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CHUMASH
Parshas Devarim - Shishi with Rashi
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In today’s Chumash, Moshe Rabbeinu reviews with the Yidden how they captured the lands of Sichon and Og.
Sichon and Og: Moshe Rabbeinu reminds the Yidden how they won over Sichon and Og, the kings of the Emori, even though these kings were SO strong! Hashem told them to fight with these nations, and they did, completely capturing their land.
Part of their land went to Shevet Reuven and Gad, and part to some of the families of Shevet Menasheh.
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Today’s kapitelach are kapitelach Yud-Ches to Chof-Beis.
In today’s Tehilim, there is a posuk that is explained in the first section of Igeres HaKodesh, which we start learning today!
In Kapitel Yud-Tes, there is a posuk that talks about Torah: “Toras Hashem Temimah, Meshivas Nafesh.” “The Torah of Hashem is complete, it makes the neshama feel good.”
The Alter Rebbe uses this posuk to show why he was so happy to hear that the Chassidim learned the whole Shas (Mishnayos and Gemara) in many places over the year. When the Torah is complete — meaning that the whole Torah is learned — it makes the Neshama happy!
Chassidim STILL have this minhag to learn the whole Shas over a year — it’s called Chalukas HaShas. Each chossid takes one Gemara to learn over the year starting from Yud-Tes Kislev, so that together, we finish learning the whole thing! Do you know which Mesechta YOUR Tatty is learning?
This is also the reason we make a siyum on a Mesechta in the Nine Days! Finishing a section of Torah brings us simcha, and we need to find ways to increase in Simcha that are allowed in halacha during the Nine Days. Simcha Poretz Geder — simcha is able to change the way things usually are, and we need to try every way we can to make these days of sadness become days of joy!
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Alef
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Today we are starting the fourth Chelek of Tanya! It is called Igeres HaKodesh — the holy letter. There are really a lot of letters here, where the Alter Rebbe helps show the Chassidim how to serve Hashem. But because the last section was called Igeres HaTeshuvah, this chelek is just called Igeres HaKodesh.
The first letter has three parts, which we will learn over the next three days. The first part was written when the Alter Rebbe was going to the Maggid in Mezritch. He already had many people he was learning Torah with, and before he left, he wrote this letter to encourage them in their learning.
The Alter Rebbe starts with a bracha, thanking Hashem for the good news that he heard — that his Talmidim finished learning the WHOLE Mishnayos and Gemara!
The Alter Rebbe explains why learning Mishnayos and Gemara are so special:
Let’s take a mashal of a person. He has a head and hands, and the rest of the upper part of the body, which are all very important parts. But how does he get to where he needs to be to use his kochos? With the lower half of the body, his waist and legs and feet.
We also have an “upper half” and a “lower half” in Ruchnius:
The “upper half” is our koach to think about the greatness of Hashem (hisbonenus), which brings us to feel a love for Hashem (Ahava) and being afraid to do anything that will chas veshalom separate us from Hashem (Yirah).
But we also need the “lower half” that makes this possible. In Ruchnius, that’s our emunah! Only when we have emunah in Hashem are we able to have hisbonenus about Hashem, and start to feel Ahava and Yirah.
Tomorrow we will IY”H learn about how we make the “lower half,” the emunah of our neshama, strong. We do this by learning the whole Shas, which teaches us what Hashem wants! Then we will be able to have hisbonenus in davening, and feel Ahava and Yirah. Learning Torah is like the belt which holds the waist strong, so it can hold up the whole body.
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In the Nine Days, we think about how sad it is that the Yidden are in Golus. We ask Hashem for Moshiach now! Today we will learn a certain way to think about Golus, which will give us chayus to make sure we use every chance we have in Golus to do good things.
The Rebbe Rashab said in a sicha that when Moshiach comes very soon, we will miss the days of Golus. It will bother us that we didn’t use all of the chances we had in Golus to serve Hashem properly. Then we will realize that it was a very special time which we had only during Golus.
Now is the time to use out this opportunity the best we can and do whatever is possible to prepare for the Geulah!
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We are still learning about keeping marriage holy. Today we learn 4 mitzvos about who we can’t get married to:
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #348) A man is not allowed to get married to an animal.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: וּבְכָל בְּהֵמָה לֹא תִתֵּן שְׁכָבְתְּךָ
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #349) A woman isn’t allowed to get married to an animal.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: וְאִשָּׁה לֹא תַעֲמֹד לִפְנֵי בְהֵמָה לְרִבְעָהּ
3) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #350) A man isn’t allowed to get married to another man.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: וְאֶת זָכָר לֹא תִשְׁכַּב מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה תּוֹעֵבָה הִוא
4) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #351) A man isn’t allowed to get married to his father.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Acharei: עֶרְוַת אָבִיךָ וְגוֹ׳ לֹא תְגַלֵּה
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In today’s Rambam, Perakim Tes, Yud, and Yud-Alef, we are learning more about Taharas Hamishpacha — making sure that our marriage is tahor.
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According to the Torah, only clothes made of wool or linen need tzitzis, but the Chachomim told us to put tzitzis on clothes made of ANY material with four corners.
Did you know that a kapote can have four corners? If you look at a kapote, you will see that one of the corners is rounded, so it doesn’t count as a corner. If it wasn’t round, you would need to put tzitzis on your kapote too!
Mazel Tov! We have now finished learning this set of halachos!
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Once there was a little boy, whose father loved him very much.
One day, the father decided to have a new suit made for his son. He chose fine fabric and polished buttons, and had the tailor work hard to sew a handsome suit.
The son was so grateful and so proud to have such a wonderful suit! He loved to wear it, knowing that it was a special gift from his father, who loved him so much.
But the little boy was not as careful as he should have been. He wore the suit even when he was playing outside with his friends, and soon the beautiful suit was torn and stained.
The little boy showed his father sadly how his suit was ruined and couldn’t be worn anymore.
The father loved his son, and had the tailor make another suit, as fine as the one before.
At first, the little boy wore his suit carefully. But after a while, he forgot again. Soon this suit as well was completely ruined.
The father again went back to the tailor, and had him make the suit again. But this time, he did not give the suit to his son. He hung it in the closet, telling his son that he would only get the suit when he showed that he now knew how to take care of it.
Every year, the father would pull the suit out of the closet, reminding his son to be careful so that he would deserve to have again such a beautiful suit to wear.
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This story is a mashal told by R’ Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev.
We are like the little boy, Hashem is the father, and the handsome suit is our precious Beis Hamikdash. Twice we were not careful with the Beis Hamikdash, and twice it was destroyed. Hashem is ready to give us another one, but we first have to show that we have learned how to take care of it.
Every year, on Shabbos Chazon, Hashem shows us a “chazon” (a vision) of the Third Beis Hamikdash. Our neshama is able to see it, and it is reminded to behave as Hashem wants us to, so that we can merit to have the third Beis Hamikdash very soon!
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▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼
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The posuk Kol Yisrael speaks about how EVERY Yid will be part of Techiyas Hameisim, how every Yid has a part of Olam Haba.
But not every part of Olam Haba is the same!
Our part of Olam Haba will be a reward for the Avodah we do now! It is a very big reward, because it is “L’Olam Yirshu Aretz” — a place in Olam Haba that lasts forever!
The kind of place we get in Olam Haba depends on how we behave now.
When we think about this, we will realize that what we do makes a big difference!
By doing many mitzvos and learning lots of Torah, we will deserve for Hashem to give us a very SPECIAL part in Olam Haba!
See Der Rebbe Redt Tzu Kinder vol. 5, p. 251
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In the Gemara, it talks about a Tanna R’ Elazar, who had the following minhag: In the morning, he would give a perutah (a small coin) to a poor person, and then go daven Shemoneh Esrei.
R’ Elazar did this because the posuk says, “Ani Betzedek Echezeh Panecha,” “With tzedek (tzedakah) I will see Your face.” Rashi explains that he learned from this posuk to first take care of the “tezdek” by giving tzedakah, and then “Echezeh Panecha,” to “see Hashem’s face” in davening!
Based on this Gemara, the Shulchan Aruch tells us that we should give tzedakah before davening. In the time of R’ Elazar, Shemoneh Esrei was the whole davening, but now we give tzedakah before starting Shacharis.
(On the same page as the Gemara tells us this story, it also tells us that “Tzedakah Mekareves Es Hageulah” — Tzedakah brings Moshiach! That is something else we should think about when we give tzedakah!)
See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, siman Tzadik-Beis, se’if yud
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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 third Beis Hamikdash will be the same as the second in many ways, but not exactly. We can learn about the second Beis Hamikdash in Mesechta Midos of Mishnayos, or Hilchos Beis Habechirah of the Rambam, but that’s not going to be enough to build it right. The Navi Yechezkel told us details about how the third Beis Hamikdash will be different, but a lot of the things he says aren’t so clear.
Hashem will need to show many of the details when Moshiach comes. So why is it so important for us to learn about the Beis Hamikdash now?
The answer is that there is a mitzvah in the Torah, “Ve’asu Li Mikdash Veshachanti Besocham.” Hashem tells us to build Him a Mishkan, and He will rest among the Yidden.
This mitzvah wasn’t only a mitzvah in the Midbar or only in Eretz Yisroel — it is a mitzvah for ALWAYS!
Nowadays we can’t build Hashem a Gashmius Mishkan with our hands, but we can do the mitzvah by learning about the Beis Hamikdash that we will need to build.
When we learn as much as we can about the Beis Hamikdash, we are doing the mitzvah the best way we can. Also, when Hashem sees us so interested in learning about the Beis Hamikdash, He will make sure that we can actually build it faster, by sending us Moshiach right away!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Yud-Ches, parshas Masei — Three Weeks
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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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