Podcasts about Adar

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 90 Psalm 90 (Listen) Book Four From Everlasting to Everlasting A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. 90   Lord, you have been our dwelling place1    in all generations.2   Before the mountains were brought forth,    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,    from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 3   You return man to dust    and say, “Return, O children of man!”24   For a thousand years in your sight    are but as yesterday when it is past,    or as a watch in the night. 5   You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,    like grass that is renewed in the morning:6   in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;    in the evening it fades and withers. 7   For we are brought to an end by your anger;    by your wrath we are dismayed.8   You have set our iniquities before you,    our secret sins in the light of your presence. 9   For all our days pass away under your wrath;    we bring our years to an end like a sigh.10   The years of our life are seventy,    or even by reason of strength eighty;  yet their span3 is but toil and trouble;    they are soon gone, and we fly away.11   Who considers the power of your anger,    and your wrath according to the fear of you? 12   So teach us to number our days    that we may get a heart of wisdom.13   Return, O LORD! How long?    Have pity on your servants!14   Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.15   Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,    and for as many years as we have seen evil.16   Let your work be shown to your servants,    and your glorious power to their children.17   Let the favor4 of the Lord our God be upon us,    and establish the work of our hands upon us;    yes, establish the work of our hands! Footnotes [1] 90:1 Some Hebrew manuscripts (compare Septuagint) our refuge [2] 90:3 Or of Adam [3] 90:10 Or pride [4] 90:17 Or beauty (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Exodus 35:30–36:38 Exodus 35:30–36:38 (Listen) Construction of the Tabernacle 30 Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, 32 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, 33 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. 34 And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer. 36 “Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded.” 2 And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. 3 And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, 4 so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, 5 and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do.” 6 So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more. 8 And all the craftsmen among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains. They were made of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns, with cherubim skillfully worked. 9 The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits,1 and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains were the same size. 10 He2 coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another. 11 He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain of the first set. Likewise he made them on the edge of the outermost curtain of the second set. 12 He made fifty loops on the one curtain, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was in the second set. The loops were opposite one another. 13 And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains one to the other with clasps. So the tabernacle was a single whole. 14 He also made curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the tabernacle. He made eleven curtains. 15 The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains were the same size. 16 He coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. 17 And he made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain of the one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the other connecting curtain. 18 And he made fifty clasps of bronze to couple the tent together that it might be a single whole. 19 And he made for the tent a covering of tanned rams' skins and goatskins. 20 Then he made the upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. 21 Ten cubits was the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. 22 Each frame had two tenons for fitting together. He did this for all the frames of the tabernacle. 23 The frames for the tabernacle he made thus: twenty frames for the south side. 24 And he made forty bases of silver under the twenty frames, two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under the next frame for its two tenons. 25 For the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty frames 26 and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame and two bases under the next frame. 27 For the rear of the tabernacle westward he made six frames. 28 He made two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear. 29 And they were separate beneath but joined at the top, at the first ring. He made two of them this way for the two corners. 30 There were eight frames with their bases of silver: sixteen bases, under every frame two bases. 31 He made bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, 32 and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the tabernacle at the rear westward. 33 And he made the middle bar to run from end to end halfway up the frames. 34 And he overlaid the frames with gold, and made their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold. 35 He made the veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; with cherubim skillfully worked into it he made it. 36 And for it he made four pillars of acacia and overlaid them with gold. Their hooks were of gold, and he cast for them four bases of silver. 37 He also made a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework, 38 and its five pillars with their hooks. He overlaid their capitals, and their fillets were of gold, but their five bases were of bronze. Footnotes [1] 36:9 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 36:10 Probably Bezalel (compare 35:30; 37:1) (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Esther 3 Esther 3 (Listen) Haman Plots Against the Jews 3 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. 2 And all the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. 3 Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king's command?” 4 And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai's words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. 6 But he disdained1 to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy2 all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. 7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king's laws, so that it is not to the king's profit to tolerate them. 9 If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents3 of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king's business, that they may put it into the king's treasuries.” 10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.” 12 Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion. Footnotes [1] 3:6 Hebrew disdained in his eyes [2] 3:6 Or annihilate [3] 3:9 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: 1 Corinthians 8 1 Corinthians 8 (Listen) Food Offered to Idols 8 Now concerning1 food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.2 4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”—6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating3 in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged,4 if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers5 and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. Footnotes [1] 8:1 The expression Now concerning introduces a reply to a question in the Corinthians' letter; see 7:1 [2] 8:3 Greek him [3] 8:10 Greek reclining at table [4] 8:10 Or fortified; Greek built up [5] 8:12 Or brothers and sisters (ESV)

The month of Nisan is auspicious for salvations. Our Chazal have told us, in this month of Nisan will come our ultimate salvation, the redemption from our current exile, which we hope will take place today. One of the great Rebbes once said, just like when Adar comes we increase our joy, when Nisan comes, we increase our emunah. No matter what problem a person is experiencing, he must believe that Hashem could rescue him in an instant. We say in the haggadah , כל דיכפין ייתי וייכל – whoever is hungry should come and eat. Now is the time for a person who has been struggling with parnasa to be zocheh to an abundance of blessing. We say כל דצריך ייתי ויפסח – whoever is in a time of difficulty and needs to get out of it should pass over his problem and merit a personal redemption. People feel chained in their problems and want to experience the wonderful feeling of freedom. B'ezrat Hashem now is the time. Singles who have been waiting years to get married would love to experience the joy of marriage. Everyone loves to hear of a good segula they could do to speed up the process, and there are segulot brought down regarding shidduchim . Some of them include accepting Shabbat early, helping others get married, saying Az Yashir with kavana , but the greatest segula of all is tefila with true emunah of Who we are speaking to and His exclusive ability to help us. We must never give up on tefila , no matter how long we have been praying for something. The longer we keep our hope, the more valuable the tefilot become. Anything done with great self-sacrifice is always a good segula for yeshua . Rabbi Chizkiyahu Mishkovski told a story about a family in Ramat Shlomo who had a widowed mother living alone for years. The children were able to take turns visiting her, making sure all of her needs were taken care of, but as she got older, she became much weaker and required care 24/7. She refused to have an aide in the house and she refused to go to a nursing home, which meant that the responsibility to care for her fell completely on her children. One of her boys lived in Bnei Brak. Each time he came in, it took him nearly two hours each way, having to use multiple buses. For him to come more than one day a week was going to be extremely hard. The same was true of some of the other children. The daughter who lived in Yerushalayim discussed the matter with her husband and, heroically, they said to the other family members that their own family will make sure to have someone there around the clock six days a week and the other children could just take turns coming in one day a week. They didn't do this begrudgingly. They told the others they were happy to have the zechut of doing this precious mitzvah. This family had three girls of marriageable age, all not married. One was 28, one was 26 and one was 21. After just one month of this family's self-sacrifice with their mother, the 28-year-old girl got engaged. A month after that the 26-year-old got engaged and, amazingly, a month after that, the 21-year-old got engaged. They told the Rabbi, “When our mother got weak and needed this care, we felt the extreme difficulty and pressure of having to take care of her all the time, but little did we know, this was going to be the ticket to our salvation. All of those years of difficulty trying to get our daughters married, and now in just three months all of them got engaged.” The opportunities we get in life to put forth self-sacrifice in the performance of mitzvot is a gift to us from Hashem for our own good. May everyone experience the glorious feelings of salvation in this wonderful month. Baruch Hashem, we are happy to announce the release of Living Emunah on the Topic of Shidduchim from Artscroll. It can be attained at any local sefarim store.

Wednesday 22 March - 29 Adar by Busy Moms

Study Guide Nazir 58 The Gemara brings two different braitot that each derive something different from the word 'and his head' that the leper is commanded to shave. One learns that the commandment of a leper to shave overrides the prohibition of shaving off one's sidelocks. The other learns that it refers to a leper who is a  nazir and even though a nazir is commanded by both a negative and positive commandment not to shave their hair, if they have leprosy, they can. The positive commandment here overrides both a negative and a positive commandment. It is suggested first that the dispute between the braitot is about whether the prohibition against cutting off sidelocks also applies in a case where one is cutting off all of his hair. Rava rejects this possibility and suggests that both agree that removing the sidelocks is only forbidden when one is not removing all the hair. But then they find it difficult to understand the first drasha and reject it and say they agree that removing all the hair is also forbidden. From here and on the basis of this understanding, the Gemara asks three questions about each braita and answers them all. Can a man shave hairs elsewhere on the body? Is there a prohibition in this based on the verse that forbids a man to wear women's clothing? Is this a prohibition by Torah or by rabbinic law?

Tanya

Study Guide Nazir 58 The Gemara brings two different braitot that each derive something different from the word 'and his head' that the leper is commanded to shave. One learns that the commandment of a leper to shave overrides the prohibition of shaving off one's sidelocks. The other learns that it refers to a leper who is a  nazir and even though a nazir is commanded by both a negative and positive commandment not to shave their hair, if they have leprosy, they can. The positive commandment here overrides both a negative and a positive commandment. It is suggested first that the dispute between the braitot is about whether the prohibition against cutting off sidelocks also applies in a case where one is cutting off all of his hair. Rava rejects this possibility and suggests that both agree that removing the sidelocks is only forbidden when one is not removing all the hair. But then they find it difficult to understand the first drasha and reject it and say they agree that removing all the hair is also forbidden. From here and on the basis of this understanding, the Gemara asks three questions about each braita and answers them all. Can a man shave hairs elsewhere on the body? Is there a prohibition in this based on the verse that forbids a man to wear women's clothing? Is this a prohibition by Torah or by rabbinic law?

Today's daf is sponsored by Rikki & Alan Zibitt in loving memory of Helen Zibitt, Hena bat Yaacov v' Rachel Leah on her 23rd yahrzeit. "Mom, we miss your warmth and love every day. And in honor of the birthdays of our dear daughter-in-law, Dvora Cohen Zibitt, and son-in-law, Jay Blumenreich, who have enriched our family in countless beautiful ways. We love you both so very much." When Rabbi Yehoshua told Rabbi Akiva that his logic was good, but there is a tradition which overrides the conclusion of the logical argument, was the tradition that a nazir who becomes impure to a quarter-log of blood by touching is not required to shave or that a nazir who touches a bone the size of a barley grain would require shaving? If someone tells two nazirs that they saw one of them become impure but they aren’t sure which one, what do they do? After thirty days they both shave and bring two sacrifices while stipulating that one will count for the impurity of one and the other will be for the completion of the other. They each continue with the prohibitions of a nazir for another thirty days and bring one set of sacrifices, stipulating that it go for the one who was impure as completion now of the nazirite term. If there were three people there (the two nazirs and the one who saw one become impure), why isn’t this a case of doubt regarding impurity in a public domain in which we rule that one is pure? That principle is derived from a Sotah who was in a case of doubt in a private domain (with only two people) and there we rule she is impure. They explain that the person who saw must have seen it from a distance and was not actually in the direct area where the nazirs were, thus making it a private space. How can the nazirs shave in a case of doubt? Isn’t it forbidden to shave off one’s sidelocks unless one is obligated to as a nazir as only then will it override the prohibition! Shmuel answers that the shaving was speaking of a woman and a minor who are not commanded not to remove their sidelocks. From here one can infer that he held that shaving off all the hair on one’s head is forbidden. Some say that Shmuel’s answer about the minor and the woman was said about an upcoming Mishna of one who is a nazir who maybe was impure and maybe was a leper and shaves four times. Rav Ada bar Ahava and Rav Huna disagree about whether it is forbidden for someone to shave the sidelocks of a minor. Rav Ada bar Ahaha permits and Rav Huna forbids. Rav Ada questions Rav Huna according to his own opinion as Rav Huna's own children's sidelocks were shaven, to which Rav Huna responds that his wife, Chova, had done it. Rav Ada's reaction is that Chova will bury her children. While Rav Ada was alive, any children of Rav Huna and Chova did not survive on account of his statement. Rav Huna permitted his wife to do it, as he understood that it was only forbidden for one to shave the sidelocks of a minor if they themselves were prohibited from removing their own sidelocks. Rav Ada held that it all depends on the one whose sidelocks were being shaved - if they are forbidden, then it is forbidden for others, but if they are permitted (like minors) then it is permitted for anyone, even men.  

Today's daf is sponsored by Rikki & Alan Zibitt in loving memory of Helen Zibitt, Hena bat Yaacov v' Rachel Leah on her 23rd yahrzeit. "Mom, we miss your warmth and love every day. And in honor of the birthdays of our dear daughter-in-law, Dvora Cohen Zibitt, and son-in-law, Jay Blumenreich, who have enriched our family in countless beautiful ways. We love you both so very much." When Rabbi Yehoshua told Rabbi Akiva that his logic was good, but there is a tradition which overrides the conclusion of the logical argument, was the tradition that a nazir who becomes impure to a quarter-log of blood by touching is not required to shave or that a nazir who touches a bone the size of a barley grain would require shaving? If someone tells two nazirs that they saw one of them become impure but they aren’t sure which one, what do they do? After thirty days they both shave and bring two sacrifices while stipulating that one will count for the impurity of one and the other will be for the completion of the other. They each continue with the prohibitions of a nazir for another thirty days and bring one set of sacrifices, stipulating that it go for the one who was impure as completion now of the nazirite term. If there were three people there (the two nazirs and the one who saw one become impure), why isn’t this a case of doubt regarding impurity in a public domain in which we rule that one is pure? That principle is derived from a Sotah who was in a case of doubt in a private domain (with only two people) and there we rule she is impure. They explain that the person who saw must have seen it from a distance and was not actually in the direct area where the nazirs were, thus making it a private space. How can the nazirs shave in a case of doubt? Isn’t it forbidden to shave off one’s sidelocks unless one is obligated to as a nazir as only then will it override the prohibition! Shmuel answers that the shaving was speaking of a woman and a minor who are not commanded not to remove their sidelocks. From here one can infer that he held that shaving off all the hair on one’s head is forbidden. Some say that Shmuel’s answer about the minor and the woman was said about an upcoming Mishna of one who is a nazir who maybe was impure and maybe was a leper and shaves four times. Rav Ada bar Ahava and Rav Huna disagree about whether it is forbidden for someone to shave the sidelocks of a minor. Rav Ada bar Ahaha permits and Rav Huna forbids. Rav Ada questions Rav Huna according to his own opinion as Rav Huna's own children's sidelocks were shaven, to which Rav Huna responds that his wife, Chova, had done it. Rav Ada's reaction is that Chova will bury her children. While Rav Ada was alive, any children of Rav Huna and Chova did not survive on account of his statement. Rav Huna permitted his wife to do it, as he understood that it was only forbidden for one to shave the sidelocks of a minor if they themselves were prohibited from removing their own sidelocks. Rav Ada held that it all depends on the one whose sidelocks were being shaved - if they are forbidden, then it is forbidden for others, but if they are permitted (like minors) then it is permitted for anyone, even men.  

Tanya

Tuesday 21 March - 28 Adar by Busy Moms

Study Guide Nazir 56 Today's daf is sponsored by Ruth Leah Kahan with gratitude to HKB"H for her recovery and return to health one year after being caught in a chlorine gas leak. "Thanks to my family and friends around the world for their unstinting encouragement and support." Two further questions are raised against Rav Chisda’s understanding of our Mishna from tannaitic sources. One relates to a case where one is a nazir and possibly became impure and possibly was a leper but is unsure. The other relates to the source for the law that the days of leprosy are not counted as days of the nazirite's term. There are no resolutions to the difficulties. Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua that the impurities for which the nazir needs to shave are the same impurities that one is liable by the punishment of karet for entering the Temple. Impurities that the nazir does not need to shave for, are not punishable by karet if one enters the Temple with that state of impurity. Rabbi Meir raises a question on that - why would the latter category of impurity be more lenient than the light impurity of a sheretz, one of the eight creeping creatures who pass on impurity when dead? Why does our Mishna say that Rabbi Elazar quoted this law in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua when in the Tosefta it says that he learned it from Rabbi Yehoshua bar Mamel who heard it from Rabbi Yehoshua? We learn from here that when passing down a halacha in the name of a middle person who heard it from the source, one mentions the source and not the middle person from whom he learned it. Rabbi Akiva questions a law learned previously in the chapter - that a quarter-log of blood does not make a nazir shave. The question is a logical one: if a bone the size of a barley grain causes a nazir to shave, even though it only passes on impurity by touching or carrying, wouldn't a quarter-log of blood pass that passes on impurity also in a tent, also be a cause for the nazir to shave if he touches or carries it? Rabbi Yehoshua answered that while Rabbi Akiva's logic may be sound, the tradition passed down is not that way.

Monday 20 March - 27 Adar by Busy Moms

Study Guide Nazir 56 Today's daf is sponsored by Ruth Leah Kahan with gratitude to HKB"H for her recovery and return to health one year after being caught in a chlorine gas leak. "Thanks to my family and friends around the world for their unstinting encouragement and support." Two further questions are raised against Rav Chisda’s understanding of our Mishna from tannaitic sources. One relates to a case where one is a nazir and possibly became impure and possibly was a leper but is unsure. The other relates to the source for the law that the days of leprosy are not counted as days of the nazirite's term. There are no resolutions to the difficulties. Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua that the impurities for which the nazir needs to shave are the same impurities that one is liable by the punishment of karet for entering the Temple. Impurities that the nazir does not need to shave for, are not punishable by karet if one enters the Temple with that state of impurity. Rabbi Meir raises a question on that - why would the latter category of impurity be more lenient than the light impurity of a sheretz, one of the eight creeping creatures who pass on impurity when dead? Why does our Mishna say that Rabbi Elazar quoted this law in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua when in the Tosefta it says that he learned it from Rabbi Yehoshua bar Mamel who heard it from Rabbi Yehoshua? We learn from here that when passing down a halacha in the name of a middle person who heard it from the source, one mentions the source and not the middle person from whom he learned it. Rabbi Akiva questions a law learned previously in the chapter - that a quarter-log of blood does not make a nazir shave. The question is a logical one: if a bone the size of a barley grain causes a nazir to shave, even though it only passes on impurity by touching or carrying, wouldn't a quarter-log of blood pass that passes on impurity also in a tent, also be a cause for the nazir to shave if he touches or carries it? Rabbi Yehoshua answered that while Rabbi Akiva's logic may be sound, the tradition passed down is not that way.

Rabbi Jacobson will discuss the following topics: Chassidus Applied to Chof Zayin Adar  Did the Rebbe give us any hints or do anything unusual before Chof Zayin Adar?   What are we supposed to do after the Rebbe's stroke?  What were the Rebbe's last public words before Chof Zayin Adar?   What lessons can we learn from the occurrences of the painful years of 5752-5754 after 27 Adar? How did it affect you? Lessons from Beis Nissan  Please give a short summary and discuss a few innovative ideas of the Rebbe Rashab?  Did the artist Marc Chagall visit the Rebbe Rashab?  Would it be appropriate for our yeshivos to have art and music classes so we can help develop talented artists in our community?  Chassidus Applied to Vayikra   Why is the alef of Vayikra smaller than the other letters?  Why doesn't it say who called Moshe?  What is the spiritual significance of the various types of animal, grain, and incense Temple offerings? And how do we accomplish that today?  What is done if someone cannot afford an offering he is obligated to bring?  What is the spiritual significance of reading the daily Nasi in the month of Nissan?  Can you please comment on the recent controversy around women becoming “halachik advisors”? 

Tanya

Study Guide Nazir 55 Today's daf is sponsored by Rochelle Cheifetz to commemorate the yartzeit of her aunt, Rose Rubelow, Rochel Leah bat Rav Moshe and Tzippora Mashbaum. Yehi zichra baruch.  There is a tannaitic debate regarding one who enters a place outside of Israel in a box. Is the debate based on whether the impurity outside of Israel instituted by the rabbis was regarding the earth (concern for graves or bones of Jewish bodies) or regarding the air (preventative measure so people don't leave Israel)? The Gemara rejects this suggestion and brings three other possible explanations of the debate, the first of which is rejected. The Mishna stated that if a nazir became a leper, the leper days don't count as days of nazir, but don't cancel the previous days. Rav Chisda explains that this is only true if one was a nazir for a short time (30 days), but if one took on a long period of being a nazir, the days when the nazir was a leper count toward the days of being a nazir. Rav Shrevia shows that the Mishna doesn't fit with Rav Chisda's statement as the Mishna says the leper days don't count as days of nazir, but don't cancel the previous days and according to Rav Chisda, there is no case where those two things will hold true: if one was a nazir for thirty days, the previous days would be canceled as one would need a full thirty days of hair growth after the shaving of the nazir, and if one was a nazir for longer than thirty days, Rav Chisda would say the days of being a leper count as nazir days. The Gemara answers that there is a case that can fit with the Mishna - in a case of a fifty-day term where twenty days were finished before the nazir became a leper as the days of being a leper wouldn't count as one would need a full thirty days of hair growth after shaving on account of being a leper and none of the previous twenty days would need to be canceled as there will be a thirty-day growth.

Tanya

Parshat VaYakhel– He assembled/ Pekudei–Accountings Exodus 35:1-40:38, Exodus 12:1-20 Haftarah: Ezekiel 45:16-46:18 B'rit haChadasha: 1 Corinthians 3:10-18; Hebrews 9:1-11

Shabbat 18 March - 25 Adar by Busy Moms

Sunday 19 March - 26 Adar by Busy Moms

Parshat VaYakhel– He assembled/ Pekudei–Accountings Exodus 35:1-40:38, Exodus 12:1-20 Haftarah: Ezekiel 45:16-46:18 B'rit haChadasha: 1 Corinthians 3:10-18; Hebrews 9:1-11

Study Guide Nazir 53 Rami bar Hama asked: Is one stricter with the spinal cord or skull that if one has a quarter kav of bones from them, does the nazir need to shave on account of them, as opposed to other bones where a half kav is needed? The first answer, given by Rava from our Mishna is rejected. A second answer is brought from an opinion of Shamai brought on Nazir 52b, but is rejected as well. Rabbi Eliezer explains that at an earlier stage, there was a debate about whether only half a kav/log or a even quarter kav/log would make one impure, but no distinction was made between nazir and other issues. At a later stage, the courts distinguished between a nazir needing to shave/one not being able to do the Pesach sacrifice (a half kav/log) and the ability to eat truma and kodashim (a quarter kav/log).   Why is the language "on these" used in the Mishna twice - what can be learned from those words? Even though a nazir doesn't shave for a quarter kav of bones in a tent, he would shave if he touched or carried them. This is derived from the language in the next Mishna or perhaps the language at the end of our Mishna). But if so, wouldn't that already be derived from the law of a bone the size of a barley? They explain that it means if they are ground into a powder-lie substance, they will be impure if they are a quarter kav. The Mishna mentions a limb from a dead body or a live body that has enough flesh on it. What if it does not? Since it is not mentioned in the upcoming Mishna, Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish disagree about whether a nazir would have to shave or not. How does each prove his approach? Two questions are raised Rabbi Yochanan's argument from the next Mishna, but are resolved. What size limb is being argued about here? If it is larger than the size of a barley, how can Rabbi Yochanan say that the nazir doesn't shave? If it is smaller, how can Reish Lakish say that the nazir shaves?

Regarding a limb from a dead or live body without enough flesh, that Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish disagree about, how large is it? The Gemara proves how Reish Lakish thinks the nazir shaves even if it is less than the size of a barley and it is a uniquely derived halacha from a drasha on a verse. When the Mishna says that one begins the count from the beginning, it in unclear whether they mean on day seven of purification or day eight. The Gemara derives from the language of the next Mishna that in this Mishna, the count begins on the eighth day after the sacrifices are brought, in accordance with the opinion of the rabbis, against Rabbi Eliezer. The Mishna now lists all the cases that the nazir doesn't shave and within that, there are two categories - one where the days aren't counted as nazirite days, even though the days beforehand aren't cancelled and a second where it has no effect on the counting of the nazirite days. The Gemara begins to define the cases in the Mishna - what are sechachot and praot? One of the items on the list is one who goes outside of Israel and the rabbis deemed all territory outside of Israel impure. Can we learn from our Mishna the answer to the following question - did the rabbis deem it impure for concerns of graves (gusha) or was it a deterrent to prevent people from leaving Israel (avira)? This attempt is rejected. 

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