|
|
CHUMASH
Parshas Tazria-Metzora - Sheini with Rashi
|
|
Today we learn about a few different kinds of Tzoraas:
- Tzoraas on a place where a person got burned
- Tzoraas on a person’s head or chin
First we learn about tzoraas on a place of a burn:
Skin that was hurt looks different than the skin around it. Yesterday, we learned that if a person has tzoraas on a part of his body that was bruised before, but not from a burn, some of the rules are different than for regular tzoraas. Today we learn about tzoraas on skin that was injured from a burn.
Even though the rules for tzoraas on a burn are the same as for tzoraas on a bruise, this tzoraas is still counted as a separate type. It is important to know that they are separate types, in case someone has a white spot that is partly on a bruise and partly on a burn. We measure each part separately: If they are both smaller than a gris (about the size of a lentil bean), then they are too small to be counted as tzoraas. Even though together the spot is bigger than a gris (the size tzoraas needs to be), it is not counted as one tzoraas spot, because they are not the same kind of tzoraas. Therefore the person is tahor. That would be a case where it is important to know that they are two different types of tzoraas!
Now we learn about tzoraas on a person’s head or chin:
If a person’s hair falls out from a part of his head, and now he sees a colored patch of skin there, it is called a nesek. One of the signs that a nesek is tzoraas is if any hair that grows there later changes color to light gold.
If the kohen isn’t sure if it’s tzoraas, the person needs to wait by himself for seven days. If the nesek gets bigger, or there is hair in the nesek that changes to light gold, the person is tomei.
If nothing changed, the person needs to shave the hair around the nesek to make it easier to see if it spreads, and wait another seven days. If STILL nothing changed, the person is able to follow the steps to become tahor from tzoraas. Afterwards, as long as the nesek doesn’t spread, he will stay tahor.
We also learn how the kohanim know if something is just a pale part of a person’s skin. If that area has white spots that are darker than the colors of tzoraas, then it is just how that person’s skin is. It isn’t considered tzoraas, even if it has some of the other signs of tzoraas — like if white hairs grew there.
|
|
|
|
Did you know that the longest Kapitel (Kuf-Yud-Tes) has 176 pesukim, the longest Parsha in Chumash (Naso) has 176 pesukim, and the longest Gemara (Bava Basra) has 176 dapim? This shows us how the whole Torah is all connected!
Before the beginning of each of the 14 seforim of the Rambam, there is a posuk connected to what we’ll learn in that sefer. Some of those pesukim come from Kapitel Kuf-Yud-Tes!
In the beginning of Sefer Zmanim, which talks about Shabbos and Yom Tov, the Rambam brings a posuk from today’s Tehillim! “Nochalti Eidvosecha Le’olam, Ki Seson Libi Heima” — “I have your mitzvos as a yerusha forever, because they are what brings me happiness!”
The Rebbe explains why this posuk is connected to Shabbos and Yom Tov:
There are many mitzvos, like having emunah in Hashem and davening, that we understand are with us forever, because we do those mitzvos all the time! We would understand if the Rambam used this posuk at the beginning of one of the first two sefarim, which talk about these kinds of mitzvos.
But Shabbos and Yom Tov mitzvos, like bentching licht or making Kiddush on Shabbos, are only mitzvos at a certain time. They aren’t with us all the time!
But the Rambam uses this posuk specifically here, to teach us something! The Rambam is teaching us that even though we only DO these mitzvos at certain times, because we love them, they really are with us all the time! If we love Shabbos and Yom Tov, and think about them every day, these mitzvos will be with us forever, not only on Shabbos and Yom Tov! This way, we will have ALL of the mitzvos with us all the time!
(At the end of Shmoneh Esrei everyone says a posuk that starts with the first and last letter of their name. If your name is Nechama or Nechemya, this could be your posuk, because it starts with a Nun and ends with a Hey!)
|
|
|
TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Mem-Beis
|
|
The Alter Rebbe is teaching us how to have Yiras Shomayim. We need to remember that there is an “Ayin Ro’eh Ve’ozen Shoma’as,” “an eye that sees and an ear that hears.” When we think about how Hashem is watching everything we do, we will feel the Yiras Shomayim that is hiding inside of us, from the koach of Moshe Rabbeinu.
When we say “Hashem is watching you,” what do you think that means? Does it mean that Hashem has special glasses to look at you? No! Of course Hashem doesn’t have eyes like we do!
That is just a mashal to make it easier for us to think about. Really Hashem just KNOWS everything that is happening with us!
The whole world is part of Hashem, since Hashem made everything! Hashem knows what happens with everything and everyone, just like we know and feel whatever happens in our whole body!
Even though it is only a mashal, when we think about this, it will help us to be careful with the way we act, knowing that Hashem is watching everything we do.
|
|
|
|
Today is the eleventh day of the Omer!
In today’s Hayom Yom, we learn about Avodas HaTefillah according to Chassidus Chabad. First we need to work ourselves to get rid of our not-good habits that are not the way the Torah teaches (mikvah), and then to learn Chassidus and make time to think Chassidus before davening (Bigdei Kodesh).
On Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol needs to change his clothes many times. Every time he puts on different clothes, he needs to go to the Mikvah first.
In our Avodas Hashem, we also need to “go to the Mikvah” when we “change our clothes!”
We learned in Tanya that the neshama has “clothes” (Levushim) — Machshava, Dibur, and Maaseh (what we think, what we say, and what we do).
Chassidim get special clothes for their neshama — thinking Chassidus (machshava), saying words of Chassidus (dibur), and making time before davening to think Chassidus (maaseh).
Before we use these special “clothes”, we need to “go to the mikvah”! How?
We “wash off” the things that we got used to doing, just like water washes us off. We fix up the things that we aren’t doing right yet, so that our neshama is ready to use our special Chassidus clothes! Then we can feel close to Hashem when we daven.
That’s what the Alter Rebbe had Mesiras Nefesh for — so Chassidim can daven in this special way.
|
|
|
|
Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #166) is that a kohen is not allowed to become tomei, except for certain people in his family.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Emor: לְנֶפֶשׁ לֹא יִטַּמָּא בְּעַמָּיו
|
|
|
|
In today’s Rambam, perakim Tes, Yud, and Yud-Alef, we learn that there are certain things we do after a person passes away.
Usually, only someone in the family does these things, but for a Nosi or a Rebbe, EVERYONE should do these things, because the Rebbe is like the Tatty for all Yidden.
|
|
|
|
Before the Yidden go out to war, a kohen is given the job as “Meshuach Milchama.” He needs to speak to the Yidden before they go out to fight. One of the things he tells them is that anyone who should not be fighting (like if he just got married), or anyone who is afraid and doesn’t trust in Hashem, should go home.
|
|
|
|
This week in Sefiras Ha’omer, we are working on the midah of Gevurah.
One of the main differences between the first week of Chesed and this week of Gevurah is that chesed is the way we share of ourselves or what we have with others. Gevurah is the opposite — the way we hold back from something we want to say or do, and DON’T share with others.
One of the ways we show our Gevurah is by being stronger than our Yetzer Hara who might want us to say something, but we hold ourselves back.
Let’s say that a girl named Sarah sees a group of her friends. She wants to tell them that her Morah says her project is the best in the whole class!
But Sarah can “rechen mit a tzveiten,” think about how another person will feel.
She can stop and think: How would I feel if another girl told me that the Morah said it about HER project? I would feel bad that Morah didn’t like MY project more.
Then Sarah will use her Gevurah! She WON’T tell her friends about what her Morah said. She decides that she will tell her parents about it later, since it will make them proud. For now, she will ask her friends to all play with her instead — that way EVERYONE will feel good!
Can you think of a way that you can use the gevurah of your neshama?
|
|
|
▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼
|
|
|
|
The Chachomim tell us that this long, long Golus came because of our aveiros, especially because of Sinas Chinam, hating another Jew for no reason.
While we fight the darkness of Golus by bringing light to the world, we also need to fight the Golus by taking away the reason for it! That way, the Golus will have no more reason to be there. We do this by strengthening our Ahavas Yisroel, loving every Jew just because he is a Jew!
In davening, we are going to ask Hashem to bring us the Geulah. We start off our davening by telling Hashem that the reason for the Golus is gone! We say Hareini, telling Hashem that we love every single Jew. This way, the reason for the Golus will go away, and Hashem will give us what we’re asking for — the Geulah for all of the Yidden!
See Igros Kodesh chodesh Menachem Av 5724
|
|
|
|
The Chachomim made a takana called Muktza, which is things we aren’t allowed to move or carry, even inside of our own houses!
There are three reasons for this takana:
1) Shabbos is a day of rest. But if we can carry around whatever we want to in our homes, it won’t be very restful! We will be busy all day moving things around from one place to the next. So the Chachomim made the takana of muktza, so we won’t be able to be busy with all of these things, and will rest on Shabbos.
2) Muktza helps keep us from making a mistake and doing Hotza’ah on Shabbos, carrying outside of a Reshus Hayochid.
If we could just carry whatever we wanted all the time on Shabbos, even things we’re carrying for no reason, we would forget and carry things outside! That is the melacha of Hotza’ah, and the takana of muktza helps keep us from accidentally doing it.
3) The third reason why the Chachomim made the takana of muktza is to make sure that Shabbos feels different and Shabbos’dik for EVERY type of Yid.
Some Yidden don’t do much melacha during the week. If the only thing different on Shabbos was melacha, there wouldn’t be much different on Shabbos for them! It would feel just like a weekday.
The takana of muktza makes sure that Shabbos feels very different for EVERYBODY.
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman Shin-Ches, se’if Alef
|
|
לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק ע״ה בן ר׳ אפרים שי׳ מאסקאוויץ
שליח כ"ק אדמו"ר נשיא דורנו למדינת אילינוי
|
|
|
|
In the haftora of Acharon Shel Pesach, there are many important nevuos about Moshiach! The first thing we learn is about what kind of person Moshiach is.
וְנָחָה עָלָיו רוּחַ ה׳ רוּחַ חָכְמָה וּבִינָה רוּחַ עֵצָה וּגְבוּרָה רוּחַ דַּעַת וְיִרְאַת ה׳
The posuk says:
Venacha Alav Ruach Hashem — The spirit of Hashem will rest on Moshiach
Ruach Chochma U’Vina — A spirit of wisdom and understanding
Ruach Eitza U’Gevurah — A spirit of good advice and strength
Ruach Daas V’Yiras Hashem — A spirit of knowledge and Yiras Shomayim.
When we take out the Sefer Torah on Yom Tov, there is a special tefillah we say. In it we ask Hashem that this posuk should be true about us!
Even though the posuk is talking about Moshiach, we want it to be true about ourselves too. In every Yid there is a spark of Moshiach, and if every Yid makes that spark stronger, it will help the neshama of Moshiach to do its shlichus, and bring the Geulah for all the Yidden!
|
|
|
|
|
לע"נ התינוק זאב ארי' ע"ה בן יבלט"א הרה"ח ר' שניאור זלמן שי' גליק
נפטר ב' מנחם אב ה'תשע"ג
|
|
Give children around the world the gift of Kids Chitas!
KidsChitas.org/sponsor
|
|
|
