Room one hundred and thirty-one in the palace of Hayom Yom.
Wednesday, 2 Nisan 5703.
Shiurim: Chumash, Tazria, Revi'i, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim: 2nd of the month, from chapter 10 to chapter 17 inclusive.
Tanya: We are still in chapter 39. The shiur begins on page 53 with the words "Vehineh sechar", and ends on page 106 with the words "Kadam Hashem".
In the daily teaching, the Rebbe refers to the Rebbe Rashab, whose day of histalkus falls on this day, 2 Nisan. And so the Rebbe writes: "The hilula of my revered father and master [the Rebbe Rashab, whose soul is in Eden]" - this day, 2 Nisan, is the day of the hilula, the day of the histalkus of the father of the Rebbe Rayatz, who is the Rebbe Rashab. "He was nistalek on the eve of Sunday, 2 Nisan 5680 in Rostov" - the histalkus was on Motzaei Shabbos, the eve of Sunday, in the city of Rostov - "and there is his resting place of honor". The tziyun of the Rebbe Rashab is also located in Rostov, in the same place where his histalkus took place.
"The first maamar which he delivered in public after the histalkus of his father" - after the histalkus of the father of the Rebbe Rashab, who is the fourth Rebbe, the Rebbe Maharash. The Rebbe Maharash was nistalek on 13 Tishrei 5643, and although his son the Rebbe Rashab did not officially accept the nesius immediately - something that officially took about ten years, until Rosh Hashanah 5654, since he did not agree to sit in his father's place and accept the nesius - nevertheless, he delivered maamarei chassidus throughout all those years. And the first maamar he delivered was three days after his father's histalkus: the father was nistalek on 13 Tishrei, and "on the second day of the festival of Sukkos 5643", which is 16 Tishrei, he already delivered his first maamar of chassidus, "and it begins Kesser Yitnu Lecha". This was the opening of the first maamar that the Rebbe Rashab delivered.
"The last maamar - in public - while he was in this world" And now the Rebbe concludes regarding the last maamar that the Rebbe Rashab delivered in public while he was in this world, before his histalkus. And the emphasis is "in public", since not in public he delivered a maamar even later; but in public, the last maamar was "at the Purim seudah 5680". As we saw earlier at the beginning of the teaching, the histalkus of the Rebbe Rashab was on 2 Nisan 5680, and Purim is about two weeks before the histalkus. At the Purim seudah of 5680 there was a public farbrengen - about which we will speak a bit more - and then he delivered the last maamar chassidus in public, whose dibur hamatchil is: "And it begins Reishis Goyim Amalek, etc., Keitz Sam Lachoshech".
Although the words "Keitz sam lachoshech" do not appear in the verse as a continuation to "Reishis goyim Amalek" - since the verse "Reishis goyim Amalek" ends with the words "ve'achariso adei oveid" - nevertheless in the maamar, after the Rebbe Rashab opens with the verse "Reishis goyim Amalek" and asks a question on the verse, he immediately says that to understand this one must preface the verse "Keitz sam lachoshech", and begins to speak about the matter. Therefore, when quoting the name of the maamar, it is called "Reishis Goyim Amalek, etc., Keitz Sam Lachoshech". This was the opening.
There is a truly astonishing description of that public farbrengen of Purim, which was two weeks before the histalkus. The description is found in the sefer "Toras Shalom", which is the sichos of the Rebbe Rashab, and also in the sefer "Ashkavta DeRebbe" written by Rabbi Moshe Dovber Rivkin, who described everything that happened before the histalkus. There is a truly astonishing description there of what transpired at that farbrengen.
The background to this is that at that time there was a very severe government decree regarding three things: a) it was completely forbidden to gather together - any gathering was considered an act against the regime and led to imprisonment; b) in particular, drinking alcohol was forbidden; c) and collecting money in public was also forbidden. And at that Purim farbrengen, all three offenses were committed together: there was a large gathering, they drank "lechaim", and they even collected money which was placed right on the table in a silver bowl.
Initially, the farbrengen was supposed to take place in a very quiet manner: all those gathered sat secretly, in silence and even huddled together, so that no sound would be heard, and they planned to sit for a short while and everyone would quickly flee to their homes, so they would not be caught and nothing would happen. After about half an hour of sitting, there was netilas yadayim for the seudah, and the Rebbe Rashab sat and said "lechaim" to the crowd, and immediately a complete change in his entire attitude toward the situation was seen on his face. He instructed that mashke be brought for everyone, and said that they should sing loudly, and they sang - and his house was in a very central location - a large crowd, loudly.
Of course, this made a noise outside at night, and the Rebbetzin of the Rebbe Rashab as well as his only son, the Rebbe Rayatz, were under great stress and tried to calm things down, since this was an actual danger to life. But the Rebbe Rashab reacted differently and said: "There is nothing to fear from anything". To the Rebbe Rayatz he said: "Do not worry, we will be whole and strong" - in very wondrous expressions - and added: "In the state I am in at the moment, I am not intimidated by anything".
And in the middle, policemen arrived at the house to investigate, and naturally this should have immediately resulted in imprisonment. But entirely above nature, the Rebbe ordered the entire crowd not to look in their direction and not to be intimidated by them, as if they did not exist at all. The policemen wanted to enter the private room of the Rebbe Rashab to conduct a search there, and the Rebbe said that if they entered there - they would be completely nullified; and indeed they did not even enter, but stood at the doorway and were afraid to go in. There is a description there of how, right in their presence, he delivered the maamar "Reishis Goyim Amalek" and "Keitz Sam Lachoshech", and an actual revelation of Elokus was seen in a very wondrous manner. This happened during that maamar.
And this, as mentioned, was the last maamar in public. Not in public, there was also another maamar delivered later, on Shabbos Parshas Ki Sisa, which he delivered briefly, whose dibur hamatchil is "Hinei Anochi Kores Bris". But the last maamar in public was "Reishis Goyim Amalek".
It is very interesting that there is a concept regarding the leaders of Israel: "With what this one concluded, this one opened" - what the previous leader concluded with, the next leader opened with. 2 Nisan is the day of the histalkus of the Rebbe Rashab, and the Rebbe says that this day is essentially the day of the beginning of the nesius of the Rebbe Rayatz. What was the first maamar of the Rebbe Rayatz after accepting the nesius? "Reishis Goyim Amalek" - that same last maamar delivered by the Rebbe Rashab.
Let us add here another matter that is not written in the teaching. The last maamar of the Rebbe Rayatz, which he issued for the day of his histalkus, was "Basi Legani", and it was also the first maamar of the Rebbe upon accepting the nesius. That is to say, the last maamar with which the Rebbe Rashab concluded - "Reishis Goyim Amalek" - is the first of the Rebbe Rayatz; and the last maamar with which the Rebbe Rayatz concluded - "Basi Legani" - is the first maamar of the Rebbe. The Rebbe Rashab opened with "Kesser Yitnu Lecha". And what is the last maamar that his father, the Admor Maharash, delivered? This we do not know; we only know that he delivered a maamar on the last Rosh Hashanah before his histalkus, or about two weeks before it, but it is not known to us what the opening was.
Another interesting matter, which I do not remember who said: Chassidim express an interesting feeling, that it is written in halachah - the Rambam brings it - that Israel was commanded with three mitzvos before entering the Land, before the Geulah: the mitzvah to appoint a king, the mitzvah to cut off the seed of Amalek, and the mitzvah to build the Beis HaMikdash. And in the last three Rebbeim before the Geulah, we see that the dibur hamatchil of the first maamar that each of them delivered is exactly according to this order: the Rebbe Rashab - "Kesser Yitnu Lecha", corresponding to the mitzvah to appoint a king; the Rebbe Rayatz - "Reishis Goyim Amalek", corresponding to the mitzvah to cut off the seed of Amalek; and the Rebbe - "Basi Legani", corresponding to the building of the Beis HaMikdash. This order is very interesting, which the Rebbe, as is known, connected his own order to.