Room one hundred and nine in the hall of Hayom Yom.
Tuesday, 9 Adar II 5703.
Lessons: Chumash, Vayikra, Shlishi, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, 9th of the month: say from chapter 49 to chapter 54 inclusive.
Tanya, we are in the middle of chapter 36. The daily lesson is from the words "Velazeh natan" to page 46, ending with the words "maarivim, etc."
The daily teaching has two parts: the first part refers to the pronunciation of a specific section in the blessing over enjoyment, and the second part is a teaching with an interesting practical message - which, as we will see, is also connected to the date on which this teaching appears.
Let us begin with the first section, regarding vowelization. There are well-known grammarians who wrote grammar books, and we are currently speaking of two of them. The first, whose acronym is Harazah [Rabbi Zalman Henna], published a book titled "Shaarei Tefillah" on matters of grammar and prayer. In contrast, the one who came out against that book, to attack it on various points and strongly oppose it, was Rabbi Yaakov Emden, known as the Yaavetz, who published a book against Harazah titled "Luach Eresh" - whose entire purpose was against the book "Shaarei Tefillah". The word "eresh" means speech, as in the phrase "areshes sefaseinu" (the expression of our lips).
The debate they discuss is over a passage from the High Holiday prayers, where we say "v'eimascha al kol mah shebarasa" (and Your awe is upon all that You have created). They had a major dispute over how to vowelize the word "kol" - whether with a cholam or a kamatz; (in the Ashkenazic pronunciation the difference is more pronounced), whether to say "al KOYL (in Ashkenazic pronunciation) mah shebarasa" or "al KOL mah shebarasa". Harazah says it is vowelized with a cholam, while the Yaavetz argues it is vowelized with a kamatz.
It is interesting to note the Yaavetz's phrasing against Harazah on this matter, rejecting him with great force, both in his reasoning and his expressions - he says of him that he is "dreaming a dream" (cholem chalom) by saying it is a cholam, speaking in a style of a play on words in their debate.
As mentioned, this was said about the passage in the Yom Kippur prayer; whereas here we are speaking about the blessing "Borei nefashos rabbos", which also contains the phrase "al kol mah shebarasa", and therefore the exact same debate applies to it. The conclusion that the Rebbe brings here in the teaching is that it should be in accordance with the opinion of Harazah; and as is known, the Alter Rebbe ruled like him in many things he wrote in the Siddur, and here too the ruling follows him.
And this is the wording of the teaching: "In the blessing of Borei Nefashos we say 'al kol mah shebarasa', 'kol' with a cholam and not with a kamatz". This is the first section of the teaching, which refers simply to the correct pronunciation. As we see in their seforim, the debate also holds significance regarding the question of whether we pause at the word "kol" - meaning, that the matter has concluded, and "mah shebarasa" is another continuing subject - or if everything is connected; and the vowelization changes the meaning. One must look inside at their wording to see how they state this. The seforim I found from them are very ancient printings, with very broken letters, and it is difficult even to read continuously and understand all the nuances; in general, this is what I saw there.
Now let us move to the second part of the teaching. We already had this teaching four days ago, on 5 Adar II, taken from the same letter of the Rebbe Rayatz - and the daily teaching is from that very same letter. The letter is addressed to a tamim who asked the Rebbe Rayatz how he could be connected to the Rebbe, etc.
And this is the wording of the Rebbe Rayatz, writing to him: "The great desire for connection can find its fulfillment only in the maamarim of chassidus that the Rav says and writes" - the great desire you have to be connected to me can only be fulfilled in the maamarim of chassidus that I say and write; it can only be satisfied if you learn the maamarim. In this letter, the matter is written in the first person, as the Rebbe Rayatz says of himself "only in the maamarim of chassidus that I say and write", and when the Rebbe transcribed this he wrote it in the third person, "that the Rav says and writes". The intention is to study the Rebbe's maamarim, and this is what satisfies the desire, "for seeing his face alone is not enough" (lo sagi). Seeing the Rebbe's face is a tremendous delight, but it is not enough; one must also learn his maamarim.
There is an interesting connection in this matter to the date: on this date, 9 Adar II in the year 5700, three years before the publication of Hayom Yom, the Rebbe Rayatz arrived in the United States, and the chassidim were able to see his face - some of them for the first time, and some after many years. In accordance with this date, it is fitting to say that seeing his face alone is not enough, and that in order for there to be a connection, one must simply learn the maamarim of chassidus.
And indeed, regarding this matter, there is a letter that the Rebbe wrote to the administration of the Tomchei Temimim yeshivos in Lod, regarding the question of which maamarim of chassidus should be learned with the boys. He tells them that certainly one must learn the maamarim of all our Rebbeim, the leaders of Chabad, but from the perspective of connection there must be the study of the Nasi's Torah - to learn the Rebbe's maamarim; for the connection in our generation, of every chassid in his generation and his time, needs to be to the maamarim of the Rebbe of his generation.
And in another letter, the Rebbe's wording is: "The study at fixed times must be specifically in the Torah of the Nasi", and especially at certain times one must particularly learn the maamarim of the Nasi of the generation. And he says: "Or as an introduction to any matter when reciting a general maamar, and generally at general times" - when a general occasion arrives and one wants to learn in honor of a specific date, which maamarim should one learn? First of all, the Rebbe's maamarim; and when special days arrive, it should always be in mind that this is the subject upon which the main emphasis must be placed by a chassid who wants to be connected to the Rebbe.
And in conclusion, let us connect these matters to the sequence of the book "Yad Chazakah" of the Rambam. In the teachings of recent days we are in Sefer Haflaah, in the laws of gifts to the poor, as we saw in several previous teachings. One can also connect the daily teaching to the laws of gifts to the poor, for what is the matter of the poor person? The poor person is hungry, and one must satisfy him through the gifts that the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded to give him. There, it speaks of a poor person who is hungry with physical hunger, and one must give him that which will satisfy him; whereas here in the teaching it speaks of someone who is hungry in a spiritual sense. And how do we satisfy him? How do we give "gifts to the poor" to a poor person who is hungry for connection? By his learning the maamarim of chassidus that the Rebbe says.