Teves

Alef Teves, Rosh Chodesh, 6^th day of Chanukah

The custom is that someone who is not davening with a minyan says the opening and closing b'rachos of Hallel, even on days when only half-Hallel is said.  In the last paragraph, yehal'luchah, do not say the word “al.”  All tefillin should be put on (and later, taken off) before saying Mussaf.  But the daily Torah lessons are studied after ending the entire davening.

Beis Teves, 7^th day of Chanukah

“I will now call on girls to read their original poems to the class,” announced Mrs. Green.  Many girls raised their hands eagerly.

“Chava, would you like to be first?”

Chava stood up and began to proudly recite a poem.  Her friend Tzipora, seated behind her, felt her mouth drop open in shock.  Chava was reading her poem!  She had written the poem the previous week, and shown it to Chava.  Now Chava was reading it to the class as if it were her very own poem.

We all become upset when people use our work or ideas without giving us any credit and pretending it was their own idea.   The Greeks tried to do the same thing, l'havdil, to Hashem!

The Greeks tried to make the Jews “forget your Torah, and violate the decrees of your will.”  It didn't bother the Greeks so much if the Jews would read the Torah because it was an interesting book, or because there are nice ideas in it.  But they tried to stop the Jews from remembering the one who wrote the Torah - Hashem!  What they really were doing was declaring war against Hashem.  The Greeks wanted to break the connection between the Jews and Hashem.  They told the Jews to “write.. that you have no share in the G-d of Israel.” 

 It was also okay with them for the Jews to do mitzvos because they make sense to do, or because we think it's a nice idea.  Let the Jews keep the mishpotim, the laws that teach us how to treat each other with justice, because we can understand them logically.  Let the Jews keep the Eidus, the traditions, because we enjoy doing them and they make us feel good.  But the Jews must forget all about the one who wrote the Torah, and about doing mitzvos only because Hashem wants us to do them.  They tried, chas v'shalom, to separate Torah and mitzvos from G-dliness.

Gimel Teves, 8^th day of Chanukah

(Today's Hayom Yom is a correction of Torah Ohr)

Daled Teves

The Rebbes of Chabad would review a section or two of the weekly sedrah on Thursday night.  On Friday afternoon they began again from the start and completed the sedrah and the haftorah.  Shabbos morning before davening they reviewed from Shevii to the end again.  When there were two haftoros they said the one of the sedrah on Friday and the other (for Rosh Chodesh, machar chodesh etc.), on Shabbos.

Sometimes, if a person concentrates very hard on his Torah study during the day, he dreams good dreams at night, in which Torah subjects are made known to him.  When a person learns Torah very well or works very hard on his davening, then at night, his soul goes up to very high places to draw down life (as is explained in the Zohar).  There, he is told new ideas in the revealed or hidden parts of Torah, according to how hard he worked in serving Hashem during the day.

Hey Teves

“We want Moshiach now, we don't want to wait.

“Hashem is here, Hashem is there, Hashem is truly everywhere.”

“I love Hashem, and Hashem loves me.”

Have you ever heard a small child singing one of these songs?  Small children have a special gift for sincerity and faith in Hashem.  When they sing a song like this, we can see that they truly mean it with their whole hearts. Small children do not have much knowledge or understanding of Hashem, yet they still have such deep faith and trust in Him.

When Moshiach comes, we will realize the greatness of hoda'ah, belief, and temimus, sincerity, everyone's pure faith in Hashem and His Torah.  This is because learning, even on a very high level, is limited.  Not everyone can understand everything, and there are things that even very smart and learned people cannot understand.  But hoda'ah, faith, is a feeling that is boundless.  Moshiach will explain to us the magnificent achievement of temimus, sincere avodah from the heart.

Vov Teves

The entire sixth grade loved Mrs. Bloom's Chumash lessons.  The classes were always interesting and challenging.  To do well, the girls had to work hard to master the lessons.  But the best thing was the way Mrs. Bloom always brought personal examples and connected each lesson to something in real life.  During every lesson, she would ask: “Girls, what is the hora'ah b'poel?  What is the practical lesson for daily life that we can learn from this?”

“Know the G-d of your fathers and serve Him with a whole heart.”  Everything that we learn in Torah, even the deepest ideas, must be brought out in avodah.  This means that the concept that you learned must bring about a purification or improvement in your middos, your personality, and must lead to a deep, inner attachment to Hashem.  All this is what Chassidus calls “avodah.”

Zayin Teves

What happens to the neshamah after it leaves the body?  We all hope that the neshamah will go up directly to shomayim to receive its reward in Gan Eden.  But sometimes, the neshamah must go through a cleansing process to remove the impurities that were caused by our sins.  These processes are known as chibut hakever and kaf hakela, and can be very uncomfortable for the neshamah.  Is there anything we can do during our lifetime to make sure that we return our neshamah to Hashem as pure as when it was given to us?

Chibut hakever can be avoided by spending one sixth of the day (meaning, four hours) reciting words of Torah, Tehillim etc.  To merit purity of the soul and be free from kaf hakela, spend as much of the day as possible reciting mishnah, Tanya, and Tehillim by heart.

Ches Teves

When you daven, do you wish that you understood the words better?  It is much easier to concentrate on your davening when you understand what you are saying.  The Tzemach Tzedek made sure his grandchildren learned the meaning of the davening at a young age.

The Tzemach Tzedek instructed all the tutors of his young grandchildren that, in addition to regular studies, they should teach the simple meaning of the prayers. Once a month the children came to their grandfather to be tested in this subject.

Tes Teves

Our custom in Aleinu is to say “She'heim mishtachavim l'hevel v'lorik” (they bow to nothingness and vanity), and make a point not to say “U'mispalelim” (and pray...).  This wording is followed also in Mussaf of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  The custom is to spit following these words.  The reason is that speech generates saliva, and we do not wish to benefit from this saliva.

Yud Teves

Henny and her friends were planning their monthly Rosh Chodesh gathering.  The girls excitedly shared their ideas about how to make the gathering special, interesting and meaningful.  Henny's voice could be heard above all the others.  “I have an idea.  Let's make this month's gathering in the park.”

The other girls looked at each other doubtfully.  Henny’s idea didn’t sound too practical.  The park would be too damp and cold to hold a gathering at that time of year.

Henny's voice rose insistently.  She folded her arms and her face set in a stubborn pose.  “I still think that the park will be the best place to make the gathering.”  Her friends groaned quietly to themselves.  They knew how hard it was to convince Henny of anything once she had made up her mind otherwise.  They all liked Henny for her other qualities, but this trait of hers sometimes made life difficult for her friends.

The Tzemach Tzedek once told someone by yechidus:  It is written, “Let the wicked one leave his path, and the man of sin his thoughts.”  Avon (sin) has the same letters as on, which means power or strength.  A wicked person must leave his ways, for without teshuvah it is impossible to approach Hashem.  But someone who is very strong and confident in his own opinion must also “leave his thoughts.”  A person should not insist, “I say so, this is what I think.”  Every “I,” ego, is a source of evil, and causes friction with other people.

Yud Alef Teves

A traveling salesman stood by the door of the Katz residence.  “Would you be interested in purchasing an air purifier?  This special filter cleans the air that enters your home.  It removes 98.7% of all impurities, chemicals, toxins, pollutants and contaminants that are in the air that you breathe!  You will feel healthier and live longer, if you install this special air purifier!”

Mr. Katz smiled and told the salesman:  “I have an air purifier that takes up much less room, is less expensive, and is more effective and efficient than any other on the market.”  He then held up the small book of Mishnayos that he was studying.

A person's life is dependant on the air around him.  Without air, it is impossible to survive, and the quality of life will depend on the quality of the air.  In an atmosphere

of Torah and mitzvos, there is healthy life.  Life in an environment without Hashem is a diseased life, and there is always a threat of being struck with contagious sicknesses. 

The first general step to healing is to purify the air.  Every person who is knowledgeable in Torah has the job of making the air pure.  This is accomplished through the letters of Torah.  Reciting words of Torah while in the store, or walking in the street or riding the subway, cleans the air.  Everyone knowledgeable in Torah must have something memorized - Chumash, Mishnah, Tanya, etc., so that at all times and in all places he will be able to think and utter the holy letters of Torah.

Yud Beis Teves

Sometimes our teachers and parents tell us to do things, and we don't understand the reason.  It can be hard to do something without knowing why.  But in our generation, “the footsteps of Moshiach,” this is the type of service of Hashem that is most needed of us.  When you need to get somewhere, it is not your head that runs there, but your feet.  Your feet don't know or understand where they are going or why, but they are the ones who actually take you to your destination.  To greet Moshiach, we need to use our feet and get going, not waiting until our minds understand everything.

In 5648, (1887) the Rebbe Rashab was elected gabai of the Chevra Kadisha.  As was customary, he was led on Simchas Torah in procession to the shul accompanied by a big crowd.  At the time, he said the maamar beginning with the words “Ein H.K.B.H. Ba b'truniya.”  The conclusion was:  “Even the people with great minds who are here must lay aside their intellects and not be ruled by their reason and knowledge, for they can be misguided by their minds to the point that their end will be a bitter one.  The essential thing in these times of the ‘footsteps of Moshiach’ is not to follow intellect and reason, but to fulfill Torah and mitzvos wholeheartedly, with simple faith in the G-d of Israel.”

Yud Gimmel Teves

A loud clap of thunder was heard outside, the electricity went out, and the Cohen house was plunged in darkness.  The children screamed in terror as the room suddenly turned pitch black.  Finally, their mother found a small flashlight and turned it on.  All the children huddled around the thin beam of light offered by the flashlight.  Mrs. Cohen said to her children softly:  “Look, all you need to do is turn on a small light, and everyone who wants light will come towards you.  There is so much darkness in the world all around us.  We need to just shine a small light of kedushah, and people will gather around to benefit from it.”

When a lantern is placed, those who seek light gather around - because light attracts.

Yud Daled Teves

Those who remember seeing the Rebbe, or hearing the sound of his voice, know how precious those memories are, and how important it is to keep those images close to us all the time.

The Shpole Zeideh, one of the students of the Mezritcher Maggid, was a very passionate person, more than any of his colleagues, the students of the Maggid.  When he visited the Alter Rebbe in Liadi in 5569 or 5570 (1809 or 1810) he said that when he was a child of three, he saw the Baal Shem Tov.  “He placed his holy hand on my heart, and ever since I have felt warm.”

A gesture of a tzaddik, certainly seeing him and hearing his voice, must make an impression never to be forgotten.

Tes Vov Teves

Now, in the final moments of golus, the world is living through some frightening times.   There are wars, terrorist attacks, and an unstable situation in Eretz Yisroel.  There are people who think that they have the answers to all these problems we are facing.  They claim that they know what to do to bring peace to the world, and they make big promises, which never seem to actually happen.  The Rebbe has told us that the turmoil in the world today is part of the signs of geulah.  What we need to do now is to prepare ourselves and the world to greet Moshiach.

The Frierdiker Rebbe wrote the following words during World War II, when the world was facing very trying times.

“Listen up and hear, Yisroel.  This is the time marked for the redemption by Moshiach.  The sufferings befalling us are the birth-pangs of Moshiach.  Yisroel will be redeemed only through teshuvah.  Have no faith in the false prophets who assure you of glories and salvation after the War.  Remember the words of Hashem:  ‘Cursed is the man who puts his trust in man, who places his reliance for help in human beings, and turns his heart from Hashem”  (Yirmiyahu 17:5).  Return, Yisroel, to Hashem your G-d; prepare yourself and your family to go forth and receive Moshiach, whose coming is imminent.

Tes Zayin Teves

Do you enjoy reading?  Which types of books do you like the best?  Some books are happy, and some are scary.  Some books make us laugh, and some books make us cry.  Each type of book creates a different mood.

There are also different types of Torah books.  Each type of Torah book leaves a different kind of impression on the person studying it, and develops a different part of the personality.

The Tzemach Tzedek once told his Chassid, R. Hendel, at yechidus:  Study of Zohar exalts the soul, study of Midrash arouses the heart, and Tehillim with tears washes out the vessel.

Yud-Zayin Teves

The Rebbeim of Chabad were always very careful with time.  There is one night a year when Torah study is discouraged. But even on this night, time was never wasted.  On this night, the Rebbeim used to engage in other activities, such as playing chess. The Rebbeim would later teach lessons in serving Hashem that we can learn from the game of chess!

There is a custom not to study Torah on nittel-night (the non-Jewish holiday celebrated on December 25^th).  The reason for this is that when we learn Torah, we add a life-force to the world, and we don't wish to add life to this day.

The Rebbe Rashab once said that he is not fond of those who cannot tear themselves away from their study just for these eight hours.

The custom of not learning applies only until midnight.

Yud-Ches Teves

What would you consider to be the “best tim” of your life?  Many of us can think of a period in our lives when things were going well for us, our lives were happy and we felt we were accomplishing our goals.  Yaakov Avinu also had such a period in his life.  Can you guess where?  The commentaries on the Torah say that the best time of Yaakov Avinu's life was the years he spent in Mitzrayim.  Can you imagine the best years of your life being in a wicked place like Mitzrayim?

When the Tzemach Tzedek was a boy and learned the possuk “Yaakov lived in the land of Mitzrayim for 17 years,” his teacher translated it according to the Baal Haturim:  Yaakov lived the seventeen best years of his life in Mitzrayim. 

When he came home from cheder, the Tzemach Tzedek asked his grandfather:  How can it be that our father Yaakov, the best of the avos, should have as his best years his 17 years in Mitzrayim, a land of corruption?

His grandfather answered him:  It is written,  “And he sent Yehudah before him to Yosef ‘Lehoros lifonav goshna’” - to give instructions for Goshen.  Rashi quotes the Midrash:  Rabbi Nechemiah says – “to establish a house of Torah study,”... that the tribes should study Torah.

“Lehoros” comes from the same root as the word Torah.  The root of the word Goshen is gash - to come close.  When we learn Torah, we become close to Hashem.  Because of this closeness, it is possible that even in Mitzrayim, our years can be truly lived.

Yaakov's best years were davka in Mitzrayim,  a place of darkness, the lowest place in the world spiritually. This is because when the darkness is greater, we need a greater light of kedushah to overcome it. 

Yud-Tes Teves

Do you say the daily portion of Chumash every day, with Rashi?  This custom was very dear to the Rebbeim of Chabad, starting from the Alter Rebbe.

Chabad Chassidim have a tradition from generation to generation, instituted by the Alter Rebbe, that each day we should learn a portion of Chumash of the weekly sedrah with Rashi.  This was done by the Rebbeim, too.

Chof Teves

Do you sometimes have trouble in some area of serving Hashem?  Does your yetzer hara try to get the better of you?  If so, it might be a good idea to discuss the matter with a friend, and learn together. This way, your neshamah and your friend's neshamah will work together to overcome your yetzer hara!  This is because every neshamah is connected to every other neshamah, and cares for the other's good as much as its own.  The yetzer hara, though, is naturally selfish and cares only for itself.

The Mitteler Rebbe answered someone at yechidus: When two discuss a subject in avodah and they study together, there are two Divine souls against one natural soul.

Chof-Alef Teves

As the school bus drove over the bridge, the children squealed with excitement.  They stared out the windows at the beautiful blue waters below.  The teacher standing at the front of the bus called to the children:  “What does the water remind you of?”

The children chorused together: “Water is a sign of bracha!”

(The Frierdike Rebbe, R. Yosef Yitzchak, once met a water-carrier carrying full buckets, and he said: ) When someone sees water, there is a saying of the Baal Shem Tov that he should say, namely:  “When one sees water one should say, that the Baal Shem Tov says, that water is a sign of blessing.”

Chof-Beis Teves

15-year-old Dovid was thrilled to find out that he had been chosen as a youth counselor in his family's shul.  Every day, he set aside time to think about his group, the activities that he would do with them, and the good qualities that he wanted to instill in them.

Dovid's seriousness and sense of responsibility are gifts that he received from both his parents.  His parents had shown similar care and devotion in planning his education, dedicating at least a half-hour each day to discussing his upbringing.

The Rebbe Rashab proclaimed at a farbrengen:  Just like putting on tefillin every day is a mitzva commanded by the Torah to every individual regardless of his standing in Torah, whether he is a very learned person or simple, so too is it an absolute duty of each person to spend a half hour every day thinking about the Torah education of children, and to do everything in his power - and beyond his power - to inspire children to follow the path along which they are being guided.

Chof-Gimmel Teves

A group of young men were holding a Chassidic gathering, a farbrengen, together with their teacher, R. Yecheskel (Chatshe) Feigin.  This was in Russia during the communist regime, when the law strictly prohibited such activities.  So two bachurim stayed upstairs on guard, to warn their friends of the approach of any communist police.

During the farbrengen, R. Chatshe addressed areas in the bachurim's service of Hashem that he felt needed correction.  The young men took his words to heart, and some of them started to cry.

Suddenly, the two bachurim who were standing guard came dashing down, to report a sighting of suspicious men outside.  Maybe they were from the KGB!

The whole group immediately leapt up.  Some suggested running away, while others looked for places to hide in the building.  A few quickly cleared the table of the mashke and Chassidic books, and put out communist magazines and literature instead.

Soon, the ones who were standing guard came down again and reported that the suspicious group had left.  The bachurim calmed down, and the farbrengen continued.

R. Chatshe turned to his students and asked them: What is more important to you, physical matters or spiritual matters?

The bachurim answered honestly that their physical lives mattered more to them.  So he asked them, “Why, then, when we were discussing spiritual things some of you started to cry, but when our safety was threatened, no one cried?”

One bachur answered:  “What would our crying have helped?  We needed to actually do something about the problem!”

Groaning by itself won't do a bit of good.  A groan is only a key to open up the heart and eyes, so as not to sit there with folded arms, but to plan orderly work and activity.  Each person must do whatever does best, to strengthen Torah and spread Torah and observance of mitzvos.  One person might do this through his writing, another through his speaking, and another with his wealth.

Chof-Daled Teves

On this day the Alter Rebbe passed away in the village of Piena on Saturday night of Parshas Shmos 5573 (1813).  He is buried in the city of Haditch.

My grandfather [the Rebbe Maharash] asked the Tzemach Tzedek:  What did grandfather (the Alter Rebbe) want to accomplish with the “ways of Chassidus,” and what did he want with Chassidus?

The Tzemach Tzedek answered:  The ways of Chassidus are that all Chassidim should be like one family, with love for each other, as the Torah teaches.  Chassidus is life.  Chassidus is to bring life and illumination into everything, even on that which is not good – to become aware of one’s own evil exactly as it is, in order to correct it.

Chof-Hey Teves

Imagine that you are going on a long trip by car.  At first, the trip is exciting.  But after a while, it begins to feel very uncomfortable.  The seatbelt is tight, and it's hard to sit in one place for so long without moving.  Soon you can't wait to get to your destination, so you can leave the car and move around!

Now think about another example.  You are involved in a special and very important project.  You want to spend all your time on this project, to the point that it's hard to find time to do other things, like clean your room, or even eat and sleep!  Under these circumstances, sticking to the normal daily routine might feel like a restriction or limitation.  But it wouldn't do you much good to stop eating or sleeping until your project is done.  What you need to do is organize your time so that your project can get done, while still maintaining your normal life.

The Rebbe Rashab said in a sichah: Going out of Mitzrayim means leaving limitations and boundaries. Chassidus shows you how to leave the restrictions and limitations of the world. 

The difference between going out of Mitzrayim, and leaving your limitations in Chassidus, is this: When the Jews left Mitzrayim, they broke away from it, and left Mitzrayim.   They wanted to get away.  For the neshamah, living a physical life in this

world is also like being in “Mitzrayim.” We need to do physical things like eat and sleep, while the neshamah would rather spend all its time on spiritual things like learning Torah and thinking about Hashem.  But the way of Chassidus is not to stop living in the world!  The chassidic way is to refine and correct the world. Chassidus teaches us that we should stay in the world, and work within it, and still be above its limitations.  We can stay within the world and still go beyond it, if we realize that the world itself is truly good, because after all, Hashem created the world and He desires to have a home in it.  This is the avodah of Chassidus.

Chof-Vov Teves

In the brachah V’lamalshinim, pause slightly between us’mageir (“crush”) and v’sachnia (“subdue”), according to the kavanah that s’akeir us’shabeir us’mageir (“uproot, break, crush”) refer to the three kelipos that must be completely eradicated.  V’sachnia (“subdue”) refers to kelipas noga that must be subdued, but can be purified.

Chof-Zayin Teves

The Hersh family car is not just a car - it's a mitzvah mobile!  One look at the automobile, with its brightly colored mitzvah stickers pasted on all sides, puts people in the mood of taking on another mitzvah.  Somehow, they don't even notice the dents on one side and the scratches on the other.  Sometimes the car doesn't start so easily, and other times, Mr. Hersh is hard-pressed to find the few dollars necessary to fill up the car with gas.  But Mr. Hersh remains cheerful nonetheless.  "This car runs on mitzvos, not on gas," is what he always says.

The Alter Rebbe says:  A Jew's physical possessions are spiritual.  Hashem gives us the possessions so that we can transform them into something spiritual.  If, occasionally, the physical wealth is not there, we must give Hashem whatever we can, even a “poor man's offering,” and then He gives generously.

Chof-Ches Teves

The published version of Sefer HaChakirah (Derech Emunah) of the Tzemach Tzedek is lacking many comments.  The Tzemach Tzedek composed it in connection with his trips to Petersburg, where he had to answer many questions on those subjects.

Chof-Tes Teves

There was once a group of people who decided that they were going to get rid of darkness.  Firstly, they tried yelling at the darkness. “Go away,” they shouted. “Go away!”  When this was not successful, they next tried beating the darkness with a stick.  Still, the darkness remained, thick and stubborn as before.  Finally, someone came along and turned on a light, and the darkness disappeared.

We are “day workers.”  Day means light.  Our job is to light up the world with the light of the Torah.  To do this, we need to make sure that we ourselves are, with Hashem's help, everything that the Torah wants us to be.   But besides for this, our whole avodah is to be privileged to develop students who are firmly grounded people, dedicated with hearts and minds to the true inner purpose of existence.  Our students must know that it is not enough to learn the revealed Torah and to hold holiness dear by keeping the mitzvos.  There must also be avodah she'bleiv, service of the heart, which is davening.