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We are now starting a new Chumash, Chumash Shemos! In the last Chumash, Chumash Bereishis, we learned about the creation of the world. We learned about the Avos, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, and his children the Shevatim. We learned the things that happened to them and what they did. All of this is a preparation for what we will learn in this next Chumash: We will learn how Hashem takes us out of Mitzrayim and gives us the Torah so we become a nation! But first we learn about the Golus Mitzrayim that the Yidden had to go through for that to happen. In today’s Chumash, we learn how the Golus starts. The Yidden grow and become a big nation, and Paraoh makes decrees to try to stop them from growing. First the Torah reviews that when the Yidden came down to Mitzrayim, there were only 70 people. But they had a bracha to have many children, and many times the mothers would have six babies at a time! Soon Mitzrayim was full of Yidden. Yaakov’s sons were getting older now, and they all passed away (Levi passed away last). Unfortunately, as time went on, many of the Yidden stopped keeping all of the mitzvos — except for the families in Shevet Levi. Now a new Paraoh, who didn’t know Yosef, became king. He said he was afraid that the Yidden would fight against the Mitrziyim, since there were so many Yidden. He wanted to do something to stop them! Paraoh asked his advisors what to do. Bilam, who was one of his advisors, gave Paraoh a sneaky idea that would stop the Yidden from having a lot of babies, and would get them to start to act like the Mitzriyim. (Yisro, another advisor, told Paraoh not to do it, but Paraoh didn’t listen to him. Because Paraoh was upset at him, Yisro had to run away to Midyan.) Paraoh decided to do Bilaam’s idea: He called all of the Yidden to come, and when everyone was there, he started making bricks. Everyone of course started to help — everyone except for Shevet Levi, who stayed home to learn Torah. At the end of the day, the Mitzriyim told the Yidden to count how many bricks they made. “You will have to make this many bricks EVERY day!” they told the Yidden. That’s how they tricked them into becoming slaves. The Mitzriyim made the Yidden work very hard to build the cities of Pisom and Ramses. But Bilam’s plan wasn’t working. Even though the Yidden were working so hard, they still kept on having lots of children! The Mitzriyim were very frustrated! They thought of another idea: Now the Yidden would have to work even HARDER, and do work they weren’t used to doing. This way the parents would be too tired to have more children. But the Jewish women knew that having children is the most important thing! Paraoh saw that the Yidden were STILL having children! He realized that his plan wasn’t working. Then his advisors told him that the person who would take the Yidden out of Mitzrayim would be born soon! So he came up with a new plan, to stop the Yidden from growing and to make sure that nobody would take the Yidden out of Mitzrayim. He would kill all of the baby boys, and take the girls away so they wouldn’t know they were Yidden. Paraoh called the Yiddishe midwives (women who help Mommies have babies), Shifra (Yocheved, Amram’s wife) and Puah (Miriam, their daughter). Paraoh told Shifra and Puah to kill all of the Yiddishe baby boys, and only to let the baby girls live. Of course Shifra and Puah didn’t listen! They helped the baby boys to stay healthy instead. |
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Today’s shiur Tehillim is kapitelach Ayin-Zayin and Ayin-Ches. In Kapitel Ayin-Ches, which is in today’s Tehillim, there is a posuk that says “Vayakem Eidus BeYaakov, VeSora Sam BeYisroel” — “Hashem set up the Torah and mitzvos for Yaakov and Yisroel.” The kapitel continues that this was in order to pass it on to the next generations. Chassidus teaches that each one of the Avos has something different and special about them, which they passed on to every single Yid. (For example, Avraham Avinu passed on his koach of chesed and Hachnosas Orchim, being kind to others and teaching them about Hashem.) In this posuk, which speaks about Torah, we mention the name of Yaakov and Yisroel, the third of the Avos. Yaakov Avinu’s special koach was in learning Torah day and night. Yaakov is called a “Yoshev Ohalim,” someone who sits in the tent of Torah! The Torah tells us how Yaakov Avinu spent many years working very hard for his parnasa and to raise a family. Still, he made sure to use his time whenever he could to say Shir Hamaalos and to learn Torah! When things were easier too, like his last seventeen years in Mitzrayim, Yaakov Avinu also used that time in the best way, learning Torah with his children and grandchildren. He passed on this koach of being dedicated to learning Torah to each and every one of us. |
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In today’s Tanya, we learn the secret power that the beinoni has which gives him the koach to ALWAYS win in the war against the Yetzer Hara! A beinoni is someone who is like a rasha in the way he feels, but like a tzadik in the way he acts. Only during special times, like davening, he is able to feel like a tzadik! Through proper davening, his neshama becomes stronger and puts the Nefesh Habehamis to sleep, so it can’t bother him with rasha-like feelings. After davening, though, the Nefesh Habehamis wakes up again and makes the beinoni have feelings like a rasha again. In the beinoni, both nefashos are equally as strong, and they are both fighting all the time. So how does the beinoni ALWAYS make the Nefesh Elokis win? The answer is that Hashem made people with a special koach built in. The Zohar calls this koach “Moach Shalit Al Halev,” that Hashem gives the koach for the mind to be in control. Even when a person has a taava, he is able to choose not to think about it. The mind is stronger, so the person can decide to do something else and not pay attention to the taava. (If a person gets too used to doing the taava, they can lose this koach until they do a proper teshuvah, like we’ll learn later.) This koach works even if the reason a person decides not to listen to a taava is because it isn’t healthy or good for him. The koach of Moach Shalit Al Halev is even stronger if a person chooses not to listen to a taava because they don’t want to do an aveira. Why is it stronger if a person chooses to be in control for kedusha reasons, because he wants his neshama to be in charge? We can understand this from what Shlomo Hamelech says in Koheles, “Vera’isi Sheyesh Yisron Lachochmah Min Hasichlus, Keyisron Ha’or Min Hachoshech.” “I’ve seen that chochmah (the Nefesh Elokis, which is called a chochom) has a maalah over foolishness (the Nefesh Habehamis, which is called a foolish king), like the maalah that light has over darkness.” What is the maalah of light over darkness? It is so much stronger that it doesn’t even need to fight! You only need a little bit of light to push away A LOT of darkness, and it happens automatically! If you put even a tiny candle in a big dark room, the whole room isn’t dark anymore! The same is true with the Nefesh Elokis and the Nefesh Habehamis: If a person wants to be in control of the taava of the Nefesh Habehamis because that’s what Hashem wants, then this koach of Moach Shalit Al Halev has a much stronger impact than it would if he was doing it for other reasons. So how does the beinoni do it? He uses his Moach Shalit Al Halev for kedusha reasons, and that has such a tremendous koach, that his every Machshava, Dibur, and Maaseh are the way Hashem wants! |
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The Rebbe points out a correction in a maamar from Torah Ohr for Parshas Vayechi. The Frierdiker Rebbe said: “Yidden, listen carefully! Now is the time for Moshiach to come! All of the sad things happening in the world are because Moshiach is so close. Remember that only Hashem will save us — and it is only because we will do teshuva! Let us do teshuva and prepare ourselves and our families to be Mekabel Pnei Moshiach Tzidkeinu, who will come bekarov mamosh!” |
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Since we are learning a set of halachos that doesn’t have its own mitzvah, Hilchos Keilim, we are reviewing other mitzvos from Sefer Tahara, since keilim can also get these kinds of tumah! Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #106) is about a Zavah — a woman who has a specific tumah that comes from her body. This mitzvah is that we need to follow the halachos of when she becomes Tomei, and what else she makes Tomei. Even though it is important to know this mitzvah and its halachos always, as part of Torah, it was actually kept when we had a Beis Hamikdash, since someone tomei is not allowed to go into the Beis Hamikdash or eat from the korbanos! |
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In today’s Rambam, we learn about clay keilim and when they can become Tomei. In Perek Yud-Ches we learn that a clay keili is only tomei if it is a Klei Kibul — it has a place to hold things inside. Perek Yud-Tes teaches us about when a clay keili is broken — when are the pieces big enough that they are counted as their own keilim, so they can still become tomei? Perek Chof is about things that are attached to a clay keili, to know when they are counted as a keili by themselves. |
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more halachos about how a Beis Din should decide when people come with an argument about money. The Beis Din can only force the person to make a shevuah if they know exactly how much they disagree about. So if one person says, “You borrowed a wallet full of coins,” and the other person says, “you only gave me 10 coins,” then he doesn’t have to make a shevuah, since we don’t know how many coins were in the wallet. But if one person says, “You borrowed this bag of grain filled to the top,” and the other person says, “it was only filled to this line when you gave it to me,” then he DOES have to make a shevuah, since that is like a measurement. |
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After a week of celebration following Hey Teves in 5747, the Rebbe told us that we need to start getting ready for Yud Shevat, with the help of a mashpia — Asei Lecha Rav! But what’s a mashpia? A mashpia is someone who has more Yiras Shomayim and more experience in life than we do. We can report to our mashpia how we are doing in Avodas Hashem so that we will know that someone knows what we are doing, which will help us feel a push to do more. A mashpia can also help us if we’re not sure about something. Should I take on a hachlata to learn extra Tanya, or to give extra tzedakah? Is it okay to read a book about non-kosher animals? Should I be Maavir Sedra after I clean my room, or offer to help my mother set the table? The Rebbe said that children should also have a mashpia — mashpios for girls, and mashpiim for boys. See Likutei Sichos vol. 29 p. 247 |
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In the first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei, we mention the zechus of the Avos, so that with their zechus, Hashem should answer our tefillos. R’ Shimon ben Lakish once explained that the words of first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei are based on a promise Hashem made to Avraham Avinu when he left his father’s house in Parshas Lech Lecha. When Hashem promised, “I will make you a great nation,” Hashem was hinting that the Yidden would mention him in the first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei, “Elokei Avraham.” When Hashem said, “I will bentch you,” He was hinting that the Yidden would mention his son, “Elokei Yitzchak.” And when Hashem said, “Va’agadla Shemecha,” “I will make your name great,” this was hinting to mentioning the name of Avraham’s grandson, Yaakov, as well — “Veilokei Yaakov.” That is why we say the names of each of the Avos separately in the first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei — Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, Ve’ilokei Yaakov. But the end of the bracha does not again say the names of all of the Avos. Hashem told Avraham, “Veheyei Bracha” — “YOU will be a bracha.” This first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei mentions all of the Avos, but ends only with the name of Avraham Avinu, “Magein Avraham.” See Gemara Pesachim 117b |
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We are learning some of the halachos of washing our hands for bread. Today we will learn about shifshuf. After carefully washing our hands with plenty of water, making sure it reached every part of our hands, we hold a little bit of water in the palm of the hand we just washed (our left hand) and go on to the next part of Netilas Yodayim. We hold our hands up to our heart, and make the bracha. Then we rub our hands together with the little bit of water that is left. This is called “shifshuf.” Shifshuf is part of the mitzvah of Netilas Yodayim, to make our hands extra tahor. Usually, we say a bracha BEFORE doing a mitzvah, but the Chachomim didn’t want us to make a bracha right before our hands are tahor. Instead, we say the bracha afterwards. But the best way to say the bracha is before doing shifshuf, so that the bracha is still at least before doing PART of the mitzvah. (If we forget, we can say the bracha even after drying our hands.) Seder Netilas Yodayim L’seudah, se’if daled |
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לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק ע״ה בן ר׳ אפרים שי׳ מאסקאוויץ
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The Baal Shem Tov says, “Bemakom Shemachshavto Shel Adam, Sham Hu Nimtza.” “Where a person’s thoughts are, that’s where he is. This helps us understand why it’s so important to learn about the Geulah! When we are thinking about the Geulah, then in a certain way, we are already there! By having our thoughts and our Ratzon in the time of the Geulah, we will also be excited to do whatever we can to make it happen sooner! So learning about the Geulah also gives us the koach to speed up bringing the Geulah for all the Yidden. See Parshas Balak 5743 |
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לע"נ התינוק זאב ארי' ע"ה בן יבלט"א הרה"ח ר' שניאור זלמן שי' גליק
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