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CHUMASH
Parshas Naso - Rishon with Rashi
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Today Hashem tells Moshe to count the Leviim from the family of Gershon who are the right age to carry parts of the Mishkan. Only Leviim who are older than 30 and younger than 50 are strong enough to do this job.
The Torah tells us again what the family of Gershon has to carry:
The curtains for the Mishkan! There are a lot:
- The 3 covers on top of the Mishkan
- The curtain that hangs at the front of the Mishkan (like a door)
- The curtains of the Chatzer (courtyard) of the Mishkan (like a fence around)
- The curtain that was like a door for the Chatzer
- And the ropes to hold down the bottom 2 covers of the Mishkan.
It is the job of Isamar, Aharon’s son, to make sure that these Leviim know how do their job right.
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Today we are starting the Sefer Tehillim again from the very beginning!
The Gemara says that Kapitel Ches (8) is talking about Matan Torah!
If you look in the kapitel, you will see that posuk Beis and the last posuk have the same words in them! Why? Let’s see what the Gemara says:
When Hashem wanted to give the Torah to Yidden, the Malachim were upset! They thought, “Hashem wants to give such a special hidden treasure to PEOPLE?!”
They said Posuk Beis of this kapitel to Hashem: “Hashem Adoneinu, Mah Adir Shimcha Bechol Ha’aretz, Asher Tenah Hodcha Al Hashomayim!” “Hashem, You are so great, put your Torah in Shomayim!”
Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu to answer the Malochim. Moshe answered, “What does the Torah say? Not to steal. Do Malochim have a Yetzer Hara that they would want to steal from each other?” After Moshe told them this and some more reasons why only Yidden can keep the Torah, the Malochim agreed.
They said this posuk again, saying how great Hashem is — but this time not asking Him to keep the Torah in Shomayim. They just said, “Hashem Adoneinu, Mah Adir Shimcha Bechol Ha’aretz.” “Hashem, You are so great.” They agreed that the very best place for the Torah is with a Yid who has a Yetzer Hara, in this world, where he can make a Dira Betachtonim!
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TANYA
Likutei Amarim Perek Nun-Gimmel
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We are starting to learn the last Perek of the first section of Likutei Amarim today!
We asked earlier, “What does it mean that Hashem’s Shechinah was in the Beis Hamikdash? Isn’t Hashem everywhere?” We explained that of course Hashem is everywhere, but He is hidden. In the Beis Hamikdash, we can FEEL Hashem!
The Alter Rebbe started to explain to us how the Shechinah can be felt in the Beis Hamikdash. The Shechinah needs a “cover” so we can feel it in the world (otherwise it is too strong), and that cover is the Torah, the Chochmah of Hashem.
There are many steps that Hashem’s Shechinah goes through. In each Ruchnius world, a different part of Torah can be the cover. Now, finally, the Alter Rebbe will tell us how the Shechinah comes into the Beis Hamikdash in this world!
What part of Torah “covers” the Shechinah in this world?
In the times of the First Beis Hamikdash, it was the Aseres Hadibros, engraved in the Luchos! With that “cover,” we could feel Hashem in the Beis Hamikdash!
In the times of the First Beis Hamikdash, when we had the Luchos, we were able to feel the Shechinah in a very strong way. The Shechinah didn’t need to go through so many steps to reach the Luchos, so we could feel the Shechinah from the Ruchnius world of Briyah, even though most Gashmius is in a lower world of Asiyah!
This is because the Luchos weren’t regular Gashmius, they were made by Hashem Himself! Hashem made the Luchos, “Maaseh Elokim Chayim” — using the chayus of the name of Hashem called “Elokim Chayim.” The level of Elokim Chayim is the way Hashem is felt in the olam of Briyah. That’s why we were able to feel the Shechinah on the level of Briyah when we had the Luchos in the Beis Hamikdash!
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Today is forty-five days of the Omer!
We won’t say Tachanun until Yud-Beis Sivan. (Why? The first days of Sivan are days of preparation for receiving the Torah, so we don’t say Tachanun those days. In the times of the Beis Hamikdash, there were seven days for people to bring their Korbanos in case they weren’t able to do it on Yom Tov itself, called Yemei Tashlumin. Nowadays too, since these Yemei Tashlumin are connected to Shavuos, we don’t say Tachanun until they are over, on Yud-Beis Sivan.)
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Do you know that EVERY Yid loves Hashem deep inside their neshama? We learned in Tanya many times that it is because of Avraham Avinu’s Mesiras Nefesh! Hashem told Avraham that all Yidden will be BORN with a love for Hashem hiding inside their neshama.
Today the Rebbe shows us something CHASSIDIM are born with, in the zechus of the Rebbeim:
Every chossid WANTS to be close to Chassidus. No matter where they are, everyone who is a chossid or comes from a family of Chassidim, wants to be close to Chassidus deep inside their neshama.
Even if this part of their neshama gets covered up for whatever reason, deep inside, every chossid will always yearn for Chassidus. All they need to do is to bring it out by learning Chassidus and acting like a chossid.
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Today’s mitzvah (Mitzvas Asei #17) is a special mitzvah for a Yiddishe king! He needs to write or buy a Sefer Torah to keep with him ALL THE TIME. This will remind him of his very important job!
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Shoftim: וְהָיָה כְשִׁבְתּוֹ עַל כִּסֵּא מַמְלַכְתּוֹ וְכָתַב לוֹ אֶת מִשְׁנֵה הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת
The details are explained in Mesechta Sanhedrin perek Beis.
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RAMBAM
Hilchos Tefillin U'Mezuzah V'Sefer Torah
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In today’s Rambam, we will finish this set of halachos.
Perek Ches: The Rambam teaches us more about writing a Sefer Torah. We learn about how we leave a space after paragraphs in a Sefer Torah: If the space is at the end of a line, it is called a “Pesucha” (“open” — in your Chumash, you will usually see the letter “pey.”) If the space is in the middle of a line, it is called “Stumah” (“closed” — you will see a samech in your Chumash).
If a sofer leaves a space in the wrong place, or mixes up the kinds of spaces, the Torah is posul!
Perek Tes: We learn many more halachos about how the Torah is written, sewn, and attached to the Atzei Chayim (the poles).
Perek Yud: Now that we learned all of these halachos, we understand that there are 20 ways for a Sefer Torah to be posul. Here are two examples: 1) if two letters are touching, or 2) if the ink isn’t black.
We also learn how to treat a Sefer Torah: One halacha is that a Sefer Torah can only be sold if someone doesn’t have anything else to sell and wants to learn Torah or to get married.
The Rambam also tells us how we treat all kinds of kedusha things, and what needs to go into sheimos!
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The Rambam teaches us many things about Ahavas Yisroel. We need to care about another person’s respect like we do about our own, and be careful with another person’s money the way we care about our own.
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Today, Rosh Chodesh Sivan, is a very special day!
On Rosh Chodesh, the Yidden came to Midbar Sinai, the place where they were going to get the Torah. There they camped — they stopped and set up their tents to stay as they prepared for Matan Torah.
When the Torah tells us about this, it doesn’t say, “Vayachanu, and THEY camped” (for many people), the Torah says “Vayichan, and HE camped” (like for one person).
Why does the Torah say Vayichan, for one person, when it is talking about ALL of the Yidden?
Because when the Yidden camped near Har Sinai, they were like one person, not a group of millions of people! They were all thinking about one thing, that they were about to get the Torah, all together! They were like one person, with one heart.
The Medrash tells us that it was right then when Hashem decided to give the Torah to the Yidden! Hashem said, since it is clear that the Yidden hate machlokes and love shalom, and are now camped as one person, now is the time to give them the Torah!
Of course, Moshe Rabbeinu helped the Yidden themselves prepare for Matan Torah in the days afterwards. But Hashem was ready as soon as He saw the beautiful achdus of the Yidden when they camped near Har Sinai, to give the Yidden the Torah!
Every year on Shavuos, we remember and relive Matan Torah. But we shouldn’t only remember the actual day of Matan Torah, we should also relive the achdus of the Yidden then, which began today, on Rosh Chodesh Sivan! This is a very important preparation for receiving the Torah.
The Rebbe spoke about this achdus to prepare for Matan Torah many times over the years. The Rebbe asked that we should speak about achdus, think about achdus, learn about achdus, and actually DO peulos of Ahavas Yisroel and Achdus Yisroel!
One year, the Rebbe asked to make farbrengens around the world on the Shabbos before Rosh Chodesh. At the Rebbe’s own farbrengen that week, the Rebbe asked that the children should share their lechaims and mezonos with each other, so that they are able to do an act of Ahavas Yisroel right then!
Even though Ahavas Yisroel and achdus are important all year, there are times that are special times for it. One of those times is today, as a preparation for Matan Torah! This special time for Ahavas Yisroel won’t only help us be ready to get the Torah again on Shavuos, but it will also take away the reason for the Golus, and bring the Geulah!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Chof-Ches p. 233
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In the second half of Hodu, we said many pesukim about the greatness of Hashem and asking Hashem to bring the Geulah.
We continue speaking about the Geulah in the next paragraph. We say a kapitel of Tehillim, “Mizmor Shir Chanukas Habayis,” a kapitel which is a song for the Chanukas Habayis for the Beis Hamikdash. The Sforno explains that this is a song that the Yidden will sing to Hashem at the Chanukas Habayis of the third Beis Hamikdash!
This is also connected to the section of korbanos which we just finished. We ask Hashem to rebuild the place where we can bring the REAL korbanos, and do the Avodah like Hashem asked us to.
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As a preparation for Matan Torah, we are learning about some of the mitzvos that we get to do all the time! They are called the Sheish Mitzvos Temidios, the six constant mitzvos.
The first two of these mitzvos are to believe in Hashem, and not to believe in anything or anyone else.
The third mitzvah of the “constant mitzvos,” the mitzvos we are able to keep ALL the time, is “Leyachdo.” That means to realize that Hashem is ONE — Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echod.
When we look at the world around us, it looks like there are many different creations, and everything in the world seems to be separate from each other. But when we learn more about Hashem and think deeply about the inyan of Achdus Hashem, how Hashem is one (as explained in Chassidus), especially during davening, we realize that these are all really the same Hashem shining in different ways!
This is explained very clearly in Chassidus, starting with Shaar Hayichud VeHa’Emunah of the Alter Rebbe, and in the many maamarim of the Rebbeim.
When we learn about this Oneness of Hashem (Achdus Hashem), and make this understanding part of us, we are fulfilling the mitzvah of Leyachdo.
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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 Navi Yeshaya says that when Moshiach comes, a great shofar will be blown! Then the Yidden will come back from all of the places where they are lost or in Golus, even very far away. They will all come back together to Yerushalayim, where they can serve Hashem in the Beis Hamikdash!
This great shofar has a special koach in Ruchnius! That is how it will bring all of the Yidden back.
The shofar we hear in Elul wakes us up to do teshuvah. This great shofar will be able to do this in a much stronger way! It will wake up the pintele Yid from EVERY Jew, even Yidden that are very far away from Yiddishkeit. This will make all of them want to come closer to Torah and mitzvos, and they will all come together in Yerushalayim to serve Hashem.
See the maamar “Vehaya Bayom Hahu” Tof-Shin-Chof-Ches (mugah for Rosh Hashana Tof-Shin-Nun-Beis)
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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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