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CHUMASH
Parshas Terumah - Chamishi with Rashi
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We are learning the instructions Hashem is giving to Moshe Rabbeinu about how the Mishkan should be built. Today we learn about the curtains.
Hashem tells Moshe how to make the Paroches inside the Mishkan, a curtain to separate between the Kodesh and the Kodesh Hakodoshim. It should match the first cover of the Mishkan, made of colorful threads with the shapes of animals on it.
The Paroches should be hung on four wooden pillars (Amudim) covered in gold, that have gold hooks on them. The hooks should hold a rod for the Paroches. At the bottom of the pillars there should be silver boxes, like there are for the Kerashim of the walls of the Mishkan.
When the Paroches is up, the Aron should be put behind it, in the Kodesh Hakodoshim.
The Shulchan, the Menorah, and Mizbeiach Hazahav (the Mizbeiach Haketores, which we learn about next week) should all be put in the Kodesh section.
There should also be a curtain for the door of the Mishkan, like the Paroches that was between the Kodesh and the Kodesh Hakodoshim. It should hang on a rod attached to five wooden pillars covered with gold, but with a copper box on the bottom, instead of silver like all the other pillars.
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In Kapitel Tes-Vov (15), we learn about the special midos that a Yid needs to have for the neshama to be able to go into Gan Eden.
One of the things the posuk says is, “Nivzeh BeEinav Nimas” — “he is embarrassed of himself, and thinks he is disgusting.”
What kind of midah is that?!
In this perek of Tanya that we are learning now, the Alter Rebbe tells us what it means: That when our Yetzer Hara is getting too big and too proud, and not leaving room to think about Hashem and another Yid, we need to do something about it! We need to spend some time thinking about how there is a part of us called the Nefesh Habehamis, and how disgusting it is that it tries to take us away from Hashem.
Then we’ll be able to make room in our hearts for Hashem and another Yid. We’ll be able to daven the way a Yid should and we will be full of energy and simcha to win over our Yetzer Hara!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Chof-Tes
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The Alter Rebbe is telling a beinoni what to do with Timtum Halev, when the heart is not open to serve Hashem. We learned thoughts to take away the Yetzer Hara’s gaava and chutzpah, which is why Timtum Halev happens. Today the Alter Rebbe tells us how these thoughts work to take away the Timtum Halev and how this can help us in other things too:
The Yetzer Hara’s chutzpah is only there because Hashem gave it permission to challenge a person. When the beinoni uses the eitzos the Alter Rebbe gave about making himself humble and getting angry at the Yetzer Hara, Hashem will take away that koach of the Yetzer Hara, and it will lose its power, like darkness disappears when there is light.
The Alter Rebbe explains a story in the Torah that shows us this idea:
When the Meraglim came back from spying out Eretz Yisroel, they cried that it would be too hard for them to fight with the nations that were in Eretz Yisroel. The Yidden’s Yetzer Haras became very strong — they were thinking so much about how they felt, and how they would be scared, that they didn’t think about Hashem and the shlichus they were given!
So Hashem told Moshe to use strong language with the Yidden.
As soon as they heard that, the Yidden said that they were ready to go to Eretz Yisroel!
Why did the Yidden change their minds? Moshe Rabbeinu didn’t show them any nissim to prove that they would be able to conquer Eretz Yisroel.
The answer is that really, there WAS no problem with going into Eretz Yisroel! Their neshama really knew that this was the right thing to do, and that Hashem would give them the koach to do it. It was just that their Yetzer Hara got in the way! When they heard the strong words of Moshe Rabbeinu, their Yetzer Hara lost its strength. Then they were able to feel how their neshama REALLY felt — that they really DID want to go into Eretz Yisroel, and they really thought they could!
We see from here that as soon as we think the humble thoughts to break the Yetzer Hara, it loses its power and the neshama is able to connect to Hashem.
Similarly, when the Yetzer Hara comes to a Yid and throws in doubts in Emunah, we will know that it’s not really who we are! It’s just from the Yetzer Hara. In fact, even the Yetzer Hara itself has no doubts in Emunah! It’s just doing its job to convince the person by giving him doubts.
So certainly, by following these directions in Torah, of how to take away the koach of the Yetzer Hara, our neshama will be able to shine!
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Since the Hayom Yom was written in a year where there were TWO Adars (a Shana Me’uberes), and this year there is only one Adar (a Shana Peshutah), we learn TWO Hayom Yoms every day!
Beis Adar Alef
The Avodah of Chabad that the Alter Rebbe set up for Chassidim is to find the pnimius in our Avodas Hashem. We need to have kavana in the mitzvos we do, and do them with an Emes!
What does that mean?
It means that when we do a mitzvah, we need to know what we are doing.
For example, when we are learning a posuk in Chumash, we need to know that these are the words of Hashem! When we are davening, we need to prepare ourselves and know that we are standing before Hashem. When we say a bracha, we need to have kavana that we are bringing kedusha into the world. When we do a favor for another Yid and help him, it should be with a feeling of Ahavas Yisroel, not just because it makes us feel good!
In order to accomplish this, we need to learn Chassidus, which teaches us all of these things, and try to understand it the best we can. Then we need to make it part of our lives, and part of the way we live as a Yid.
Beis Adar Beis
Rain is a bracha from Hashem that makes things grow. But for that bracha to help, we need to first get the field ready and plant seeds. Then, when the rain falls, it will make things grow! But even lots of rain won’t make a field grow if we didn’t prepare it!
The same thing is true with ALL brachos. Hashem likes to give us brachos, but we need to do things ourselves so that the bracha will help us!
A bochur once wrote to the Rebbe and asked for a bracha.
The Rebbe told him what we just learned, that you need to prepare in order for the bracha to help, just like with a field that must be plowed and planted. As a bochur, your “plowing” is to follow the Seder (schedule) of the Yeshivah. It might be hard, when you want to eat or sleep instead of being on time, but you should do it!
Your “planting” is to learn properly — to try hard to understand what you’re learning, and do it with a chayus! Then the brachos of Hashem will help, and you will have lots of hatzlacha in understanding and appreciating what you are learning!
See Igros Kodesh chelek Chof-Alef p. 141
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #245) is about how a person can sell something or give something to someone else. The Torah teaches us that we need to be koneh things, SHOWING that it belongs to us. One way to show you were koneh something is by picking it up.
(We learned this mitzvah many times before, but since there is no special mitzvah for this set of halachos in Rambam, we review it again.)
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Shecheinim - Shluchim VeShutfim
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In today’s Rambam, we finish the halachos of neighbors and begin the halachos of making someone a shliach and about partners.
In Perek Yud-Gimmel we learn more about the Bar Metzra — the neighbor, who gets the first chance to buy a field next door. We learn that a person can give a PRESENT, he doesn’t have to give it to the neighbor — he can give it to whoever he wants. But if he is only giving it as a present to trick the neighbor so he doesn’t have to sell it to him, the neighbor still has the right to buy it!
Perek Yud-Daled finishes the halachos about neighbors. We learn that the Ben Hametzer is only for the NEXT-door neighbor. We also learn about the reason for the halacha, that a person should act like a mentch (“Ve’asisa Hayashar Vehatov”) and give the opportunity to buy to the one who could use it in the best way.
Now we start Hilchos Shluchim VeShutfin, about partners and messengers:
In Perek Alef we learn about a shliach. When someone sends a messenger (shliach) to do something, it’s like the one who sent him did it himself — if the messenger followed the instructions! So if someone sends a messenger to buy a field, when the messenger buys it, it belongs to the one who sent him.
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Now we learn more about the mitzvah not to take a bribe. Bribes aren’t just money — if someone is a friend of a judge, or did him a favor, it will be hard for the judge to listen to the other side, since he already likes one person.
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“Mishenichnas Adar, Marbim Besimcha!” In the month of Adar, we are supposed to add in Simcha!
The Chachomim teach us this in the Gemara. They say that just like we are supposed to have less simcha in Av, we should have more simcha in Adar.
Since the Gemara says these two things together, it must be that they are connected.
But how is having more simcha in Adar connected to having less simcha in Av?
We can understand this from what we learn in today’s Chumash and Tanya!
In today’s Chumash, we learned about how Hashem wants the Yidden to make a Mishkan. By the Yidden making a home for Hashem in themselves and in the world, the whole world will become a Dira, a beautiful home for Hashem!
When we want to build a beautiful home, we need to first clean up! A home won’t be very nice if it is in a pile of garbage. Once the place is clean, we can use gold and silver to make it beautiful and special!
In today’s Tanya, we learn how to clean ourselves up so that we can become a beautiful Mishkan for Hashem. We learn how to think humbling thoughts to get the Yetzer Hara out of the way and let the Shechinah shine inside of us!
In Av, we have less simcha because we are thinking about the Churban and the aveiros that made it happen. We are working to clean up the world from those aveiros so that we can have the Beis Hamikdash again.
Since we cleaned things up in Av, we are able to have REAL simcha in Adar!
See Likutei Sichos Chelek Alef, Adar
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At the end of Shemoneh Esrei, we add the personal tefillah of one of the Amoraim, the paragraph of Elokai Netzor.
At the end of this paragraph, we say: “Asei Lemaan Shemecha, Asei Lemaan Yeminecha, Asei Lemaan Torasecha, Asei Lemaan Kedushasecha!” “Do it for the sake of Your name, do it for the sake of Your right hand, do it for the sake of Your Torah, do it for the sake of Your kedusha!” We ask Hashem not to answer our tefillos for OUR sake, but for Hashem’s sake!
The Gemara tells us that a person who says these words every day will have the zechus of greeting the Shechinah.
This is also an appropriate place to daven for any specific things we didn’t already ask for in other parts of Shemoneh Esrei.
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman Kuf-Chof-Beis, se’if beis and Kuf-Yud-Tes, se’if alef
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Today we will learn about one of the four mitzvos of Purim, Shalach Manos.
At the end of the Megillah, we read how Mordechai sent out letters to the Yidden, telling them how to celebrate the neis that happened. One of the things to do is to send gifts of food from one person to another.
The meforshim give many reasons to explain why we do this mitzvah. One of the basic reasons is to bring friendship and closeness between Yidden. That’s why boys give to boys, and girls give to girls — it is appropriate that boys be friends with boys, and girls be friends with girls!
(Matanos L’evyonim is different, because we are giving money to help a person in need, not to build a friendship. That’s why we can give Matanos L’evyonim to either men or women.)
See Shevach Hamo’adim p. 151-152, and Halachos Uminhagei Chabad, p. 150-151
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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 about these things.
Today we learn about the way the keilim were set up in the Kodesh.
The Shulchan should be placed on the Tzafon side, the Menorah on the Darom side, and the Mizbeiach between them, but closer to the Mizrach entrance to the Kodesh. Which means that the first thing you see when you go into the Kodesh will be the Mizbeiach Haketores.
Now let’s see what is the inyan of each of these keilim in the Ruchnius’dike Mishkan of every Yid:
- Shulchan: This is being busy with Gashmius
- Menorah: Our Ruchnius, especially learning Torah
- Mizbeiach Haketores: Tefillah, which is compared to bringing Ketores
Just like in the Mishkan, the first thing you approach is the Mizbeiach, the same thing is with the Mishkan of every Yid: First thing every morning, you need to daven! Only after that do you do the rest of your avodah to create a Mishkan for Hashem, through the Gashmius and Ruchnius we are involved with during the day.
See Reshimas Hamenorah; Hamaor ShebaTorah p. 482
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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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