Rosh Chodesh
We do not say tachanun all
month.
After saying the nasi [a
description of the offerings brought by the nasi of each shevet during the
twelve days of dedication of the Mishkan], we say the Yehi Ratzon which is
printed in the Torah Or Siddur. Kohanim
and levi’im also say it.
My
father (the Rebbe Rashab) instructed his brother-in-law, R. Moshe Horenstein, a
kohen, to say Yehi Ratzon after the nasi, noting that even a kohen or levi must
say it, because it is related to ibur.
2 Nissan
Yahrtzeit
of my father the Rebbe [Rashab], who passed away on Saturday night, 2 Nissan
5680 (1920) in Rostov, and is buried there.
The
first maamar he [the Rebbe
Rashab] delivered after the passing of his father [the Rebbe Maharash] was on
the second day of Chol Hamoed Sukkos
5643 (1882), beginning Keser yitnu l’cha
etc. The last public maamar in his lifetime was delivered
at the Purim seudah 5680,
beginning Reishis goyim Amalek.. keitz
sam lachoshech.
3 Nissan
These
were the regular Torah-study sessions of the Rebbe Rashab: A parshah
of Chumash with Rashi daily; reciting Tanach by heart – a chapter each of
Torah, Nevi’im and Kesuvim; a chapter of Mishnayos; a regular session in deep
study of Gemara – two dafim,
folio pages, weekly; another in quick study of Gemara – three pages daily; a
session of study of the Talmud Yerushalmi; a regular period of Poskim, but not
daily. During the course of the year he
would conclude the entire Midrash Raba, “borrowing” from the long sedros and “repaying” during the
shorter ones. (Meaning, that if the
Midrash for one week was long, he would learn some of it and learn the rest
during a week when the Midrash was shorter.)
4 Nissan
Mendel
and Zalmen enjoy spending the day at their father’s store. Their father is busy all day serving his
customers. When there is a free moment,
he uses it to say a chapter of Tehillim or Rambam. Their father often gets into conversation
with his customers, sharing Torah thoughts or convincing them to do another
mitzva. Near the checkout counter, there
is a pile of Torah pamphlets, and customers can help themselves. Sometimes,
people come into the store even when they don’t need to buy anything, just to
pick up a pamphlet or to hear a Torah thought!
The avodah of businessmen has two categories:
1)
Avodah with self: When actually at work, in a free moment in
his store, for example, he should learn a Mishna or two, or a chapter of
Tanya. He should know some Torah by
heart – for example, Chumash, Mishna, Tehillim, Tanya, so that he will be able
to review these while in the marketplace, the street or wherever.
2)
Avodah with another: When discussing business, he should turn the
conversation towards introducing a story with content, or seek some reason or
opportunity to stimulate the other to study Torah, or to do similar activities.
5 Nissan
The Gruber family had
recently moved to a small town on shlichus.
Mindy, in 5th grade, was not happy with her new school. “Mommy, this school is on a much lower level
than my old school. Soon I will fall behind
all my former classmates.”
“Mindy, I plan on learning
with you every day so that you don’t fall behind,” her mother assured her. “But I also want you to remember that you,
too, have a shlichus to do here. If you
reach out to help your new classmates, not only won’t you fall behind, but you
will reach an even higher level than before.”
My
grandfather (the Rebbe Maharash) commented on the saying: “The
place of many does not honor him; rather, man honors his place.” The term kavod,
honor, has two meanings. One is kaveid, liver, as the Torah says:
“Pharaoh’s heart is kaveid (heavy),
and the sages comment, “his heart became like a liver” (cold and
insensitive). The other meaning is kavod, honor, which refers to a
revelation of a very high, encompassing light.
“The place of man does not honor him”: The place where a person is does not make a
person cold and insensitive, like liver.
Rather, “Man honors his place,” a person has the power and strength to
light up his environment (“place”) with the light of Torah and avodah.
When
the neshamah comes down into
the body, it is made to promise to be a tzaddik. This promise, shavua, implies sova,
which means “full.” Before sending the neshamah
down to earth, Hashem fills up the neshamah with all the powers it needs in
order to be able to fulfill Hashem’s intention in having it come down. Just as it is with the neshamah coming down,
so it is also with every person, in whatever place he may be.
6 Nissan
“Will they really come?”
“Do you think they’ll be interested
in our program?”
Pinchos and Berel whispered
worriedly to each other, while preparing for their first Mesibos Shabbos party
of the year.
Leibel, the head Mesibos
Shabbos leader, calmed their fears.
“Speculating about how things will turn out is not important right
now. What is important for us is to make
sure that the party is organized and well run.
Have enough treats and games prepared so that every child will have a
fantastic time, and greet each child cheerfully and with warmth. However, do be strict with the children when
necessary. If you do all of this, I guarantee you the party will be a huge
success.”
Experience has
shown that with less speculation, but working with orderliness and firmness,
according to the pleasantness of Torah (with the “right hand bringing close and
the left hand rejecting”) one is certain to achieve results, especially in
matters that concern the fundamentals of Yiddishkeit.
7 Nissan
Text of Vay’hi binsoa: v’chirtzon kol
amcha beis yisroel.
The
Alter Rebbe’s family name was Baruchovitch.
The
Mittler Rebbe’s family name was Schneuri.
The
Tzemach Tzedek’s family name was Schneersohn.
8 Nissan
Are you sometimes lazy, and slow to do your
work? Then slow down before listening to
the yetzer hara, and be lazy to carry out his evil plans!
Are you sometimes less then
truthful? Then be “dishonest”
occasionally, and say a nice thing to your brother that you don’t fully mean.
Each of us has some
“not-so-good” character traits. However,
part of our avodah is to use even these traits for a good purpose, to serve
Hashem.
Every neshamah has its own particular avodah, in
the areas of mind and emotions, according to the nature and character of the
neshamah. It is written, “From my
enemies you have given me wisdom.” From
the bad tendencies that a person notices in his natural traits, he can become
wise and know how to correct these traits, and use these powers to serve
Hashem.
9 Nissan
Bassi
came home after a visit to a friend, enthusiastically describing her friend’s
lavish home. “They have gold faucets in
the bathrooms, chandeliers in every room, and her bedroom is huge and filled
with every game and toy…” She looked distastefully around her own living room,
which looked shabby and bare by comparison.
Bassi’s
mother placed a comforting arm around her daughter’s shoulder. She pointed to the bookcases bursting with
seforim, and the walls, richly decorated with children’s drawings and family
pictures. “You, and your sisters and
brothers, are the greatest riches of which any home could boast.”
Jewish wealth is not houses and
gold. The everlasting Jewish wealth
is: Being Jews who keep Torah and
mitzvos, and bringing into the world children and grandchildren who keep Torah
and mitzvos.
10 Nissan
Mrs.
Fishman flipped through her calendar, while holding the phone to her ear. She was scheduled to speak in Cleveland the
next Thursday, and in Florida the following week. Now she was on the phone with a woman from
California, requesting her to address the women there on the important topic of
taharas hamishpachah, family purity. For
a moment, Mrs. Fishman paused to consider – did she really have the strength
for all this traveling? Could she really
afford all these demands on her time and energy? But her hesitations evaporated when she considered
the words of the Hayom Yom:
On
the subject of the campaign to strengthen the observance of taharas hamishpachah
in your community, consider this deeply:
Let us imagine that Hashem were to give you the opportunity to save a Jewish
community from being wiped out (G-d forbid).
Certainly, you would be willing to risk your life for this, and you
would thank and praise Hashem for His great kindness in offering you an
opportunity of such enormous merit. The
same then holds true to an even greater degree with regard to the campaign for
taharas hamishpachah; it is a project which literally saves lives.
11 Nissan
[Yud
Alef Nissan is the birthday of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, R. Menachem Mendel
Schneerson. The Rebbe was born in 5662
(1902) in Nikoleyev, Russia.]
During
his leadership, the Rebbe introduced a number of customs that we should observe
on our birthdays. One of these customs
is to make a farbrengen, a chassidishe gathering, with your friends, at which
you should say a Torah thought, give tzedakah, and take on a good resolution
for the coming year. This HaYom Yom
teaches us the chassidic way to spend a birthday.
On his birthday, a person should
spend some time alone. He should
remember his experiences and think deeply into them. He should then do teshuvah and correct those
of his deeds that need correction and teshuvah.
12 Nissan
From
the time the Jews went out of Mitzrayim,
they were called the “Army of Hashem.”
They are also called Hashem’s servants.
What is the difference between a servant and a soldier? A servant does all kinds of work for his
master, on different levels: He might do
the delicate work of threading pearls or other expert work, or he might do very
simple tasks. He might work very hard
for his master, but he does not work with mesirus nefesh. He does
not have to sacrifice himself or risk his life.
Soldiers are servants who work very hard, and with mesirus nefesh,
in wars of defense or attack. The
soldiers remain at their posts with the utmost of determination, not being
intimidated by the opposing enemy. Their
service is not based on understanding; they carry out the orders of
their commander.
The
Yidden in Mitzrayim were in the
lowest possible situation, with very hard and bitter suffering. Yet, despite all this, they did not change
their names, their language or their style of dress. With absolute determination they stood at
their posts, for they knew that Hashem had promised to redeem them.
Whoever
behaves as they did under such circumstances is a soldier in the Army of
Hashem, and Hashem will come to his aid in a way that is above nature, yet
within nature.
13 Nissan
This
day is the yahrtzeit of the Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek. He passed away in the year 5626 (1866) in
Lubavitch, and was buried there.
My
grandfather [the Rebbe Maharash] told:
At the age of twelve, the Tzemach Tzedek began to write scholarly
discourses in nigleh [the
revealed parts of Torah - Gemara and halachah]
and Chassidus.
14 Nissan
With
regard to selling the chametz, it is the custom in the Rebbe’s family not to
make the rav an agent (for selling the chametz to a non-Jew), but rather to
sell the chametz to the rav directly with an areiv kablan, a third party
guarantor.
My
father [the Rebbe Rashab] would personally supervise the baking of the shmurah
matzah on erev Pesach afternoon. He
would also recite Hallel, but he would interrupt – even in the middle of a
chapter – to give instructions regarding the kneading, baking and so forth.
15 Nissan, 1st
day of Chag ha’Matzos (Pesach)
Our custom is to use for the
maror and the chazeres both horseradish and romaine lettuce. Kiddush is said standing. The first word of the Haggadah is pronounced
Hay lachma… When the brachah “…on eating
maror” is said, one should have in mind the second portion of maror to be eaten
later at koreich.
At
the first seder, my father [the Rebbe Rashab] would be brief, in order to eat
the afikomen before
midnight. On the second night, however,
he would spend a lot more time on the seder.
He would begin the seder before 9 p.m. and end at about 3 or 4 in the
morning, dwelling at length on the explanation of the Haggadah.
The
Alter Rebbe said: The matzah of the
first night of Pesach is called the Food of Faith; the matzah of the second
night is called Food of Healing. When a
person has faith only after he was healed, (“Thank you, Hashem, for healing
me”) then clearly the person had actually been ill. When a person is healed through his faith,
there is no illness to start with.
16 Nissan, 2nd day
of Chag ha’Matzos (Pesach), 1st of Omer
On the second night of
Pesach the order of K’rias Shma before bed is the same as for every Yom Tov.
Even
someone who is, G-d forbid, orphaned from his father, says before saying the mah nishtana, “Tateh ich vell ba dir freggen feer kashes” (“Father, I am going to
ask you four questions”). Similarly,
even one whose mother and father are, G-d forbid, no longer alive, nonetheless
say in birchas hamazon “Harachaman hu
yevarech es avi mori… eemi morasi” (May the Merciful One bless my father my
teacher, etc., my mother my teacher, etc.)
17 Nissan
The
Haggadah says: “Whoever speaks a lot on
the story of yetzias Mitzrayim, this person (harei zeh) is to be praised.” The word zeh
(“this”) refers to a level of holiness, as in the possuk “Hinei elokeinu zeh”
[Here, this (zeh) is our G-d]. Whoever tells the story of yetzias Mitzrayim in great detail, his zeh,
his element of holiness, is enriched.
18 Nissan
Pasach Eliyahu is said before Mincha, but not Hodu.
In
5608 (1848) the Tzemach Tzedek delivered a maamar on the possuk “Im
kessef tilveh” (If you will lend
money). The word kessef (“money”) has the same root as the word kossef, which means longing.
Kessef refers to the neshama, which has a longing to rise to Hashem, as
expressed in the possuk, “It is the spirit of man that rises above.” “Man” [adam in this possuk] refers to Jewish
souls, as in the statement, “You [Yisroel] are called adam.”
The neshamah is “on loan” to man, and it is written
“Days are formed.” This means that there is a fixed number of days that each
man shall live, and if one day is missing – one garment is missing.
19 Nissan
In L’cha dodi substitute b’simchah,
and say gam b’simchah uv’tzhalah.
The following tefillos are said quietly this
Shabbos:
Shalom aleichem, Eishes chayil, Mizmor l’David, Da hi s’udasa. Also V’yitein
l’cha.
Do
you ask the four questions at the Pesach seder?
The Rebbe Rashab once explained the four questions on a deeper level,
showing the difference between this present galus (may it end immediately!) and
all the previous exiles that came before it.
My father [the Rebbe Rashab] once
expounded on Mah
nishtanah:
How is this night, i.e. this present, final galus
(galus being compared to night) different from all other nights, i.e.
the earlier exiles?
1)
The first question is: On all other nights we do not dip even once… The Hebrew word for dipping, matbilin, also means tevilah, immersing in a mikva. “Dipping” means to scrub, purify, and become
clean.
During
the earlier galuyos, we did not become purified completely, because they were
followed by yet another galus. But
tonight we dip twice… this last galus will bring about the complete
cleansing of the body and revelation of the neshamah.
2)
On all other nights we eat chametz or matzah.
During the previous galuyos our avodah
involved the nefesh Elokis (indicated by matzah, which is flat and represents
bittu, humility) and also the nefesh habahamis (indicated by chametz, which
rises and represents ego.)
But this night, following this galus..
…We eat only matzah, for the spirit of impurity will be completely removed.
3)
On all other nights we eat various types of
greens. The face of a jealous person turns green. During the previous galuyos there were
different forms of envy; for example, competition among Torah scholars.
But on this night, after the final galus…
….only maror, bitter greens. When
Moshiach comes, we will experience the most intense kind of jealousy, similar
to the statement in the Gemara that “each tzaddik will be scorched by the
canopy of his fellow.”
4)
On all other nights we eat either sitting or
leaning… “Eating” refers to spiritual
pleasure, taanug. Overcoming the
challenges of galus produces a special type of taanug. There are different levels of pleasure –
“manifest taanug” (represented by sitting), and “essential taanug” (represented
by leaning). During galus, some people
reach the level of “manifest taanug,” while others reach the level of
“essential taanug.”
…but tonight we all lean. After
this final galus, all of Israel will reach the highest level of taanug.
20 Nissan
Binyamin
was invited to his friend Tzvi’s house during Chol Hamoed Pesach. Before he entered Tzvi’s home, Binyamin was
worried: His family was very strict with
what they ate on Pesach, for fear that there might be some slight chance that
chametz got mixed into the food. What if
Tzvi would offer him something they were not accustomed to eating at home on
Pesach? He did not want to embarrass his
friend by refusing to eat in his home.
When
Binyamin entered Tzvi’s house, he saw that the table was laid out with a tray
of fruits and a bowl of nuts. Tzvi said
with a smile: “I know that you might
keep different customs than we do on Pesach, so I’m not going to offer you
anything to eat. But you can help yourself
to whatever you like.”
One Pesach, R. Chayim Avraham
(the Alter Rebbe’s son) went to his brother (the Mittler Rebbe) to wish him gut
yom-tov.
Reb Chayim Avraham told him then that the Alter Rebbe had said: “On Pesach, one does not offer a guest food
or drink, but the guest may help himself.”
21 Nissan
It
was the custom in Lubavitch to stay awake on the night of the Seventh of Pesach
as well as on Shavuos and on Hoshaana Raba.
By the age of nine I [the Frierdike Rebbe] did not go to sleep on the
Seventh of Pesach. One should study
Torah the entire night.
22 Nissan
By day we take care to
follow this order: Make kiddush, then daven Minchah, then eat the Yom Tov seudah.
The
Baal Shem Tov used to eat three yom
tov meals on Acharon Shel Pesach.
The
Baal Shem Tov would call the (third) meal of Acharon shel Pesach Moshiach’s
seudah. Acharon Shel Pesach is the day
for Moshiach’s seudah, because on this day the radiance of the light of
Moshiach shines openly.
In
5666 (1906) a new procedure was introduced in the Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim in
Lubavitch: All the students used to eat
the Pesach meals together in the study hall.
There were 310 students seated at eighteen tables. My father [the Rebbe Rashab] ate the meal of
Acharon Shel Pesach with the yeshiva students.
He ordered that four cups of wine be given to each student, and then
said, “This is Moshiach’s seudah.”
23 Nissan
The
Kaplan family was up after Pesach until late in the night, packing away the
Pesach dishes and bringing the chametz dishes back into their places. It was hard to believe that Pesach was really
over. By morning, there was practically
no trace of the joyous yom tov of Pesach, other than the mounds of discarded
silver foil and contact paper. The
children thought back to the exciting week that had passed, especially the
climax, the beautiful Moshiach seudah with its promise of a radiant
future. Would the Moshiach seudah be
only a memory, or would the inspiration to live with Moshiach stay with them
for the months to come?
The presence of Moshiach is revealed on Acharon
Shel Pesach, and this revelation has meaning for every Jew. Pesach is a time that is very fitting for
Moshiach to come. It is medaleg,
“skipping over,” meaning that Hashem skips over the normal calculated times for
Moshiach to bring him sooner. It is leil
shimurim, the “protected night,” a night destined for Moshiach. In general, the mood on Pesach is one of
liberty. Then Pesach ends, and we find
ourselves tumbling back into the outside world.
But the feeling of Moshiach that was revealed on Acharon Shel Pesach
imbues us with the strength to be able to go back out into the world.
24 Nissan
It is customary not to say
the brachah she’hechiyanu during sefirah.
Part
of the avodah of Yom Kippur was known as “sair l’Azazeil.” Two goats were chosen by lot. One was “for Hashem,” and one was “l’Azazeil.” The one that was “for Hashem” was brought as
a korban on the mizbei’ach. The other
one was thrown down Azazeil, a rocky
mountain in the desert. The goat that
was for Azazeil represents the sins of the Jewish people.
Each of us has a part which is
“not good.” The scapegoat was even part
of the avodah in the Beis
Hamikdash!
Anything which is created has something negative in it, but we must send
away that evil to a “desolate land.”
25 Nissan
Mrs.
Alpert, the drama teacher, posted a sign-up sheet on the classroom wall. She asked each girl to write down the jobs
they would like to do for the upcoming school play. Sherry went up to the list and casually volunteered
to hang posters advertising the play.
Mrs. Alpert stopped her: “Is this
the only job you are volunteering for?” Mrs. Alpert asked in surprise.
“Why,
what’s wrong with hanging signs? Isn’t
advertising an important part of the play’s success?” asked Sherry.
“Sure
it is!” Mrs. Alpert replied. “But with
your talent, I was hoping that you would write the whole play.”
The individual’s avodah must be
according to his character and innate qualities. There may be someone who has the ability to
drill pearls or polish gems but works at baking bread (and the analogy in
avodah can be easily understood.) Even
though baking bread is a most necessary craft and occupation, this person is
considered to have committed a “sin.”
26 Nissan
Mushkie
was preparing to go to her older sister’s wedding. She could not wait to put on the beautiful
new gown that had been sewn for her especially for this occasion. Finally it was time to get dressed. First Mushkie showered carefully, and then,
with great excitement, she put on the new gown.
Before
putting on new clothes, we usually wash ourselves first as a preparation. In Chassidic teachings, we must also “wash
ourselves,” spiritually, before getting dressed in “sacred garments,” as the possuk states (speaking about the
Kohen): “…Wash his flesh (es b’saro) with water, and clothe
himself in them [the priestly robes]. ”
How do we wash ourselves spiritually?
“Washing” refers to the study of Chassidus, which must thoroughly
cleanse the flesh and rinse away the habits of the body. The habits are hinted at by the word es (“and”) in the above possuk, which means “that which is
extra to the flesh,” the habits developed by the body.
What
are the “sacred garments”? These are
thinking Chassidus, discussing Chassidus, and the practice of Chassidim to
meditate before davening. Hashem gives each person the garments of his neshamah. But it is the person himself who must wash
away the “extras,” the non-holy parts of his flesh; this washing is done
through the person’s own efforts.
This
is what Chassidus demands; it is for this ideal that our great teacher [the
Alter Rebbe] devoted himself totally and selflessly. He opened the channel of total devotion,
sacrifice, for serving Hashem through davening, to be bound up with the Essence of En Sof.
Chassidus places a Chassid face to face with the Essence of En Sof.
27 Nissan
Naftali
saved up his allowance until he was able to buy a bicycle. He told his parents: “Now that I have my bike, I am going to start
attending the early morning minyan. I
can ride my bike to shul and be there on time.”
Yaakov
received a new portable tape player for his birthday. In addition to his large collection of music
tapes, he also bought a selection of shiurim and sichos on tape. “Now I can learn Torah wherever I go,” he
said.
The
permissible, when done for one’s pleasure, is completely evil, as the Alter
Rebbe writes in Tanya, Chapter 7, for we are commanded to “make yourself holy
with what is permitted to you.” One must
introduce kedushah into those things
that are permissible so that they serve the purpose of enhancing one’s Torah,
mitzvos, yiras shamayim, and good character traits.
28 Nissan
Gitty
told her best friend, Rena: “I am so
thrilled! My friend Zahava, from summer
camp, just wrote me to tell me that she is coming for a visit.”
Gitty was excited to have
her two close friends meet each other.
But she was also a bit worried.
“I hope you and Zahava will get along well with each other,” she told
Rena.
She need not have
worried. Rena quickly told her: “What’s the problem? If she’s your friend, I’m sure she’s a friend
of mine too!”
Chassidim
asked the Alter Rebbe: Which is a
superior avodah, love of Hashem, or ahavas yisroel? He replied:
“Both love of Hashem and ahavas yisroel are equally engraved in every
Jew’s neshamah, ruach, and nefesh. The
possuk states clearly: ‘I have loved
you, says Hashem.’ It follows that
loving a fellow Jew is greater than love of Hashem – for you love the one whom
Hashem, your beloved, loves.”
29 Nissan
The
introduction to “Likutei Torah On Three Parshios” is the maamar which begins,
“To understand the matter of the G-dly soul; it is written: ‘You shall not
eat…’” This maamar was originally said
by the Alter Rebbe to the Tzemach Tzedek.
The Tzemach Tzedek repeated the maamar in front of the Alter Rebbe, who
then said to him, “Nu, and the flavoring?”
The Tzemach Tzedek then wrote a transcript of the maamar with
parenthetical notes. The Alter Rebbe
reviewed and corrected the transcript and ordered that the parenthetical notes
be entered as part of the main text of the maamar.
At
my father (the Rebbe Rashab’s) suggestion this maamar was selected to serve as
an introduction to the Likutei Torah (On Three Parshios,” of the Rebbe
Maharash).
30 Nissan
The
following farbrengens should take place in shul: The farbrengen of seudah
shlishis, of Shabbos m’vorchim, and of holidays, such as Rosh Chodesh and
special days of anash.
The
farbrengen of melave malka should be held in private homes of anash.
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