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CHUMASH
Parshas Tetzaveh - Shvi'i with Rashi
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Today we learn about the golden Mizbeiach used for the Ketores.
Hashem tells Moshe that the Yidden should make a Mizbeiach for burning the Ketores. It should be made of wood, and covered with gold. This Mizbeiach was less than 3 feet tall, and less than 1.5 feet wide. It had rings on the side for poles to carry it.
The big copper Mizbeiach was in the Chatzer, by the Mishkan, but this golden Mizbeiach went in the Kodesh, inside the Mishkan.
The Mizbeiach Hazahav was very holy! It was only used for two things: To burn the Ketores in the morning and afternoon, and to put some of the blood of the Yom Kippur korban on it. We aren’t allowed to use it for anything else!
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In Kapitel Samach (60), the first of today’s Tehillim, we have a posuk that says “Lemaan Yeichaltzun Yedidecha, Hoshia Yemincha Va’aneini.” (We also say it by the end of Shmoneh Esrei.)
This posuk tells us why Hashem sometimes makes things hard for a person: “In order to save the one who is dear to you.” Really, the whole time Hashem wants to save the person, but Hashem wants him to show that he believes in Hashem all the time, not just when things are easy. Then everyone will know he DESERVES his brachos!
Even though sometimes things are hard for us, it’s just because Hashem wants to give us more brachos later!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Lamed-Gimmel
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Can you think of somewhere beautiful and special that makes you happy to be there? Is it a wonderful garden, a tall mountain, a waterfall or a fancy chasunah? If someone would bring you there, but you’re busy playing with a toy, you might not even notice that you are there. But once you pay attention to everything around you, you will feel so happy!
In this perek of Tanya, the Alter Rebbe is teaching us a hisbonenus that will bring us simcha. Thinking happy thoughts will make us feel happy!
The hisbonenus in this perek of Tanya is the last two pesukim of the Twelve Pesukim, Vezeh and Yismach! Today we learn the first part of the hisbonenus, the posuk of Vezeh.
This hisbonenus isn’t about something new, it is paying attention to something that is always there. Every one of us knows that Hashem is truly everywhere, but we don’t always feel it. When we think about it properly, it will make us feel very happy!
Imagine if a very important person that you really respect comes to your house. You will feel so proud and special that he came! You will be very happy because he is spending time with you.
The Alter Rebbe reminds us of two mashalim explained in Tanya, that will help us realize that Hashem is right here with us!
1) Hashem made the world with the koach of Dibur, speaking, like the words “Yehi Ohr” — let there be light. A person might think that means that Hashem said words, and the sound of those words became a world, separate from Hashem, like the way it is when a person speaks. No! When Hashem “says” something, the words don’t leave Hashem because there is nothing separate from Hashem!
That means that the whole world is a part of Hashem! It seems like we see so many different things, and really the are all part of Hashem! That means Hashem is right here with me!
2) We will learn a mashal later in Tanya (in Shaar Hayichud Veha’emunah) that also helps for this hisbonenus, from the sun and the rays of the sun.
As we will learn, the world isn’t separate from Hashem at all — it only LOOKS that way! The whole world is a part of the Aibershter. That means that Hashem is right here!
When we think about these things, and realize that Hashem is right here, and we don’t feel separate from Hashem, then we — in our mind and heart — become a comfortable place for Hashem to be. WE become a Dira, a home for Hashem!
And that is exactly what Hashem made the world for, to be able to have a Dira Betachtonim! Vezeh Kol Ha’adam Vesachlis Briyaso Uvrias Kol Ha’olamos, Eloyim Vesachtonim, Lihiyos Lo Dira Zu Besachtonim — This is what Hashem created us for, and the purpose of the entire world, the Heavens and the earth, to become a comfortable place for Hashem to be!
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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-Alef Adar Alef
During davening, the best thing is for a person to think deep Torah secrets about Hashem, as explained in Kabbalah.
But what if someone doesn’t know all of these kavanos, or it’s too hard to remember them in the right place?
Then there is just one kavana to remember: Think about how we want Hashem to hear our tefillah, just as if we had all of the kavanos we’re supposed to have!
Yud-Alef Adar Sheini
In every halacha, we have the Niglah of the halacha, what it means and how it is done.
Chassidus also shows us two deeper things about every halacha:
1) The meaning of the halacha in Ruchnius, for example what it means in the world of Atzilus.
2) The meaning of the halacha in our Avodah. Each halacha can teach us something in our Avodas Hashem, even if it’s not a mitzvah we can actually do!
After the Rebbe made the takana to learn Rambam, many times at farbrengens, the Rebbe would take a halacha from that day’s Rambam and explain the meaning of the halacha in Ruchnius, and the hora’ah we could take from it in our Avodas Hashem! Many of the explanations were later printed in a sefer called “Yein Malchus” — do you have it in your house?
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #201) is a new mitzvah about workers: You have to let your workers eat from what they’re working on when they are harvesting. If they’re picking grapes, you have to let them eat grapes while they’re working. If they’re picking oranges, they can eat oranges!
We learn this from two pesukim in Parshas Ki Seitzei: כִּי תָבֹא בְּכֶרֶם רֵעֶךָ וְאָכַלְתָּ עֲנָבִים וְגוֹ׳ כִּי תָבֹא בְּקָמַת רֵעֶךָ וְקָטַפְתָּ מְלִילֹת בְּיָדֶךָ
The details of this mitzvah are explained in Perek Zayin of Mesechta Bava Metziah.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more halachos about renting, and we start to learn the halachos of hiring a worker.
In Perek Zayin, the Rambam explains that renting is like buying for a short time. So just like you can make conditions when you sell something, you can make conditions when you rent. For example, you can rent someone your printer with a condition that you need them to print you 5 papers every week.
Perek Ches teaches us about renting a field, in exchange for part of the food that grows. An old man might rent someone his peach orchard, and they will have to give him 1/4 of the money that they make from the peaches every year. We learn that the renter has to take good care of the field! He can’t decide to stop taking away the weeds.
In Perek Tes, we also start learning the halachos about a worker. One halacha is that if you send a worker to pick up a package, and he goes to the right place but can’t find it, you still have to pay him — because he did his best to do what you asked him to do!
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We learn how the Beis Din can accept information from a shtar (a document) without the eidim being there. Why are they allowed to do that? We learned the reason yesterday — the Beis Din wants to make sure that people are comfortable giving loans, so they don’t make it too hard to get money back in Beis Din.
So in a case where someone is trying to get back money that another person owes him, he can bring a proof from something the eidim wrote, even if they aren’t there! There are many halachos explaining just how this is done.
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The Mishnah says that today is the first day that a person could hear the Megillah, in the olden days when many people lived very far away from the city. They would come to the city only on a market day, and the Chachomim said it was okay for them to hear the Megillah a few days earlier. So today, Yud-Alef Adar, is already the beginning of the “Yemei HaPurim,” the way it is explained in the Mishna, the days when we can hear the Megillah!
Today is also a special day for us as Chassidim: It is exactly a month before Yud-Alef Nisan, the Rebbe’s Yom Huledes. On this day, Hashem brought the Rebbe into the world, to lead and guide the Yidden on the final steps to the Geulah.
One year on Yud-Alef Nisan, the Rebbe asked that if people want to give presents, it should be to add in Avodas Hashem, and specifically in learning more Torah. Now is the time to think about what present we will give the Rebbe!
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In today’s Chumash, the very end of Parshas Tetzaveh, we learn about the Mizbeiach Haketores, the golden Mizbeiach where the kohen would bring ketores to Hashem.
The meforshim ask, why does the Torah tell us about it here?
In Parshas Terumah, we learn about most of the keilim in the Mishkan, like the Menorah and the Shulchan. In Parshas Tetzaveh, we learn about the Bigdei Kehunah, the special clothes the kohanim wear when they are doing their avodah.
Wouldn’t it make more sense for the Torah to teach about the Mizbeiach Haketores together with all of the other keilim? Why does the Torah only tell us about it now, at the end?
The Rebbe explains the reason:
When the kohen would bring the ketores, it was a very private time. Only the kohen was allowed to be there — nobody else, not even malochim! And when the kohen would bring the ketores, Hashem’s Shechinah would rest in the Mishkan. This type of Avodah is so special, it shows that the whole Avodah of the Mishkan is complete!
This is also an important lesson in our Avodas Hashem!
Just like with the Mizbeiach Haketores, the best way to do our Avodas Hashem is privately, just us and Hashem. Sometimes we do a mitzvah because we want other people to see that we are good, or we want someone to take a picture of us doing it and show it to other people. But the best way to do a mitzvah is when we don’t care if nobody is watching, and we don’t show off our mitzvos to other people — we do them just for Hashem.
See Likutei Sichos chelek Alef, parshas Tetzaveh
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This week in shul, we lein Parshas Zachor! In this part of the Torah, we learn the mitzvah to remember (“Zachor”) what Amalek did to the Yidden. We always lein this on the Shabbos before Purim, when Haman, who comes from Amalek, tried to destroy the Yidden.
We learned that by doing mitzvos during the time of Golus, we are doing our part for Hashem to be able to bring the Geulah.
The same thing is through fighting the war with Amalek. By us fighting the Ruchnius war, Hashem will do His part and bring the Geulah when we will be able to destroy the Gashmius Amalek too.
What is the Ruchnius war with Amalek?
The Torah says that Amalek KNOWS about Hashem, and tries to rebel against Hashem on purpose.
The Ruchnius Amalek is a certain trick the Yetzer Hara tries to use against us, even though it knows about Hashem.
When a person sees a neis, it usually will make him excited, and he will want to be more connected to Torah and Yiddishkeit.
But the Amalek argument of the Yetzer Hara is that there is nothing to get excited about. Since Hashem creates the whole world from nothing all the time, what is the big deal for Hashem to make a neis? What is there to be excited about?
Even though the Yetzer Hara KNOWS about Hashem, and is using excuses based on kedusha, it is trying to keep us from getting excited about Torah and Yiddishkeit! We need to fight against this Amalek and YES get excited when we see Hashem’s nisim!
Then, Hashem will do HIS part, and bring Moshiach when we can get rid of the Gashmius Amalek also!
See Farbrengen Parshas Zachor Tof-Shin-Lamed-Beis
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In Shulchan Aruch, it says there is one general kavana in davening that we need to have, even if we aren’t able to think about the meaning of the words or about deeper meanings in tefillah. This is to remember that we are davening to Hashem! “Da Lifnei Mi Ata Omeid” “Know Who you are standing before” — that we are standing before Hashem.
There are only two places in davening where we MUST know the meaning of the words:
1) The first posuk of Shema — a Yid knows that there is nothing aside for Hashem
2) The first bracha of Shmoneh Esrei — we ask Hashem to accept our tefillos in the zechus of the Avos.
A good way to be able to have the general kavana of “Da Lifnei Mi Ata Omeid” all the time is to daven from a siddur! This way we won’t be as easily distracted by things going on around us.
This is the reason why there are halachos in Shulchan Aruch about not having pictures and images in shul, because they can make it harder for people to concentrate in davening.
The Rebbe davened the entire davening from the siddur (with very few exceptions), even though he obviously knew the whole davening by heart. The Rebbe said that he kept this minhag, as he also saw by the Frierdiker Rebbe.
See sicha of Yud-Gimmel Tishrei, 5743 - Toras Menachem 5743, vol. 1, p. 143 and on
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Purim is so close! We might want to talk about and plan our Purim Mivtzoyim.
Are we allowed to? On Shabbos, we aren’t allowed to plan for things that will be after Shabbos, or to talk about how we will do melacha after Shabbos! This is called “Vedaber Davar,” that even our talking on Shabbos should be in a Shabbos’dike way.
But when it is something that is a mitzvah, we ARE allowed to talk about it on Shabbos. And something that will help many Yidden is ALWAYS a mitzvah! So on Shabbos, we are allowed to talk about giving tzedakah, and of course we can talk about doing Mivtzoyim!
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman Shin-Vov se’if Yud-Beis
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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 we learn the parshios in the Torah about the Mishkan, we also add in learning from Torah Shebaal Peh where the Chachomim explain more about what we are learning in Chumash. The Rebbe teaches us that this helps bring Moshiach faster! Today we learn about the Mizbeiach Haketores.
R’ Yitzchok ben Eliezer said: You should know that when Moshe Rabbeinu made the Mishkan and all of the keilim, did all the melacha and brought the korbanos, the Shechinah did not come rest in the Mishkan. The Shechinah did not come down until they brought the Ketores!
Hashem told the Yidden: “My children, be careful with the ketores, even more than with all of the other korbanos. With the ketores, you have a kapara in this world, and also Le’asid Lavo, when Moshiach comes!”
See Chumash Torah Sheleimah parshas Tetzaveh, p. 247
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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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