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CHUMASH
Parshas Vaeira - Shishi with Rashi
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Paraoh ignored the warning, and Hashem made the makah of Arov. Paraoh still didn’t let the Yidden go, and Hashem had to send two more makos — Dever and Shechin. Paraoh’s magicians realized it was a neis from Hashem, but Paraoh was still stubborn.
Makas Arov (wild animals) continued:
We started to learn yesterday about the fourth makah, Makas Arov.
Paraoh didn’t listen to Moshe’s warning, so Hashem had to send the wild animals, the makah of Arov. They went all over Mitzrayim and hurt people and broke things — but they didn’t go into Goshen, where the Yidden lived.
Paraoh was very scared and he was almost ready to let the Yidden go bring korbanos to Hashem in the Midbar like Moshe and Aharon told him to. But once Moshe davened for the wild animals to disappear, he changed his mind again and wouldn’t let the Yidden go.
5: Makas Dever (animal epidemic)
Hashem told Moshe to warn Paraoh that if he doesn’t free the Yidden, there would be another makah — that all the animals outside would get sick and die.
Paraoh ignored the warning, but some Mitzriyim knew by now that they should listen! So they brought their animals inside, so they would be safe from this makah. All of the other animals died — except any animals belonging to Yidden.
Paraoh asked if any of the Yidden’s animals died, and his servants told him that they didn’t. Paraoh STILL decided not to listen to Hashem and let the Yidden go!
6: Makas Shechin (boils)
Moshe and Aharon warned Paraoh that if he didn’t listen to Hashem, he would get another makah, but again Paraoh didn’t want to hear. So Hashem told Moshe and Aharon to each take two handfuls of ashes from an oven, and then have MOSHE hold all of the ashes in one fist. It was a neis that Moshe was able to hold four handfuls in just one fist!
Moshe threw it up to the sky while Paraoh was watching, and it was enough to turn into dust that would spread over the whole Mitzrayim. As it landed on whoever was outside (people or animals), it made a rash that hurt them a lot.
Even though it looked like it might be a magic trick to throw up ashes, what happened now was too big of a neis for it to be magic! Paraoh’s magicians had to admit that it was only Hashem who could do it.
But since Paraoh was still not letting the Yidden go, Hashem hardened Paraoh’s heart.
7: Makas Barad (hail)
Moshe and Aharon didn’t WARN Paraoh this time, they just TOLD him that the next makah was coming. They told Paraoh that Hashem could have killed him in one of the other makos, but he is staying alive so he will have to admit in the end that Hashem is in charge.
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Today’s Tehillim is kapitelach Kuf-Chof to Kuf-Lamed-Daled, the 15 Shir Hamaalos!
In the Tehillim Ohel Yosef Yitzchok, before each kapitel there is a short paragraph telling us the message of that kapitel.
In the paragraph before Kapitel Kuf-Chof, the first kapitel of Tehillim for today, it says that in this kapitel, Dovid Hamelech tells people who speak Lashon Hara how terrible this aveira is, that it is even more dangerous than weapons.
In Parshas Shemos, we learned that Moshe Rabbeinu was also very upset about Lashon Hara. When he heard that Yidden were speaking Lashon Hara, he was afraid that it could Chas Veshalom keep them from getting the Geulah!
Why was Moshe so scared about Lashon Hara? The Yidden might have been doing much bigger aveiros than that!
The Rebbe explains that the Geulah from Mitzrayim was meant to bring the Yidden together to become one nation — Hashem’s nation. Instead of being just a big group of separate people, now they would become Am Yisroel!
But Lashon Hara, saying not-nice things about others, makes people feel unhappy with each other. They don’t want to be together anymore. Instead of being together as one, they feel like separate people who aren’t connected to each other.
That’s why Moshe was so worried about the Yidden speaking Lashon Hara — how could they have the Geulah and become one nation if they didn’t want to be together?
In this kapitel also, Dovid Hamelech warns people who speak Lashon Hara how dangerous it is. We can learn from this kapitel to be careful to only say nice things about each other!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Lamed-Alef p. 8
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Yud-Zayin
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On the Shaar Blatt of Tanya, the Alter Rebbe told us that the Tanya is based on the posuk (which is one of the Yud-Beis Pesukim!) “Ki Karov Eilecha Hadavar Meod, Beficha Uvilvavcha Laasoso — It is very close to you (possible), in your mouth and your heart to do it.”
How can we say that it’s very close IN OUR HEARTS? We can understand that it is very possible to DO what Hashem wants. We can speak words of Torah, we can even be careful what we think about in our minds. But how can we control what goes on in our hearts, to control how we FEEL?
Do you know how you love your mother and father, your brothers and sisters, or your best friend? You might love them because they’re your family, but to feel it more, you can think about how special they are, how much they do for you, and how much you like being around them. And even if they’re not there, you can really feel how you love them.
Tzadikim can love Hashem as much as we love our parents, but not every beinoni can. A Beinoni knows he SHOULD love Hashem, but he can’t feel it the same way a Tzadik can. (Every Yid has a natural love for Hashem — just because he’s a Yid. But it’s hidden.) So how can a beinoni serve Hashem “bilvavcha,” with his heart? It doesn’t seem practical for every Yid!
The Alter Rebbe explains that for a beinoni, you don’t have to FEEL that kind of love. You just need to be mature enough in your Yiddishkeit to appreciate your connection with Hashem and be motivated to do what Hashem wants you to do. In Tanya that’s called the Ahava of Laasoso — it’s just enough motivation to get you to act like the Yid you’re supposed to be.
The Alter Rebbe gives a mashal to explain this inyan from Tanya in a different maamar:
Some adults LOVE their jobs. They are so excited to go work every morning! But most people don’t love what they do. They don’t hate it, but it doesn’t get them excited. So why do they do it? They know that it’s important, they know that they need to get paid for their job, and they also know that people are depending on them. In their mind they appreciate it, so even if they are feeling lazy or not in the mood, they show maturity. They may not be excited, but what they know motivates them to do the right thing.
The same thing is with Yiddishkeit for a beinoni! Even if the beinoni is feeling lazy or not in the mood, he can still serve Hashem “bilvavecha.” If he learned in Chassidus that it’s important for his neshama to be connected to Hashem through davening, learning, or doing mitzvos, that will motivate him later, even when he’s not in the mood. For a beinoni, acting the way Hashem wants because of this Ruchnius maturity which he gets from learning Chassidus or going to a farbrengen or davening, is counted as serving Hashem with his heart.
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In today’s Hayom Yom we learn a vort from the Alter Rebbe:
Hashem has an ongoing deal with Yidden: We need our gashmius’dike things that only Hashem can give us (like health, money, and nachas). Hashem needs us to bring Yiddishkeit, Torah and mitzvos, into the world — ruchnius!
The problem is that we can’t do our ruchnius unless Hashem gives us the gashmius.
So this is the deal: Hashem gives us the gashmius, and then, we use it to do the things Hashem wants, and the gashmius becomes ruchnius. Then a Yid’s Gashmius IS Ruchnius!
Sometimes, though, Hashem gives a person only a little bit of gashmius. Then, it’s HARDER to make Ruchnius, and we might not be able to give Hashem as much! Still, if we are able to at least give Hashem something small (like the Minchas Ani, the korban a poor person would bring to Hashem in the Beis Hamikdash), that will make Hashem very happy.
Then Hashem will give us A LOT of gashmius and we will be able to make from it A LOT of ruchnius.
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Today we learn two mitzvos about stealing:
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #244) is that we are not allowed to steal!
We learn this from a posuk in Parshas Kedoshim, that says: לֹא תִּגְנֹבוּ
The mitzvah is explained in Perek Zayin of Mesechta Bava Kama.
2) (Mitzvas Asei #239) is that we need to follow the halachos about how to judge and punish a thief. Sometimes the thief needs to pay back double what he stole, or even four or five times what he stole! If a thief doesn’t have enough money to pay back what he stole, he is sold as a slave.
The halachos of this mitzvah are explained in Perek Zayin of Mesechta Bava Kama, Perek Ches of Mesechta Sanhedrin, Perek Gimmel of Bava Metziah, and a few places in Kesubos, Kiddushin, and Shevuos.
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In today’s Rambam, we start learning a new set of halachos, about Geneivah — stealing. There are going to be 9 perakim (so we will be learning this for the next 3 days) and they will teach us about not stealing (the first 6 perakim), cheating (the next 2 perakim), or kidnaping (the last perek). There are 7 mitzvos that Hilchos Geneivah will teach us about.
Perek Alef talks about what it means to steal. We are not allowed to steal ANYTHING, not even a tiny thing, and not from anyone — not from even a little kid! We aren’t allowed to take their things for a joke, or even if we are planning on giving them back later!
Perek Beis explains the halachos of when someone does or doesn’t need to pay the “knas” — double (like if he didn’t tell the truth that he stole) or 5 times as much (like if he stole an animal and killed it).
In Perek Gimmel we learn halachos for the Beis Din, about when a person does something that might make him not have to pay the “knas” — like if he did an even bigger aveira, and needs to be punished for that instead; or if he admitted that he stole, so he doesn’t need to pay back extra; or if he doesn’t have money to pay.
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Sometimes the Beis Din shouldn’t trust people — like if someone was a witness for another person selling a field, he can’t later come to the Beis Din and say that the field was stolen from him! If the field had really been stolen from him, he wouldn’t have been a witness for the other person selling it.
The last halacha of this set teaches us to be very careful not to lie in Beis Din, even when it is to get the money back to the right people!
Mazel Tov! We have now finished learning this set of halachos!
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One night, when the Rebbe was in Vienna, he went into a shul to daven. While he was there, he put some money into a tzedakah pushka.
A knowledgable young man came over to him, and said, “How can you do such a thing? It says in Kisvei HoArizal not to give tzedakah at night!”
Later the Rebbe told the Frierdiker Rebbe what had happened. The Frierdiker Rebbe said, “That person probably doesn’t give tzedakah during the day either...”
The lesson the Rebbe learns from this is that sometimes when we want to do something good, people can say that we shouldn’t do it since we’re not doing it 100% right. But probably that’s because they aren’t doing enough themselves, not because of the excuses they are giving! So we should never let that stop us, and keep doing more good things, even if people tell us it’s not perfect!
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TEFILLAH
First Three Brachos of Shemoneh Esrei
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The first three brachos of Shemoneh Esrei are Shevach, praise for Hashem.
Usually when we praise someone, we don’t just say a few words, we say a lot of things and describe what is good and special about them.
In Shemoneh Esrei, we are talking privately straight to Hashem. The Chachomim teach us that to speak to Hashem with the proper kavod, we say things in short.
But if we look at Pesukei Dezimra which we say before Shemoneh Esrei, we see these same praises of Hashem, but with many many details! So when we say these first three brachos, even though we only say a few words, we are able to think about the praise of Hashem with all of the details that we said before Shemoneh Esrei.
See Maadanei Yom Tov on the Rosh, Mesechta Brachos daf Lamed-Beis Amud Alef
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The next thing we will be learning in halacha are some of the dinim of Kiddush and Havdalah.
When a person is making Kiddush, he first looks at the Shabbos candles, the neiros.
Why?
The Chachomim teach us that there is a certain thing that a person might do which takes away Tof-Kuf (1/500th) of their eyesight. So a person should look at the two Shabbos candles, since the Gematria of “ner” (candle) is 250, and two together is 500. Looking at the 500 of the neiros is a segulah for fixing the 1/500th of a person’s koach of seeing!
But we don’t look at the neiros WHILE we make Kiddush. During the bracha of Kiddush itself, we need to look at the kos of Kiddush. We only look at it right before we make Kiddush.
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, Siman Reish-Ayin-Alef, se’if Yud-Tes
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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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When the Yidden came out of Mitzrayim, another wonderful thing happened: The Mitzriyim also recognized Hashem and realized that only Hashem runs the world!
But in that Geulah, it only happened through painful Makos.
When Moshiach comes, the Geulah will be in a complete way! The whole world will recognize Hashem — but this time, without Makos, only in a pleasant way!
Likutei Sichos chelek Chof-Hey p. 189
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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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