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CHUMASH
Parshas Vayikra - Rishon with Rashi
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In today’s Chumash we learn how Hashem would speak to Moshe Rabbeinu after the Mishkan was built. Hashem starts to tell Moshe about korbanos that Yidden can bring. The first section is about an animal which is entirely given to Hashem as a present.
Every time Hashem would speak to Moshe, Hashem would first call out to him in a loving way, a “Kriah Shel Chibah.” That’s why the Torah first says “Vayikra El Moshe,” that Hashem called out to Moshe in a loving way. Only after that Hashem told Moshe what to tell the Yidden.
When Hashem would speak to Moshe Rabbeinu, it was from between the Keruvim on the Aron. Even though there was a very powerful voice inside the Mishkan, none of the Yidden (or even Aharon Hakohen) could hear anything outside!
Hashem would tell Moshe to teach the words of Hashem to the Yidden. Moshe should also tell the Yidden how special they are, that Hashem only speaks to him because of the Yidden!
In between each section, Hashem would give Moshe some time to think about what he just learned, before Hashem would teach him the next section. Rashi tells us that we should learn from here that if Hashem gave Moshe time to think between each inyan, certainly regular people that are learning from each other should give some time to think about the things which are being learned!
Hashem told Moshe to teach the Yidden about a korban that is given as a gift to Hashem — nedavah. The first kind is called a Korban Olah, which is given completely to Hashem.
Korban Olah:
Here are the details of the Korban Olah, as Hashem told them to Moshe:
A Korban Olah has to be from a kosher male (boy) animal, the kind that is kept on a farm (a beheimah) — not a wild animal (a chaya). It has to belong to the person bringing the korban, it needs to be perfectly healthy — with no mum, and can’t have been used for an aveira. A person has to want to bring the korban!
The animal should be brought to the entrance of the Ohel Moed at a time when the Mishkan is standing. The person should lean his hands on the animal’s head (called Semicha), and his korban will help him come close to Hashem again even after if he missed an opportunity to do a mitzvah.
A male cow can be shechted anywhere in the Chatzer of the Mishkan, but a sheep or goat should be shechted only on the north side of the Mizbeiach.
After the animal is shechted, the kohen should sprinkle the blood on all sides of the Mizbeiach. How is this done? By sprinkling towards two opposite corners, so it goes on all of the sides.
Then the skin of the animal should be taken off, and the meat should be cut into certain pieces.
The pieces of meat and the head of the korban should be put on the wood of the Mizbeiach, and the inside pieces which are dirty should be washed. Then these pieces should also be put on the Mizbeiach to be burned as a Korban Olah as a nachas ruach to Hashem.
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Today’s Tehillim is very special! We are finishing the LONGEST kapitel in the whole Tehillim, kapitel Kuf-Yud-Tes! This kapitel is so long that we don’t even say the whole thing in one day — it is split up between Yom Chof-Hey and Yom Chof-Vov!
One of the pesukim in today’s half is, “Sas Anochi Al Imrosecha Kemotzei Shalal Rav” — “I am so happy with Your words (the Torah), like someone who finds a huge treasure!”
The Rebbe’s father, Horav Hakadosh R’ Levi Yitzchak, explains this posuk: He shows us that the first letters of the words “Kemotzei Shalal Rav” are “Kosher!”
What is the connection?
The Rebbe explained in a rally for kids that this teaches us an important lesson in fighting with our Yetzer Hara: A person might think that it’s not such a big deal if I don’t overcome my Yetzer Hara’s desire for a teeny little candy that isn’t kosher. But the truth is not so. If we don’t listen to our Yetzer Hara and we don’t eat that little candy, it’s like a huge treasure! Even though we only won over our Yetzer Hara in something that seems small, it is really a very big deal.
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Lamed-Zayin
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All of the neshamos of Yidden need to work together to make the world a place where we can see Hashem when Moshiach comes.
That’s the whole reason why a neshama comes into the world! A neshama doesn’t need anything to make it better — it’s better for a neshama in Shomayim!
The only reason why a neshama is born in a body in the world is so it can make the world a comfortable place for Hashem.
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The year the Hayom Yom was first made for, it was a Shana Me’uberes (a leap year) and there were two Adars. This year there is only one Adar (a Shana Peshuta), so we need to learn the Hayom Yom for BOTH Adars!
Chof-Vov Adar Alef
Today’s Hayom Yom is similar to the “mission statement” the Rebbe said at the farbrengen where he said the first maamar, on Yud Shevat Tof-Shin-Yud-Alef:
There are three tools, Klei Shareis, that we need to use to go out and bring Yidden closer to Yiddishkeit. They are our love for Hashem, our love for the Torah, and our love for another Yid.
Someone who had the zechus to learn about Hashem and His Torah, and loves them, needs to also love another Yid and inspire him to also do mitzvos and learn Torah.
Deep down, every Yid wants to be connected to Hashem! So if we put in the effort, we have a promise that we will have hatzlacha.
The Rebbe taught us how to make our own love of Hashem and Torah stronger, and also how to share it with other Yidden with Ahavas Yisroel. Shlichus, Mivtzoyim, and the lessons in the Rebbe’s sichos help us to do our job properly and help every Yid come closer to Yiddishkeit!
Chof-Vov Adar Sheini
In today’s Hayom Yom, the Rebbe inspires women to do their special job of Akeres Habayis!
Hashem gave women three main parts of Yiddishkeit to take care of: Chinuch, Kashrus, and Shabbos.
The Torah praises a woman who takes care of her home in a way of Torah! The posuk says, “Chochmas Noshim Bonsah Beisah,” “the wisdom of a woman builds her home.”
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In today’s Sefer Hamitzvos, we learn the same mitzvah again (Mitzvas Asei #246) — a Beis Din needs to judge cases with arguments between people about money according to the halachos the Torah teaches.
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RAMBAM
Hilchos To'ein Venit'an
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more halachos about today’s mitzvah.
In Perek Daled, we learn that the Beis Din can only force the person to make a shevuah if they know exactly how much they disagree about. So if one person says, “You borrowed a wallet full of coins,” and the other person says, “you only gave me 10 coins,” then he doesn’t have to make a shevuah, since we don’t know how many coins were in the wallet. But if one person says, “You borrowed this bag of grain filled to the top,” and the other person says, “it was only filled to this line when you gave it to me,” then he DOES have to make a shevuah, since that is like a measurement.
Perek Hey tells us when we don’t need to make a shevuah according to Torah, but the Chachomim tell us that we should make another kind of shevuah, called a “Shevuas Heses.” One example for this is an argument about a field. So if one person says, “you sold me two fields!” and the other person says, “I only sold you one,” he needs to make a Shevuas Heses. Also, for servants, “IOU notes,” or hekdesh, there is no shevuah from the Torah — only a Shevuas Heses.
Perek Vov: In this perek, the Rambam talks about how the Beis Din makes sure that people are telling the truth in Beis Din.
Some of the halachos talk about what happens if it seems like the person is a liar. If a person is a liar in Beis Din, he can’t make a shevuah (a very strong promise) which would make him potur from paying. Instead, he just has to pay. But a person is only considered a liar by the Beis Din if he says something in front of them, and then someone else brings two witnesses who say that they saw the opposite.
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This perek teaches us specific examples about when Eidim Zomemim, witnesses that we proved to be lying, have to pay money to the person they were lying about:
If Eidim Zomemim lied and said that Reuven had to pay back $500 last week, and Reuven says he only has to pay it back next year, the Eidim Zomemim owe Reuven money! They pay him however much it is worth to be able to use $500 for a year.
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The very first word of this week’s parsha, “Vayikra,” is written with a small alef. This small alef teaches us that Moshe was very humble, he saw himself as small.
Did you ever wonder why the alef is the letter that is small, and not a different letter — like maybe the mem of Moshe?
The Rebbe shows us that the alef teaches us what it REALLY means to be humble. The word alef comes from the same word as aluf, which means a leader or teacher.
Being humble doesn’t mean to think that you are worth nothing. People who have a Torah kind of humility know about the special kochos Hashem gave them. They are an aluf! They use their kochos to be a leader or teach others!
So how are they being humble? They remember that these kochos are not something of their own. Their talents are presents from Hashem, that they have an achrayus to use. This not only keeps them from being proud, it makes them humble! They know that they have this big achrayus, and know that someone else might even do a better job than them!
Moshe Rabbeinu felt this way, and we learn from him how we need to feel as well.
See Likutei Sichos chelek Yud-Zayin, page 1
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As we are getting closer to Pesach, we will learn a little bit about the Haggadah Shel Pesach.
What is the Haggadah?
Even in the times of the Beis Hamikdash, the Yidden had many things to do on the first night of Pesach. As we see in Chumash, aside for eating the Korban Pesach, they needed to eat matzah and maror, and tell the story of Yetziyas Mitzrayim.
The Chachomim later made a takana that we should drink four cups of wine, as brought in the Mishna. The Mishna and Gemara bring a seder, an organized way of making sure we do all of these special mitzvos and speak about the things we are supposed to during the night of Pesach.
A set nusach for the seder started in the times of the geonim, with exactly 15 steps and a specific lashon of what to say and when to say it. This became the Haggadah Shel Pesach. Among different groups of Yidden the nusach is a little bit different, and we follow the nusach that is printed in the Alter Rebbe’s siddur.
Even though it might seem like the seder is just a way to make sure we do all of the mitzvos properly on the night of Pesach, it is more than that! According to Niglah, and especially according to Kabbalah and Chassidus, each detail of the seder has a meaning and a reason for it. That’s why we are so careful to do all of the steps of the seder, exactly as we see them in our Haggadah.
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On Pesach there is a mitzvah from the Torah: To be HAPPY on Yom Tov!
This mitzvah means that every person in the family needs to have things that make them happy. The halacha is that a father has to make sure to prepare things for himself, his wife, and his children, to make them feel the happiness of Yom Tov.
The Chachomim tell us that a man is happy when he has meat and wine! A man has to drink a cup of wine every day of Yom Tov, including on Chol Hamoed.
The Chachomim say that for a woman, clothing and jewelry make her happy! A husband has to get his wife new clothes and jewelry for Yom Tov, based on what he can afford.
The Chachomim say that what makes kids happy is to have nuts or nosh! Parents need to make sure that their children have special treats so they will also be happy on Yom Tov.
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 529:6-7
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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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In Musaf on Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh, we ask Hashem to rebuild the Beis Hamikdash, and we’ll be able to bring the korbanos “Kemitzvas Retzonecha,” like the mitzvos of Your Will.
We will only be able to do Hashem’s mitzvos properly, the way Hashem wants, when Moshiach comes.
Still, we shouldn’t think that since it’s not going to be done right until Moshiach comes, we shouldn’t bother trying now. A Yid needs to do whatever he is able to do, and Hashem will make it complete when Moshiach comes!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Alef p. 221
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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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