"Room" one hundred and eight in the hall of Hayom Yom.
Monday, 8 Adar II 5703.
Shiurim: Chumash, Vayikra, Sheni, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, 8th of the month, from chapter 44 to chapter 48 inclusive.
Tanya, chapter 36. The daily shiur is from the words "vehineh tachlit", and the conclusion is on page 46 with the word "bimetziut".
The daily teaching is taken from a very interesting letter - and it is highly recommended to read it in its entirety in the original - written by the Rebbe Rayatz on this day, 8 Adar 5689. This is a long letter to a chossid who told the Rebbe about his father-in-law who had passed away, and in it the Rebbe Rayatz writes at length about the Jews of the previous generation, and how today there are no people like those people, even those who in the previous generation were considered truly simple people.
There is an interesting expression there: "Even a leaf and grass of the previous generation is better than the pears, almonds and pomegranates of this generation, and who knows what will be in the next generation?" - not just a branch from the tree, but even a leaf and grass of the previous generation surpass the finest fruits of this generation. Earlier he describes their earnestness, how they sought nothing but to do their avodas Hashem without titles, etc. And finally he turns to the writer: A person lamenting his pain - what can comfort him? A saying his father once wrote to him, and he quotes it.
It is interesting to add: in another letter, the Rebbe Rayatz refers to that same saying that his father wrote to him, and adds a description. He relates that even though they lived together in Lubavitch, when the Rebbe Rashab would travel abroad for health reasons or for yahrzeits, he would write letters to the Rebbe Rayatz. In these letters he wrote mainly matters of guidance - concerning the conduct of the yeshivah, the conduct of the chassidim, and advice he received from our holy fathers, our Rebbeim, in avodas Hashem - and the Rebbe Rayatz says: "I merited abundant good in these letters."
One of these letters is the daily teaching. "My master, my father, my teacher and Rebbe [the Rebbe Rashab, of blessed memory] writes in one of his letters: One action is better than a thousand sighs." That is to say, a person might sigh and sigh over all kinds of troubles; but a thousand sighs have no value compared to one good action done in actual practice - one action is better than everything.
And the Rebbe Rashab concludes to that Jew: "Our God lives, and Torah and mitzvos are eternal, leave the sighing" - do not sink into sighs over what was, over what was lost and over what is missing - "and apply yourself diligently to actual avodah, and God will grant you grace" - a person must apply himself diligently to actual avodas Hashem, and then the Holy One, blessed be He, will give him grace and strength, and everything will be as it should.
In one of his letters the Rebbe Rayatz refers to this teaching and says that he heard it from his father's holy mouth - not only did he write it to him, but he also said it to him orally, and he lived the words as if they were spoken right now.
In the Rebbe's letters and conduct we see hundreds of times how he rouses Jews to actual deeds, to do and not to sink into sighs. Like in the well-known sichah in which the Rebbe explains why Yosef did not cry over the destruction of the Mishkan that was in his portion, and Binyamin did not cry over the destruction of the Batei Mikdash that were in his portion, rather each cried over the other's portion: Disregard yourself - do not cry and do not sigh, but act and build things. A thing you cannot fix, you have no choice; but a thing that concerns you, you certainly must do it. This is the main thing, and this is the point.
Let us proceed in the context of the teaching to the progression of the Yad Hachazakah of the Rambam. In the teachings of these days we are in Sefer Zeraim, and we have already seen its general context. The halachos of Sefer Zeraim begin with Hilchos Kilayim, and are followed by Hilchos Matnos Aniyim, Hilchos Terumos, Hilchos Maasros, Maaser Sheni and Neta Revai, etc. The daily teaching can be connected, by way of an allusion, to the second set of halachos in Sefer Zeraim - Hilchos Matnos Aniyim.
What is the whole idea of Matnos Aniyim? There are poor people, and what is their life situation - are they sighing all the time? And what does the mitzvah of Matnos Aniyim say? That you should do one action, give him a donation, give him a gift - and it turns out better than a thousand sighs; one action is better. This is essentially the subject of Hilchos Matnos Aniyim: how to deal with sighs. The difference is there, that it is about the sighs of another person, and here - about your own sighs; but the idea is one - that the one action is better than a thousand sighs, and this is also seen in the idea of Hilchos Matnos Aniyim.