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CHUMASH
Parshas Acharei - Sheini with Rashi
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We are learning more about the Avodah of Yom Kippur:
On Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol does the Avodah in the Mishkan and the Kodesh Hakodoshim for Hashem to forgive the Yidden. We learned that in order to forgive the Yidden for not being careful enough with the tahara of the Mishkan and its keilim, he mixes the blood of his Korban Chatas with the blood of the Yidden’s Korban Chatas, and sprinkles it on the Paroches.
Today we learn how the Kohen Gadol is mechaper for any mistakes with the kedusha of the Mizbeiach Hapnimi, where the ketores was brought. The Kohen Gadol sprinkles the Mizbeiach Hapnimi with the same mixture of blood. This causes Hashem to forgive the Yidden in case the Mizbeiach became tomei by touching something tomei, or if the ketores had become tomei.
Then the Kohen Gadol goes out of the Kodesh and the person chosen the day before brings the goat for Azazel. The Kohen Gadol says vidui, asking forgiveness for all of the aveiros of the Yidden, leaning his hands on the goat’s head. Then he sends the goat to the desert with a kohen, to push the animal off the Azazel cliff. This takes away the aveiros of the Yidden.
The Kohen Gadol takes the fat of the korbanos to be burned on the Mizbeiach. Then he goes to the Mikvah to change back into the clothes of the Kohen Gadol that he wears all year (the Bigdei Zahav). He brings a Korban Olah for himself and for the Yidden. Then he brings seven sheep for the Korban Musaf of Yom Kippur.
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In Kapitel Ayin-Gimmel (73), Dovid Hamelech says “Beheimos Hayisi Imach” — “I am like an animal with You,” and in the next posuk, “Va’ani Tomid Imach” — “I am always with You.”
The Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya that even though we need to use our sechel to understand Achdus Hashem and how to connect to Hashem through Torah and mitzvos, still our connection to Hashem needs to be MORE than what we can understand. There has to be emunah for the things we are not able to understand. In that way, we are compared to an animal (beheimah) who can’t understand the way a person can.
Now on Pesach we make our Emunah stronger. When we eat matzah it gives us Emunah. This will help us to always be with Hashem — “Tomid Imach” — to be close to Hashem always, for the whole rest of the year.
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Mem-Alef
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Why is it so important for someone to be AFRAID to do something against what Hashem wants? Because the posuk says “Ve’oso Saavodu” — you need to SERVE Hashem. Avodah, serving, is like the way a servant listens to a king, because he is afraid to not listen.
Later, a person can also do what Hashem wants like a child who listens to his father becomes he LOVES him, but first he has to start serving Hashem with Yirah, like a servant.
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The minhag of the Rebbeim is that instead of having a Rav sell our chometz FOR us, we sell our chometz to the Rav. Later the Rav sells it to a goy (since a goy is allowed to have chometz on Pesach!).
On Erev Pesach, the Rebbe Rashab would go to the matzah bakery and watch them bake the matzos. He would say Hallel while he was watching, and used to stop in the middle to tell them instructions about the baking.
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #13) is to put on the Tefillin Shel Yad, the hand tefillin. The Torah tells us about this mitzvah in FOUR places!
It is a separate mitzvah from the Tefillin Shel Rosh, so if someone can’t put on the Tefillin Shel Rosh for some reason, he should still put on the Tefillin Shel Yad.
Women don’t do this mitzvah, because the Torah connects the mitzvah of Tefillin with the mitzvah of learning Torah all the time, and women don’t have that achrayus.
One of the places we learn this mitzvah from is from a posuk in Shema, in Parshas Vaeschanan: וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת עַל יָדֶךָ
The details are explained in Mesechta Menachos perek Daled.
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Tefillin U'Mezuzah V'Sefer Torah
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Perek Beis: In today’s Rambam, we learn how the parshios of Tefillin are written. The Rambam says that Tefillin NEVER need to be checked if they were written by a good sofer that we can trust! In fact, Hillel HaZokein wore tefillin that he got from his zaidy, and he never got them checked! (Nowadays, though, we are careful to check our tefillin very often.)
Perek Gimmel: The Rambam explains how the leather boxes are made for the tefillin. (Did you ever wonder how leather becomes such a perfect square?) When the leather is wet, we put it into a special wooden mold that helps make perfectly square tefillin, with holes in the right place to put the four pieces of parchment.
The Rambam tells us that the knot for the Tefillin Shel Rosh looks like a daled, but there is no way to describe it — you need to see it to understand it!
Perek Daled: When a person wears tefillin, he needs to be very careful with what he does and thinks. The tefillin are even more holy than the Tzitz that the Kohen Gadol wears on his head! The tzitz only has Hashem’s name once, and each of the Tefillin has Hashem’s name 21 times!
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In this perek, the Rambam tells us about the five gifts that a person has to give to the poor from the things he grows. They are called Pe’ah, Leket, Peret, Olelos, and Shichecha.
The Chachomim say that a person should leave over 1/60th of his field or orchard as Pe’ah, but if a person was bentched with more than he expected, he should give more. The more you give, the more reward you get!
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Today, Erev Pesach, is the birthday of the Rambam. From all of the tzadikim in the time of the Rambam or before, we usually don’t know what time of the day they were born.
We DO know that the Rambam was born in the afternoon (after chatzos), close to Pesach.
The Rambam has a very special connection to Pesach, going out of Mitzrayim. It’s even hiding in his name! “Rambam” stands for “Revos Mofsai Be’eretz Mitzrayim.” — Hashem says He will make many nisim (like the makos) in Mitzrayim so the Yidden can go out and get the Torah. The Rambam was a doctor and was forced to live in Mitzrayim for many years.
Today is a good day to inspire another Yid to start learning Rambam! There are many good tools to help make this easier, like the one you are using now! Other good tools are Dvar Malchus, Chayenu, or Chabad.org!
It is also your last chance to give Maos Chitim! Some options are Colel Chabad, The Shluchim Fund, CSSY, Adopt A Family, and your own local Maos Chitim — for your community and family.
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▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼
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There is a very special part of the siddur that we say only one day of the year: today!
In many places in davening we speak about the korbanos brought in the Beis Hamikdash. Because davening is instead of bringing korbanos, the Chachomim teach us to learn about the korbanos at the time they are brought. That’s why we read about the Korban Tomid in the morning and in the afternoon before davening.
In the time of the Beis Hamikdash, the Korban Pesach was brought only once a year — today, Erev Pesach, at Mincha time! Because of this, after Mincha, we read all about how the Korban Pesach would be brought in the Beis Hamikdash.
The Alter Rebbe writes in his siddur that we should be careful to read this section before Shekiyah, during the actual time when the korban could be brought. When we read it, we should think about how we want Hashem to rebuild the Beis Hamikdash, so we can actually bring the Korban Pesach the way Hashem wants us to!
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On Erev Pesach it is our minhag not to eat from the ingredients used for the Charoses or the Maror.
During Makas Bechoros, Hashem gave the Malach Hamaves permission to kill ALL firstborn boys. But Hashem made a neis and had the malach skip over the houses of the Yidden, and all of them were saved!
To remember this neis of how the bechorim were saved in Mitzrayim, nowadays firstborn boys fast on the day of Erev Pesach.
If a firstborn son isn’t Bar Mitzvah yet, his father fasts for him until he is old enough to fast on his own.
We are allowed to break this fast to eat at a Seudas Mitzvah, like a bris, Pidyon Haben, or siyum. In shul, there is usually a siyum after davening, and the bechorim are allowed to break their fasts to celebrate at this siyum.
Here are links to Halacha Newsletters, to make sure we are doing everything the way Hashem wants us to on Erev Pesach and Pesach!
- 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 Rambam says in Hilchos Teshuvah that when Yidden do teshuvah, the Geulah comes right away! “Yisroel Osin Teshuvah U’miyad Hein Nigalin!”
The Rebbe once said at a farbrengen that the words the Rambam uses to connect Teshuvah and Geulah can really be explained in a way that everyone will understand how it works. This is something we could explain so everyone understands why teshuvah brings Geulah.
Still, it is even better if we don’t understand why! It is better to use our emunah and just follow what the Rambam says, because emunah comes from a higher part of the neshama! Our teshuvah will be a better and stronger teshuvah if we do it with emunah, and we will have the Geulah even faster!
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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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