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CHUMASH
Parshas Ki Sisa - Rishon with Rashi
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Today’s Chumash is extra-long! We will see IY”H in tomorrow’s Chumash why.
In today’s Chumash we finish learning Hashem’s instructions of how to build the Mishkan. We learn about the Machatzis Hashekel, the Kiyor, the Shemen Hamishcha and Ketores, and who should build the Mishkan. Even after learning all about the Mishkan, we learn that the Yidden need to rest on Shabbos and not build it then.
First, we learn about the Machatzis Hashekel.
The order of the way things are written in the Torah are not always the order they actually happened in. Later in this week’s parsha, we will learn about how after Matan Torah, the Yidden did the Cheit Ha’eigel and how Hashem forgave them. But really, what we will learn now about the Machatzis Hashekel happened AFTER the Cheit Ha’eigel!
Hashem forgave the Yidden on Yom Kippur, and gave Moshe Rabbeinu the second set of luchos. Then Hashem was ready to show His love to the Yidden again! Hashem asked Moshe to count the Yidden who didn’t die from the plague that happened after the Cheit Ha’eigel (which we will learn about later), and asked that the Yidden should build a Mishkan where Hashem can rest among them.
The way the Yidden should be counted then is by every Yid giving a half-shekel coin, a Machatzis Hashekel, which will be counted to see how many Yidden there are. The coins will be used for the Mishkan. Counting this way will also keep the Yidden from getting an Ayin Hara, which can come from counting people directly.
The Yidden actually were told to give a terumah (donation) THREE times for the Mishkan! First was the terumah we learned about in Parshas Terumah, where the Yidden were told to give the materials, like gold, silver and copper, to build the Mishkan with. Then there is this terumah, the Machatzis Hashekel, which will be used to make the silver Adanim (sockets) on the bottom of the Mishkan’s walls. The third terumah is when the Yidden will be counted again using a Machatzis Hashekel, on Rosh Chodesh Iyar, a month after the Mishkan is put up. Those coins will be used to pay for the korbanos brought for all of the Yidden, the Korbanos Tzibur. (We’ll learn about this at the beginning of Chumash Bamidbar!) These three terumos are hinted to in this week’s parsha, and in Parshas Terumah, where the word terumah is used in both places three times!
Hashem showed Moshe Rabbeinu a half-shekel made of fire. This helped Moshe understand that when the Yidden do this mitzvah, they are doing it “with fire,” with their whole heart! This will help them be forgiven for the Cheit Ha’eigel.
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Now we learn about the Kiyor:
Before the kohanim start working in the Mishkan, they need to wash their hands AND their feet. To do this, there is a special container of water called the Kiyor. It has two places for water to come out — one for the kohen to wash his right hand and foot, and the other for the kohen to wash his left hand and foot. A kohen is not allowed to go into the Mishkan or do Avodah on the Mizbeiach outside of the Mishkan before he washes his hands and feet from the Kiyor.
Next we learn about the Shemen Hamish’cha:
Hashem tells Moshe how to make the Shemen Hamish’cha (anointing oil), the special oil that is used to get something ready for a holy job. It is olive oil mixed with certain spices (some of the same ones that are used in the Ketores). Moshe will smear some of the Shemen Hamish’cha on the Mishkan and its tools and furniture, and on the Kohanim. When they are smeared with the Shemen Hamish’cha, they become holy and can do their special job for Hashem. It is asur to use the Shemen Hamish’cha for any other reason.
Now we learn about the Ketores:
Hashem gives Moshe the recipe for making the Ketores which should burned on the Mizbeiach Hazahav (golden Mizbeiach) in the Mishkan. There are 11 spices (not all of them are written in the Torah). We count them every day in Korbanos in the beginning of davening! One of the spices (the Chelbenah) does not smell good, to remind us that even a Yid who acts in not such a nice way (chas veshalom) is allowed to daven with us!
Now Hashem tells Moshe who gets the job of building the Mishkan: Hashem says that He will fill up Betzalel with the spirit of Hashem and with wisdom to know how to build and carve and weave all sorts of things needed for the building of the Mishkan! (Betzalel was from Shevet Yehudah, the grandson of Chur, who was killed during the Cheit Ha’egel.) Together with Betzalel will be Oholiav (from Shevet Dan), and Hashem will also give wisdom to many others who will help build the Mishkan.
Finally, Hashem tells Moshe Rabbeinu to tell the Yidden that even though the Yidden are very excited to build the Mishkan, they still need to rest on Shabbos.
Because the Torah connects these two things, working on the Mishkan and resting on Shabbos, we also learn that any kind of work done to build the Mishkan is asur on Shabbos. The Chachomim teach us that there are 39 kinds of work to build the Mishkan, and that’s why there are 39 melachos that are asur on Shabbos! Do you know some of them?
The last few pesukim of today’s Chumash, that teach us about resting on Shabbos, are part of Shmoneh Esrei on Shabbos and are in Kiddush for Shabbos day!
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The first kapitel of today’s Tehillim, Kapitel Samach-Vov, speaks about the way we will thank Hashem when all the Yidden will be brought to Eretz Yisroel!
The first posuk says that the world will sing a song — “Horiu L’Elokim Kol Ha’aretz!” (The whole world will blow a trumpet for Hashem!) When Moshiach will come, all of the nations of the world will believe in Hashem!
To make this happen very soon, we need to make sure that the Goyim know about the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach, which will teach them to believe in Hashem.
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Lamed-Gimmel
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Today we learn something very special that happens when we have the simcha we learned about yesterday!
One of the Neviim, Chavakuk, said: “Tzadik Be’emunaso Yichyeh” — a tzadik lives with his emunah.
The Gemara tells us that with these words, Chavakuk was summarizing the entire Torah. By doing the mitzvah of emunah, a Yid can keep ALL of the mitzvos!
What is this emunah?
As we learned, every Yid believes that there is nothing except for Hashem. When we pay attention to this, by thinking about the mashalim Chassidus brings to explain it (like we learned yesterday), we will feel that Hashem is with us! This will bring us a tremendous simcha, which will give us the koach to overcome ANYTHING that tries to stop us from doing mitzvos and connecting to Hashem!
Sometimes there are things bother us. They can be from inside of ourselves, or from someone or something else. But with the simcha and bitachon we have from knowing that Hashem is always with us, it will keep anything from getting in our way of living the way Hashem wants us to!
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The Hayom Yom was written for a year where there were TWO Adars (a Shana Me’uberes). This year there is only ONE Adar (a Shanah Peshutah), so we learn BOTH Hayom Yoms every day!
Yud-Beis Adar Alef
When we look around, we see a lot of important and famous people. There are rich people, and there are smart people. We might be jealous of them, and also want to be rich or famous. But in today’s Hayom Yom, the Rebbe shows us what gives us true importance!
Who is really the MOST important kind of person?
Someone who is gives of himself to strengthen Yiddishkeit — like someone who helps Yidden to do mitzvos, someone who gives tzedakah, teaches Yiddishe kinderlach, or goes on mivtzoyim!
THESE are the really special and famous people, and they get a lot of brachos from Hashem for what they are doing.
This is the meaning of what Shlomo Hamelech says in his sefer, Mishlei: “Matan Adam Yarchiv Lo, Velifnei Gedolim Yanchenu.”
The posuk could be translated to mean: “Matan Adam,” when a person gives of himself (to strengthen Yiddishkeit), “Yarchiv Lo,” (not only) will he be blessed with harchava, (but) “Velifnei Gedolim Yanchenu,” he will be led in front of great people, (even in front of people that are known for their wisdom or riches).
Yud-Beis Adar Sheini
In yesterday’s Hayom Yom, we learned that Chassidus explains the deeper meaning of mitzvos and halachos, both in Ruchnius and in Avodah.
Today we see how Chassidus explains what the mitzvah of korbanos means in Avodah!
When the Torah teaches us about bringing korbanos, the first posuk is written in a different way than most pesukim are written. Instead of saying “when ONE OF YOU brings a korban,” it says “when someone brings FROM YOU a korban!” — “Adam Ki Yakriv Mikem...” So from the words of the posuk, it sounds like the PERSON is the korban!
In today’s Hayom Yom, we see that this is true!
A korban isn’t just about bringing an animal (beheima) onto the Mizbeiach, but a Yid can bring a korban for Hashem of himself, “Mikem.”
When we give our own beheimah, the Yetzer Hara which is called a beheima (the Nefesh Habehamis), to Hashem, that’s like bringing a korban!
How do we do this? We take things that our Nefesh Habehamis likes, and give them to Hashem.
For example, let’s say we like to play on the computer. If our parents ask us to do something, and we go off the computer to help them, that’s like a korban! We are taking what we want to do, and giving it away to Hashem by doing the mitzvah of Kibud Av Va’eim!
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Today in Sefer Hamitzvos, we learn another two mitzvos about eating while you’re working:
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #267) A worker can’t stop working to nosh on what he’s picking. Only after he finishes filling a basket and brings it to where it belongs can he take some grapes to eat on his way back to the field. This way he is not wasting time from work, and he’s only eating after his part of the work is done.
Even though we said yesterday that a worker can eat while he is working, he needs to make sure that he is eating only with these conditions!
This mitzvah comes from a posuk in Parshas Ki Seitzei: וְחֶרְמֵשׁ לֹא תָנִיף עַל קָמַת רֵעֶךָ
The halachos are explained in Perek Zayin of Mesechta Bava Metziah.
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #268) A worker can eat as much as he wants, but he can’t put any away for later. The food is just meant for him while he is working.
This mitzvah also comes from a posuk in Parshas Ki Seitzei: וְאָכַלְתָּ עֲנָבִים כְּנַפְשְׁךָ שָׂבְעֶךָ וְאֶל כֶּלְיְךָ לֹא תִתֵּן
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In today’s Rambam we learn more halachos about hiring workers.
In Perek Yud of today’s Rambam, we learn about when a worker is called a shomer, guarding something! If you pay a carpenter to fix your bookshelf, he is a shomer sachar, a paid guard. If it gets broken, he has to pay for it. But if he calls you and tells you to come pick it up because it is done, he is like a shomer chinam (an unpaid guard), and doesn’t have to pay for it unless he did something not responsible.
In Perek Yud-Alef, we learn about paying workers on time. We only need to pay once the work was done and we received it. So if someone ordered a piece of furniture, it is not counted as paying late until after he picked it up.
Perek Yud-Beis is about the mitzvos we learned in Sefer Hamitzvos today! One halacha is that these mitzvos are only with things that grow. So a person working in an ice cream store doesn’t have a mitzvah to be able to eat ice cream. (The ice cream store owner could let him eat anyway, though!)
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We are learning more about how the Beis Din makes sure a shtar can be trusted. Today we learn halachos about witnesses that a certain person signed a shtar.
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In the year Tof-Shin-Lamed-Ches, there were two Adars. In the Shabbos Mevorchim farbrengen for the second Adar, closer to Purim, the Rebbe spoke about how important it is to make sure kids are involved in Mivtza Purim! To explain why, the Rebbe told over something the Frierdiker Rebbe said, about the Baal Shem Tov:
When the Baal Shem Tov was still a hidden tzadik, he would travel around from one town to the next. One of the things the Baal Shem Tov would make sure to do in every town or village was to ask every Jew he found — men and women, adults and children — how they are doing. He would go over to them in shul, on the street, in their houses or stores. The Baal Shem Tov would ask them about their health, how their children were doing, and how their parnasa was.
The Baal Shem Tov was very happy to hear how they would all answer, praising Hashem in different ways. They would say “Boruch Hashem,” “Hashem helps,” “Hashem is the real doctor,” and other beautiful answers.
The men would praise Hashem that their families were healthy and that they had parnasa, the women would praise Hashem for their energy and for their children, and the children would praise Hashem for giving them parents who take care of everything they need and make sure they can learn Torah.
This was what the Baal Shem Tov wanted, to have all of these poshute Yidden praise Hashem. The Baal Shem Tov explained that this was the “parnasa” for Hashem!
The Rebbe points out that even though the Baal Shem Tov had so many important things to do, he would make time to go over to children so they could praise Hashem for everything. We see from here how important children are in Yiddishkeit! And now, so close to Purim, we should know that it is especially important for kids to be involved in the mitzvos of Purim and in Mivtza Purim!
See sicha Motzei Shabbos Parshas Vayakhel, Tof-Shin-Lamed-Ches, Sefer Hamaamarim Yiddish maamar “Ve’ata Kadosh Yosheiv Tehillos Yisroel”
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Did you wonder why we learn so much about davening? It’s only one mitzvah!
There are some mitzvos that aren’t JUST one of the 613 mitzvos, but they help ALL of the mitzvos!
Learning Torah is like that. “Talmud Meivi Lidei Maaseh” — when you learn, it brings you to do the mitzvos. So it’s not just a mitzvah to learn Torah, but learning Torah helps us do all of the other mitzvos!
Davening is also a mitzvah like that. It isn’t only a mitzvah on its own, but it makes a difference to all of the other mitzvos.
In Likutei Torah, the Alter Rebbe calls davening the Chut Hashedra, the spine of the mitzvos. The spine is the long bone in a person’s back, that holds up the whole body and gives it strength so the person can move and walk. Our davening is what gives all of the mitzvos chayus and strength!
When we work on our davening, we are making ALL of our mitzvos stronger so we can do them with chayus!
See Likutei Sichos vol. 20 p. 409
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Most of the fasts during the year are connected with the Churban of the Beis Hamikdash. Taanis Esther and Yom Kippur are the only ones which are not.
There are many reasons brought for why we fast on Taanis Esther. One of the reasons is that before the Yidden went to fight against the goyim at the time of Purim, they fasted so that Hashem would have Rachmonus on them and help them win. To remember that, we also fast.
Another reason for the fast is to help us remember all of the other fasts the Yidden fasted, as part of their doing teshuvah during the time of the gezeira of Haman, like the fast of Esther which was for three days in Chodesh Nisan.
Another reason is brought for Taanis Esther that not only helps us remember what happened in the past, but it has to do with what is happening now as well:
On Purim, we eat a lot of good food (and nosh!) and drink lechaims. If people do that for the wrong reasons, it can make them chas veshalom not behave like they should. We fast beforehand, to help keep us from doing the wrong thing on Purim.
Another reason we fast is to ask Hashem to take away any gezeira that we might have nowadays, from any new “Hamans” that may exist! We are asking Hashem to help us and get rid of those “Hamans” too.
Since this fast is not talked about in Navi in connection with the Churban, there are some exceptions. A sick person, even if he is not dangerously sick, is allowed to eat. A woman who is pregnant or nursing a baby, or one who had a baby not long ago, doesn’t have to fast either. Still, they should eat a little bit less than usual, to be part of the Yidden who are fasting. They also shouldn’t eat extra things like nosh (and kids shouldn’t either — save it for Purim!).
Just like on every fast day, there is a special Kriyas HaTorah in shul, and parts are added to davening.
See Piskei Teshuvos and Halachos Uminhagei Chabad - Taanis Esther
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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 Chachomim tell us that all of the Yomim Tovim will become botul when Moshiach comes, but the Yom Tov of Purim will NEVER become botul: “Kol Hamoadim Asidim Libotel L’asid Lavo, Viyemei Hapurim Einam Beteilim Le’olam.”
The word “botul” means that something doesn’t seem as important.
Why won’t the Yomim Tovim feel so important when Moshiach comes, and why will Purim be different?
Chassidus explains that during the week, it’s harder to feel our neshama. Hashem wants us to be busy with our weekday avodah, so the light of our neshama is more hidden.
On Yom Tov, we can feel and see the light of our neshama more!
When Moshiach comes, we will feel this way all of the time, so it won’t be as special to feel it on Yom Tov.
But Purim is not like a regular Yom Tov! On Purim, a much deeper part of the neshama shines. In the times of Purim, Mordechai Hatzadik, who was the Nasi of the Yidden, woke up the koach of Mesiras Nefesh in every Yid. This koach comes from the deepest part of the neshama, the Etzem Haneshama.
Even when Moshiach comes, that will be something very special, and Purim won’t ever become botul!
See Maamar Layehudim Haysa Orah, Purim 5712
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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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