|
|
CHUMASH
Parshas Eikev - Shlishi with Rashi
|
|
Moshe Rabbeinu is reminding the Yidden about the things that happened during the last forty years of traveling in the midbar. They are getting ready to go into Eretz Yisroel with Yehoshua!
“You are about to go into the special land of Eretz Yisroel! Don’t make a mistake and think that Hashem is taking out the goyim and letting you go in because you are tzadikim and you deserve it!”
Moshe Rabbeinu doesn’t want the Yidden to have gaava (to think about themselves and how important and special they are), because then they will be busy thinking about themselves, and won’t be able to think about Hashem and doing what Hashem wants!
“Remember that right after Matan Torah, you decided to make the Eigel — and remember what happened to everyone who helped!
“Remember all the times when you complained about food and water instead of having bitachon that Hashem will take care of whatever you need!
“Remember how you complained that you didn’t want to go into Eretz Yisroel after the Meraglim came back!
“So why are you going into Eretz Yisroel, if you don’t deserve it? Because the goyim are acting in ways that make Hashem upset, and He doesn’t want them to live there anymore. It is also because of the Mesiras Nefesh the Avos had to act the way Hashem wants, and Hashem’s promise to them that their children would get Eretz Yisroel.
“Don’t think that you can act however you want and still stay in Eretz Yisroel — you need to make sure to live the way Hashem tells you, in order to deserve to stay!”
|
|
|
|
Today’s kapitelach are Ayin-Beis to Ayin-Vov.
In Kapitel Ayin-Gimmel (73), there is a posuk “Mi Li Bashamayim Ve’imcha Lo Chofatzti Ba’aretz.” “Do I need Shomayim? And I don’t want what’s with You in the world.”
The Tzemach Tzedek said that the Alter Rebbe used to say that this posuk means that he doesn’t want what’s WITH Hashem, like Gan Eden or Olam Haba. He just wanted Hashem Himself!
How does a person connect with Hashem Himself? By doing a mitzvah in this Gashmiyus world! The Chachomim say that one hour of teshuvah and Maasim Tovim in this world is better than the whole Olam Haba! In Olam Haba, neshamos enjoy the light of Hashem, but through a mitzvah in this world, the neshama connects with the ESSENCE of Hashem.
|
|
|
TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Hey
|
|
The Alter Rebbe is encouraging Chassidim to give tzedakah, by explaining what happens in Ruchnius when we give tzedakah!
We learned that when we give tzedakah, we make Hashem’s name complete.
We see this in a posuk, “Vayaas Dovid Sheim,” “Dovid made Hashem’s name.” The Zohar explains that this happened because of the tzedakah and chesed that he did!
Hashem’s name is complete when we have not just the Yud of Hashem’s name, but also the Hey. Later we will see how Hashem’s name is made through giving tzedakah, but first we need to learn what the Chachomim teach us, that with Hashem’s name Yud and Hey, Olam Haba and Olam Hazeh were created.
Yesterday, the Alter Rebbe explained that the Yud of Hashem’s name is what gives chayus to Olam Haba, and today we will learn about the Hey of Hashem’s name:
The Hey of Hashem’s name gives chayus to Olam Hazeh, this world.
Why?
We can understand this better by using a mashal of how a person speaks.
When we talk, there are two parts:
1) One is the sound that comes from our breath.
2) The other is the way we move our mouth and throat to shape that sound into the 22 letters of the Alef-Beis.
The different letters in our speech come from a very deep koach in our neshama. This is like the Yud of Hashem’s name, which shows a very deep part of Hashem — Hashem’s pnimius.
But we can’t hear those letters without the sound itself, which comes from our breath.
Our breath is like the Hey of Hashem’s name. (Without trying to shape the sound of our breath into a letter, it will just sound like a Hey!) This isn’t as deep of a koach as the letters. This is a mashal for the Hey of Hashem’s name.
Now we can understand why Olam Hazeh gets its chayus from the Hey of Hashem’s name! This Gashmius world can’t handle seeing the deep chayus of Hashem from the Yud. Instead, the Yud gives chayus to Olam Haba. This world gets its chayus from the Hey of Hashem’s name, which the world can handle.
|
|
|
|
The Rebbe reminds us that there is no Tachanun in Mincha of Yud-Daled Av, because of the Yom Tov of Chamisha-Asar B’Av!
On Yud-Daled Menachem Av in the year Tof-Shin-Alef, it was 50 years since the Rebbe Rashab told the Frierdiker Rebbe, who was then 11 years old, that he should start writing down the stories that he tells him.
At that time, the Frierdiker Rebbe told this story:
When the Tzemach Tzedek started to write words of Torah and Chassidus, the Alter Rebbe told him that the Mishna says that you should get a friend to learn with — Ukenei Lecha Chaver. If you change the nekudos of the word “Ukenei,”, you can read it as “Vekaneh Lecha Chaver,” a PEN should be your friend! From this we see that it is important to write things down when you learn!
The Rebbe Rashab once said over this vort from the Alter Rebbe, “Vekaneh Lecha Chaver,” that a pen should be your friend. He explained that it means that the “pen of your heart” is what should be your friend in learning: That everything that we learn, we should try to experience, and we should feel that what we’re learning is important for our life!
|
|
|
|
In Sefer Hamitzvos, we learn (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #101) that we are not allowed to shecht an animal and its child on the same day. We are not even allowed to bring a mother and baby animal as korbanos on the same day!
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Emor: אֹתוֹ וְאֶת בְּנוֹ לֹא תִשְׁחֲטוּ בְּיוֹם אֶחָד
The details are explained in Mesechta Chulin perek Hey.
|
|
|
|
Perek Gimmel: In today’s Rambam, we learn about the 5 things that a shochet has to be careful NOT to do — otherwise the animal he shechted isn’t kosher.
1) Shehiyah — stopping in the middle of shechting
2) Chaladah — shechting without being able to see the knife
3) Drasah — pushing down with the knife instead of going back and forth
4) Hagrama — shechting on the wrong part of the animal’s neck
5) Ikur — if the part that he is supposed to shecht moves before he finishes
Any animal that the shochet does one of these 5 things on is called a Neveilah, and we are not allowed to eat it.
Perek Daled: We learn about who is and isn’t allowed to shecht.
Perek Hey: We start to learn the halachos of tereifah, which we will learn the details of over the next few days.
|
|
|
|
In this perek, we learn halachos about another type of brachos, called mitzvah-brachos, like the bracha for washing Netilas Yodayim, or the bracha for Tefillin. Usually we say the bracha before we do the mitzvah.
The Rambam finishes off this perek and section of halachos that you say as many brachos as you can, but you should be careful not to say brachos that are not necessary. Like Dovid Hamelech says in Tehillim, “Bechol Yom Avarcheka, Va’ahalela Shimcha Le’olam Va’ed.” “Every day I will bentch You, and I will praise Your name forever.” (Do you know where that posuk is from?)
Mazel Tov! We have now finished learning this set of halachos!
|
|
|
|
In today’s Hayom Yom, we learned about the stories that the Frierdiker Rebbe wrote down.
At the time the Hayom Yom was written, many of these stories had never been printed. Now, Boruch Hashem, they are, in the Frierdiker Rebbe’s sichos and zichronos!
We can learn many things from these stories. One very important thing we can learn is about Ahavas Yisroel. We can see this from the following story:
A bochur once came to the Rebbe in Yechidus, and asked what he could do to make his Ahavas Yisroel stronger. The Rebbe told him to read the sichos of the Frierdiker Rebbe, and this would help him!
See Teshura Landa-Axelrod, p. 27
|
|
|
▼ Jump to Coloring Books & Downloads ▼
|
|
|
|
What do you do in your free time?
At a rally, the Rebbe spoke to kids about what we do when we have extra time.
As Jewish kids, we have a different way of doing things! We don’t just look at what everyone else does, we look at what the Torah says we should do.
And what does the Torah say?
Veshinantam Levanecha Vedibarta Bam — Parents and teachers have a responsibility to teach and discuss Torah with their children and their students!
Beshivtecha Beveisecha — When you are sitting in your house, after school or shul, that is also a time for Torah!
Uvelechtecha Vaderech — When you are on your way somewhere, whether you are driving to school or to Bubby’s house, that is a time for Torah too!
Uveshachbecha Uvekumecha — At bedtime and in the morning are also times for Torah!
After school, we are not finished learning! We can find a book, or a game, or a contest that will give us the chance to learn more.
When we are in the car, we can ask our parents to listen to Torah stories or shiurim!
Before we go to sleep, we can make sure we are learning something too! We can review the Tanya or Mishnayos we know by heart, or learn Sefer Hamitzvos.
In the morning, we can start off our day with Chitas or another shiur.
That way, we can be sure that we will be learning Torah in a way of Veshinantam — all the time!
See sicha Yud-Beis Adar Tof-Shin-Mem-Beis
|
|
|
|
At this time of the year, close to Chamisha-Asar B’Av, we need to increase in our Torah learning!
In the introduction to the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, the Mitteler Rebbe writes that the main part of learning needs to be in order to know how Hashem wants us to act. It’s especially important to learn the section of Shulchan Aruch called Orach Chayim, which is about things we do all the time. We can’t always run to the Rav to ask a question, so we need to know the regular halachos well!
Based on this, the Rebbe says that everyone needs to make a set time every day to learn the practical halachos that we need to know, for example the halachos about Hefsek B’Tefillah or brachos. The main thing is that we should learn every single day, even for just a few minutes, because this will help us remember the halachos. Since all halachos are connected, the halacha you learn today will help you remember the halacha you learned yesterday!
See Toras Menachem vol. 7 p. 117, Shulchan Menachem vol. 4, p. 239
|
|
לעילוי נשמת הרה״ח ר׳ דניאל יצחק ע״ה בן ר׳ אפרים שי׳ מאסקאוויץ
שליח כ"ק אדמו"ר נשיא דורנו למדינת אילינוי
|
|
|
|
The Chachomim tell us that Moshiach will come “Behesech Hadaas,” when we are not thinking about it.
But what is that supposed to mean? We know from Rambam that we are ALWAYS supposed to be waiting for Moshiach to come — Achakeh Lo Bechol Yom Sheyavo!
One explanation is that Moshiach will come in a time that doesn’t make sense — a time when our daas might tell us that Moshiach shouldn’t come. Even though it wouldn’t seem like we deserve Moshiach, the Gemara tells us to have emunah (which is higher than daas) that Moshiach will come right away!
So if someone thinks that the world isn’t ready for Moshiach, we see from this Gemara that this is the PERFECT time, Behesech Hadaas! With the koach of our emunah in Moshiach, Moshiach will come right away!
Likutei Sichos chelek Yud p. 171
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
