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CHUMASH
Parshas Shoftim - Sheini with Rashi
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Moshe tells the Yidden about choosing a Yiddishe King when they come into Eretz Yisroel.
When you come into Eretz Yisroel, and you’re settled safe and sound
You’ll say “We want to have a KING like everyone else around!”
A Jewish king needs to be special, there are mitzvos he must do
(Along with ALL the mitzvos kept by every single Jew).
A king needs a lot of horses, but TOO many is not okay —
The best horses are in Mitzrayim, and we need to stay away!
He can’t marry too many wives, no more than eighteen
Or he’ll be too busy to be king — taking care of each queen!
He can’t get too much money, more than he needs for everything.
— And if he follows these rules, Hashem will let him stay the King!
He also has an extra mitzva, to remind him of his role
He has to carry around with him a special Torah scroll!
He needs to always learn the mitzvos, and remember them
He’s there to help the Yidden, he’s just a servant of Hashem!
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Today’s Tehillim is the 15 “Shir Hamaalos,” kapitelach Kuf-Chof to Kuf-Lamed-Daled. All of these kapitelach start with the words “Shir Hamaalos” or “Shir Lamaalos.”
Kapitel Kuf-Chof-Vov is the Shir Hamaalos we say before bentching on Shabbos and Yom Tov, or a day with no Tachanun. It talks about when Moshiach will come, and it says that Golus is like planting a field — a person puts seeds in the ground and cries that Hashem should make it rain. Then he is so happy when his plants grow!
Golus is like that too, we “plant” lots of mitzvos and cry to Hashem that they should “grow.” When Moshiach comes, we see all that our mitzvos did, and we are so happy!
That’s the posuk “Az Yemalei Sechok Pinu” — “then our mouths will be full of laughing” — because we will be so happy that Moshiach came!
The Rebbe tells us that we need to have lots of simcha now, to practice since Moshiach is almost here!
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Ches
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When we are davening, we sometimes suddenly start to think special things about Torah and Yiddishkeit!
Where does that come from? The same Ruchnius that Neshamos feel in Gan Eden, and that Malachim can feel all the time, can sometimes shine into our Neshama when we daven!
But Hashem wants us to DESERVE that, so we give Tzedakah before davening and we earn that special zechus!
Is feeling that Ruchnius, and feeling so close to Hashem only worth a nickel? How can we “buy” it for so cheap?
Of course it is worth more than all the money in the whole world! But Hashem gives it to us anyway just because we gave a little bit of tzedakah. Today the Alter Rebbe gives us a mashal to explain it.
How do we plant a big, beautiful tree?
We take a teeny tiny seed and put it into the ground. In the ground, it gets rotten and mushy and isn’t even a seed anymore! There is a special koach in the ground to make things grow, and we just need to do SOMETHING that will get that koach started! Our putting the seed into the ground makes that koach start to work. That’s how even our little seed can grow into such a humongous tree.
Tomorrow we will IY”H see how everything we just said in the mashal happens in Ruchnius when we give Tzedakah!
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The month of Elul is called Chodesh HaCheshbon, the month where we make a calculation, like businesses do at the end of the year. We figure out what things we did well in our Avodas Hashem, and where we will do better next year!
On every Shabbos Mevorchim, we say the whole Tehillim in the morning, and make a farbrengen.
Every Yiddishe Neshama that is born in the world was brought here to do a special Shlichus: Our job is like a business, where we buy things and sell them, so we can have money to buy what we need. Our neshama’s job is to “buy” Gashmius, and “sell it” to Hashem by using it for mitzvos! Then Hashem “pays us” by giving us brachos to have what we need, and brings Moshiach closer!
In a business, every day, the owner writes down what he bought and how much he sold. At the end of the year, he looks over his papers to see what he did right and what didn’t work, what he should keep doing and what he needs to do differently to make sure his business runs well.
We also need to do that with our “business” of being a Yid: Every day at the end of the day we may take a few minutes by Kriyas Shema She’al Hamitah at night and think about what we did that day (some people will even write down a few lines!). At the end of the whole year, we think about what happened during the whole year — which things were good and we should keep doing (and even make it better), and what wasn’t so good and need to be changed.
Figuring out how to do better is a perfect way to get ready for Rosh Hashana, and for Hashem to give us a Shana Tova Umesuka! This is done in the month of Elul.
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Today, we learn 3 mitzvos about a Nazir:
1) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #202) A Nazir can’t drink wine or any other drink that was made with grapes. He can’t even have wine vinegar!
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Naso: וְכָל מִשְׁרַת עֲנָבִים לֹא יִשְׁתֶּה
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #203) A Nazir can’t eat grapes
We learn this mitzvah from other words in the same posuk: וַעֲנָבִים לַחִים ... לֹא יֹאכֵל
3) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #204) A Nazir can’t eat raisins (because they are dried grapes!)
We also learn this mitzvah from the same posuk: וִיבֵשִׁים לֹא יֹאכֵל
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more halachos about the Nazir.
Perek Gimmel: How long is a person a Nazir for? It depends — he is allowed to decide how long he wants to be a Nazir for. But if he doesn’t say how long, he is a Nazir for 30 days.
Perek Daled: At the end of being a Nazir, the Nazir needs to shave all of his hair and bring certain korbanos. When does he do these things if he made a promise to be a Nazir more than one time in a row? In this perek, the Rambam answers this question too!
Perek Hey: In this perek we learn about the three things that are Asur for a Nazir:
1) He is not allowed to eat anything that comes from grapes
2) He is not allowed to cut his hair
3) He is not allowed to make himself Tamei from a dead person
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In this perek, we learn that the Chachomim made it asur to tell a goy to do something for us on Shabbos, so that we won’t treat Shabbos lightly and come to do the melacha ourselves. There are some times we are allowed to ask a goy to do something, like if someone is even a little bit sick or if it is important for another mitzvah.
We are not allowed to have any benefit from melacha that was done on Shabbos when it is asur, even if it was done by a goy.
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In today’s Hayom Yom, we learned that Elul is called the Chodesh Hacheshbon, the month where we make a Cheshbon Hanefesh. Why do we make this cheshbon specifically in Elul?
Imagine that your parents come over to you one day, and their faces are very serious. “Your room is a terrible mess!” they tell you. “We are having guests, and we expect you to clean it up by tonight!”
You get up and walk into your bedroom. Your heart sinks as you look around. Your parents are right — the room is a complete disaster! The garbage can is overflowing, there is dirty laundry all over the place, books and papers and toys are scattered around, and the drawers are so messy they can’t even close!
You are so overwhelmed you don’t know where to start! You start by picking up a sefer that fell on the floor, but you can’t even find room on the desk to put it away! You start to feel hopeless, that there is no way you can ever get this done. You just stand there, not sure what to do.
But then you hear the door open. Your mother walks in, and puts her hand on your shoulder. She gives you a warm smile and says, “Come, let’s do this together!” All of a sudden, you feel much better! You smile too, and start to work together with your mother to make your room clean and organized.
It is important to take some time to see how we are doing in our shlichus in the world, and figure out how to do it better. We can’t do this every day, because we are too busy actually DOING the shlichus! Instead, once a year, we stop and make a cheshbon of how we are doing.
But there can be problem with making a cheshbon. When we take a look at our behavior, we might see that it is very messy! There are so many things that we aren’t doing right, we might get overwhelmed and feel hopeless!
That’s why our Chachomim told us that the right time for this Cheshbon is in Chodesh Elul. In Elul, Hashem is right here with us, Melech Basodeh! When we know that Hashem is right here with us, helping us, we won’t feel hopeless anymore. We will be able to make our Cheshbon Hanefesh with simcha, and figure out how to do our shlichus in the world in the best way!
Then, Hashem will bentch us with a Shana Tova Umesukah!
See farbrengen of Shabbos Mevorchim Elul Tof-Shin-Yud-Alef
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The 12th of the Yud-Beis Pesukim and Maamorei Razal is “Yismach.” These words come from Tanya, where the Alter Rebbe teaches us the importance of simcha.
Yismach Yisroel Be’osav — “Yidden should be happy with Hashem Who created them.” (these words are from Tehillim)
Peirush — This is what it means:
Shekol Mi Shehu Mizera Yisroel — That everyone who has the neshama of a Yid
Yeish Lo Lismoach — Should be happy
Besimchas Hashem — With the joy of Hashem!
Asher Sas Vesameiach — Because Hashem is happy and joyful
Bediraso Besachtonim — That the world is being made into Hashem’s home — a Dira Betachtonim!
This teaches us that whatever we are doing, we should do it in a happy way: When we think about how much nachas our Avodah brings Hashem, we will feel a special joy and chayus! Not only do we have a neshama which is a part of Hashem and Hashem is always with us, but we are making the world more of a home for Hashem, a home that will be ready when Moshiach comes. We can feel Hashem’s joy in our neshama, and that should make us DOUBLY happy!
This is the twelfth and last of the Yud-Beis Pesukim, which makes sure that everything we learned about in the other pesukim will be done with simcha! Our learning Torah, doing mitzvos, and helping another Yid with Ahavas Yisroel should all be done with simcha!
When what we are doing is with a feeling of simcha, it will be done in the most beautiful and best possible way, and we will also have the most hatzlacha!
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Since the whole world belongs to Hashem, we say a bracha before we eat or drink, to ask Hashem’s permission before enjoying part of His world.
Chassidus teaches us a deeper meaning of a bracha:
The word “bracha” is connected to the word “mavrich,” which means to bring down. When we say a bracha, we are bringing down Elokus into the world. Through the words of the bracha, we bring down kedusha into the Gashmius thing we are about to enjoy!
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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 last two perakim of Yoel are about the Geulah!
In this posuk, the Navi Yoel tells us about some of the many brachos that the world will have when Moshiach comes. This posuk is also a very famous one in Chassidus — the maamar Kuntres Umaayan is based on it!
וְהָיָה בַיּוֹם הַהוּא יִטְּפוּ הֶהָרִים עָסִיס וְהַגְּבָעוֹת תֵּלַכְנָה חָלָב וְכָל אֲפִיקֵי יְהוּדָה יֵלְכוּ מָיִם וּמַעְיָן מִבֵּית ה׳ יֵצֵא וְהִשְׁקָה אֶת נַחַל הַשִּׁטִּים
Vehaya Vayom Hahu — This is something that will happen in the days of the Geulah:
Yitfu Heharim Asis — The mountains will be so full of ripe grapes, it will be as if they are dripping wine!
Vehag’vaos Teilachna Chalav — And the hills will grow so much rich grass (which helps animals make milk), it will be like the hills themselves are flowing with milk!
Vechol Afikei Yehuda Yeilchu Mayim — All of the springs of Yehudah (a part of Eretz Yisroel) will again flow with water!
Umaayan Mibeis Hashem Yeitzei — And a spring will flow from the Beis Hamikdash (the Navi Yechezkel speaks about it in his nevuah about the Beis Hamikdash Hashlishi!)
Vehishkeh Es Nachal Hashitim — And it will make the valley of Shitim into a river!
Chassidus explains that the end of this posuk has an important hora’ah for us:
The “Maayan Mibeis Hashem,” the spring that flows from the Beis Hamikdash, is talking about the deepest part of a Yid’s neshama, the “spring” that flows from deep inside of us. This is what gives us koach to do what Hashem wants no matter what, even in a way of Shtus D’Kedusha!
This “spring” gives water to Nachal Hashitim, from the word “shtus,” like it says in the end of the posuk. When our spring gives water to Nachal Hashitim, it changes the shtus of Kelipah (the foolishness of the Yetzer Hara) into Shtus D’Kedusha!
This is something we can do in ourselves now, making a personal Geulah in our own lives!
See Yoel perek Daled posuk Yud-Ches, Kuntres Umaayan, and the Rebbe’s maamarim of Bosi Legani
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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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