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CHUMASH
Parshas Terumah - Sheini with Rashi
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Yesterday we learned about the Aron. Today we learn about the cover of the Aron (the Kapores) and the Shulchan.
Hashem tells Moshe Rabbeinu to make the cover for the Aron, called the Kapores. The Kapores should be made out of a thick piece of gold.
On the Kapores, there should be Keruvim, that look like malochim with the face of little children. They will be facing each other and have their wings spread over the Kapores. But Moshe shouldn’t make the two keruvim and then attach them to the Kapores — instead he should use one piece of gold and make the whole Kapores with the Keruvim from that piece.
Hashem will speak to Moshe from between the two Keruvim, telling him everything that needs to be told to the Yidden!
Hashem also tells Moshe to make the Shulchan, a special table for the Mishkan. It should be made of wood and covered with gold! It will have shelves to hold 12 loaves of Lechem Hapanim.
The Lechem Hapanim (“face bread”) is a kind of bread with a shape that looks a little bit like both sides are facing and looking at each other! Even though the Lechem Hapanim is called bread, it will be made the way we make matzah, so it isn’t chometz.
Hashem tells Moshe never to leave the Shulchan empty — every week a fresh batch of Lechem Hapanim should be put on the Shulchan.
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In today’s Tehillim, there is a posuk, “Tikon Tefilasi Ketores Lefanecha” — “I bring my davening before Hashem like Ketores!”
(The Rambam chooses this posuk to put at the beginning of his sefer about korbanos.)
The Rebbe teaches us that when the kohen brings the ketores, nobody else is allowed to be there — it’s just the kohen bringing the ketores to Hashem. The same thing is when we daven — it’s private, between us and Hashem!
Also, the word ketores is like the word “Kesher” (in Aramaic, “Ketar”) — a connection. Davening is one of the ways we make a special connection with Hashem.
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Chof-Tes
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The Alter Rebbe is giving an eitzah for a beinoni, who is on a high level of Avodas Hashem, but can still have something called Timtum Halev.
Sometimes the Yetzer Hara is feeling very comfortable and full of gaavah. This can block the beinoni from being able to open his heart to serve Hashem in davening, or to fight with the Yetzer Hara to use gashmius things only for kedusha.
The Alter Rebbe gave the beinoni an eitzah from the Zohar, using a mashal from lighting a fire. Just like a big piece of wood that isn’t burning needs to be cut into pieces so that it can burn, a beinoni’s Yetzer Hara also needs to be “cut into pieces” by thinking humble thoughts to make it smaller, so that the kedusha of the neshama can shine into the body.
Some of the humble thoughts that the Alter Rebbe tells the beinoni to use are actually thoughts we used before to encourage us! But since now the beinoni needs to bring himself to feel humble, he should think about them in a way to make the Yetzer Hara feel less proud of itself.
Since a beinoni is not the level of a tzadik who made his Yetzer Hara to become kedusha, his Yetzer Hara is still there and is a very big part of who he is.
Since the Yetzer Hara is able to want to do things which are against what Hashem wants, remembering just the fact that he HAS a Yetzer Hara will already make him feel less proud of himself. Especially if this person listened to his Yetzer Hara and did actual aveiros before he became a beinoni, remembering about his Yetzer Hara will make him feel humble.
Once the Yetzer Hara was crushed into pieces by thinking humble thoughts, the neshama is able to shine! This way the Chassidus he thinks about during davening can shine in his heart, and he will be full of energy to fight the Yetzer Hara and to use Gashmius only for kedusha.
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The Alter Rebbe teaches something very special about Rashi:
What Rashi teaches in Chumash is like the Yeina Shel Torah (wine of Torah)! When we learn Rashi on Chumash, it opens our heart! Just like wine can make a person say secrets, when we learn Rashi, the wine of Torah, it makes the “secrets” in ourselves come out too — the Ahavas Hashem (love for Hashem) and Yiras Hashem (fear of Hashem) that are hidden inside of us!
When we learn Rashi on Gemara, it opens our mind! What Rashi teaches in Gemara makes the sechel atzmi (wisdom) in ourselves become revealed!
In the Rebbe’s Rashi sichos, the Rebbe would first explain in detail how to understand the peshat, the plain meaning of Rashi. Then, based on this Hayom Yom, the Rebbe would add lessons in Avodas Hashem that bring us to Ahavas Hashem and Yiras Hashem — the “Yeina Shel Torah.”
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #236) is the same mitzvah again in Sefer Hamitzvos: If someone hurts somebody else, or does something that makes them get hurt, they need to pay them back for five things: That they’re not worth as much, for the pain that they had, for their doctor bills, for the time they couldn’t go to work, and for their being embarrassed.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn a bunch of halachos about neighbors. There are some things you CAN do even if your neighbors don’t like it, and other things that you CAN’T do because they bother someone else.
In Perek Daled we learn about upstairs and downstairs neighbors who share a house or part of a mountain garden. One halacha is that if the house falls down, the person downstairs HAS to build his part of the house so that the upstairs neighbor can build his. If he doesn’t, the upstairs neighbor can build the bottom floor and live there himself until his neighbor pays him back for all of his work.
Perek Hey teaches us about people who share a courtyard. There are many halachos that teach us about privacy. For example, we can’t build a new window that faces the courtyard, because then we can look at our neighbors all the time and see what they are doing.
In Perek Vov, we learn about people who share a city or a road. We learn that if there is something that the city needs, everyone who lives there has to help pay for it.
One thing that you can do even if the other people don’t like it is to teach kinderlach Torah — even if they are noisy and the neighbors don’t like the noise!
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We learn about judging fairly. If no witnesses SAW the person doing the aveira, even if it’s obvious that he did it, we can’t punish him. And if someone was forced to do an aveira, he can’t get punished by the Beis Din either. But we shouldn’t have rachmonus on someone and not punish him if he deserves it!
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In the times of the Beis Hamikdash, the Gemara says that the Keruvim were facing each other. That showed the love Hashem and the Yidden had for each other! One of the Keruvim was like Hashem showing us His love, and the second Keruv was like us showing our love back to Hashem!
With Ruach Hakodesh, Shlomo Hamelech says in Shir Hashirim that the Yidden say to Hashem during Golus, “Mi Yitencha Ka’Ach Li?” “Who will be like a (loving) brother to me?” When will Moshiach come when we will be able to see how much Hashem loves us?
We need to wait until Moshiach comes to feel how Hashem loves us in the way we felt it in the Beis Hamikdash, when the Keruvim were facing each other. Still, when we learn Torah, it is a way that we can feel Hashem’s love! Whether we’re learning by ourselves or in Yeshiva, all day or just a little bit when we have time, we can feel the love for Hashem a little bit like the way it was able to be felt in the Beis Hamikdash all the time.
See Torah Ohr Parshas Terumah
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We started Shemoneh Esrei with a posuk, “Hashem Sefasai Tiftach,” that Hashem should open our lips and our mouths should say Hashem’s praise.
The Gemara tells us that we also finish off Shemoneh Esrei with a posuk. After we finish the last bracha, we say “Yihiyu Leratzon,” asking Hashem that our tefillos should be accepted.
Yihiyu Leratzon Imrei Fi — the words I said, whether or not I had kavana, should be pleasant for Hashem
Vehegyon Libi Lefanecha — as well as the thoughts I had during davening.
Hashem Tzuri Vego’ali — Hashem is my strength and the One Who brings me Geulah.
In so many parts of davening we finish off by talking about Geulah, so we finish off with Geulah here too!
After this we will add another tefillah which comes from the Gemara, and then again finish off with this posuk. We will IY”H learn more about it tomorrow.
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There are four mitzvos of Purim, and many other halachos and minhagim. It is very important for us to keep them all. But the Rebbe teaches us that we need to have Ahavas Yisroel and make sure other Yidden can keep these mitzvos too!
Over the years, the Rebbe spoke about Purim mivtzoyim many times! Here is a collection of some of the things the Rebbe told us about:
1) Teach about Purim: We should make sure that people are able to learn more about Purim! We should not only teach about the halachos of Purim, but about the Ruchnius’dike meaning of Purim. Some ways to do this are by teaching classes, and including information about Purim in things we give or send out.
2) Do at least the easy mitzvos: Some of the mitzvos of Purim are very easy for almost ANYONE to do, like giving Shalach Manos and Matanos L’evyonim. We should make sure we are getting as many people as possible to do these mitzvos — including children! Some ways to do this are by bringing coins and a pushka along with us, and having people GIVE (not just get) Shalach Manos.
3) Help people do the harder mitzvos properly: If someone is ready to hear the Megillah, we should make sure they have a Baal Korei who can lein it the way halacha teaches!
4) Spread Simchas Purim: It is a mitzvah to be happy on Purim! So even if a person isn’t able to do the mitzvos, at least they should be happy! Especially in a place where there isn’t much happiness, like in a hospital or nursing home or prison, we should share the joy of Purim so they can celebrate it too!
Based on Sichos of Purim throughout the years — see Otzar Minhagei Chabad, Purim
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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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The Rebbe told us to learn the parts of Chumash that talk about the Mishkan with more explanations from the Gemara and other parts of Torah. By learning and understanding what the Torah says about the Mishkan, which is the foundation for the Beis Hamikdash, it will make Hashem build the Beis Hamikdash Hashlishi faster!
One of the pesukim in today’s Chumash says, “Lechem Hapanim Lefonai Tomid” — the Lechem Hapanim should always be on the Shulchan, in front of Hashem.
The Medrash says that the Lechem Hapanim was a kapara that brought the Yidden forgiveness from Hashem.
So what would be their kapara when there is no Mishkan or Beis Hamikdash? What will bring Hashem to forgive the Yidden?
The Medrash answers that Torah is compared to lechem, bread. When Yidden are busy with learning Torah, it will be like putting Lechem Hapanim on the Shulchan in the Mishkan, and bring the Yidden a kapara even in the time of Golus!
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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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