|
|
CHUMASH
Parshas Shemos - Chamishi with Rashi
|
|
Hashem chose Moshe Rabbeinu to be the one to take the Yidden out of Mitzrayim. Hashem appeared to Moshe through a burning bush, and is giving him the details of his shlichus.
In today’s Chumash, we learn how Hashem tells Moshe to go say to the leaders of the Yidden that Hashem will take them out, and then to go speak to Paraoh. Moshe says that the Yidden won’t believe him, so Hashem gives him signs. Still, Hashem has to convince Moshe to go.
Hashem tells Moshe to gather the 70 Zekeinim (elders) of the Yidden, and tell them that Hashem says, “I didn’t forget about My promise! I will take the Yidden out of Mitzrayim, and bring them to Eretz Yisroel.”
You do not need to be worried, Hashem tells Moshe. “The Zekeinim will listen to you, because the Yidden know that they will hear about the Geulah with the words ‘Pakod Pokadeti’ — “I remembered you!”
Hashem continues to tell Moshe, “Then, go with them to Paraoh and tell him to let the Yidden go to the desert for three days to bring korbanos.”
But, Hashem says, Paraoh won’t listen to you until I use My “strong arm” to punish them and show them my nisim. When he does let you go in the end, you will take gold and silver, and clothes for the way, to fulfill My promise to Avraham that the Yidden will be very rich when they leave Golus!
Moshe was afraid that the Yidden wouldn’t believe that Hashem really talked to him! So Hashem gave Moshe a sign to show the Yidden: Moshe should throw his sapphire stick on the ground, and it will turn into a snake. When he picks it up, it will turn back into a stick.
Hashem also gave him another sign: He should put his hand into his shirt, and when it comes out, it will be covered with Tzoraas. When he puts it back into his shirt, the Tzoraas will go away.
Hashem gave Moshe specifically these two signs to tell him that he shouldn’t speak Lashon Hara about the Yidden and say they won’t believe him! Lashon Hara is like a snake, and Tzoraas is the punishment for Lashon Hara.
Hashem also gave Moshe a THIRD sign if they still didn’t believe him: Take some water from the Nilus and pour it on the ground, and there it will turn into blood.
Still, Moshe didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to take such an important job, since his brother Aharon was older than him, and a Navi too! He thought that Aharon should get the job. Also, he wasn’t able to speak well, and all of the things Hashem was telling him to do were speaking.
Hashem answered him, “Who gave you the ability to speak when you were in front of Paraoh and had to run away? It was I, Hashem! Now also, I will be with you and show you what to say.”
Moshe continued to tell Hashem that he shouldn’t take the job. He knew with Ruach Hakodesh that he wouldn’t bring the Yidden into Eretz Yisroel in the end anyhow. He told Hashem, “Shelach Na Beyad Tishlach!” Send the person who You will send in the end! “Either send Yehoshua who will bring them into Eretz Yisroel, or send Moshiach who will take them out of the final Golus!”
Hashem wasn’t so happy with Moshe, and told him that because he wasn’t listening right away, Aharon would become a Kohen, and Moshe would become only a Levi.
Hashem also told Moshe not to worry about having a more important job than Aharon — Aharon would come meet him when he went to Mitzrayim, and he would be very happy for Moshe. (Rashi says that because of Aharon’s good feeling in his heart for his younger brother, he was zoche to wear the Choshen on his heart as the Kohen Gadol!)
Moshe could tell Aharon what to say, and Aharon would speak clearly so everyone will understand.
“Now,” said Hashem, “Take your stick so you can do the nisim.”
|
|
|
|
Today’s shiur Tehillim is kapitelach Tzadik through Tzadik-Vov.
The first kapitel in today’s Tehillim was written by Moshe Rabbeinu. Dovid Hamelech later put it in Tehillim. It starts with the words “Tefillah LeMoshe, Ish HaElokim” — “This is a Tefillah by Moshe Rabbeinu, a person of Hashem.”
Why is Moshe Rabbeinu called a “person of Hashem”?
Hashem is everything and everything is Hashem — but we can’t see Him! Hashem made the world because He wanted Yidden to act in a certain way that will make Hashem happy here.
But if we can’t see Hashem, how do we know how to act? That’s why Hashem gave Yidden a Moshe Rabbeinu, who is “a person of Hashem.” A Moshe Rabbeinu has two parts — one part of him that is “of Hashem” — very close to Hashem so he knows what Hashem wants, but he is also “a person” — so he can teach us what we need to do!
There is ALWAYS a Nasi, like Moshe Rabbeinu, who helps the Yidden do what Hashem wants at that time. Now, of course, the Rebbe is our Moshe Rabbeinu!
The Rebbe told us that we are about to see the Geulah, and we need to learn and teach about it! We need to spread Yiddishkeit and Chassidus everywhere, and ask Hashem for Moshiach NOW!
|
|
|
TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Yud-Gimmel
|
|
In today’s Tanya, we learn about a kind of beinoni who is busy with holy things all day. Even he needs to stay on guard and remember that he still has a Yetzer Hara!
We learned that a beinoni needs to always be on guard to make sure that his Yetzer Hara doesn’t take control.
But what about a beinoni whose Yetzer Hara never says anything? For example, there could be someone who learns in Yeshivah and spends all day learning Torah and davening, who might not feel a taavah to do any aveiros.
The Alter Rebbe explains that this kind of beinoni is called a “Beinoni Hamispalel Kol Hayom,” a beinoni that is davening all day. He might not be actually davening all day, but all day long he is busy with learning Torah and davening in a way that puts his Nefesh Habehamis to sleep!
This kind of beinoni needs to stay on guard too! He shouldn’t think that he is a tzadik, and doesn’t have to worry about his Yetzer Hara anymore. Just like a sleeping lion can get up any second, the Nefesh Habehamis can wake up anytime and start to bother him.
Even when we are feeling very Ruchnius’dik, we need to watch out for our Yetzer Hara, because it can wake up any second and give us foolish ideas!
|
|
|
|
In today’s Hayom Yom, we learn about the Chumash part of Chitas and where it comes from!
Chassidim have a minhag that started from the Alter Rebbe, that every day we learn part of Chumash with Rashi. The Rebbeim also kept this minhag!
|
|
|
|
Today’s mitzvah, (Mitzvas Asei #109) is the same as yesterday’s: That a person or thing can become tahor by following the halachos about going into a Mikvah. This includes the halachos of having a kosher mikvah, the halachos of chatzitzah (that nothing should block the mikvah water from touching every part of the person or keili), and Tvul Yom (that a person who went to the mikvah only becomes tahor when it becomes night).
The mitzvah isn’t that you have to go to the mikvah if you are tomei, but that if you want to become tahor (for example to be able to go into the Beis Hamikdash) then you need to follow this mitzvah to do it properly.
|
|
|
|
In today’s Rambam, we learn more halachos about the Mikvah.
Perek Beis tells us what is counted as a chatzitzah for a person who needs to go to the mikvah. A chatzitzah is something that blocks the water of the Mikvah from touching the whole person, so they don’t become tahor. Something that a person doesn’t mind being stuck to him usually isn’t a chatzitzah, it’s just counted like part of him. A loose necklace isn’t called a chatzitzah, since the water of the Mikvah can still get under it.
Perek Gimmel tells us what things are chatzitzos for things that we put in the mikvah, like keilim and clothes. Blood stains on clothes ARE a chatzitzah — unless they are on the clothes of a butcher, who is used to having blood on his clothes!
Perek Daled explains that a Mikvah can’t be water that a person put there, it has to be water that Hashem put there, like rainwater or water from a spring. As long as there are 40 se’ah of water from rain, though, we can mix in water that a person brought from another place — like from a barrel.
|
|
|
|
Usually, the halacha is that we assume that whatever a person has belongs to him. If another person says the opposite, that person would need to prove that it really belongs to him.
But for something that is usually rented, the halacha is different. So let’s say that Reuven usually rents out his lawn mower, and people know he does. Now Shimon has it in his house and says that Reuven gave it to him! Reuven is allowed to make a Shevuas Heses (a promise Miderabanan) saying that he didn’t give it to Shimon, and then he can take it back.
|
|
|
|
One time, there was a little girl who went with her father to 770. He had just bought her a little present, a Tzivos Hashem pin! He wanted her to put it on when they went to 770. The little girl was embarrassed to wear it, and refused to put it on! Finally, after lots of begging, she agreed to put on the pin… but only on her skirt, not on her shirt.
Soon, the Rebbe came into 770! He saw the little girl, and smiled. He made a sign with his hand to show her that she shouldn’t be embarrassed to wear a Tzivos Hashem pin!
As soon as the Rebbe walked past, lots of Chassidim rushed over to make sure that the little girl’s Tatty would move the pin onto the top of her shirt.
Now, that little girl is a VERY proud shlucha, helping Yidden do more and more mitzvos and bring Moshiach closer!
Are YOU proud to be a soldier in Tzivos Hashem?
|
|
|
▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼
|
|
|
|
It is very important to understand the words of the first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei in order to be yotzei the mitzvah of davening Shemoneh Esrei. We are going through the actual words of the bracha to make sure we understand them.
First we bentch Hashem Who is our Aibershter and the Aibershter of the Avos, and say some of the praises of Hashem from the Torah, which the Anshei Kneses Hagedolah chose to put in davening. Then we continue:
Vezocher Chasdei Avos — Hashem remembers the kindness of the Avos, meaning the zechus of the Avos
Umeivi Goel — And Hashem brings someone to save them
Livnei Veneihem — To the Yidden that come from the Avos
Lemaan Shemo — For the sake of Hashem’s name, meaning even if the Yidden don’t deserve it
Be’Ahava — With His love for us.
The Avudraham points out that we don’t say that Hashem DID any of these things in the past, but through the whole bracha we say that Hashem DOES these things! Why? Because Hashem didn’t do these things only once, Hashem does them for us all the time! Hashem saved the Yidden in Mitzrayim, and will continue to save us whenever we need, until we have a complete Geulah!
We say this praise of Hashem to begin our Shemoneh Esrei properly. In Shemoneh Esrei, we are going to ask Hashem for all of the things we need to do our special shlichus, the shlichus we decided to do when we said Shema! We tell Hashem that we are sure He will help us and give us all we need, the way Hashem always does, because we are Hashem’s special nation, the children of the Avos!
|
|
|
|
One of the reasons we wash Negel Vasser in the morning is because of the Ruach Hatumah which comes into us when we are sleeping at night, and stays on our hands when we wake up in the morning.
That’s why when we wash Negel Vasser, we are careful to wash the entire hand until the wrist. We do this since the Ruach Hatumah spreads until the wrist.
Someone once asked the Rebbe, if this is the reason, how come on Tisha B’Av and Yom Kippur we only wash our fingers and not our whole hand?
Really, we aren’t allowed to wash our hands at all on these days. The only reason we do is because of the halacha that we need to wash off this Ruach Hatumah. But if the tumah goes until the wrist, by washing just our fingers we didn’t take off the Ruach Hatumah anyway, and we may as well not wash at all!
The Rebbe explained that this is because of the way the Ruach Hatumah works. It wants to go to places that are holy, to get chayus from kedusha. That’s why it comes into the guf kadosh, the holy body of a Yid. But on Tisha B’Av, the kedusha is on a lower level because we are sad. The Ruach Hatumah doesn’t have as much of a taava for that kedusha, so it only spreads until the fingers.
On Yom Kippur, it is just the opposite! We are like malochim on Yom Kippur, on a much higher level of kedusha. Even if the Ruach Hatumah WANTS to spread past the fingers, it can’t! That’s why we only need to wash until our fingers.
Once the regular level of kedusha comes back, after Tisha B’Av and Yom Kippur, we need to wash our hands completely right away.
|
|
לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק ע״ה בן ר׳ אפרים שי׳ מאסקאוויץ
שליח כ"ק אדמו"ר נשיא דורנו למדינת אילינוי
|
|
|
|
We learned in today’s Hayom Yom that the Alter Rebbe asked us to learn Chumash with Rashi every day.
But why just Rashi? There are so many important explanations on the Chumash! There is Ibn Ezra, Ramban, Kli Yakar, Or Hachayim, and many more!
The Rebbe gives us three reasons:
1) It’s in Shulchan Aruch! In Shulchan Aruch, it says that when we are Maavir Sedra before Shabbos, the best way to review the parsha is with Rashi. (If we already learned Chitas, we don’t have to do it with Rashi again!)
2) It has secrets of Torah! We learned in another Hayom Yom that Rashi is “Yeina Shel Torah” — the wine (hidden secrets) of Torah.
3) It gets us ready for the Geulah! Rashi explains peshat, the basic meaning of the Torah. Rashi wants us understand the Peshuto Shel Mikra, the peshat of every word of Torah.
And what about the hidden secrets? They’re all hidden inside the peshat! In many sichos, the Rebbe showed us how to find some of the secrets inside of Rashi.
When Moshiach comes, the hidden secrets of the Torah won’t be hidden anymore — we’ll be able to see them in the “basic” parts of life, the regular things we do! So learning Rashi and the Torah secrets inside helps us get ready for Moshiach, when we will be able to see the secrets of Torah in everything!
|
|
|
|
|
לע"נ התינוק זאב ארי' ע"ה בן יבלט"א הרה"ח ר' שניאור זלמן שי' גליק
נפטר ב' מנחם אב ה'תשע"ג
|
|
Give children around the world the gift of Kids Chitas!
KidsChitas.org/sponsor
|
|
|
