|
|
CHUMASH
Parshas Acharei - Shlishi with Rashi
|
|
Today we finish learning about the Avodah on Yom Kippur in the Mishkan and Beis Hamikdash. We will also learn how the Yidden should keep Yom Kippur every year!
The Kohen Gadol, wearing his regular Kohen Gadol clothing like all year, burns the fat of the korbanos on the Mizbeiach. The rest of the parts of the animal are taken outside of Yerushalayim by a regular kohen and burned there. He then changes back into the special linen Yom Kippur clothes, and takes the ketores pan and spoon out of the Kodesh Hakodoshim.
Once this is done, he needs to go to the mikvah and put back on his regular Kohen Gadol clothing and finish the avodah of the day. He brings the rest of the korbanos, the Korban Tomid, the regular ketores, and he lights the menorah. Finally the Yom Kippur Avodah is finished. He puts on his regular clothes and goes home.
The kohen who burns the rest of the parts of the korbanos outside of Yerushalayim, and the one who brought the goat to Azazel need to go to the mikvah, and dip their clothes in the mikvah, before coming back.
Even though we don’t have the whole Yom Kippur Avodah since we don’t have a Beis Hamikdash, Yom Kippur is a mitzvah forever! Here are the things that happen every year on Yom Kippur:
- We do the “inuyim” (not doing certain things that we are usually comfortable doing, like eating and wearing leather shoes)
- We don’t do any work on Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur is a special day every year, when Hashem will forgive us for our aveiros!
|
|
|
|
Kapitel Kuf-Zayin starts with the words “Hodu LaHashem Ki Tov, Ki LeOlam Chasdo!” “Thank Hashem because He is good, His kindness is forever!”
The first word is “Hodu,” which means to thank. But it also means something else! Hodu also means to “admit.”
What are we admitting to?
The Tzemach Tzedek explains this. We know that Hashem is creating the world EVERY SECOND and is here EVERY MOMENT. But we don’t see it! So we need to admit that it’s true anyway.
When Moshiach comes, we won’t have to admit it anymore — we will all be able to see it!
|
|
|
TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Mem-Beis
|
|
The Alter Rebbe is teaching us how to have Yiras Shomayim. We need to remember that there is an “Ayin Ro’eh Ve’ozen Shoma’as,” “an eye that sees and an ear that hears.” When we think about how Hashem is watching everything we do, we will feel the Yiras Shomayim that is hiding inside of us, from the koach of Moshe Rabbeinu.
When we say “Hashem is watching you,” what do you think that means? Does it mean that Hashem has special glasses to look at you? No! Of course Hashem doesn’t have eyes like we do!
That is just a mashal to make it easier for us to think about. Really Hashem just KNOWS everything that is happening with us!
The whole world is part of Hashem, since Hashem made everything! Hashem knows what happens with everything and everyone, just like we know and feel whatever happens in our whole body!
Even though it is only a mashal, when we think about this, it will help us to be careful with the way we act, knowing that Hashem is watching everything we do.
|
|
|
|
Today is the seventh day of the Omer!
The Baal Shem Tov used to eat THREE seudos on Acharon Shel Pesach.
The third Seudah is called the Moshiach Seudah! This is because on Acharon Shel Pesach, it shines with the light of Moshiach!
In Pesach 5666, in the Yeshiva in Lubavitch, the talmidim all ate together in the Zal. There were 310 talmidim, sitting at 18 tables! The Rebbe Rashab ate with the Talmidim on Acharon Shel Pesach. He told everyone to drink four cups of wine, and said “This is Moshiach’s Seudah!”
|
|
|
|
Today in Sefer Hamitzvos we learn the same mitzvah again — (Mitzvas Asei #215) that every Jewish boy needs to have a Bris Milah. A father has a mitzvah to make sure his son has one.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Lech Lecha: הִמּוֹל לָכֶם כָּל זָכָר
The details are explained in Mesechta Shabbos perek Yud-Tes and Mesechta Yevamos perek Daled.
We also say the beginning of the Rambam’s nusach in davening. (This is one of the places where people who do Sefer Hamitzvos say the exact same thing as those who learn 3 perakim of Rambam!)
|
|
|
RAMBAM
Hilchos Milah - Tefillos MiKol Hashana
|
|
In today’s Rambam, we learn the halachos about how to do a bris and which brachos to say.
Perek Beis: We are allowed to make a bris on Shabbos, but we need to prepare everything before Shabbos. If we forgot, we need to do the Bris Milah the next day.
Perek Gimmel: We learn the brachos we say when we do a Bris Milah. There is a bracha for the mohel, and a bracha for the father.
Then we end the second sefer of Rambam! As an addition to this sefer, where we learned the halachos of davening, we start reading through the whole davening according to the Rambam’s siddur.
If you pay attention, you will see many differences between our nusach and the Rambam’s nusach!
|
|
|
|
We learn that every city should have a Gabbai who is in charge of giving out Tzedakah to people who need. Everyone in the city should give money to this Gabbai for him to give out to the poor.
|
|
|
|
If all year we’re thinking about Moshiach, talking about Moshiach, and learning about Moshiach, what is so special about Seudas Moshiach?
The Rebbe teaches us that we EAT by Seudas Moshiach. When we eat, the food becomes a part of our body! During Seudas Moshiach, all of the inyonim of Moshiach become a part of us, along with the food we eat! (Just like when we eat matzah, our Emunah becomes strong.)
It’s very important that as many people as possible come to this Seudah, so that they will ALL have Moshiach a part of them!
|
|
|
▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼
|
|
|
|
The Chachomim made Kriyas HaTorah part of davening. In later years, because of a decree, they added the reading of the haftora.
The Haftora for Acharon Shel Pesach is a section from the Navi Yeshaya that starts with the words “Od Hayom”. It is a nevuah about the fall of king Sancheriv’s rulership, and about Moshiach (the personality of Moshiach, and the times of Moshiach).
This makes a lot of sense, because as we learned in Hayom Yom, on Acharon Shel Pesach, the light of Moshiach is shining!
One of the pesukim in this haftora starts with the words “Venacha Alav Ruach Hashem.” When Yom Tov is on a weekday, we actually say this posuk before Kriyas HaTorah! This posuk speaks about Moshiach, but it also hints to the spark of Moshiach inside every Yid. When the spark of Moshiach in each of us has its Geulah, it will help make the BIG Geulah possible!
In Igeres Hakodesh, the Alter Rebbe teaches us that the time of this personal Geulah is during tefillah! When we daven, the spark of Moshiach inside of us comes out of Golus.
|
|
|
|
During the whole Pesach, we are very careful about Matzah Sheruyah, which is also called “gebrokts.” We are very careful not to eat wet matzah! We cover the matzah on the table so no water will splash on it by mistake, and we check our cups before we drink to make sure there are no matzah crumbs inside.
We do this because we are afraid that MAYBE a drop of flour didn’t get properly mixed into the matzah dough, and it MIGHT become chometz if it touches water.
Gebrokts is not ASUR, but the Alter Rebbe tells us that those who are careful get special brachos from Hashem. But that is not talking about the last day of Pesach, Acharon Shel Pesach. On this day, we don’t miss out on the bracha from Hashem by eating wet matzah because of Simchas Yom Tov.
On Acharon Shel Pesach, the Rebbeim were not careful about gebrokts at all. In fact, they DAVKA made their matzah wet, with EVERY kind of food at the meal!
One of the deeper reasons for this is that Acharon Shel Pesach is at the end of one week of Sefiras Haomer.
The Ruchnius’dike inyan of matzah is bittul. It is flat, not puffed up with gaavah and yeshus like chometz! During the first seven days of Pesach, we are very careful that our bittul shouldn’t even have the possibility of yeshus. But on Acharon Shel Pesach, we are on a higher Ruchnius level already. After one week of working on our midos during Sefiras Haomer, we are able to handle the possibility of a tiny drop of yeshus.
We know that eventually, we will need to use much greater levels of yeshus in our Avodas Hashem. On Shavuos, we even bring a korban with chometz, called the “Shtei Halechem!” Acharon Shel Pesach, when we use the POSSIBILITY of a drop of yeshus, is the first step to being able to serve Hashem this way.
|
|
לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק ע״ה בן ר׳ אפרים שי׳ מאסקאוויץ
שליח כ"ק אדמו"ר נשיא דורנו למדינת אילינוי
|
|
|
|
The haftora for Acharon Shel Pesach is from the Navi Yeshaya, which speaks about the Geulah.
One of the nevuos that it says in that time is about how all the animals will leave peacefully with each other. The Rambam says this means that the other nations won’t want to hurt the Yidden anymore.
Then the posuk tells us why there will be so much shalom in the world:
לֹא יָרֵעוּ וְלֹא יַשְׁחִיתוּ בְּכָל הַר קָדְשִׁי כִּי מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ דֵּעָה אֶת ה׳ כַּמַּיִם לַיָּם מְכַסִּים
Lo Yareiu Velo Yashchisu — They will not hurt or destroy
Bechol Har Kodshi — On my whole holy mountain
Why?
Ki Malah Ha’aretz Deiah Es Hashem — Because the world will be full of knowledge of Hashem
Kamayim Layam Mechasim — As much as the water which covers the ocean!
The Rambam uses the second half of this posuk to end off his sefer, and to show that at that time, the whole world will only be busy with knowing Hashem!
|
|
|
|
|
לע"נ התינוק זאב ארי' ע"ה בן יבלט"א הרה"ח ר' שניאור זלמן שי' גליק
נפטר ב' מנחם אב ה'תשע"ג
|
|
Give children around the world the gift of Kids Chitas!
KidsChitas.org/sponsor
|
|
|
