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CHUMASH
Parshas Metzora - Shishi with Rashi
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Today we learn about more ways that a person’s body can make them tomei:
Yesterday we learned about Zav, which is a tumah which can happen when the body is not healthy. Today we learn about two kinds of tumah that happen when a body is working just the way it should!
A man can get a kind of tumah called Tumas Zera, and a woman can get a kind of tumah called Tumas Nidah.
We learn how to become tahor from all of these kinds of tumah!
The Torah also tells us about how a woman can become tamei in a certain way that is called Zavah when her body isn’t healthy. Whatever she touches when she is tamei can also become tamei.
If she waits eight days and goes to the mikvah, she doesn’t make things tomei anymore, but she isn’t completely tahor and still can’t go inside the Beis Hamikdash. Tomorrow we will IY”H learn what she needs to do to finish her tahara!
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One of the Kapitelach we say in today’s Yom of Tehillim is Kapitel Samech-Gimmel.
In this Kapitel, we have one of the Rebbe’s niggunim: “Tzoma Lecha Nafshi!” There are many tapes and videos of the Rebbe singing this niggun.
The words mean that our neshama is “thirsty” for Hashem, just like a person who is in a Midbar is SO thirsty for water. Our neshama wants to be with Hashem very much!
We also feel this way when we are in Golus and can’t see Hashem. We try to do a lot of mitzvos and bring the Geulah so we will be able to see Hashem here in this world!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Mem-Alef
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Today we have a very special Tanya! Many times, the Rebbe would tell Chassidim to memorize the beginning of this Perek (until “Ke’omed Lifnei Hamelech”) and think about it during the day. Thinking about this can help a person in many ways in his Avodas Hashem. In today’s Tanya, we have one of the Twelve Pesukim, the posuk of Vehinei!
Just like every Yid has a hidden love for Hashem inside of his neshama, every Yid also has YIRAS Shomayim hidden in his neshama. When we think about how Hashem is with us and what Hashem expects from us, it will help us bring this Yiras Shomayim into our mind. Then we will be able to behave the way we should and not do anything Hashem doesn’t want us to do.
How do we do this?
We need to think:
Hashem is the chayus of everything in the world. Hashem gives every single part of creation — from rocks to people, planets and stars, malochim and Olamos — the exact chayus they need, and brings them all into existence from nothingness. Still, Hashem puts all of this aside. What does Hashem care about? What is Hashem looking at? Yidden! And not just at all Yidden — Hashem is looking at ME!, the one who is thinking this. And I need to ask myself:
Am I serving Hashem as He wants me to?
This will help us have Yiras Shomayim. We will be ready to serve Hashem like a servant who does everything he can for his master!
The Alter Rebbe says to think about this before learning Torah or doing a mitzvah, like before putting on Tallis or Tefillin.
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Today we learn one of the things we are supposed to do on a Yom Huledes:
On a person’s birthday, he should spend some time by himself to think. He should try to remember things that happened to him in the past, and think about them to see if they were the way they should be. He should do teshuvah for things he realizes were wrong, and fix up the things that should be done better.
On Yud-Alef Nissan Tof-Shin-Chof-Beis, Shnas Hashishim, the Rebbe explained why we spend time on a birthday doing teshuvah. The Rebbe compares it to two times that we say Tachanun, even though you might think we don’t need to:
On a Bar Mitzvah, which the Zohar says is a simcha like a Chasunah, the Bar Mitzvah boy says Tachanun. Why? Because the idea of Tachanun is to do teshuvah for things that were not done right, and the special day of Bar Mitzvah is a special time to fix up whatever was missing before!
Many people don’t say Tachanun on the yartzeit of a tzadik, but it is the Chabad minhag to say Tachanun on these yartzeits. Why? Because there is so much special Ruchnius koach on that day, we want to use it to help us do teshuvah!
For the same reason, we make sure to use our birthday as a time to do teshuvah. Since on a person’s birthday Mazalo Gover, it is the best time to spend time thinking about the things that need to be corrected, and use the koach of this day to correct them!
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #5) is the same as before — that every Yid needs to daven every single day.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Mishpatim: וַעֲבַדְתֶּם אֵת ה׳ אֱלֹקֵיכֶם
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Perek Ches: In this perek, we learn all about davening with a minyan! The Rambam tells us how important it is to daven with a minyan if we can, because Hashem always listens to the Tefillah of a minyan.
Perek Tes: The Rambam teaches us HOW to daven with a minyan. We learn which parts the chazan says out loud, and which parts to say quietly by ourselves. We need to answer to Kedusha and Kaddish!
Perek Yud: We learn some of the halachos about if we make mistakes in davening. If someone makes a mistake and davens the weekday Shmoneh Esrei instead of the Shabbos Shmoneh Esrei, he needs to go back and start from the beginning! But if he forgets Ve’al Hanisim, he does NOT have to go back.
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Grapevines can grow on the ground, or we can drape them over a wall, a fence, or an arch. Letting them grow on the ground is the regular way we grow grapes. When the vines are hanging over something else, called Aris, there are different halachos.
We also learn that the halachos are a little different outside of Eretz Yisroel.
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Today is a special Chassidishe Yom Tov — Yud-Alef Nissan, the Rebbe’s birthday!
On a person’s birthday, “mazalo gover” — their neshama has a LOT of koach! When it’s the Rebbe’s birthday, all of the Chassidim get from this koach too.
One of the minhagim the Rebbe told us to do on our own birthdays, is to have a farbrengen with our family and friends. We say a Shehecheyanu on a new fruit, and thank Hashem for His chesed to us, by bringing us into the world and giving us the chance to do our shlichus here in the world as Yidden.
On Yud-Alef Nissan, chassidim also join together with their family, friends, and other Yidden and make a farbrengen. We thank Hashem for His chesed to us by giving us such a great Rebbe. We thank Hashem for the zechus to be living in this special generation, which the Rebbe told us is the last generation of Golus and the first generation of Geulah!
Yud-Alef Nisan is a good time for us to make hachlatos to strengthen the shlichus which each of us have, and to add in learning Torah, especially in the Rebbe’s sichos and maamarim and Igros Kodesh, through which we are able to be connected with the Rebbe all the time!
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▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼
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The Rebbe’s new kapitel is Kapitel Kuf-Chof-Gimmel.
This kapitel is one of the fifteen Shir Hamaalos which are sung on the steps (Maalos) of the Beis Hamikdash.
In this kapitel, Dovid Hamelech tells Hashem that he is looking up to Hashem to help him. Just like a servant looks up to his master to help him, because the master is the only one to rely on, Yidden look only to Hashem.
The goyim laugh at us and make fun of us and it hurts us. We ask Hashem to be good to us and take us out of Golus.
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Don’t forget to say the Nasi! Today’s nasi is from Shevet Asher.
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On Erev Pesach, we are very busy! We need to burn the chometz on time, and finish all of our preparations for Yom Tov.
In Shulchan Aruch it says that we should be ready for the seder before Yom Tov even starts! We prepare all of the things we need for the kaarah and set the table, so that we’ll be able to start the seder right away. (We don’t actually set up the kaarah until right before we start the seder.) We want to make sure that the kids will be able to stay up and be part of the seder!
On the night of Pesach it is good to make our table as beautiful as possible! This will help us celebrate Pesach in a way of cheirus, really feeling free!
See Shulchan Aruch siman Tof-Ayin-Beis, Halacha Newsletter by Rabbi Yosef Braun
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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 writes in a letter of Yud-Alef Nissan:
From the day I went to cheder, and even before, a picture of the Geulah started to form in my mind. This is the Geulah of all of the Yidden from Golus, and with this Geulah we will even be able to understand why Hashem made the Golus so hard. ...In the end, we will even thank Hashem for the hard parts of Golus!
See Igros Kodesh chelek Yud-Beis p. 414
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