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CHUMASH
Parshas Metzora - Shvi'i with Rashi
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For a Zavah to become completely tahor, after she goes to the mikvah, she has to bring two birds to Hashem as korbanos.
Now we have learned how a person can become tahor from tumah that comes from the body!
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In today’s Tehillim, we have a posuk that says “Boruch Hashem Yom Yom” — “blessed is Hashem, Who gives us so much chesed every day!”
In the Gemara, we see that Hillel Hazakein used to say that this posuk teaches us bitachon: If we find a fancy or special food, we don’t have to save it for Shabbos — we can use it today! Hashem will for sure give us new chesed, new brachos tomorrow, with something else special for Shabbos.
The Maggid of Mezritch explains what Hillel Hazakein says on this posuk, according to Chassidus:
Why does this posuk say “Yom” (day) twice?
Each time is for one of the ways we serve Hashem every day! The first “yom” is the kedusha things, like doing mitzvos and learning Torah. The second “yom” is the regular things we do, like eating and sleeping and playing. Those things can also be used for Hashem!
The Maggid tells us that a person might think that nice food can only be used on Shabbos, when eating is a mitzvah. But we learn from this posuk that “Boruch Hashem YOM YOM” — BOTH ways of serving Hashem are special! We can also use a nice food on a regular day in a way that will make Hashem happy.
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Mem-Alef
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Before we do a mitzvah, it’s important to think how “Vehinei Hashem Nitzav Alav,” Hashem is watching and wants to see that we are acting the way we should.
Another kavana we should have that by doing this mitzvah, which is the Ratzon of Hashem, we will connect Hashem’s Ratzon to our neshama!
An even more specific kavana is to think about what this mitzvah does in Ruchnius — let’s look at tefillin, for example:
The kavana of Tefillin is “Shibud Halev Vehamoach,” to make our mind and heart “servants” of Hashem. We take our kochos of thinking (the chochmah, binah and daas) and our kochos of feeling (ChaGaS) and decide that we will only use them to act the way Hashem wants!
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Just like in the year the Hayom Yom was written, today is Shabbos Hagadol. The Rebbe tells us that the Haftora is the regular Haftora for the parsha, and that we only do a special haftora for Shabbos Hagadol if it falls out on Erev Pesach. We say part of the Hagaddah at Mincha time on Shabbos Hagadol.
After coming out of Mitzrayim, the Yidden started to be called “the Army of Hashem.” But in other places, the Yidden are called “servants.”
What’s the difference?
Servants AND soldiers work very hard! Sometimes they do things that are very complicated. But only SOLDIERS have Mesiras Nefesh. They do even dangerous things because they are ready to listen to WHATEVER the general says.
The Yidden in Mitzrayim were not treated nicely by the Mitzriyim. Still, they had Mesiras Nefesh to keep their Yiddishe names, and their Yiddishe language, and their Yiddishe clothes. They KNEW that Hashem promised to take them out.
Whoever acts like them in a way of Mesiras Nefesh is a soldier in Hashem’s army, and Hashem will do nisim for them too!
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In Sefer Hamitzvos, we learn the same mitzvah again, since we’re busy learning SO MANY halachos about it in Rambam! The mitzvah is Mitzvas Asei #5, that we serve Hashem by davening to Him.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Mishpatim: וַעֲבַדְתֶּם אֵת ה׳ אֱלֹקֵיכֶם
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Perek Yud-Alef: In this perek, we learn about a shul! In a place where there are 10 Yidden, we need to make sure there is a shul. A shul has to be treated with kavod, and we have to keep it clean — sweeping and mopping the floors!
Perek Yud-Beis: Now we learn halachos about Kriyas HaTorah! Moshe Rabbeinu taught us to lein from the Torah on Mondays, Thursdays, and Shabbos, so that there are never 3 days in a row without hearing the holy words of the Torah.
Perek Yud-Gimmel: In this perek, the Rambam teaches us the halachos about leining the parshios each week, so we finish the whole Torah every year. Did you know that some people had a minhag to read shorter parts of the Torah, and only finish it every three years?
The Rambam writes that finishing the Chumash in three years isn’t the minhag haposhut. Based on this Rambam, the Rebbe taught two ways to learn the daily Shiur of Rambam: To finish it in one year, or to finish it in three years. The Rebbe said that just like we finish Torah Shebichsav (the Chumash) in one year, the minhag haposhut should be also to finish Torah Shebaal Peh (the halachos of Rambam) in one year.
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We are not allowed to force different kinds of animals to get married to each other. We can only help sheep to get married to sheep and have baby sheep! We don’t have them get married to goats and have baby... shoats?
We are not allowed to make two kinds of animals work together to pull a wagon or other piece of farm equipment. It is asur to even sit in a wagon pulled by two kinds of animals, because that makes them shlep it! But a PERSON is allowed to help an animal pull a wagon — people aren’t kilayim with animals!
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In the Haggadah, where it talks about the four sons, first it says the Chochom, then the Rasha, then the Tam, and then the She’eino Yodeia Lishol.
Why do we say the Rasha right next to the Chochom? The Rasha is the lowest level — he should be at the end! Why is he right next to the Chochom?
The answer is that it is specifically the Chochom that is able to help the Rasha, because you need to have someone who is at the highest level to be able to bring out the pintele Yid even in the lowest level, someone who is a Rasha.
The Rebbe says that this is why the Frierdiker Rebbe chose the closest Chassidim who had the most hiskashrus, and were obviously the ones who were at the highest level of Torah and Avodah, and sent them out on shlichus. Instead of having them stay close to the Rebbe and work on their own Torah and Avodah and reach the highest level themselves, they were sent to help simple Yidden to learn Alef-Beis, keep mitzvos, and do teshuvah!
This is because is specifically the Chochom, the highest level, who is able to reach every single Yid, even a Yid at the lowest level.
See Likutei Sichos chelek Alef, p. 250
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Hashem wants people to work for their parnasa. Because this is an important thing, the Chachomim were very careful in what they added to davening, to make sure it would not be too long and keep people from going to work (“bittul melacha”).
But on Shabbos, we don’t have to work! The Chachomim were able to add more pieces to davening, speaking for longer about Hashem’s praises and how lucky we are to be Yidden. There are extra paragraphs added to prepare before Boruch She’amar, mainly kapitelach of Tehillim. In some places, these are called Birchos Shabbos, the brachos of Shabbos! There is also a section added in Pesukei Dezimra, before Yishtabach, and in the brachos before Kriyas Shema.
That’s why the Shabbos davening is longer than the weekday davening, because we have more time to connect to Hashem in this special way.
One of the kapitelach added before Boruch She’amar is “Hodu LaHashem Ki Tov,” also called Hallel Hagadol. In this kapitel, we praise Hashem in 26 ways! (The holy name of Hashem, Havaya, has a Gematriya of 26!)
One of the lines in it is all about this Shabbos, Shabbos Hagadol! The posuk says, “Lemakei Mitzrayim Biv’choreihem, Ki Le’olam Chasdo!” It means that Hashem punished the Mitzriyim, through their own firstborns. The Yidden didn’t have to do anything! This neis happened on Shabbos HaGadol, when the firstborns tried to force Paraoh to let the Yidden go so they would be saved from Makas Bechoros.
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Don’t forget the Nasi! Today’s nasi is the last Shevet, Shevet Naftali. (Tomorrow we will say a summary of all of the presents brought, which is for Shevet Levi.)
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One of the reasons why we call the Shabbos before Pesach “Shabbos HaGadol” (the big Shabbos) is that the Rav gives a big drasha on Shabbos, teaching about the halachos of Pesach for those who were not able to learn it themselves.
If you’re not going to a drasha, it is a good idea to review the halachos of Pesach on your own!
Here are some places you can review the halachos:
- Pesach Day-By-Day (Horav Yosef Yeshaya Braun)
- Halacha Newsletter (Horav Shmuel Lesches)
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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 Torah expects us to do two opposite things!
First of all, we have a mitzvah to serve Hashem with simcha, with joy. Avodas Hashem is a job that we do ALL the time, even when we’re eating, drinking or sleeping. We’re doing all these things in order to serve Hashem, so we need to do ALL of them with simcha!
But we’re also supposed to be bothered and upset that we are in Golus. We are supposed to ask Hashem, “Ad Mosai? Until when? We want Moshiach NOW!” That’s the opposite of being happy all the time!
Still, the Torah gives us koach that we can do both at the same time! We can serve Hashem with simcha all the time, thanking Hashem for all the good things that we have. At the same time, we can have a broken heart that we are still in Golus and ask Hashem to bring Moshiach now!
See Farbrengen Ohr L’Yud-Gimmel Nissan 5738
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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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