בס״ד In loving memory of MRS. SARAH

ISSUE 314 (CHARLOTTE) ROHR Parshas Vayikra Parshas Hachodesh ַּפ רְ ַׁש ת ַו אּיִקְרָ ַּפרְ ַׁשת החודש • כ״ט אדר ה’תשע״ח 29 Adar 5778

ַּפ רְ ַׁש ת ַו ִ ּי קְ רָ א ַּפרְ ַׁשת החודש

COMMANDER’S RESOURCES COMMANDER’S GUIDE • ENGLISH SICHA • YIDDISH SICHA • TRANSCRIPT • PARSHAFIER • WORKSHEET Commander’s Guide A COMMANDER’S GUIDE IN TRAINING TODAY’S CHAYOLIM

Shterna looked up from the book she was reading at her desk. There was still five minutes left to recess and she was starving. She finished all her snack already, and lunch wasn’t for another two hours! What could she do? She could feel her stomach rumbling hungrily as she looked around the empty room. What was that? A In n troductio half-eaten package of rice cakes on Devorah’s desk. Where was Devorah? Maybe she could ask her for some. But Devorah was in the yard playing ball, and wouldn’t come back until the bell rang. Maybe she could just take some? Devorah probably finished eating them already and was planning on throwing away the rest anyways. Yes, that was probably it. She wouldn’t even care if Shterna ate them- she would probably even be happy that it wasn’t Bal Tashchis and ended in the garbage.

Shterna walked slowly up to her desk and took the package of crackers. All of a sudden, the bell rang really loudly and startled her. She quickly ran to her seat and dropped the package into her backpack, as her classmates started scrambling into the room all red and sweaty from their game of Elimination. Feeling guilty and afraid, Shterna barely breathed- it was too late now anyways, Devorah would be coming in any second and then what?

“Hey! Where is my snack?” Devorah demanded loudly as she ran in breathlessly. “It was on my desk before I left! Where did it go?” Shterna felt terrible, but then she thought. “This is all Hashgacha Pratis. We learned that whatever happens is really meant to be. I guess Devorah is not meant to eat the rest of her snack. I won’t give it back to her. It wasn’t nice that I took it, and I’m going to do Teshuva of course, but I’m not going to tell her I took it, or apologize to her. I’m just going to take care of this quietly, on my own.”

Shterna sounds like she is thinking the right thing, but really she is listening to her Yetzer Hara. Let’s look at this week’s Parsha to see what the right thing to do is

פרשת ויקרא פרק ה' פסוק כ''ד ַ“וֽחֲמִֽׁשִתָ יו יֹסֵף עָ לָ יו ַ ֽאֲׁשֶר להּוא לֹו יִּתְ נֶּנּו ּבְ יֹום ַאׁשְמָ תֹֽו”. "And he should add on a fifth of the amount of money that he stole, aside for returning the money.” לאשר הוא לו: למי שהממון שלו Rashi here writes: Who does he return the money to? To the one he stole from. 2 When a person steals, he needs to return the money to the one he stole it from, and then he needs to also add on an additional fifth of the amount as well. The Rebbe asks a question: what is Rashi teaching us by writing that a person needs to return the money to the one he stole from? Isn’t it obvious that if someone steals they need to return what they stole?

The teaches us that if somebody hurts us, we should not get angry at them, chas vesholom, rather, we should realize that we deserve that from Shamayim and realize that the person was only a messenger. Would you get angry at a delivery person if they gave you a message you didn’t like? Never! You understand that the messenger has nothing to do with the message- they are only doing someone a favor and bringing it to you. This is exactly how we need to look at someone who hurts our feelings, or bothers us: they are just a messenger from Hashem there to teach us something. Instead of feeling angry at them, we just need to be grateful for the lesson, and focus on what could Hashem be trying to teach us. Do we need to learn to be more patient? More sensitive to the people around us? More chayusdik? Whatever is upsetting us, is teaching us that we need to get better in that area.

When a person learns this in the Tanya, they might think that is the same exact thing with a Ganif. The fact that a person was stolen from, means that Hashem doesn’t want them to have that money or those things, and therefore, the thief should give the money to Tzedaka and not return it to the person whom he stole it from. And also, the thief needs to do Teshuva for stealing, but he doesn’t need to apologize to

the one he stole from because it was all part of Hashem’s plan.

Here is where the Rebbe explains the seemingly innocent and unnecessary Rashi: the Ganif must return the money to the person he stole it from. We are not Hashem and we cannot make any cheshbonos on another person. It is not our job to decide who deserves money and who doesn’t, who needs to be hurt and who doesn’t; it’s our job to do the right thing and serve Hashem. We need to be kind and sensitive to all the people around us and not Chas Vesholom inflict any pain on one of Hashem’s kinderlach, or any of Hashem’s creations.

3 If we did something wrong, we need to take full responsibility and apologize. If we took something from someone and it doesn’t belong to us, we need to return it immediately. It’s not our job to Lesson make any cheshbonos for someone else- we need to apologize and try our best to be chayolim who take care of our fellow soldiers. We are all on the same team, and for an army to be strong we must be united!

Shterna thought for a moment and then stood up determined- she was not going to listen to her Yetzer B’chein Hara! Those were Devorah’s crackers, and she would be brave and return them. Quickly, before Morah came back.

“Um, Devorah,” Shterna mumbled nervously, “are these crackers yours? I’m sorry, I thought you were finished with them and I took them, because I was really hungry…”

“Oh! There are my crackers!” Devorah Exclaimed. “ You want some? I’m not so hungry now, take as much as you want, and give it back when you finish!”

Shterna looked at Devorah in surprise. That wasn’t nearly as hard as she imagined! And she still had some yummy snack for her rumbling tummy. Shterna made a loud Bracha and in her mind, thanked Hashem for giving her the Koach to fight back the Yetzer Hara.

4 English Sicha

At the end of this week’s parsha, the Torah tells us:

ַ“וֽחֲמִֽׁשִתָ יו יֹסֵף עָ לָ יו ַ ֽאֲׁשֶר להּוא לֹו יִּתְ נֶּנּו ּבְ יֹום ַאׁשְמָ תֹֽו”.

If a person steals, he should give back to the owner the full value of what he stole along with an additional fifth. Rashi comments the one should give the money to the person who it rightfully belongs to.

The Rebbe asks: What does Rashi’s explanation add to our understanding of the posuk? And why does the posuk itself need to include the words “(to return the money) to whom it belongs.” Isn’t this self understood?

Although Rashi teaches us the simple and literal explanation of the posuk, it is well known that Rashi’s explanations contain within them the secrets of Torah as well.

The Kli Yokor explains that the reason why a thief needs to return the original amount plus a fifth is because the owner of the money could have invested the money in the meanwhile. Therefore, when paying back the full loss, one must include the potential loss as well.

This seems to contradict the Tanya. In Tanya we learn that if someone wrongs us, getting angry is not the appropriate way to respond. Although they are at fault, they were only able to do this wrong because in shomayim, Hashem decreed that this would happen. The wrongdoer still gets punished because he didn’t have to be the one to do it, anyone could have been Hashem’s shliach for this. However, the person who was wronged realizes that it is not something personal, rather this was a shliach fulfilling Hashem’s will. Being that this is true, if a thief steals from someone, it means that for a certain amount of time Hashem decided that he should not have this money. He was not supposed to be able to have that money to invest it at that time. If this is so, why does the thief have to pay back what he could have invested?

Furthermore, why does the money have to be returned to the owner at all?

Understandably, the thief is not supposed to have this money. He did something wrong and can not keep it. However, if Chassidus tells us that the person whose money was stolen was supposed to lose his money then, perhaps the thief should give the money to tzedoka. Why should he return the money to its previous owner if the intention was for him to lose it? We don’t know Hashem’s intention of someone losing his money through a robbery. Is he 5 supposed to loose it temporarily or lose it forever? We just don’t know. Therefore, it is not the place of the thief to say that he is being Hashem’s messenger to hold onto the money for longer. He cannot hold on to the money for even an extra moment because we don’t know what Hashem wants to happen.

This is also the reason why we return the additional fifth to the owner and this is why Rashi specifically tells us to return the money to “the person to whom it belongs.”

We learn from this a lesson in how to act.

When a person does something that isn’t right to someone else and then realizes what he did, the Yetzer Hora usually jumps in. He says “ The person that was wronged was supposed to have something not good happen to him. If it happened then it means it had to because it was decided in Shomayim. So why should there be an apology? Of course, teshuva must be done, but apologizing—eh!

We immediately silence our Yetzer Hora. Shulchan Aruch says clearly that Hashem wants us to apologize. Through apologizing, we take away some of the pain from the person that was wronged. We cannot be the ones to calculate how much pain Hashem intended our friend to go through. Our job is to minimize the pain as much as possible.

“But,” says the Yetzer Harah, “If you apologize to your friend, you will be going against the concept of Hashem’s Oneness. Chassidus teaches us that Hashem is the only existence and there is nothing but Him. If you apologize to your friend, you are saying that you did something that wasn’t in Hashem’s masterplan!”

“No!” screams a chayol, “The reason you don’t want me to apologize to my friend is not because Hashem doesn’t want me to, it is because of your yeshus. You think that you are important and don’t want to admit that you did something wrong. This advice is bad!”

Our Chachamim tell us to consider logical mitzvos as chukim (statutes that we can’t understand) and keep even those just because Hashem commanded us to. They didn’t tell us this to make things easier and more lenient. The reasoning is simple. If we kept mishpotim because they are logical, using our same logic, we would find a way to excuse ourselves and make it someone else’s fault. Therefore, we must keep mishpotim for the sole reason of them being Hashem’s command.

Furthermore, Hashem doesn’t want us to keep mitzvos just because they are His will. Part of His will is for me to be sensitive to my friend and know what makes him uncomfortable. Hashem wants me to have good midos. We are always supposed to treat our friends properly. This applies when we are returning that which we have stolen from our friend, too. Not only must we comfort our friend, but we should feel his pain and go out of our way to make sure that he feels better. The more we comfort our friend, the more Hashem accepts our teshuva. The great effects of teshuva are well know, as it says as soon as Bnei Yisroel 6 do teshuva, “right away, we will be freed.” Yiddish Sicha

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Parshafier the

קַהִתְ ׁשְ ר ּו ת I shared a sicha of the Rebbe Sruly: Yitzy, what happened? ּפַ ְר ת ׁשַ ו ַ ִ ּי ְק רָ א at my Shabbos ,Yitzy: Something terrible! In school today, somebody ּפַ ְר תׁשַ הַחֹודֶ ש table ORDERS FROM we’ll pretend his name is Shmerel, stole Yossi’s expensive OUR GENERAL fountain pen. Bistritzky asked if anyone saw the pens, and everyone, including Shmerel, said that they Lekkutei Sichos, Vol. 7, pgs. 13-19 hadn’t.

Chany: Uh oh. So he stole and then he didn’t admit to it! STARRING Yitzy: We looked around and no one could find them. The Weiss Family So, Rabbi Bistritzky explained that the disappearance was decided by Hashem. It was part of Hashem’s plan for Yossi to lose them.

Sruly: Oh okay, that’s true, but what happened with Shmerel?

Chany Rivky Yitzy: Later he admitted that he took them. But that’s when it got even more terrible: Rebbi told Shmerel to apologize and he refused! Shmerel said that Hashem planned for Yossi’s pens to be stolen so it wasn’t his fault—because he did what Hashem wanted!

Sruly Yitzy Sruly: Hmm, Yitzy, I think a story like this story comes up in our parsha. Time for the Parshafier!

GUEST STARRING Yitzy: Let’s choose someone who isn’t famous, maybe, like, hmmm, Sholom ben Halva?

Sholom blipblipblipblipshhhhh….boink ben Halva Rivky: CHICKENS!! Whoa! But where’s Shol—oh! Sholom ben Halva, is that you? Why are you sitting and crying in middle of a chicken coop? NOW IT’S YOUR TURN Sholom ben Halva: The chickens are fine, but, oh, my Read this at your Shabbos table, acting out money is missing! I hid a pouch stuffed with coins and the different characters with your family. now it’s gone—probably taken by some thief! That evil Then, discuss the question of the week and apply the Parshafier’s lesson to your lives. robber, I’m mad at him! 14

2 Hachayol 314 Sruly: Oh, I’m so sorry, sir. You seem so sad. But everything back, plus a fifth extra! don’t be mad at the robber, because everything That little bit more makes up for the that happens is decided by Hashem. So it was in hurt he caused. Hashem’s plan that you lose your money! Sholom ben Halva: Even though Sholom ben Halva: You’re right that’s true, this Hashem planned for it to happen? too comes from Hashem! And I trust that it will Sruly: Yes! The robber still needs to be soon be returned. But does that mean I can’t concerned about the owner's feelings be mad at the robber? and apologize. Chany: No, not at all! The thief is responsible Chany: Yikes! So it sounds like the Yetzer for the damage. Hashem wanted this to Hora took major control over Shmerel! happen but the robber didn’t have to be He made him steal and then gave him an the one to do it. He chose to be the one excuse not to feel regret, because he really to sin! is responsible for the pain! Rivky: Wait, how does a robber fix his Sholom ben Halva: Look at how much aveira? He just does teshuva to make Hashem wants us to care about our feelings. up for the bad decision? Even when things are supposed to happen as Sruly: That’s great, but it’s not part of Hashem’s plan, we need to be sensitive enough. There is all the hurt the to our friends’ pain and help them feel better. thief caused for the person he stole Yeah, we have to be sensitive. And it’s from. This week’s parsha says that Rivky: always best to ask about borrowing their pens if someone steals something, instead of just taking them. denies it, and then finally admits to it later on—they need to pay

How can we be more sensitive to others’ feelings?

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3 יַ ותַ ׁ ש ַַ א ָוקִש יַותַ ׁשְרַּפ בס״ד In loving memory of MRS. SARAH ISSUE 314 (CHARLOTTE) ROHR ַּפ רְ ַׁש ת ַו אּיִקְרָ ַּפרְ ַׁשת החודש • כ״ט אדר ה’תשע״ח Parshas Vayikra Parsha Hachodesh 29 Adar 5778 PARSHA WORKSHEET Name: ______

Even with everything being past of Hashem’s plan, we must be sensitive to other people’s feelings! Can you match the scenario on the left column with the proper response on the right column?

If someone stole from They must still be sensitive someone as Hashem decreed and are responsible make up has to happen. the hurt they caused.

If someone got into a fight They must still be sensitive with someone that was part and are responsible to make of Hashem’s plan. up fo the pain they afflicted.

If someone got angry at They must pay back an extra someone as Hashem decided fifth to make up for the hurt that had to be. they brought them. Teacher’s Resources Credits: Chanie Brod, Chaya Cadaner, Toba’le Simon, Rivky Franklin, Mushka Greene, Chaya Kalmenson, Mussi Kaplan, Shterna Karp, Rochelle Katzman, Rechyl Korf, Rivka Namirovski, Mirel Reizes, Zelda Weinbaum, Esther Zucker, Chava Leiba Witkes, Rabbi Mendel Groner, Rabbi Shmuel Rabin, Rabbi Shimmy Weinbaum