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CHUMASH
Parshas Re'eh - Shishi with Rashi
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Moshe teaches the Yidden about more Mitzvos they will keep in Eretz Yisroel:
If you lend someone money, and he didn't pay you back yet when a Shemitah year starts — you need to forgive the loan and he won’t owe you money anymore.
A Yid might think that he will lose money if he does that, but the Torah tells us that if we listen to Hashem, none of the Yidden will be poor!
Be careful, don't decide not to lend someone money before a Shemitah year in case he doesn't pay you back before then! Even if he doesn't pay you back, Hashem will.
Make sure to give Tzedakah! Rashi explains how these pesukim teach us so much about the mitzvah of giving tzedakah, like who we need to take care of first, and about how much to give.
If you have a Jewish slave, you need to let him go free after working for you for 7 years. Make sure to give him presents when he goes!
If he DOESN’T want to leave, and wants to stay your slave for longer, you need to pierce his ear by the door, and then he will be your slave until Yovel.
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The kapitelach in today’s Tehillim (kapitelach Kuf-Yud-Gimmel to Kuf-Yud-Ches) are the ones we say in Hallel!
In the parsha Shema, the posuk says that a Yid should love Hashem “Bechol Me’odecha,” “with all of your strength.” Rashi explains that this also means, “Bechol Midah U’Midah Shehu Moded Lach,” “with every midah that Hashem masures for you” — to love Hashem whether Hashem acts with you in a midah of chesed, kindness, or Hashem acts with you with a midah of gevurah, being strict.
Rashi also gives us an example from today’s Tehillim:
In kapitel Kuf-Tes-Zayin, Dovid Hamelech shows us how to do this!
First, Dovid Hamelech says, “Tzara Veyagon Emtza, Uvesheim Hashem Ekra.” “I found many troubles, and I call out in the name of Hashem.” Then, at the end of the kapitel, Dovid Hamelech says, “Kos Yeshuos Esa, Uvesheim Hashem Ekra.” “I praise Hashem for being saved, and I call out in the name of Hashem.”
Both pesukim end with the same words — “Uvesheim Hashem Ekra.” Whether Dovid Hamelech was in a time of trouble (“Tzara Veyagon Emtza”) or was saved by Hashem (“Kos Yeshuos Esa”), he loved Hashem the same way and called out in the name of Hashem (“Uvesheim Hashem Ekra”)!
This is one way we can serve Hashem “Bechol Me’odecha,” by loving Hashem the same way all the time!
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Zayin
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“Ashreinu Mah Tov Chelkeinu, Umah No’im Goraleinu!” We are so happy with our Chelek, and how pleasant is our Goral! This is part of the nusach of davening, and the Alter Rebbe explains what it means:
The Alter Rebbe explained that our “Chelek” (part) means our neshama which is a Chelek of Hashem, and the mitzvos which are a “chelek” of the entire Torah and mitzvos, which has 613 main parts. We said that during the time of Davening, we can feel the Elokus in the chelek of our neshama and the chelek of Torah and mitzvos that connects us to Hashem!
Now we will learn about the meaning of U’mah Na’im Goraleinu, that our lot is sweet.
For each neshama, and in each different time, there can be a mitzvah that is EXTRA important! We need to have more chayus in it, be more careful with it, and make sure to do it right away — not letting anything stop us! Our neshama shines with this mitzvah!
Why that mitzvah and not a different one? We don’t know! It’s like a Goral, a lottery from Hashem — He chooses a mitzvah and we don’t have a reason why.
We don’t know why Hashem chose, for example, that in the times of the Gemara the main mitzvah was learning Torah, and why now, in the times close to Moshiach, the main mitzvah is tzedakah and helping other Yidden. We don’t know why one person’s special mitzvah is Tefillin, and another person has a different mitzvah that his neshama shines through.
This is the meaning of “Umah No’im Goraleinu” — how pleasant is our lot, to have these specific mitzvos that make our neshama shine in everything we do!
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Today’s Hayom Yom is one of the many Hayom Yoms which teach us about Ahavas Yisroel!
When the Yiddishe world first heard about Chassidus, a lot of frum Yidden had many questions about it. Some of them were sure that Chassidus was not a good thing for Yiddishkeit, and fought against it!
Many people didn’t understand the reasons why to be worried about Chassidus, but they fought too, just to make trouble. Of course, that hurt the Chassidim most of all — people were doing mean things for no reason at all!
The Chassidim complained to the Alter Rebbe about these people who didn’t understand what was going on, but were STILL just being mean!
The Alter Rebbe said that “Zaide” (the Baal Shem Tov) LOVED proste Yidden, the rough, uncivilized people who never learned how to behave as proper Jews.
The Alter Rebbe said that in the first days of coming to Mezritch, the Maggid said that the Baal Shem Tov would always say that loving a Yid is loving Hashem.
All Yidden are like Hashem’s children, and when we love the father (Hashem), we love all of His children too (the Yidden)!
Sometimes little kids make trouble just because other people are making trouble. But for sure the father loves ALL of the children. The same way, Hashem loves all of the Yidden, even the proste Yidden. And just like Hashem still loves every Yid, we should too!
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In today’s Sefer Hamitzvos, we learn that it is asur to NOT do something we said we would.
We learn this from a posuk in Parshas Matos: לֹא יַחֵל דְּבָרוֹ כְּכָל הַיֹּצֵא מִפִּיו יַעֲשֶׂה
So if a person said that all cookies are asur for him, or if he said he would give $50 to tzedakah, or buy a raffle ticket for the school — it’s an aveira to eat the cookies, or not give the tzedakah, or not buy the raffle ticket!
You can learn more about this mitzvah in Mesechta Nedarim, or in these perakim of Rambam!
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In today’s Rambam, we are learning more halachos about Nedarim (a kind of promise).
Perek Zayin: What happens if someone makes a neder not to get ANYTHING from someone? What is he not allowed to take from this person, and what are the times when he can?
Perek Ches: We learn that the halacha is based on what was happening and what the person was thinking when he made the Neder, and not just what he says!
Perek Tes: Depending on what words a person uses, the neder might mean different things. Like if a person would say that grapes are asur for him, would that also include grape juice and wine?
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The Rambam teaches us that we are allowed to begin a melacha before Shabbos and let it finish by itself on Shabbos. There are some exceptions to this when it comes to cooking or making a fire. The Chachomim were worried that a person might stir the fire to make food cook faster on Shabbos, which is a melacha! This is the reason why we have a blech, to cover the fire and remind the person not to make the fire higher on Shabbos. This way, we can let something continue cooking on Shabbos.
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We learned in Tanya that each time (and each neshama) has a certain mitzvah that is extra-special and extra important! So what mitzvah is it nowadays?
After the Rebbe became Rebbe, someone asked the Rebbe what the Avodah is for our generation.
The Rebbe answered that now that we have the Torah from all of the generations before us, and the Rebbeim taught us so much Chassidus, it is our mission to teach it to other people, so that EVERYONE should know it! It is our shlichus to spread Yiddishkeit and Chassidus to ourselves and to everyone around us — Hafotzas Hayahadus Vehamaayanos Chutza!
At the Kinus Hashluchim in 5752, the last Shluchim convention where we were zoche to hear a sicha from the Rebbe, the Rebbe told us something more: Now is the time to make the last preparations for the Geulah which is coming very soon. We need to learn and teach about the Geulah and Moshiach, so we’ll all be ready!
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Sometimes two people get into an argument. They both think that they are right, and that it’s the other person’s fault! When they try to talk about it, they just get angrier at each other. How will Ve’ahavta Lereiacha Kamocha help?
A chossid once wrote to the Rebbe with a list of important questions. One of the things he wrote was about a fight with another person.
In the answer, the Rebbe reminded him about what the Torah promises us: “Kamayim Hapanim Lepanim, Kein Leiv Ha’adam L’adam.” Just like when you stand next to a lake or a river, you can see your face reflected in it like a mirror, one person’s heart also reflects the other person’s! So our hearts can be like a mirror to each other — if I love you, your heart will start loving me back.
So even if two people are angry at each other, if one of them starts to love the other person and act nice to him, then the other person will change his mind too and start to love him back!
It doesn’t really matter who does it first. As long as one person starts loving and being friendly to the other person, in the end they will BOTH start liking each other again.
But, the Rebbe says, whoever does it first is doing something very special! They are the ones who are making sure to keep the mitzvah of Ve’ahavta Lereiacha Kamocha, which, as Rabbi Akiva says is a “Klal Gadol BaTorah” — a VERY important rule for the whole Torah!
See Igros Kodesh, letter #5131
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There are many mitzvos that are easy to learn just by watching other people do them. For example, it’s not hard to learn how to shake the Lulav and Esrog properly.
But other mitzvos are complicated. Unless a person actually learns the halachos about them, they will probably not always be doing them right.
For example, we know that we are not allowed to talk during davening. But what if we hear thunder in the middle of Ashrei — do we stop and say the bracha? Or what if we are davening Shema slowly and we hear the Chazan starting to repeat Shemoneh Esrei — can we answer Amen? The answer to these questions are part of the halachos of Hefsek BeTefillah, when we can interrupt our davening.
We know that pens and markers are muktza on Shabbos. But what do we do if we find a pen in the box of mentchies? And what do we do if we picked up a pen by mistake? This is part of the halachos of muktza, and we won’t always know what to do unless we learn these halachos!
The Rebbe wanted everyone to learn the halachos that we need to live properly as a Yid. Starting from the youngest grades, all the way up to kollel and in the shuls, everyone should have daily shiurim in these halachos.
See in detail Shulchan Menachem vol. 4, p. 238 ff
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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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A Yid has to believe in Moshiach and hope that he will come.
How do we do this? What do we need to know or think to be counted as believing and hoping in Moshiach?
The Torah tells us about many special things that will happen when Moshiach comes, and about the rewards Yidden will get for the mitzvos they did in the times of Golus. But the Rambam tells us that main accomplishment of the coming of Moshiach according to halacha is that we will be able to keep all of the mitzvos of the Torah in the best way.
Based on this, we can understand what our emunah needs to be: That we should have emunah that we will be able to keep all of the mitzvos again, and we hope that it will be very soon!
See Likutei Sichos Chelek Yud-Ches, p.280
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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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