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CHUMASH
Parshas Shemini - Revi'i with Rashi
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We are learning what happened on Rosh Chodesh Nisan, when the Mishkan was finally set up and ready to be used. We learned how Aharon and his sons started to do the Avodah, and how the fire of Hashem came down onto the Mizbeiach. This made the Yidden very excited, because they saw that Hashem had forgiven them for the Cheit Ha’eigel and was now resting with them!
We also learned how at that special moment, Aharon’s sons Nadav and Avihu wanted to come close to Hashem, and they brought the ketores, even though it wasn’t their Avodah. This made their neshamos leave their bodies. Today we learn about how the Avodah in the Mishkan needs to continue, even after this happened.
Aharon’s sons Nadav and Avihu passed away because they wanted to come so close to Hashem by bringing the ketores without asking. Once their bodies were taken out of the Mishkan, Aharon brought the rest of the korbanos for Rosh Chodesh.
Even when a close relative of a Kohen Gadol passes away, he is not allowed to change the way he does the avodah in the Mishkan. He still needs to bring all of the korbanos, and eat the parts that are for him.
This time, though, Moshe told Elazar and Isamar, Aharon’s other sons, that they need to act like a Kohen Gadol too. Even though their brothers passed away, they will still need to eat the parts of the korbanos that kohanim are supposed to eat.
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There is a posuk in today’s Tehillim, in Kapitel Kuf-Yud-Ches (118) that says “Hashem Li Be’ozroi, Va’ani Ereh Be’Son’ai.” “Hashem is with me, with my helpers, and I will see my enemies fall.”
How can Dovid Hamelech say that Hashem is WITH his helpers? Can there be a helper except for Hashem?
Chassidus explains that the “helpers” are the Gashmius things in the world. Hashem put a piece of Kedusha into the Gashmius things, and when we use them, we get this koach to help us! So together with davening and asking Hashem to help us, by using the Gashmius for the right reason, we also have the help of the sparks of kedusha that are hiding in those Gashmius things!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Lamed-Ches
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The Alter Rebbe is telling us why it is important to have kavana, because as the Chachomim say, davening without kavana is like a Guf without a neshama. What does this mashal mean?
First of all, it’s important to know that the Chachomim aren’t talking about the Nefesh Elokis that we learned about in the beginning of Tanya. The neshama we are talking about here is the chayus that makes a person or animal alive.
Really, everything in the world must get chayus from Hashem: Plants have chayus that makes them grow, and even stones and dirt have chayus that make them exist and not disappear. This chayus is in a way the same for EVERYTHING in the world — because the chayus of Hashem in all of these things is hidden in Kelipas Noga. We can’t see that Hashem is in them until Moshiach comes.
Still, even though Hashem is hidden in everything in the Gashmius world, there is a big difference in the amount of chayus they have. The chayus of a stone that doesn’t move and a plant which is only able to grow is very small and hidden. An animal that can run around has much more chayus, and the chayus of a person who has sechel and can do amazing things is even more than that! Only animals and people have a neshama that is able to give them enough chayus to move around.
This helps us understand why kavana makes a difference:
Every time we do a mitzvah, Hashem’s chayus shines on us. The more kavana we have, the easier it is to feel the chayus of Hashem. So if we do a mitzvah with lots of kavana, Hashem’s chayus shines in a way that we can feel!
A mitzvah that we just do without thinking about it, or davening that we say without kavana, is like a guf — like a plain rock or flower. We can hardly tell that there is any chayus there at all. But when we do have kavana, it is like it also has the chayus that a person or an animal has — like the chayus of a guf with a neshama!
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In Tanya, we’re learning about kavana, and why we need to have it.
One time in davening when it is very important to have kavana is when we say Ana B’Koach:
The special tefillah of Ana B’koach has 42 words. The first letter of each of the words spells out the 42-letter name of Hashem! When we say this paragraph, we should LOOK at and THINK about (but not say) these letters.
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Today we learn four mitzvos in Sefer Hamitzvos:
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #64) We need to trust what Hashem tells us through a Navi (once we know he is really a Navi), and not keep testing him to see if what he is saying is true.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Vaeschanan: לֹא תְנַסּוּ אֶת ה׳ אֱלֹקֵיכֶם
2) (Mitzvas Asei #8) We need to act like Hashem! What does this mean? The Torah uses many ways to describe Hashem, like that Hashem is a Rachum, that Hashem has Rachmonus. This mitzvah is that we need to also follow Hashem’s ways, and have Rachmonus like Hashem does!
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Ki Savo: וְהָלַכְתָּ בִּדְרָכָיו
3) (Mitzvas Asei #6) We have to stay close to Hashem. How can we do that? By staying close to the Chachomim, who learn Hashem’s Torah!
We should spend time with them, and try to eat, drink, and do business with them so we can learn from them how a Yid should behave!
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Eikev: וּלְדָבְקָה בוֹ
4) (Mitzvas Asei #206) This mitzvah is to have Ahavas Yisroel. We need to love another Yid like we love ourselves: Just like we want to have nice things, we should want other Yidden to have nice things too! Just like we are happy when people play with us, we should try to make other people happy too! And just like we don’t like it when people are mean to us, we shouldn’t be mean to other people.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Kedoshim: וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah - Deios
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Perek Yud: In today’s Rambam, we finish learning the first set of halachos, Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah! We learn how to keep the mitzvah of not testing a Navi.
Then we start a new set of halachos, called Hilchos Deios! These halachos help us to have good midos.
Perek Alef: The Rambam explains that there are three ways to have each midah. For example, a person has a choice to be a very stingy person, saving all of his money and not buying even important things. Another person might spend lots of money all the time, even on silly things. But there is a MIDDLE way: To spend money on things we need, and not to waste it.
The Rambam teaches us that we should try to have the MIDDLE path in most of our midos.
Perek Beis: There are some midos that we shouldn’t try to go with the middle path! Even if a person doesn’t get angry very often, getting angry is such a bad midah, he should try to do the OPPOSITE! He shouldn’t get angry even in times it makes sense to get mad. The same is also with gaava, when someone feels like he is very important. It is not good to have the middle path — a person should not have gaava at all.
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There are three times a Nazir shaves his hair:
1) At the end of his Nezirus — Tiglachas Tahara
2) If he became tomei in the middle, he shaves all of his hair when he becomes tahor — Tiglachas Tumah
3) If he becomes tamei from Tzoraas
The Rambam tells us what happens if he has all three, or if he might have them — how does he need to shave his hair?
At the end of this perek, the Rambam tells us that a person who becomes a Nazir for the right reason is very special to Hashem!
Mazel Tov! We have now finished learning this set of halachos!
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This week we read Parshas Hachodesh. This parsha talks about the very first mitzvah the Yidden got from Hashem the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh! It also has the mitzvah of the Korban Pesach, which the Yidden should take on the 10th of the month, and bring it on the 14th. We read it every year before Pesach to remember this special mitzvah!
Nowadays, we can’t actually bring the Korban Pesach. But we still talk about it and lein about it in the Torah! We show Hashem that even though we can’t keep this mitzvah now, we WANT to! As we see from this story, even when we can’t do a mitzvah, when we show Hashem that we wish we could, it is very precious in the eyes of Hashem.
Many many years ago, the cruel Russian Czar made a terrible new decree. He kidnapped young Jewish children, some just five years old, and took them to be part of the Russian army.
The poor children were beaten and forced to listen to the army officers. They couldn’t keep kosher or Shabbos. They couldn’t wear a yarmulka or tzitzis. Many of them could hardly remember anything about Yiddishkeit, since they were taken away from their homes when they were so young.
It was a very sad time for the Yidden.
The Mitteler Rebbe spoke about these young soldiers, called Cantonists. The Mitteler Rebbe said how precious each of their mitzvos are to Hashem.
The Mitteler Rebbe said that when they keep the mitzvos that they CAN do with a full heart and the best way they can, and when they feel bad about the mitzvos they CAN’T keep right now, which shows how much they want to do them, Hashem is so happy with their Avodah!
Many years later, the Rebbe spoke again about the Cantonists.
It was during a very hard time in Russia. The Russian government wanted to stop all Yidden from keeping Torah and mitzvos! They would force children to come to the public schools, where they would teach them not to believe in Hashem, chas veshalom. They did not let Yidden learn Torah or celebrate the Yomim Tovim.
Many Yidden tried to do these things secretly. They were sometimes able to learn a little bit of Torah, or to get a chance to put on Tefillin. They tried to keep their children home from school on Shabbos. But there were so many mitzvos that they couldn’t keep!
The Rebbe said that just like with the Cantonists, the Yidden in Russia should know that Hashem is so happy with their Avodah! When they keep the mitzvos that they CAN do with a full heart, and they feel bad about the mitzvos that they are NOT able to do, which shows how much they WANT to do them, then it is very precious to Hashem!
During the time of Golus, we are also not able to keep all of the mitzvos in the best way.
But we know that just like with the Cantonists, our Avodah is very special to Hashem! When we keep the mitzvos we CAN do with a full heart, and we feel bad about the mitzvos that we CAN’T do right now, which shows how much we really care about the mitzvos, we are making Hashem very happy!
See maamar Parshas Yisro Tof-Shin-Chof-Daled
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The best way to daven Shemoneh Esrei is to say the words quietly, but in a way that you can hear it by yourself.
Still, if someone said the words of Shemoneh Esrei so quietly that only his lips were moving, and he couldn’t hear the words, he is still yotzei.
But if someone just THOUGHT the words without saying them at all, it is not counted as davening.
In Tanya, the Alter Rebbe explains why saying words is so important:
The reason the neshama came into the world was not to make itself holy, but to make the body and the world holy, by using them for kedusha. Thinking does use the body, but not in a way that we can see. To do most mitzvos, we are supposed to actually say words or do things, which use Gashmius in a way that can easily be seen. That’s why even with the mitzvah of davening, where the main thing is kavana, it is very important to actually SAY the words using at least our lips.
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman Kuf-Alef and Tanya Perek Lamed-Ches
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If you “sell your chometz” now, you aren’t actually selling it yet. You are just authorizing the Rav that he can sell it for you on Erev Pesach. Because of this, you can sell your chometz NOW! There is no mitzvah to wait until the last minute.
If your family does not have a Rav that you usually use, you can sell your chometz online at chabad.org/sellchometz.
(Since Rabbonim don’t usually get paid for all of the time they give to answer our shaalos all year, there is a minhag to give them money to thank them for being there to help us. The minhag is to give some money at the time when we sell our chometz.)
This is also an important part of Mivtza Pesach: To help Yidden sell their chometz!
Even if we are worried that these Yidden might chas veshalom use something chometz’dik on Pesach, it is still worth it for them to sell their chometz. (The Rebbe explained the reason for this in halacha.) So we should make sure that EVERYONE is able to sell their chometz!
How do we do this? We make sure to have Mechiras Chometz forms or let people know where they can sell their chometz online, and encourage as many people as possible to sell their chometz for Pesach!
See Notes on Pesach and Shevach Hamoadim — Mechiras Chometz, Halachos Uminhagei Chabad p. 181
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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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What’s the best way (Derech Yeshara) to bring Moshiach?
The Rebbe tells us that we should learn about Moshiach and Geulah, the way they are explained throughout Torah:
1) In Torah Shebichsav — especially in Navi.
2) In Torah Shebaal Peh — in Gemara (especially Mesechta Sanhedrin and the end of Mesechta Sotah), and in Midrashim
3) Especially in Pnimius HaTorah — starting from the Zohar, and throughout Chassidus, including the Seforim of the Rebbeim, and especially the Torah of the Nasi Hador, the Rebbe’s maamarim and Likutei Sichos.
See sicha of Tazria-Metzora 5751, Sefer Hasichos 5751, chelek Beis, p. 501
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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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