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CHUMASH
Parshas Devarim - Rishon with Rashi
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We are now starting the fifth book of the Torah, Chumash Devarim! This Chumash is different than the other four Chumashim! It is called “Mishneh Torah,” which means to review the Torah, since Moshe Rabbeinu is reviewing the mitzvos the Yidden learned and reminding them about what happened in the Midbar.
This whole sefer is like one long farbrengen with the Yidden, inspiring them to do what Hashem wants from them when they come into Eretz Yisroel. Even though Moshe Rabbeinu himself won’t be able to go in, he wants to make sure that the Yidden are ready for the new challenges of living in Eretz Yisroel.
Moshe Rabbeinu first reminds the Yidden about the mistakes they made in the Midbar, so the Yidden won’t make them again.
The Torah tells us where Moshe said this — between Paran and Tofel and Lavan and Chatzeiros and Di-Zahav. These look like names of places — but really they are hinting to the aveiros the Yidden did in the Midbar. Instead of embarrassing them by saying the aveiros clearly in the Chumash, they are only hinted to in these “names.”
For example, two of the places the posuk says are “Tofel and Lavan.” But there really ARE no places with these names! These places hint to us about how the Yidden “Taflu” — made silly complaints about the Mahn, which was “Lavan” — white.
Then Moshe reviews how when they stood at Har Sinai, Hashem told them to go to Eretz Yisroel! But because of the things they did, only now, 40 years later, are the Yidden ready to go into Eretz Yisroel. (If the Yidden hadn’t sent the Meraglim, they would have been able to go in right away, and wouldn’t even have needed to fight with the goyim in Eretz Yisroel.)
Moshe also reviews with the Yidden how the system of judges started.
Moshe realized that he can’t be the only judge over the Yidden. Hashem expects the leaders to make sure that every Yid behaves properly, and punishes the leaders if they don’t. Moshe Rabbeinu realized that he would not be able to do the whole job himself — he needed to have more judges to help EACH of the Yidden do what Hashem wants.
Still, Moshe is happy that there were so many Yidden that they can’t be judged by just one person. Moshe Rabbeinu gives the Yidden a bracha that there should be many more Yidden!
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Today we say the 15 Shir Hamaalos, kapitelach Kuf-Chof until Kuf-Lamed-Daled, like the 15 steps from the Ezras Noshim into the Azara in the Beis Hamikdash!
Kapitel Kuf-Chof-Beis (which is the Rebbe’s Kapitel this year) talks about when the Yidden would go up to Yerushalayim. Yerushalayim is called “Ir Shechubra La Yachdav” — “a city that is connected together.”
What is this talking about? Together with WHAT?
In the Gemara it says that there are TWO Yerushalayims! There is a Yerushalayim Shel Maalah, a ruchnius city in Shomayim, and Yerushalayim Shel Matah — the city of Yerushalayim that we see. They are both connected!
The Gemara says that Hashem doesn’t go into the Gashmius Yerushalayim until He goes into Yerushalayim Shel Maalah, the ruchnius Yerushalayim.
What makes Hashem go into these two Yerushalayims? It’s because of what the Yidden do!
The Tzemach Tzedek explains that there are two things that bring Hashem into the two Yerushalayims — and we are learning about them in Tanya — Teshuvah Tata’ah and Teshuvah Ila’ah.
When we do Teshuvah, it brings Geulah, bringing Hashem’s Shechinah back into Yerushalayim! Teshuvah Tata’ah brings Hashem into Yerushalayim Shel Matah, and Teshuvah Ila’ah brings Hashem into Yerushalayim Shel Maalah!
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TANYA
Igeres Hateshuvah Perek Yud
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Teshuvah means that a Yid returns to Hashem with his whole heart. He decides that he is ready to act ONLY the way Hashem wants.
We learned about the two steps in Teshuvah — getting rid of the aveiros by having Rachmonus on our neshama, and thinking about how aveiros make Yidden be in Golus. Then we do Teshuvah Ila’ah — once the aveiros are gone, we daven and learn and do mitzvos with a NEW chayus, more than before!
Today the Alter Rebbe tells us how we can make these kinds of Teshuvah part of our day.
It used to be the Minhag to say Tikun Chatzos late at night, special tefilos about the Churban of the Beis Hamikdash. That is the perfect time to do Teshuvah Tata’ah — thinking about the Churban that our aveiros make, and having rachmonus on our Neshama.
Then the next morning when we daven is the perfect time to act with the chayus of Teshuvah Ila’ah: Daven with special chayus and simcha, and then learn and do mitzvos with chayus, and with the kavana that we want to be connected and close to Hashem.
If someone can’t do Teshuvah Tata’ah every day, then at least once a week he should, before Shabbos. Then he will have the chayus of Teshuvah Ila’ah for Shabbos! The word Shabbos has the main letters of Teshuvah — Tof, shin, and beis — and it is a time that is very special for Teshuvah Ila’ah!
(Nowadays, we don’t do Tikun Chazos, but we can make a Cheshbon Hanefesh in Krias Shema She’al Hamitah, and especially before Shabbos. But like we learned before, the Rebbe tells us that nothing should stop us from jumping straight to living with the chayus of Teshuvah Ila’ah — Lechatchila Ariber!)
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In the times of the Alter Rebbe, there were no Chabad Chassidim, because the Alter Rebbe just started to teach Chabad Chassidus for the first time. Many people came to the Alter Rebbe, and they became the first Chabad Chassidim.
Once an unusually brilliant Talmid Chochom came to the Alter Rebbe. He had learned a lot of Torah and lived the way a Yid should, with Yiras Shomayim. After coming to the Alter Rebbe in Liozna, he also learned a lot of Chassidus, and accomplished a lot in his learning in a short amount of time.
When he came for his first Yechidus, he asked the Alter Rebbe: “Rebbe, what am I missing?”
The Alter Rebbe answered him, “You aren’t missing anything! You are a Yerei Shomayim and a Lamdan. But you need to get rid of gaavah, which is compared to chometz, and bring in bittul, which is compared to matzah.” The Alter Rebbe then explained to him a halacha in kashering keilim for Pesach, and what it means in Avodas Hashem — how to have bittul.
This is one of the things that Chassidus teaches us, that even someone who is doing everything right still has room to become better, to do teshuvah and become closer to Hashem.
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SEFER HAMITZVOS
Shiur #85 - Mitzvas Asei #220, #218, Lo Saasei #358, Asei #219, Lo Saasei #359
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Earlier in Sefer Hamitzvos, we learned that it’s asur for a person to act like he is married without doing Kiddushin, getting married according to the Torah. Today we learn three mitzvos about what happens if someone DOES act like he is married to a girl without Chuppah and Kiddushin:
1) (Mitzvas Asei #220) If someone CONVINCES a girl to act like she is married to him without Chuppah and Kiddushin (mefateh), we have to follow all of the halachos the Torah tells us of what should be done if this happens.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Mishpatim: וְכִי יְפַתֶּה אִישׁ בְּתוּלָה
The details are explained in Mesechta Kesubos perakim Gimmel and Daled.
2) (Mitzvas Asei #218) If someone FORCES a girl to act like she is married to him without Chuppah and Kiddushin (oness), he has a mitzvah to marry her and stay married to her if she wants.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Ki Seitzei: וְלוֹ תִהְיֶה לְאִשָּׁה תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר עִנָּהּ לֹא יוּכַל שַׁלְּחָהּ כָּל יָמָיו
The details are explained in Mesechta Kesubos perakim Gimmel and Daled.
3) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #358) If they get married, they are married for as long as she wants, and he is not allowed to give her a get (unless she wants one).
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Ki Seitzei: וְלוֹ תִהְיֶה לְאִשָּׁה וְגוֹ׳ לֹא יוּכַל שַׁלְּחָהּ כָּל יָמָיו
The details are explained in Mesechta Kesubos perakim Gimmel and Daled.
There are another two mitzvos about somebody that says not true things about his wife:
4) (Mitzvas Asei #219) If a man says not-true things about his wife (that she acted like she was married before she married him, called Motzi Shem Ra), the Beis Din needs to punish him with malkos, and he needs to stay married to her forever if she wants (like in the mitzvah of Oness we learned before).
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Ki Seitzei: וְלוֹ תִהְיֶה לְאִשָּׁה לֹא יוּכַל לְשַׁלְּחָהּ כָּל יָמָיו
The details are explained in Mesechta Kesubos perakim Gimmel and Daled.
5) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #359) This is the Mitzvas Lo Saasei to the mitzvah we just learned: That the husband who was Motzi Shem Ra about his wife has to stay married to her, and he can’t ever give her a get unless she wants one.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Ki Seitzei: לֹא יוּכַל לְשַׁלְּחָהּ כָּל יָמָיו
The details are explained in the last perek of Mesechta Makos, and Mesechta Kesubos perakim Gimmel and Daled.
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In today’s Rambam we learn the halachos of the mitzvos in Sefer Hamitzvos. One halacha is that if a person forces a girl to act like they are married without really getting married according to Torah, he has to really marry her, like the mitzvah says. Even if she is sick or has a problem that might make someone not want to marry her, he has to marry her anyway if she wants.
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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!
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Chumash Devarim is different than the other four. In the first four Chumashim, Moshe Rabbeinu writes down the words of Hashem exactly, like a person who copies down what he hears. In Chumash Devarim, Moshe Rabbeinu speaks the words of Hashem the way the Ruach Hakodesh came into his own understanding.
Why was there a change in the way the Torah was given over in this Chumash?
The reason for this change was because Moshe Rabbeinu was speaking to a new group of Yidden. These Yidden were the people who would be going into Eretz Yisroel. They would be dealing with Gashmius, which would be very different from the way they lived in the Midbar. In the Midbar, all of the Gashmius was taken care of for them, but in Eretz Yisroel, they would need to work for it themselves.
That’s why Chumash Devarim needed to come this way. When the Torah came down into Moshe Rabbeinu’s sechel, it was closer to the Yidden’s Gashmius life. It would help them deal with all of the new challenges of living in Eretz Yisroel.
In Chumash Devarim, many of the inyonim from the first four Chumashim were reviewed again, in the style of Chumash Devarim. This way, the Yidden would appreciate the WHOLE Torah, not just Chumash Devarim! They would realize that the WHOLE Torah is important for them to know.
Nowadays, we also have a “Chumash Devarim.” The Rebbeim of each generation teach us Torah in a new way, which fits with how we live in these times. Through the Torah that they teach, and the horaos and takanos they give us to keep, not only do we have the new things they teach us, but we see that the WHOLE Torah is meaningful!
See Likutei Sichos chelek Daled, Parshas Devarim
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The second of the Twelve Pesukim is the first line of Shema! We all already know the words of this posuk very well, but we should also know what the posuk means, and what its lesson is for us!
At the end of the posuk we say, Hashem Echod — Hashem is one.
The word Echod shows us HOW Hashem is one! Echod is made of three letters, Alef, Ches, and Daled.
Alef — Alef is the first letter, so the Gematria of Alef is ONE! The Alef is the one Aibershter, the Alufo Shel Olam.
Ches — Ches is the eighth letter of the Alef-Beis, with a Gematria of EIGHT. The Ches reminds us of the seven levels of Shomayim, plus the one earth where we live — eight all together!
Daled — Daled is the fourth letter of the Alef-Beis, so it has a Gematria of FOUR. The Daled reminds us of the Daled Ruchos, the four different directions — north, south, east, and west.
And what letter is first? The Alef, of course!
The word Echod shows us that the heavens and the earth (the Ches), and all four directions (the Daled), are all like nothing on their own. They only exist because they come after the Alef, because Hashem, the Alufo Shel Olam, gives them chayus!
This is something even kids need to know!
When we look around, the world looks very big! There are many exciting things to do and places to go. There are fun trips to take and toys to play with. There are books to read, flowers to smell, and delicious foods to taste. There are so many different things in the heavens and the earth, and in all four directions.
But really, all of these things are like nothing on their own! They only exist because Hashem, the Alufo Shel Olam, gives them chayus! They are only here because Hashem Echod, because the ONE Hashem, wants them to be here!
That will make us realize that we shouldn’t just take our exciting trips or play with our fun toys because WE like them. We will realize that everything we do needs to be for Hashem!
We will want to do things that make Hashem happy all the time! We will want to use all of our trips, all of our toys, and all of our treats to bring us closer to Hashem and fulfill the shlichus Hashem put us in the world to do!
That’s what we say in the paragraph that comes after Shema, Ve’ahavta. We say that we should love Hashem, and that we are ready to use EVERYTHING we have to do what Hashem wants!
See Der Rebbe Redt Tzu Kinder chelek Hey, p. 249
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The Torah teaches us that we need to be careful not to have dangerous things. That is why we have a mitzvah to make a fence around our roof, so that nobody will fall off chas veshalom!
We also need to be careful about other dangerous things. For example, if we have a deep hole in our yard, we need a fence around that too, so that nobody will fall in. We are not allowed to have a ladder with a broken rung, because someone might try to use it and get hurt.
See Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, siman Kuf-Tzadik
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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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As we learned in the previous shiur, it is hard to really understand the nevuah of Yechezkel Hanavi about the Third Beis Hamikdash.
Still, it shouldn’t stop us from learning it as much as possible!
R’ Yom Tov Lipman Heller was a talmid of the Maharal of Prague. He later wrote a famous pirush on Mishnayos, called the Tosfos Yom Tov.
When R’ Yom Tov Lipman Heller was younger, he learned the nevuah of Yechezkel very well according to Rashi. He knew that learning about the Beis Hamikdash is like building it, and he wanted to do the best he could! He drew a diagram of the third Beis Hamikdash, based on everything in Sefer Yechezkel that he could understand.
His friends were very excited! They encouraged him to write a sefer explaining Yechezkel’s nevuah. The Tosfos Yom Tov did write the sefer, which teaches Yechezkel’s nevuah according to Rashi, as clearly as possible. This sefer is called “Tzuras Habayis.”
Unfortunately, we don’t have the diagram he drew of the third Beis Hamikdash, but we do have the sefer! Learning it can help us understand the third Beis Hamikdash as much as possible!
(There is also an English sefer describing the Third Beis Hamikdash, by Rabbi Chaim Clorfene, with pictures and models, called The Messianic Temple. It is based on Tzuras Habayis and other sources, teaching us as much as possible about the Third Beis Hamikdash!)
By following the Rebbe’s takana to learn about the Beis Hamikdash during the Three Weeks, may we be zoche to see the building of the Third Beis Hamikdash bekarov mamosh, Amen!
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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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