Tuesday-Daily Chitas [Chumash, Tanya] & Rambam Summaries [7th Adar 5783]

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Tuesday, 7th Adar 5783/Februray 28, 2023

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Parshas Teruma-Shelishi

 1.      The Meil:

·         The material: The Meil is to be made entirely from Ticheiles-Turquoise wool.

·         Its collar: The Meil is to contain a folded collar and it may not be torn.

·         Its bells: Its hem is to be surrounded with pomegranates made of Ticheiles-Turquoise wool, Argamon-Purple wool, and scarlet wool. It is also to contain gold bells all around it. When Aaron walks with it, the bells will make noise, announcing when he enters and exits the Kodesh so that he not die.

2.      The Tzitz:

·         The Tzitz is to be made of pure gold and have engraved on it the words “Kodesh LaHashem.” It shall be placed on a Ticheiles-Turquoise wool string, and on the Mitznefes turban, by its front side. It shall be on Aaron’s forehead and he shall bring appeasement for all the sins involving Karbanos of the Jewish people.

3.      The Kutoness, Avneit, turban, and pants:

·         The material: The Kutones and turbans are to be made of checkered linen for both Aaron and his sons. The Avneit belt is to be made of embroidery.

·         The inauguration of the Kohanim: Aaron and his sons are to be inaugurated for the priesthood through dressing them in the above clothing and pouring on them the anointing oil.

·         The pants: You shall make linen pants for the Kohanim to cover their private area, from the hips to the thighs.

 

·         The Kohanim are to wear the priestly clothing when they serve in the Mikdash lest they die.

Tanya Chapter 31-Middle of Chapter 

1. Rejoicing throughout the day when one serves God:

·         Throughout one’s day of service of God in Torah and Avoda, one should rejoice over the fact that he is able to remove his godly soul from its state of exile and return it back to its source.

·         On this the sages state that one should be throughout his day in a state of repentance, [which refers to the returning of one’s soul to God from its state of exile, which can be done throughout the day].

·         There is no greater joy than leaving a state of exile and captivity, and it is similar to the son of the king who has been captured and works as a garbage collector in the prison, and is then freed to return home to his father’s palace.

·         Although one’s animal soul has still remained in its state of disgust and abomination, as its essence has not changed at all from evil to holiness, nonetheless, one should not allow the sad state of his body to remove his mind from the ecstatic joy experienced by his soul.

 

2.      Spiritual Yetzias Mitzrayim:

·         The above experience of joy of the soul is similar to the Exodus in which it states that the nation fled from Egypt.

·         Why did we have to flee from Egypt? Seemingly, it does not make sense as to why the Jewish people had to flee from Egypt, as they could’ve simply told Pharaoh that they are leaving, and he would have had no choice but to let them go. Rather, the reason we had to flee is because the evil within the Jewish people was still in its full strength, as their impurity did not cease until the time of the giving of the Torah. Nonetheless, they earnestly desired to cleave to God and leave their state of spiritual exile within the forces of impurity of Egypt, [and hence the term flee is used by the verse to describe our leaving Egypt even though technically we could have walked out with full permission from Pyro Pharaoh without needing to flee.

·         In the future, we will not flee Egypt: In the future, when God will remove all evil from the face of the earth, we will no longer need to flee from the evil.

Rambam, Hilchos Eidus, Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Chakiros, Derishos & Bedikos

 

Halacha 1: The difference between Chakiros and Derishos versus Bedikos

  • Chakiros and Derishos: By the interrogations of Chakiros and Derishos, if the statement of the two witnesses do not match, or one of them says he doesn’t know the answer to a question, then their testimony is invalid.
    • For example, if one of the witnesses does not know the instrument that was used to kill the victim, or does not know the exact time of the murder, then even though they both testify to the murder, their testimony is invalid.
  • Bedikos: By the interrogation of Bedikos, even if both witnesses say that they do not know the answer to a certain question, then their testimony still stands.
    • For example, if the witnesses are not able to answer the color clothing that the victim or murderer was wearing, then their testimony still valid
  • Contradictory statements: In all cases that the witnesses give contradictory statements, their testimony is invalid.

 

Halacha 2: Contradictions in the Statements of the witnesses

  • The color clothing: If one of the witnesses said that the murder was wearing black clothing, and the other one said that he was wearing white clothing, and their testimony is invalid.
  • The dates: If one of the witnesses said that the murder took place on Wednesday, and the other witness edited place on a Thursday, their testimony is invalid.
  • Weapon of murder: If one of the witnesses said that the murder took place with a sword and the other witness said that the murder took place with a spear, their testimony is invalid.

 

Halacha 3: The law by more than two witnesses

  • No answer: If more than two witnesses testified, then so long as two of the witnesses give the same testimony their testimony is valid even if the other witnesses say that they don’t know the answer to a given question.
  • Contradiction: If, however, one of the additional witnesses contradicts their statement, then the entire testimony is invalid.

 

Halacha 4: Contradiction in date

  • First half of month: If the two witnesses cannot agree on which date of the month the matter occurred, then if both claim that it occurred in the first half of the month, then their testimony is valid.
  • Second half of month If, however, they claimed that it occurred in the second half of the month than their testimony is invalid.

 

Halacha 5: Contradiction in time

  • Two days apart: Even when the two witnesses both testify that the incident occurred on different dates in the first half of the month, they are only believed if their testimony is only one day apart. If, however, they are two days or more apart in their testimony, then the testimonies invalid.
  • Contradiction in time: If the two witnesses cannot agree on the exact time that the incident occurred, then if they are only one hour apart from each other in their testimony, then their testimony is valid. If, however, they are two hours or more apart in their testimony, then the testimonies invalid.
  • Before sunrise versus after sunrise: If the two witnesses cannot agree if the incident occurred before or after sunrise, then their testimony is invalid.
  • Before sunset versus after sunset: If the two witnesses cannot agree if the incident occurred before or after sunset, then their testimony is invalid.

About The Author

Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein is a 6th generation descendent of the famous Chief Rabbi of Izhmir, Rav Yehoshua Avraham Krispin, who authored a number of Sefarim, and was a colleague of Rav Chaim Falagi, and father in-law of the Pesach Hadvir. He currently lives with his wife Shayna, and twelve children K”H, in Tzfas, Israel. Rabbi Goldstein received Semicha from Rabbi Schneur Zalman Labkowski of the Tomchei Temimim headquarters in 2005 and served as a chaplain in the Lotar/Kalatz and K9 unit of the IDF from years 2005-2008. He is also a certified Shochet, and has performed Hashgacha work in slaughterhouses. Rabbi Goldstein is the director of Shulchanaruchharav.com, the world’s leading web-based Halacha database, and is the director of the Home Study Semicha Program, a self-study web-based Semicha program. He is a prolific author of over 50 Sefarim studied by a wide range of readers throughout the world, which is used regularly in Semicha programs around the globe. He is a world renowned Posek, answering questions to a web-based market, and serves as a local Posek, Rav, and Lecturer, in the Tzemach Tzedek community Shul in Tzefas, Israel. His many classes can be heard both from his website, Vimeo and YouTube channel. Students can join live to classes given in the Tzemach Tzedek Shul, through the “בית חבד צפת Chabad Tsfat” YouTube channel.

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