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CHUMASH

Parshas Vayeitzei - Shvi'i with Rashi

Lavan and Yaakov make a promise not to hurt each other, and Lavan says goodbye to his children and grandchildren.

Lavan said to Yaakov, “You didn’t have to sneak away! I would never do anything to hurt any of you. They are MY daughters, and MY grandchildren! Let’s make a bris — a promise between us. We will promise not to hurt each other, and Hashem will be the witness.”

Yaakov took a stone to be a matzeivah — a monument, and the family all helped bring stones to make a pile. Yaakov and Lavan both called it “the pile of witnessing” — but Lavan named it in Aramaic (Yegar Sahadusa), and Yaakov said it in Hebrew (Gal-Eid). They also called it “Mitzpah” (the watchtower) to remember that Hashem should watch them both to make sure they are keeping their promise!

What’s the promise?

Yaakov promised not to be mean to Lavan’s daughters, and not marry anyone else (since it might make them upset). They both promised that they wouldn’t pass the place of the pile to hurt each other.

Even though Lavan didn’t help make the pile, he said that it was the pile that HE made, and the matzeivah that HE made!

Lavan promised in the name of Hashem and in the names of his Avodah Zarah, and Yaakov promised in the name of Hashem.

Then Yaakov shechted animals, and they ate a seudah together. Everyone slept on the mountain that night!

In the morning, Lavan kissed his children and grandchildren, and blessed them before he went home.

Yaakov went further to Eretz Yisroel, and the malachim of Eretz Yisroel came to meet him and bring him back! When Yaakov saw them, he said, “This is Hashem’s camp!” He called the place Machanayim (twin camps), because there were now two sets of malochim, the ones that brought him there, and the ones from Eretz Yisroel that would bring him in!

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TEHILLIM

49 - 54

Today’s shiur Tehillim is kapitelach Mem-Tes through Nun-Daled.

In today’s Tehillim, Dovid Hamelech asks Hashem, “Hashem Sefosai Tiftach, Ufi Yagid Tehilasecha.” “Hashem, open my lips, and my mouth will say your Tefilos.”

Chassidus explains that this posuk is teaching us how we need to stand before Hashem when we daven. We need to feel so small and so awed in front of Hashem, that we need to even ask Him to help us daven!

It isn’t always easy to feel that way. That’s why we need to think about Hashem in Pesukei DeZimra and Shema, before Shmoneh Esrei, so that we will feel small when its time to stand before Him.

But what if we didn’t think about that — is there any shortcut?

The Rebbe teaches us that there is. There is something we can think about that can make many of us feel small:

We all know people that are older and smarter than us. They lived longer and learned more, so they know more things. Even if we feel like we are very smart and did lots of good things, we still feel small next to them because there are so many things we didn’t have a chance to learn.

That’s something that can remind us to feel small before people that are older than us, and OF COURSE it will make us feel small in front of Hashem when we daven! Then we can stand humbly, “K’avda Kamei Marei” — like a servant in front of his master, ready to daven to Hashem the way we should!

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TANYA

Kuntres Acharon Siman Daled

We’ve been learning in Tanya about how important and special it is to DO a Mitzvah. The kavana and love we feel for Hashem is also important, but there is much more that happens by DOING the mitzvah. This is both when we DO a mitzvah or even just LEARN HOW to do the mitzvah!

But what about learning halachos about things that don’t ever really happen? Is that also like doing a mitzvah?

Today the Alter Rebbe tells us that halachos are the chochma of Hashem. It doesn’t matter if the halacha is about something that will happen or not — it is still Hashem’s chochma!

But we can’t get these special kochos just from having kavana and feeling close to Hashem — we need to actually learn their halachos or do them.

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HAYOM YOM

Tes Kislev

Today is the birthday (5534) and yartzeit (5588) of the Mitteler Rebbe!

The Mitteler Rebbe was born and passed away on the same day, Tes Kislev. He was born in the year Tof-Kuf-Lamed-Daled, and passed away in the year Tof-Kuf-Pey-Ches. His Ohel is in the city of Nyezhin.

The 53 chapters of Tanya are based on Maamorim that the Alter Rebbe said, starting from Erev Rosh Hashana 5550 (when the Tzemach Tzedek was born), and the last maamar (about the Beis Hamikdash) was started today, on Tes Kislev 5554 (when the Mitteler Rebbe turned 20). The maamar was finished the next day, Yud Kislev (which later became the Mitteler Rebbe’s chag hageulah)!

In these maamorim, the Alter Rebbe included many eitzos he gave to chassidim in their Avodas Hashem, about overcoming their Yetzer Hara with simcha and serving Hashem with ahava and yirah.

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SEFER HAMITZVOS

Shiur #199 - Mitzvas Asei #107

Today’s mitzvah is the same one as yesterday:

(Mitzvas Asei #107) When a neshama leaves a body, the body becomes Tomei. Someone who touches or is in the same house as the body gets some of this Tumah too, called Tumas Meis. There are many halachos about how this tumah is passed on. Today’s mitzvah is to follow all of these halachos!

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RAMBAM

Hilchos Tumas Meis

Today’s Rambam is perakim Tes-Vov, Tes-Zayin, and Yud-Zayin. We are learning more about how someone can get Tumas Meis. We learned before about “Ohel” — that anything under the same roof as a Meis becomes tomei with Tumas Meis.

The Rambam says that if there is an open space that is at least as big as a tefach, like a window or door, the Tumah can spread and go into the next room or the next house, which is under one Ohel. In today’s first perek, the Rambam explains what kind of materials can be used to close up the space so the tumah won’t spread.

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RAMBAM PEREK ECHOD

Hilchos She'eilah U'Pikadon - Perek Gimmel

This perek teaches us what happens if an animal we borrowed dies. If the animal died during the time it was borrowed, the person has to pay! The Rambam teaches exactly when the borrowing is considered to have started.

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INYANA D'YOMA

Chassidishe Yom Tov

Today is a Chassidishe Yom Tov, as we learned in Hayom Yom! It is the birthday and yartzeit of the Mitteler Rebbe.

There is a famous maamar that the Mitteler Rebbe wrote that starts with the words Padah Beshalom Nafshi. The Rebbe asked that chassidim learn this maamar on these special days of the Mitteler Rebbe. Here is something from that maamar:

When two people are fighting, each one wants the other person to do what he wants. That’s what happens when the Yetzer Tov and Yetzer Hara fight too. When the Yetzer Tov wins, it is like setting a person free from jail! But what is “Pada Beshalom,” to be redeemed with shalom?

Shalom means that there is peace, that they are finished fighting and won’t fight again later. This is a special kind of way that the Yetzer Tov can win! The Yetzer Hara will act the way the Yetzer Tov wants and stop fighting!

When does that happen? When a Yid uses the koach of the Yechidah of his neshama. The Yechidah is a part of the neshama that Hashem puts especially into the Moshe Rabbeinu of every generation! (Every Yid has this koach when we have hiskashrus to the Rebbe — the Moshe Rabbeinu of our generation!)

When we do our Avodas Hashem with this koach, we will win the war over the Yetzer Hara. That will bring Moshiach, when there will be no need for a war with the Yetzer Hara anymore!

▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼

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TEFILLAH

Yud-Beis Pesukim - Review

We are reviewing the Yud-Beis Pesukim, in a different order. We are going in the order of the parts of Torah that these pesukim are taken from — Torah Shebichsav, Torah Shebaal Peh, and Tanya.

Before we review the actual pesukim, we need to first review the purpose of them.

Why were these pesukim specifically chosen, and why do we need to know them by heart?

Torah is not just a wisdom or knowledge for our mind. Torah is Chayeinu, our life! Torah is not just for when we have a sefer that we can learn from and think about. Even when we don’t have a sefer, like when we are eating, drinking, walking, playing or lying in bed, we also need to live with the Torah!

In order to do that, we need to know the words of Torah Baal Peh, so we can live with them all the time.

We need to know certain pieces of the Torah which have a message that is very clear and easy to understand.

To make it possible for children as well to live with the horaos of Torah, the Rebbe chose these pesukim which have very clear messages that also children can understand and live with. The Rebbe wanted us to learn them by heart, so that we will live with them even when we’re eating or playing. We should even know them well enough to discuss them with our friends, so that they will also be able to live with the lessons of Torah that we already learned!

See sicha Rosh Chodesh Iyar Tof-Shin-Lamed-Vov

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HALACHOS HATZRICHOS

Kriyas Shema

To get 248 words of Shema, matching up to the 248 parts of a man’s guf, the Chazan says the last three words of Shema out loud.

But when someone is davening without a minyan, how does he get the extra words?

There are many opinions brought in Shulchan Aruch, but in the Siddur the Alter Rebbe paskens what we should do: We repeat the words “Ani Hashem Elokeichem” at the end of Shema, before saying the word “Emes.” (So we would say, “Ani Hashem Elokeichem, Ani Hashem Elokeichem Emes.”)

We don’t only do this in Shacharis, we also do this in Kriyas Shema She’al Hamitah, and every other time Kriyas Shema is said — except for putting on the Tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam.

See Igros Kodesh chelek Tes-Zayin, p. 294, Letter #6069

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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GEULAH U'MOSHIACH

Shlichus

In a sicha, the Rebbe explains why our dor is the last dor of Golus and will be the first dor of Geulah!

Since the very beginning of the world, we have been waiting for Moshiach. Many great tzadikim from generations before us waited for and davened for Moshiach to come in their times.

So what is so special about OUR dor, that the Geulah is only going to come in OUR times?

The Chachomim say that Hashem sends the Yidden in Golus to find the sparks of kedusha hiding in the world and take them out of their hiding places so they can go up to Hashem. This makes all of these places holy and ready for the Geulah!

In the times of the Beis Hamikdash, Yidden lived only in Eretz Yisroel and in the countries right near it. Afterwards, they spread to other parts of the world, but mainly in Europe, on the same side of the world as Eretz Yisroel.

But nowadays, Yidden are living EVERYWHERE, all over the world!

And not only are they living there, but shluchim are going to live there too. They help the Yidden in all of these places to do mitzvos, finding the sparks of kedusha hiding in those places. They build mosdos in all of these places, making them holy places of Torah and mitzvos. This finishes the job of Golus, taking care of the kedusha hiding everywhere in the world. Since in our generation we are getting the sparks of kedusha from WHEREVER they are in the world, in a way there never was before, it is OUR dor that will be the dor of the Geulah!

See Sicha Parshas Vayeishev Nun-Beis, 174 ff.

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