if they are simple and not so ruchnius’dik, they are the children of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov!
Mr. George Rohr, a big Baal Tzedakah who supports many of the Rebbe’s mosdos, once came to the Rebbe. He wanted to share good news with the Rebbe, so he told the Rebbe about a minyan he organized for Yidden who didn’t have any Jewish background.
“What?!” the Rebbe asked. Mr. Rohr told the Rebbe again. “Go back to them and tell them that they DO have a Jewish background!” the Rebbe said. “They are all children of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov!”
Judges also need to be careful not to do things that would make people lose kavod for them, like getting drunk at parties.
We also learn that people need to have kavod for the Beis Din, and come if a Beis Din tells them to. The Beis Din is careful when they call someone, to make sure it is possible for him to come. For example, they don’t call people to come to a case on a Friday, because everyone is busy getting ready for Shabbos.
Perek Chof-Vov: Now the Rambam teaches halachos about the punishment for cursing. Even though there is already a mitzvah not to curse ANYONE, there is a special mitzvah not to curse a judge. Someone who does, gets malkos twice.
The last halacha reminds us how it is asur to go to a non-Jewish court (Arka’us). Yidden take care of their own disagreements in a Beis Din. Only if someone refuses to come to Beis Din are we allowed to take him to court.
Now we start a new set of halachos about witnesses.
Perek Alef: If someone is able to be a witness, he has a mitzvah to say what he knows in Beis Din.
We learn the way the judges ask the witnesses questions, in order that we can make sure they are really telling the truth, and that all of the witnesses agree. They first ask seven basic questions, about when and where the thing happened. Then they ask more details, like “Which melacha did he do?”
But the judges should also ask questions that don’t have to do with the specific thing, just to make sure that the person is telling the truth. For example, they will ask what color clothes the person was wearing.
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Today we finish learning the ten conditions for a person to be chayav for a Shevuas Ha’eidus. If a person is not chayav, he is still chayav for a Shevuas Bitui (but not both).
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Every week, we read a parsha from the Torah, in order. The Chachomim also set up special parshios which are read on certain Shabbosim — extra pieces of the Torah that are read after the regular parsha.
There are four weeks around Adar where we read another section of the Torah after the Parshas Hashavua, in a separate Sefer Torah.
This week, the Shabbos before Rosh Chodesh Adar Sheini, we lein one of these parshios, which is called Parshas Shekalim. This parsha (which is the beginning of Parshas Ki Sisa) speaks about the Machatzis Hashekel. This is the money that all of the Yidden would donate each year to be used for the regular korbanos brought in the Beis Hamikdash.
On Rosh Chodesh Adar, the Beis Din would make an announcement to remind people to give their Machatzis Hashekel! A month later, on Rosh Chodesh Nisan, they would begin using the new Machatzis Hashekel donations to buy the korbanos.
We lein this parsha around the time that this was done, to remember what happened, and also so that in some way, we can be counted as being part of this special mitzvah. (If Rosh Chodesh Adar is on Shabbos, we lein it on the actual day, if not, we lein it the Shabbos before Rosh Chodesh.)
There is also a special haftorah read on Parshas Shekalim. It is from Melachim Beis, and speaks about the Yidden giving money to the Beis Hamikdash.
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“Shema Yisroel…” When we say these words, we are saying that we understand that there is nothing aside for Hashem — Hashem is One! So we are ready to do whatever Hashem wants, and not let anything stop us!
But it’s not just enough to say the words. We need to really mean it!
The Chachomim helped us by giving us two brachos before Shema. They help us get ready to say Shema properly and mean what we say!
First, we say the bracha of Yotzer Ohr, about how Hashem created the world and about the malochim. Then, we say the bracha of Ahavas Olam, about how Hashem loves the Yidden, and we ask Hashem to help us learn Torah and do mitzvos.
How do those brachos help us have Kabolas Ol? We will see IY”H tomorrow!
See Tanya Perek Mem-Tes
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On Purim, we add a special part to davening and bentching, called “Ve’Al Hanisim.” It has a paragraph that starts “Bimei Mordechai,” which talks about the incredible nissim Hashem did for us at the time of Purim!
In Shemoneh Esrei, we say Ve’Al Hanisim after the paragraph that starts Modim, and in bentching it is after the paragraph of Nodeh. (Both of these are the paragraphs where we thank Hashem, hoda’ah!)
If we forget to say Ve’Al Hanisim in Shemoneh Esrei, we only go back to say it if we realize right away, before saying Hashem’s name in the bracha right after. If we remember only after saying Hashem’s name there, we do not say it at all in that Shemoneh Esrei.
If we forget during bentching, it depends. If we realize before saying Hashem’s name in the bracha at the end of the next paragraph (before the words “Al Ha’aretz Ve’al Hamazon”), we should go back and say Ve’Al Hanisim. If we realize after that, we should add a special Horachaman in the place we add for Shabbos and Yom Tov (“Horachaman Hu Yaaseh Lanu Nisim Kemo She’asa La’avoseinu Bayomim Haheim Bizman Hazeh”), say Bimei Mordechai, and then go back to “Horachaman Hu Yezakeinu” and finish bentching.
See Shevach Hamoadim, Halachos of Purim
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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 teaches us how to look at the world in a Moshiach’dike way!
Here’s an example of one way to do it:
On Yom Shishi, Hashem created all of the animals.
We should think, what will all these animals be like when Moshiach comes?
When Moshiach comes, these animals will all live peacefully together! None of them will fight with each other anymore, or hurt people anymore. Even a wild animal like a wolf will be able to lie down next to a baby sheep, and the sheep will be safe.
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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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