"Cheder" number two hundred ninety-eight in the palace of Hayom Yom.
Tuesday, 21 Elul 5703.
Shiurim: Chumash, Nitzavim-Vayeilech, Shlishi, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim: on the 21st of the month, one recites Chapters 104 and 105, and the three additional chapters for the month of Elul are, on this day, 61, 62 and 63.
Tanya: On this day we begin a new letter, letter 17, starting from the beginning of the letter with the word "nodda." The lesson concludes on page 250 with the words "ve'ayein sham heitev."
The daily teaching is drawn from a brief letter that the Rebbe Rayatz wrote on 5 Adar 5702. The letter is addressed to a woman who possessed talents in writing and public speaking, and the Rebbe strongly encourages her to make use of her abilities; he even suggests to her in the letter that if she has written speeches, she should send them to him, and he will share his opinion on them.
The saying is not lengthy, and from that same brief letter there are two teachings in "Hayom Yom": the daily saying that we shall read presently, and, God willing, on 5 Marcheshvan we will have an additional teaching from that same letter. This saying comprises almost the very first words of the letter.
And thus the Rebbe writes to her: "Our first father Avraham" — Avraham Avinu, the first father of the Jewish people — "because of his self-sacrificing labor to publicize His blessed G-dliness — one G-d — to all the inhabitants of the world." Avraham Avinu gave over his soul, and was cast into the fiery furnace in Ur Kasdim for this, and truly devoted himself to publicizing the Holy One, blessed be He, to all people.
And because of this, "he merited to bequeath to his descendants after him, until the end of all generations" — he merited to bequeath to his descendants, who are the Jewish people, until the end of all generations — "pure faith in Hashem and in His Torah." Every Jew has faith in the Holy One, blessed be He; the Rebbe awakens it, for in truth one need only awaken the Jew, only to speak to him and write to him, but in his essence he already possesses the thing itself.
"Every Jewish man and woman possesses the strength and the might to give up their lives for the holy Torah" — every Jew has this ability and this power within their very essence, and all of this we received as a gift from Avraham Avinu, who, because he gave up his life, merited that this quality endures within the entire Jewish people.
In connection with this teaching, the Rebbe makes a note in Likutei Sichot volume 35, that although Avraham Avinu lived before Mattan Torah while we today live after Mattan Torah, when speaking about the connection of the essence of the soul to the Holy One, blessed be He, there is no difference between before Mattan Torah and after it. Consequently, Avraham Avinu, who expressed the essence of his connection to the Holy One, blessed be He, thereby brought it about that all his descendants until the end of all generations would have that same inner connection which exists within each and every one.