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CHUMASH
Parshas Acharei - Rishon with Rashi
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After Nadav and Avihu passed away, Hashem told Moshe to teach Aharon how to act in the Mishkan.
Even if he feels that he wants to be close to Hashem, Aharon is not allowed to go into the Kodesh HaKodoshim whenever he wants to, so that he shouldn’t make the same mistake as his sons did. Inside the Kodesh Hakodoshim, Hashem’s Shechinah rests, on the Aron, and it is asur to go inside unless it is the proper time.
Aharon Hakohen (and every other Kohen Gadol) is only allowed to come into the Kodesh Hakodoshim when he brings the Ketores on Yom Kippur.
Even then, he needs to follow all of the steps of the Yom Kippur Avodah:
He will not be wearing the regular clothes of the Kohen Gadol, the Bigdei Zahav — instead he wears Bigdei Lavan, four pieces of white linen clothing. The regular clothes of the Kohen Gadol have gold in them, which is a reminder of the Cheit Ha’egel, when some Yidden served a cow made of gold. On Yom Kippur, when the Kohen Gadol is asking Hashem to forgive the Yidden, it is not right to wear clothes that are a reminder of an aveira.
First, wearing the regular clothes, the Bigdei Zahav, the Kohen Gadol does the regular morning Avodah — bringing the Korban Tomid and ketores, cleaning out the menorah, and bringing his daily Korban Mincha. Then he puts on the Yom Kippur clothing to do the special Yom Kippur Avodah.
The Kohen Gadol first says vidui over a korban that he will bring to Hashem to be forgiven for any aveiros connected to the Mishkan or korbanos.
Then he makes a goral: The Kohen Gadol stands between two goats. He picks two lots from a container, one with his right hand, and one with his left. The side with the lot that says “For Hashem” will be brought as a korban, and the side with the lot that says “For Azazel” will later be sent away to be killed in the desert.
Once the goral is decided, the Kohen Gadol shechts his korban, saving the blood for the next part of the Avodah.
Now that he has asked Hashem to forgive him for his own aveiros, the Kohen Gadol brings the ketores inside of the Kodesh Hakodoshim. Nobody is allowed to be even inside of the Kodesh at this time.
The Kohen Gadol leaves the burning ketores on the floor near the Aron, and goes to get the blood of his korban. He comes back and sprinkles the blood of his korban on the side of the Aron’s cover — one time upwards, and seven times downward.
He then shechts the korban for the Yidden’s aveiros, and brings its blood into the Kodesh Hakodoshim to be sprinkled there too. This will help Hashem forgive the Yidden for aveiros they did by eating korbanos or coming into the Mishkan when they weren’t tahor — by mistake or on purpose.
To forgive the Yidden in case they made the Menorah, Shulchan, or Mizbeiach Haketores tomei, the Kohen Gadol then sprinkles blood on the Paroches.
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Once when the Frierdiker Rebbe was a young boy, his father the Rebbe Rashab took him to a Chassidishe farbrengen. It was Sukkos, and the farbrengen was in the freezing cold Sukkah. The farbrengen went until very late, and the Frierdiker Rebbe fell asleep.
Rebbetzin Shterna Sarah (the Frierdiker Rebbe’s mother) came to take him into his warm bed, but the Rebbe Rashab said to let him stay! The Rebbetzin said, “It is cold for him! Doesn’t it say, ‘Kerachem Av Al Banim…’ — ‘Hashem has Rachmanus on us like a FATHER has Rachmanus on his child’? Where is your Rachmanus for your son? He might get sick from the cold chas veshalom!” (This posuk is in today’s Tehillim! We also say it many times in davening.)
The Rebbe Rashab answered, “Let him sleep close to Chassidim that are farbrenging, and that will keep him warm! This varemkeit (warmth) will stay with him for many generations.”
Many years later, the Frierdiker Rebbe told this story at a farbrengen with Chassidim. After the story, he said, “This is Mesirus Nefesh for Chinuch!”
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Mem-Beis
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Even though we get Yiras Shomayim from the Neshama of Moshe Rabbeinu and the Moshe Rabbeinu (the “Rebbe”) of each generation, we still need to do some work ourselves to feel it.
Because our neshama is inside of a body, which isn’t used to thinking about Hashem, it can make it hard for us to feel Yiras Shomayim.
There are two things that make it possible to feel Yiras Shomayim even though we are in a body:
1) The first thing is to have teshuvah and thoughts of being humble, the kinds of thoughts the Alter Rebbe taught us to think if we have Timtum Halev (starting in Perek Chof-Tes). This will take away the distractions of the guf and let us have Yiras Shomayim.
We will IY”H learn the second thing tomorrow!
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Today is the fifth day of the Omer!
One Pesach, the Mitteler Rebbe’s brother (R’ Chaim Avraham) went to wish the Mitteler Rebbe a Gut Yom Tov.
He said that their father, the Alter Rebbe, said: “On Pesach, we don’t give food or drinks to our guests, but if the guest wants he can take.”
That’s because many people have different kinds of chumros on Pesach, and we don’t want anyone to feel embarrassed!
(Of course, if you know your guests don’t have any special chumros, you should offer them food as usual!)
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Today in Sefer Hamitzvos we learn the same mitzvah again (Mitzvas Asei #19) — that after we eat, we need to bentch.
We learn this from a very famous posuk in Parshas Eikev: וְאָכַלְתָּ וְשָׂבָעְתָּ וּבֵרַכְתָּ אֶת ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ
The details are explained in Mesechta Brachos.
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Perek Zayin: The Rambam teaches us the halachos of Derech Eretz B’Seudah — the mentchlich way to act at a meal. For example, you shouldn’t look at someone else eating, or at someone else’s plate, so that you won’t embarrass him. Another halacha is that you shouldn’t throw food or ruin it.
Perek Ches: We learn about the brachos on food, aside for Mezonos and Hamotzi, which we already learned earlier.
Many of the Geonim before the Rambam said that sugar cane is either Ha’eitz or Ho’adamah. The Rambam says that it is not a fruit, and we need to make a Shehakol.
If you put food into your mouth without making a bracha, what do you do? Do you know?
Perek Tes: Just like we’re not allowed to enjoy eating food without a bracha, we aren’t allowed to enjoy a good smell without a bracha. We do this at Havdalah every week — Borei Minei Besamim!
There are specific brachos for smells, depending on where the smell comes from, like from a plant or from a flower. Just like Shehakol is a general bracha for food, Borei Minei Besamim is a general bracha for smells.
There are certain smells we don’t make a bracha on at all, like smells from Avodah Zarah.
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Now we start learning the halachos of the mitzvah of giving Tzedakah! We need to give a poor person what he needs.
One halacha is that if someone says he is hungry, we give him right away. If someone says he needs clothes, we can first check if he is telling the truth. When a person goes from door to door to collect money, we give him a little bit, since he will be getting from a lot of people.
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During Sefiras Haomer, we work on our midos so we’ll be ready to get the Torah on Shavuos! When we have good midos and we’re aidel, we will be able to have the Torah become a part of us.
During the first week of Sefira, we’re working on our chesed — making sure our chesed and ahava is in the best way. Chesed, being kind, comes from a feeling of love (ahava) in our heart.
One of the things we need to be very careful with when we have Ahavas Yisroel is “tzu rechenen zich mit dem tzveiten” — to think about how the other person will feel.
For example, if you want to be nice and share your favorite car or doll with someone else, think: Do they really want to play with your car or your doll? Maybe they would rather share your crayons?
We don’t just have Ahavas Yisroel because WE want to do something, we need to think about who we’re having Ahavas Yisroel for.
This last Golus came from Yidden not having proper Ahavas Yisroel. By fixing up our Ahavas Yisroel, not only will we be ready for Matan Torah, but we will be ready for the Geulah!
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In the Haggadah, we say the posuk of “Bechol Dor Vador,” saying that we need to see ourselves as if we are going out of Mitzrayim.
Chassidus explains that in Mitzrayim, the Yidden were stuck in tumah. When Hashem took the Yidden out of the land Mitzrayim, He also took them out of the tumah of Mitzrayim. Then they were able to connect with Hashem!
This kind of Yetziyas Mitzrayim, leaving tumah so we can connect to Hashem, doesn’t just happen when we relive the story on Pesach. Every day we are in a kind of Mitzrayim. Our body, that only thinks about what it enjoys, is a type of tumah. The world, that is always trying to get us to do aveiros, is also a kind of tumah. Every time we stop giving into the taavos of the body and the nisyonos the world gives us, we are leaving Mitzrayim!
This Yetziyas Mitzrayim happens every time we learn Torah and do mitzvos, when we break away from the tumah and connect to Hashem. But it is especially strong when we accept Ol Malchus Shomayim, when we decide that we are ready to do whatever Hashem asks us to. We are saying that the tumah of the guf and the tumah of the world is not in charge of us, and we only want to connect to Hashem!
When we say Shema every day, we are accepting Ol Malchus Shomayim. We say that Hashem is all that matters, and the rest of the world is only there to help us with that!
At the end of the third paragraph of Shema, Vayomer, we speak about Yetziyas Mitzrayim. Even though remembering Yetziyas Mitzrayim is a separate mitzvah from Kriyas Shema, since this is what Shema is all about, it is included as one of the paragraphs of Kriyas Shema! When we say Shema, we break away from the tumah of the world, accept Hashem’s gift of Torah and mitzvos, and connect to Hashem. That is Yetziyas Mitzrayim!
See Tanya Perek Mem-Zayin
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During the summer months of the year, starting from Pesach, we start to say “Vesein Bracha” in the bracha of Bareich Aleinu. We stop asking Hashem for rain, and ask only that He should give bracha.
If someone forgets and asked for rain by saying the words “Vesein Tal Umatar,” he needs to go back to the beginning of Bareich Aleinu. Even if he realized right away, he still needs to start this paragraph again.
If he realized only after finishing Shemoneh Esrei (after the last Yihiyu Leratzon), he needs to go back to the beginning of Shemoneh Esrei and daven again.
What if someone can’t remember if he said Vesein Bracha or not? Does he need to go back? It depends.
For the first 30 days after starting Vesein Bracha, we are still getting into the habit of the new words. It’s much more likely that we still said it the old way, saying Vesein Tal Umatar. Therefore, the Chachomim tell us that we need to go back.
But after 30 days, we already made a NEW habit of saying Vesein Bracha. If we can’t remember what we said, we probably said Vesein Bracha, and we don’t need to go back.
In places like Australia and New Zealand, the halacha is a little different! Even though Vesein Bracha is also said there starting from Chol Hamoed Pesach, if a person already finished the bracha of Bareich Aleinu, they do not have to go back. Then we rely on the opinion that says that it goes according to the LOCAL season, and therefore the bracha should not be said again.
See Shevach Hamoadim, Halachos of Vesein Bracha
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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 posuk says that Le’asid Lavo, “Kulam Yeidu Osi,” everyone will know Hashem.
Still, the same posuk continues, “Lemiktanam Ad Gedolam,” “from small to big.” This means that there will still be “small people” who don’t understand Hashem as much, and “big people” who understand Hashem better.
If everyone knows Hashem, why are there differences?
We can understand this from a mashal:
People and animals were created from the ground, but we don’t live in the ground.
The Gemara says that fish were created from water, and they live inside of the water, too! They live inside of the source of their chayus.
The same thing is with us nowadays: We get our chayus from Hashem, but we don’t “live inside of it,” we don’t feel that it is all around us.
But when Moshiach comes, we will be like fish! We will feel the source of our chayus.
Even with fish, though, there are different sizes and kinds! Some are bigger, and some are smaller. Some live in warmer water, others in colder water. Some live near the top of the ocean, and others live on the bottom.
Le’asid Lavo we will feel that everything is from Hashem, but not all of us will understand it the same way! Some people will understand more than others. We won’t need to teach people that Hashem is the source of their chayus, but we will still need to learn and teach more about understanding Hashem.
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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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