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CHUMASH
Parshas Tazria-Metzora - Rishon with Rashi
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In last week’s parsha, we learned about tumah that comes through an animal. In Parshas Tazria and Metzorah we learn about tumah that can come from a person, especially Tzoraas, and how to become tahor from these kinds of tumah.
First we learn about the tumah of Yoledes:
If a woman has a baby, she becomes tomei. If the baby is a boy, she is tomei for a week. Afterwards, on the eighth day, the baby has his bris, and she can go to the mikvah. But she isn’t ALL tahor yet — she still needs to wait until 40 days after the baby is born before she can go to the Beis Hamikdash to bring her korbanos.
If the baby is a girl, the mother waits 2 weeks before she can go to the mikvah to become tahor. She has to wait until 80 days are over, though, before she can go to the Beis Hamikdash.
Then, the mother brings special korbanos to Hashem! If she can pay for it, she brings a sheep and a bird, or if that’s too expensive, she can bring 2 birds.
Now we start learning about Tzoraas.
If a person finds white spots on his skin, he needs to go to a kohen to check if it’s Tzoraas.
Sometimes the kohen can see right away that it’s Tzoraas (if the hair in the white spot turns white), and the person becomes Tomei. Other times, the kohen says that the person needs to wait in a place by himself for a week, and the kohen will look afterwards to see then if it looks like Tzoraas or if it went away.
We also learn about other cases of Tzoraas, like if the whole body is covered by Tzoraas or if the Tzoraas is in the place of a scar.
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Today’s Tehillim is Kapitel Kuf-Yud-Tes, the LONGEST kapitel in the whole Tehillim! It is so long that we don’t even say the whole Kapitel today, just the first half.
In this kapitel, Dovid Hamelech asks Hashem on behalf of all the Yidden that we should be able to understand the Torah and follow the path of Yiddishkeit, and be connected to Hashem.
One of the pesukim, which is also explained in many places in Chassidus, speaks about how Dovid Hamelech praised the Torah. Dovid Hamelech said that the Torah was his comfort in his time of suffering! Even though this is not the TRUE greatness of Torah, which is Hashem’s treasure, Dovid Hamelech saw this maalah in Torah too. When he was being chased by his enemies, and had to hide for a long time all alone, afraid for his life, learning Torah brought him comfort.
Dovid Hamelech said about that time, “Zemiros Hayu Li Chukecha Beveis Megurai.” Hashem, Your Torah was like songs to me (brought me comfort) in the place where I was afraid.”
Chassidus explains that Dovid Hamelech wasn’t just saying that learning Torah made him feel good. He was saying that because of what Torah is, it is able to bring a person comfort in a scary time!
The Torah is the source of everything that happens in the world. By connecting to the Torah, the source of even those scary things happening to him, he was able to feel higher than them in a certain way, and didn’t need to feel afraid!
See Tehillim Ohel Yosef Yitzchok Hashalem (Kehos), Kapitel Kuf-Yud-Tes and footnotes to maamarim cited in hosafos in the back
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Mem-Beis
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In this perek, the Alter Rebbe is teaching us how to have Yiras Shomayim. In yesterday’s shiur, the Alter Rebbe told us that we get the koach of Yiras Shomayim from the neshama of Moshe Rabbeinu and the Moshe Rabbeinu (the “Rebbe”) of each generation.
In today’s Tanya, the Alter Rebbe tells us that even though the koach of Yiras Shomayim is already there, hidden inside our neshama, if we want it to do its job and make us behave the way Hashem wants, we need to work to wake it up.
Why?
Because our neshama is inside of a body, which can cover up and hide this Yiras Shomayim.
There are two things we need to do to wake up this Yiras Shomayim:
1) The first thing is to take away the distraction of the guf. (The Alter Rebbe calls this Yegiyas Basar.) How do we do this? By having thoughts of teshuvah which make us feel humble. These are the kinds of thoughts the Alter Rebbe taught us to think about in Perek Chof-Tes and Lamed.
2) The second one is to train our mind to be able to spend time thinking about how Hashem is with us and watching everything we are doing. (The Alter Rebbe calls this Yegiyas Nefesh.)
Even though this might be hard, especially if a person has done certain aveiros, with the koach of teshuvah and learning and thinking about how Hashem is watching us, the Yiras Shomayim WILL wake up in the end.
If we try hard, we will succeed, like the Chachomim say — Yogati Umotzosi Taamin!
We can understand this with a mashal: If a person knows that a treasure is buried in a certain spot, he will dig and dig, not stopping, until he finds it! Even if it takes time, and is hard work, he knows it is there and worth all of his work. The same is true with our Yiras Shomayim: We know there is a treasure of Yiras Shomayim, buried inside of our neshama! If we keep “digging” by thinking about how Hashem is always with us and watching us, we will find this treasure! Our Yiras Shomayim will become active, and will make sure we are doing what Hashem wants us to do.
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Today is the tenth day of the Omer!
Imagine that you met a person who knows how to cut and polish diamonds, to be used in fancy jewelry. People from all over admire his beautiful diamonds and gems. Students come to watch him cutting stones, so they can learn how to do it as well as he does.
Then you hear that this person decided to stop working with diamonds, and went to work in the local bakery. You would think that that’s a real waste!
Of course, working in a bakery is a very important job. There would be no bread if there were no bakers! But if you have the special skills to be a diamond cutter, it’s not the right job for you.
Just like this is in Gashmius, the same is true in Ruchnius, with our shlichus in serving Hashem. In today’s Hayom Yom, the Rebbe tells us about this:
Every person has a special Avodah, a special way they need to serve Hashem. Hashem wants us each to use all of our talents, our knowledge, and our koach to do our shlichus in the best possible way.
If a person who could polish diamonds is instead baking bread, he is NOT doing the right thing! Of course, baking bread is very important, but it is a job that many people can learn how to do. If he can be doing a very special job, that most people CAN’T do, that’s what he needs to do.
The same way, if a person can do a very important and special job in Avodas Hashem, and instead he is doing something else — even though for someone else it might be important and good, for this person it is like he is doing an “aveira” because he could be doing something more!
The Rebbe took this Hayom Yom from a letter the Frierdiker Rebbe wrote to a Tomim who said that he teaches Chassidus on Shabbos in the place he lives, and has shiurim in Mishnayos and Gemara during the week. The Frierdiker Rebbe told this Tomim that even though he is happy to hear that, since he was one of the best students in Tomchei Temimim, he should be teaching MORE shiurim in Chassidus to the people around him and make more Chassidim!
We also were all zoche to learn from the Rebbe. We have an extra-special achrayus to make sure we are being a dugma chaya and sharing what we know with those around us!
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #167) is that the Kohen Gadol has to be careful not to move or touch something that can give him Tumas Meis. (That sounds just like yesterday’s mitzvah, that a Kohen Gadol should not become Tomei, but the Rambam shows us how really they are two separate mitzvos — not to be in a place that can make him tomei — Lo Yavo, and not to touch or move something that can make him tomei — Lo Yitama!)
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Emor: וְעַל כָּל נַפְשֹׁת מֵת לֹא יָבֹא
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Today’s Rambam (perakim Vov, Zayin, and Ches) talks about the halachos of a person who is mourning for someone who passed away.
Very soon when Moshiach will come, there will be no more reason for Hashem to take a person’s neshama away from their Guf. In fact, Hashem will return every neshama to their proper guf with Techiyas Hameisim!
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We learn how to fight wars for the Jewish people. Before we fight, we always have to first ask the people if they want to make shalom and keep the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach. If we surround their cities, we should leave a way out so they can escape, and that way we can take over the city without fighting them.
Even in a time of war, we shouldn’t ruin things for no reason (Bal Tashchis). A war for the Yidden is a holy thing — we fight even on Shabbos!
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On Chof-Hey Nissan, after the Gulf War in Eretz Yisroel (which finished on Purim), the Rebbe said a sicha to the guests who came for Pesach.
The Rebbe thanked Hashem, talking about all of the nissim that Hashem did during the war, and showed that these nisim are signs of the Geulah which is coming! The Rebbe said we shouldn’t be embarrassed to dance to show Hashem how much we want to thank Him!
One of the things we can learn from this is that when Hashem does a neis for us, and especially for many Yidden, we need to show Hashem that we are thankful!
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TEFILLAH
Ahavas Yisroel in Davening - Hareini
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In Derech Mitzvosecha, Mitzvas Ahavas Yisroel, the Tzemach Tzedek explains the reason we say Hareini Mekabel before davening. One meaning of davening is that we are bringing a korban — we are bringing ourselves as a korbanos to Hashem!
Like we know, a korban has to be complete. It can’t have a mum, something wrong with it. So how do we make sure that we don’t have a mum?
The neshamos of Yidden are all like one big body! Some are like the head, and some are like the other parts of the body. To be a complete body, without a mum, we need every single part. When have Ahavas Yisroel to every Jew, our korban is complete before Hashem — we have every part of ourselves.
But if chas veshalom we hate somebody — like this group of Jews, that relative, or my neighbor — and we don’t want to have anything to do with them, then there is something missing! It’s like we cut off a part of ourselves, and we become a baal mum!
So before we start davening, we say Hareini Mekabel! We tell Hashem that we are ready to have Ahavas Yisroel. We think about how every Yid we know is part of us, and this way our korban is complete and Hashem will accept our tefilos!
See Derech Mitzvosecha, Mitzvas Ahavas Yisroel (translated by Sichos in English)
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There is a bracha that we say when we see a fruit tree starting to blossom. This is a special thing to see, and we thank Hashem that we are able to enjoy this part of His world.
There are different opinions on when we are able to say this bracha. Really, it should be made in Chodesh Nisan, but some opinions say that we can also make the bracha in Adar or Iyar, if that is when we see a blossoming tree. There are also opinions that say that it doesn’t have to be a fruit tree, but that it can be any tree with flowers.
The Rebbe writes that from what the Alter Rebbe says in Seder Birchos Hanehenin, it is clear what we should do. The Alter Rebbe’s opinion is that this bracha should only be made in Chodesh Nisan, and only on a fruit tree that is starting to blossom.
Based on this, there are only a few days left to say this bracha!
See Shulchan Menachem p. 53, and Igros Kodesh Chelek Chof-Gimmel letter #8965
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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 posuk says that Le’asid Lavo, “Kulam Yeidu Osi,” everyone will know Hashem.
Still, the same posuk continues, “Lemiktanam Ad Gedolam,” “from small to big.” This means that there will still be “small people” who don’t understand Hashem as much, and “big people” who understand Hashem better.
If everyone knows Hashem, why are there differences?
We can understand this from a mashal:
People and animals were created from the ground, but we don’t live in the ground.
The Gemara says that fish were created from water, and they live inside of the water, too! They live inside of the source of their chayus.
The same thing is with us nowadays: We get our chayus from Hashem, but we don’t “live inside of it,” we don’t feel that it is all around us.
But when Moshiach comes, we will be like fish! We will feel the source of our chayus.
Even with fish, though, there are different sizes and kinds! Some are bigger, and some are smaller. Some live in warmer water, others in colder water. Some live near the top of the ocean, and others live on the bottom.
Le’asid Lavo we will feel that everything is from Hashem, but not all of us will understand it the same way! Some people will understand more than others. We won’t need to teach people that Hashem is the source of their chayus, but we will still need to learn and teach more about understanding Hashem.
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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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