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CHUMASH
Parshas Haazinu - Chamishi with Rashi
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To stop the Yidden from doing their aveiros anymore,
Hashem might let the goyim beat the Yidden in a war.
The goyim think that it’s because they’re smart, and so strong too
But if they were smarter, they’d know that can’t be true!
They tried to beat the Yidden so many times before
But even with their idols, they never won a war!
It has nothing to do with their fighting, or how powerful they’ve been
It’s only that Hashem is now letting them win.
~
Really, all of the aveiros are so bitter and upsetting
The punishment the Yidden deserve is WORSE than what they’re getting.
But Hashem won’t let the goyim DESTROY them, because then
The goyim would think that their idols are stronger than Hashem!
Never think that your aveiros can be hidden from Hashem!
Or that the Avos will keep you from getting punished for them!
Hashem knows every single thing that you do all along
And will punish so you’ll do teshuvah for what you did wrong.
~
When you are suffering from the aveiros, you’ll learn how to behave
You’ll see that when you need help, only Hashem can save!
The punishments will help you learn what you really know is true:
Hashem runs the world, and His mitzvos you must do.
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Today’s shiur Tehillim is kapitelach Lamed-Hey to Lamed-Ches. Until Yom Kippur, we continue adding three extra kapitelach. Today we say kapitelach Kuf-Gimmel, Kuf-Daled, and Kuf-Hey.
In the first Maamar the Rebbe said, Bosi Legani, he explains a posuk from today’s Tehillim: “Tzadikim Yirshu Aretz Veyishkenu La’ad Aleha.” “Tzadikim get ‘aretz’ (Gan Eden), because they make Hashem rest (Veyishkenu) in the world.”
In the maamar, the Rebbe tells us that this is OUR special shlichus too — to bring Hashem’s Shechinah into the world, which will bring Moshiach Tzidkeinu!
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TANYA
Igeres Hakodesh Siman Chof
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To make the world, Hashem made many Ruchnius “worlds” also. There are four that we know about, called Atzilus, Beriyah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah.
Why did Hashem make these “worlds”? Because the chayus of Hashem is too strong for the world to be there. So in each “world”, Hashem hides more and more, until He is hiding enough for there to be Gashmius.
In today’s Tanya, the Alter Rebbe explains what happens in Ruchnius for this to happen. We learn a lot of things from Kabbalah to help us understand it!
At the end, we will find out that even though Hashem has to hide SO much for there to be Gashmius, it can only be from the greatest koach of Hashem to make something from nothing, “Yeish MeAyin.” Only the Koach of Hashem Himself that didn’t go through all of these Ruchnius “worlds” can make Gashmius Yeish Me’ayin.”
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R’ Zushe of Anipoli said that Teshuvah has five parts, one for each letter of the word “Teshuvah!” Today we learn that the Vov teaches us to have a lot of Ahavas Yisroel.
A Yid needs to have a good heart and be kind to others. When people are happy with the way we act, Hashem is too! The Alter Rebbe said that a way to love Hashem is by loving another Yid.
That is the Vov of the word Teshuvah, and it stands for “Ve’ohavta Le’reiacha Kamocha.”
This is the Teshuvah that comes from a Lev Tov, a good heart.
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SEFER HAMITZVOS
Shiur #152 - Mitzvas Asei #23, Lo Saasei #72, Asei #32, #36
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Today’s mitzvos are about Kohanim and Leviim:
1) (Mitzvas Asei #23) The Leviim need to do their jobs in the Beis Hamikdash, like opening and closing the doors, and singing when certain korbanos are brought. This mitzvah tells us that they can’t choose if they want to be involved in the Avodah, they need to do it whether they want to or not.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Korach: וְעָבַד הַלֵּוִי הוּא אֶת עֲבֹדַת אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד
The details are explained in many places in Mesechta Tamid and Mesechta Midos.
2) (Mitzvas Lo Saasei #72) The Kohanim and Leviim are not allowed to trade jobs with each other. The Leviim are not even allowed to trade jobs between themselves — the ones who are in the group of singers are not allowed to guard or open the doors.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Bamidbar: אִישׁ אִישׁ עַל עֲבֹדָתוֹ וְאֶל מַשָּׂאוֹ
3) (Mitzvas Asei #32) We need to give kavod to the Kohanim, like by giving them the first Aliyah to the Torah and having them lead bentching. Even if he’s not able to work in the Beis Hamikdash, because he has a mum, he still gets this kavod.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Emor: וְקִדַּשְׁתּוֹ כִּי אֶת לֶחֶם אֱלֹקֶיךָ הוּא מַקְרִיב קָדשׁ יִהְיֶה לָּךְ
The details are explained in many places in Mesechta Makos, Chulin, Bechoros, Shabbos, and others,
4) (Mitzvas Asei #36) We need to give each kohen a turn to serve in the Beis Hamikdash — only during the Yomim Tovim do they all work together. The posuk in Divrei Hayamim says that Dovid Hamelech and Shmuel Hanavi split the kohanim into 24 groups (Mishmaros) so the turns would be organized.
We learn this mitzvah from a posuk in Parshas Shoftim: וְכִי יָבֹא הַלֵּוִי וְגוֹ׳ וּבָא בְּכָל אַוַּת נַפְשׁוֹ וְגוֹ׳ שֵׁרֵת בְּשֵׁם ה׳ אֱלֹקָיו כְּכָל אֶחָיו הַלְוִיִּם הָעֹמְדִים שָׁם לִפְנֵי ה׳ חֵלֶק כְּחֵלֶק יֹאכֵלוּ
The details are explained in the end of Mesechta Sukkah.
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In today’s Rambam, we learn more about the Avodah in the Beis Hamikdash.
Perek Vov: Really, when someone brings a korban, he needs to be there to see it. But how can ALL the Yidden be there to see the korbanos that are brought for all the Yidden, like the Korban Tomid, which is brought every day as a Korban Tzibur for all of the Yidden?
A group of Yidden who had Yiras Shomayim were chosen as the Anshei Maamad, to watch when those korbanos were brought on behalf of the rest of the Yidden. This perek tells us how these Maamados worked.
Perek Zayin: In the Beis Hamikdash, there were 15 officers in charge of different things — like the Ketores, locking the gates, or taking care of sick kohanim. Each officer had a lot of helpers. The Rambam explains the job of each of these officers.
Perek Ches: Now we learn about the clothes of the kohanim. The clothes had to be perfectly neat and clean — otherwise their Avodah was no good! The Rambam teaches us about the materials they were made of, and where they were kept. The clothes the Kohen Gadol wore on Yom Kippur were only worn ONCE, and then they had to be buried! The clothes of the kohanim wouldn’t get washed — once they got dirty, they were made into wicks. In the Beis Hamikdash, they had a very organized way to store all the clothes!
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Even though we are allowed to cook and prepare food on Yom Tov, the Chachomim did not allow us to do certain things that are too much work for Yom Tov or could have been done before.
For example, we are not allowed to make cheese on Yom Tov, since it will be just as good if we make it before.
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Today is the yartzeit of Rebbetzin Chana, the Rebbe’s mother. She passed away on Shabbos at Mincha time, in Tof-Shin-Chof-Hey.
Rebbetzin Chana’s life was full of Mesiras Nefesh for Yiddishkeit and Chassidus. She always helped her husband, R’ Levi Yitzchak, through all the hard times and even in Golus. She knew how important it was for him to write his Chiddushei Torah, and went and made ink herself, using plants, so he would be able to write them.
In the past few years, we had the zechus that her memoirs (chabad.org/1638270) were found and printed! We can see the Mesiras Nefesh she had, how proud she was that her son became the Rebbe and how much she appreciated his visits and the Kibud Eim that he showed her.
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On Erev Yom Kippur, there is a minhag to put out plates on the tables in shul, to collect tzedakah for the people and mosdos who need. At Mincha time, people can put money onto these plates to give tzedakah.
(You can see this in videos of the Rebbe from Erev Yom Kippur. There are many plates set up on the tables, and when the Rebbe comes into shul for Mincha, he puts money into all of these plates. The Rebbe would also give to poor people who put out their hands, and to children, so that they will have coins to give tzedakah too.)
In the Luach Colel Chabad, it says that the Baal Shem Tov said, “From the sound that these coins make when you throw them onto the plates, the kelipos become separated.”
What does this mean?
There is a story behind it!
The Yidden of Mezhibuzh were having a meeting. They were talking about different problems in the city and what should be done about them. Someone complained that on Erev Yom Kippur, having the tzedakah plates on all the tables made the shul very noisy and not calm! It wasn’t the right way to go into Yom Kippur.
They decided that they wanted to stop this minhag. Collecting tzedakah is very important, but not if it makes it hard for everyone to have proper kavana in davening!
When the Baal Shem Tov heard about their decision, he refused to let them stop the minhag! He told them a story to understand why this minhag is so important!
One year, before Yom Kippur, all of the kelipos decided to gang up against the Yidden. They would all work together to stop the tefillos of the Yidden from going up to Shomayim! Without these tefillos, Hashem wouldn’t be able to forgive the Yidden, chas veshalom.
The kelipos were standing at the gates of Shomayim, when suddenly, a loud noise started! It was the jingling of all the coins being thrown into the plates in shul. The sound made the kelipos all scatter! They weren’t able to join together again in time to stop the Yidden’s tefillos from reaching Hashem, and their plot was foiled.
This is what it means that the sound of the coins falling onto the plates separates the kelipos. It stops them from joining together, and our tefillos of Yom Kippur will be able to reach straight to Hashem!
See Otzar Minhagei Chabad p. 188
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Every month, we bentch the new moon with a special bracha of Kiddush Levana.
We wait until after the seventh of the month, when the moon is getting bigger. Our minhag is to say Kiddush Levana the first Motzei Shabbos after this date, so that we can wear our Shabbos clothes to do this special mitzvah!
But in Tishrei, we don’t say Kiddush Levana right away, instead we wait until Motzaei Yom Kippur.
That’s because it’s best to say Kiddush Levana when we are happy! During the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, we are worried about doing a proper teshuvah and deserving a good judgment on the Yom Hadin.
But after Yom Kippur, a Bas Kol comes from Shomayim and tells us to go eat and drink with joy, because Hashem is happy with the Yidden! When we know that Hashem is happy with us, we are VERY happy, and that’s a perfect mood to be in to say Kiddush Levana!
But if someone is worried that it will probably be too cloudy to say Kiddush Levana on Motzaei Yom Kippur, or he won’t be able to say it for a different reason, he can do it before. In fact, there are some poskim who say you should do Kiddush Levana davka during the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, so that Hashem will count this mitzvah too when He is judging us!
See Shevach Hamoadim, Aseres Yemei Teshuvah
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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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When we can feel something and see something, we say that it is real.
But what is REALLY real?
The truth is that the entire universe isn’t actually anything of its own — it is part of the existence of Hashem and the fact that Hashem wants Torah and mitzvos. But it doesn’t look that way yet!
When Moshiach comes, everything and everyone in the world will know that this is real. Everything will behave in a way that shows what it really is all about.
That’s why the Medrash says that in the times of the Geulah, if a person will try to pick a fig on Shabbos, the fig will scream, “It’s Shabbos!”
See Likutei Sichos Chelek Yud-Alef, p. 69
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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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