"Room" one hundred and twenty-nine in the hall of Hayom Yom.
Monday, 29 Adar II 5703.
Shiurim: Chumash, Tazria, Sheni, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, 29 of the month; since in this month there is no 30th, on the 29th we say the Tehillim shiurim of both the 29th and the 30th, and therefore it is from chapter 140 until the end of Tehillim, chapter 150.
Tanya, on this day we continue chapter 39. The shiur begins from the words "beginei tzimtzum", on page 104, and concludes on page 53 with the word "avodatam".
The source of the daily teaching is a letter written by the Rebbe Rayatz on 4 Menachem-Av 5696. In this letter, a long letter, he quotes a sichah delivered by his father, the Rebbe Rashab, on Simchas Torah 5654. We will first quote the introduction, and then we will see the continuation of the words in the daily teaching.
And so said the Rebbe Rashab on Simchas Torah: "Now is an 'es chedvah' above" - now is a time of joy above. The Holy One, blessed be He, rejoices with the children who are supported at His table; the Torah is the daughter of the Holy One, blessed be He, and she is betrothed to the people of Israel, as it is written "morashah kehillat Yaakov", and as is known that Chazal explain that "morashah" is related to the word "me'orasah" (betrothed).
And when Jews are betrothed to the Torah, they are called "supported at the father's table". What is the meaning of "supported at the father's table"? That the father gives his son who is supported at his table all his needs. And so the Holy One, blessed be He, says to the people of Israel "venatati gishmeichem"; what is the meaning of "venatati gishmeichem"? The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I will give you your gashmiyus, and you, my dear children, will transform the gashmiyus into ruchniyus. This is the introduction, and the continuation is in the daily teaching.
And as stated in the opening: "At one of the farbrengens my father, my master and teacher [the Rebbe Rashab] said: The Holy One, blessed be He, created the world and all the gashmiyus things from ayin le'yesh, and Yisrael must transform the 'yesh' into 'ayin'; the gashmiyus into ruchniyus"; we must take the gashmiyus matters and transform them into ruchniyus matters.
What is the meaning, and how do we do this? As the Rebbe spoke on this point in the sichah of Shabbos Vayeitzei 5751, that the entire purpose in this tremendous descent, that the Holy One, blessed be He, lowered the seder hishtalshelus and created a gashmiyus world, which has olamos and hesterim etc. - all of this is so that a Jew will overcome all the olamos and hesterim caused by the chumriyus and gashmiyus of the world, and establish a Jewish home specifically in the gashmiyus world.
The Rebbe mentioned the expression said about Yaakov Avinu, that his bed was complete - that he was in Charan, in a place with Lavan the Aramean, and specifically there all his sons were complete. This is the avodah of a Jew: to be within the gashmiyus world, within the olamos and hesterim, and by his fulfilling Torah and mitzvos in the world he reveals the light of his neshamah and works to transform the gashmiyus into ruchniyus.
We will continue with the teaching. The Rebbe Rashab concludes and says, that the avodah is "the avodah of transforming gashmiyus into ruchniyus, and to make the gashmiyus a kli for ruchniyus" - to transform the gashmiyus into a kli capable of containing the ruchniyus intensity. Seemingly, this is a great avodah and not a simple task.
And the Rebbe Rashab says: "This is a chovas gavra, in this each and every one individually is obligated". The meaning is not that the people of Israel in its entirety will do this, but rather this is a personal avodah of each and every one. There is no one who can say "The matter will be done by the community, and if I do not do it - nothing will change". Not so, but rather this is a "chovas gavra", a personal obligation incumbent upon everyone; every Jew, personally and individually, is obligated to perform this avodah, and there is no one who can say "I am exempt from the matter". This is the ultimate purpose. With this the teaching concludes.
[Further in the letter there is a continuation to what the Rebbe Rashab proclaimed around that same point, and he expanded upon this greatly. It is worthwhile to see the letter in its place].
In conclusion, the daily teaching is in the sequence of matters related to the order of the books of Yad Hachazakah by the Rambam. In all the previous days we have been in Sefer Zeraim, and we have already reached the final halachos. Until now we have seen teachings related to Hilchos Kilayim, Matnos Aniyim, Terumos U'Maasros, Maaser Sheni and Neta Revai, and Bikkurim - this was in the previous teaching.
We have reached the final halachos that conclude Sefer Zeraim - Hilchos Shemittah V'Yovel. What is the connection between the teaching and Hilchos Shemittah V'Yovel? In the final two halachos right at the end of Hilchos Shemittah V'Yovel the Rambam says: The tribe of Levi did not receive a portion in the Land of Israel, because the Holy One, blessed be He, separated them to serve Hashem, and it is spiritual and does not need to live in the chumriyus of the world.
And the Rambam continues: And not the tribe of Levi alone, but each and every person - as was written here in the teaching, "each and every one". And in the words of the Rambam: "Each and every person of all the inhabitants of the world whose spirit has moved him" - every person who decides to separate himself and stand before Hashem, who is not immersed in the chumriyus of the world but rather uses it for Elokus and wants to be connected to the Holy One, blessed be He - "he is sanctified as the holy of holies", and he is like the tribe of Levi. Thus the Rambam concludes Hilchos Shemittah V'Yovel.
And this is essentially the content of the daily teaching, that the avodah in the chumriyus of the world is to be a Jew capable of transforming the gashmiyus into a kli for Elokus. However, the Rambam says "each and every person" in the language of "whose spirit has moved him", whereas here the language is much more obligating - "each and every one is obligated"; this is not a matter of volunteering, but rather an obligation incumbent upon each and every one to transform the gashmiyus into a kli for ruchniyus.