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CHUMASH
Parshas Acharei - Revi'i with Rashi
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Now we learn about a new mitzvah!
The Yidden used to be able to bring korbanos wherever they wanted. They would just build a Mizbeiach for Hashem and they could bring a korban there! Now that they have this mitzvah, they can ONLY bring korbanos in the Mishkan or Beis Hamikdash.
This will keep the Yidden from doing Avodah Zarah, because all of their korbanos will be only brought in Hashem’s home.
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In today’s first kapitel, we have a posuk that we say out loud by our Seder! “Shfoch Chamos’cha El Hagoyim Asher Lo Yeda’ucha…” “Hashem, pour out Your anger on the goyim that don’t believe in You!”
It is our minhag to say this paragraph when we are sitting down.
Someone is sent with a candle to open the door, and then says this paragraph there. Everyone else waits for them before continuing the seder.
When the Frierdiker Rebbe was a young boy, his father the Rebbe Rashab told him that the seder is a special time to ask Hashem for good things. He should use this time to ask for Ruchnius, not for Gashmius! He should ask specifically to be a mentch, and especially at the time of Shefoch Chamos’cha.
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Mem-Alef
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The Alter Rebbe tells us that our mitzvos need to have a “neshama.” They need to be able to “fly up” to Hashem.
When we think about how Hashem is watching everything we’re doing (Yirah) and how we love Hashem and are ready to give everything for Him (Ahava), then that kavana is the neshama for our mitzvos and can make them fly up to Hashem.
Today the Alter Rebbe tells us that we have to have another very important Kavanah in the mitzvos that we do: To think about all of the other Yidden when we do our mitzvah: ALL of the Yidden should be close to Hashem through our mitzvah, and not just us! When we think about this, it brings Hashem a lot of nachas — and that nachas is called “Yichud Kudsha Brich Hu Ushechintei!”
Because we need to have this kavana, every day before Baruch She’amar, we say “Lesheim Yichud Kudsha Brich Hu Ushechnitei,” that we are davening in order to bring Hashem this special nachas. When we say this, we should have in mind that this kavana is for ALL of the mitzvos that we do the whole day!
(Some people say Lesheim Yichud before EVERY mitzvah, but the Chabad Minhag is to say it one time for the whole day.)
The Alter Rebbe tells us that only big tzadikim REALLY care that every mitzvah makes ALL of the Yidden connected to Hashem, but for most Yidden, what we REALLY care about is that WE should feel close to Hashem. But to really care about what happens to all of the Yidden is not so easy.
Still, every Yid, even those who are not great tzadikim, should think this kavana. This kavana brings Hashem nachas, and it is what Hashem wants — that all Yidden should be close to him!
Since every Yid in his neshama wants to do what Hashem wants, this kavana is true for every Jew.
Even though he doesn’t want it himself, he wants it because Hashem wants it!
But to be close to Hashem is something that every Yid truly wants, not just big tzadikim.
Why?
Because every Yid has in the koach of his neshama to have Mesiras Nefesh to be connected to Hashem!
Every day, when a Yid davens and learns, it is a kind of Mesiras Nefesh, because when we’re davening and learning, we’re not thinking about eating and drinking and other things that a person needs. We’re only thinking about being close to Hashem, just like a neshama in Gan Eden only thinks about Hashem’s Torah and not about gashmius things!
That’s what we say every morning in Birchas Hashachar: Elokai, Neshama Shenasata Bi — Hashem gave us our neshama! When we remember that our neshama belongs to Hashem, we will go to daven and learn Torah, so our neshama will be close to Hashem, just as it was before it came into our bodies.
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On the second night of Pesach, we say Kriyas Shema She’al Hamitah like every other night. (On the first night, we skip most of it, since it is Leil Shimurim, and Hashem is watching over us even MORE than usual.)
Before we ask the Mah Nishtana, we say, “Tatteh, Ich Vil Bai Dir Fregen Fir Kashes” — “Tatteh, I am going to ask you four questions.” This is part of the nusach of the Haggadah, and we don’t change it! Just like in bentching, a person also says “Es Avi Mori… Ve’es Imi Morasi” (“Hashem should bentch my father and my mother”), even if their parents are R”L not alive anymore, a person says “Tatteh Ich Vil Bai Dir Fregen,” whether or not his parents are there.
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #17) is a special mitzvah for a Yiddishe king! He needs to write or buy a Sefer Torah to keep with him ALL THE TIME. This will remind him of his very important job!
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Shoftim: וְהָיָה כְשִׁבְתּוֹ עַל כִּסֵּא מַמְלַכְתּוֹ וְכָתַב לוֹ אֶת מִשְׁנֵה הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת
The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Beis.
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Tefillin U'Mezuzah V'Sefer Torah
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In today’s Rambam, we will finish this set of halachos.
Perek Ches: The Rambam teaches us more about writing a Sefer Torah. We learn about how we leave a space after paragraphs in a Sefer Torah: If the space is at the end of a line, it is called a “Pesucha” (“open” — in your Chumash, you will usually see the letter “pey.”) If the space is in the middle of a line, it is called “Stumah” (“closed” — you will see a samech in your Chumash).
If a sofer leaves a space in the wrong place, or mixes up the kinds of spaces, the Torah is posul!
Perek Tes: We learn many more halachos about how the Torah is written, sewn, and attached to the Atzei Chayim (the poles).
Perek Yud: Now that we learned all of these halachos, we understand that there are 20 ways for a Sefer Torah to be posul. Here are two examples: 1) if two letters are touching, or 2) if the ink isn’t black.
We also learn how to treat a Sefer Torah: One halacha is that a Sefer Torah can only be sold if someone doesn’t have anything else to sell and wants to learn Torah or to get married.
The Rambam also tells us how we treat all kinds of kedusha things, and what needs to go into sheimos!
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We learn how to do the mitzvah of Pe’ah in more than one field, or a field that is split up in a way that makes it become like two fields.
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An explanation from the Rebbe on Mah Nishtanah:
Golus is like night. During the day, the sun shines, everything is clear, and we can see what’s happening. At night, it is dark. We can’t see everything, and it can be very confusing.
A Jewish child asks, “Mah Nishtanah Halaila Hazeh?” “Why is the Geulah from this Golus different than the Geulah from every other Golus?”
Each question shows how the Geulah will be so much greater than any other Geulah:
- Dipping: To become tahor, we dip in the mikvah. By this Geulah, Hashem will make us completely tahor, for the guf and the neshama!
- Chometz: Our aveiros come from gaavah, which is puffed up like chometz! When Moshiach comes, everyone will have complete bittul, and we will not want to do anything that separates us from Hashem.
- Maror: Even though they are healthy and make our food yummier, a person can live without vegetables. When Moshiach comes, we will see how all of the gashmius things are extra, and they will feel like maror to us — something bitter!
- Leaning: When Moshiach comes, we will be completely relaxed! We know we won’t ever have to go back into Golus again. We will be able to really recline, because we will be free!
But how can we have such a great Geulah, if this Golus is so hard?
The answer is that “Avadim Hayinu LeParaoh BeMitzrayim!” When the Yidden were in Mitzrayim, they also had a very hard Golus, but Hashem saved them anyway! Hashem will do that again — even if it seems like it’s impossible.
(Later in Hayom Yom we will learn another explanation of Mah Nishtana!)
See sicha of Pesach 5732
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Today we start a very special mitzvah that we will be doing all the way until Shavuos. This mitzvah is called Sefiras Ha’omer!
Right after Shemoneh Esrei of Maariv, we do this mitzvah, counting the days until Matan Torah. (If we forgot to count in Maariv, we can still count with a bracha until Alos Hashachar.)
This is a mitzvah from the Torah!
Right after experiencing Yetziyas Mitzrayim, we also want to feel how the Yidden felt when they left the tumah of Mitzrayim. They didn’t just leave the tumah, they also counted the days to prepare themselves, making themselves more aidel in order to get the Torah.
We also prepare ourselves day by day during Sefiras Ha’omer to prepare for Matan Torah. We slowly teach our Yetzer Hara how to serve Hashem, through the steps of Sefiras Ha’omer. When we get to Shavuos, we will be much more aidel and ready to receive the Torah!
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Pesach is a Yom Tov connected to a season. Pesach always needs to be in the spring. So on the first day of Pesach, in Musaf, we start saying a piece of davening connected to the spring and summer: Morid Hatal. We stop praising Hashem for the rain and start praising Him for dew!
This looks like just two little words in Shemoneh Esrei. But in halacha, these words are very important. We are only allowed to talk about Hashem’s praise for rain in its proper time.
If someone says “Mashiv Haruach U’Morid Hageshem” by mistake, even if he realizes right away, he needs to go back to the beginning of Ata Gibor and say this bracha again.
If someone realizes that he said “Mashiv Haruach U’Morid Hageshem” instead of “Morid Hatal” after saying Hashem’s name in the bracha at the end of this paragraph (“Baruch Ata Hashem Mechayeh Hameisim”), then he has to go back to the beginning of Shemoneh Esrei and say it again.
If someone only realizes before the next tefillah (like Mincha, or Maariv, or Shacharis for the next day), he should daven Shemoneh Esrei twice to make up for his mistake.
What happens if someone wasn’t paying so much attention and can’t remember if he said Morid Hatal or Mashiv Haruach? It depends what his habit is. If it is still less than 30 days since starting to say Morid Hatal, he still has the habit of saying Mashiv Haruach U’Morid Hageshem. We say that he probably still said it, and he needs to daven Shemoneh Esrei again.
But if it is more than 30 days since starting Morid Hatal, his habit is to say Morid Hatal already. He probably said Morid Hatal if he wasn’t paying attention, and he doesn’t have to say Shemoneh Esrei again.
In the first Shemoneh Esrei of Chol Hamoed (in Maariv), we will start saying Vesein Beracha. We will IY”H learn the halachos of those words tomorrow.
See Shevach Hamoadim, dinim of Morid Hatal
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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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We are learning now in Tanya one kavana that a Yid should have when he does mitzvos, that the mitzvah should help all of the Yidden and bring the Shechinah into the world.
Nowadays, Rebbe shows us how even kids can do mitzvos with this special kavana!
The Rebbe told us that every mitzvah we do could bring Moshiach and bring the Shechinah into the world! When we do mitzvos to bring Moshiach now, we are doing mitzvos with this special kavana which we learn in Tanya!
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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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