Room one hundred forty-one in the hall of Hayom Yom.
Shabbos 12 Nissan, Shabbos Hagadol, 5703.
The daily teaching is divided into three parts: first, special instructions related to this day, then the daily study portions, and finally the daily teaching.
Initially, the Rebbe refers to the special customs for Shabbos Hagadol, writing: "Haftorah: Vearbaah Anashim". What is the emphasis here? The Shulchan Aruch (Siman 430) states that on Shabbos Hagadol which falls on Erev Pesach, on 14 Nissan, the haftorah is "Ve'arvah" (Malachi 3). What is the connection to Erev Pesach? The Shulchan Aruch explains that since in two years during the Shemittah cycle - the fourth and seventh years - the "removal of tithes from the house" applies on Erev Pesach, and this is the subject discussed in the "Ve'arvah" haftorah, therefore, since there are years when Erev Pesach is connected to the subject of the haftorah, it is customary to recite it when Shabbos Hagadol falls on Erev Pesach.
However, there are those who customarily recite the haftorah of "Ve'arvah" on every Shabbos Hagadol, even when it does not fall on Erev Pesach. As the Rebbe emphasizes in his commentary on the Pesach Haggadah, "Ve'arvah" is recited on Shabbos Hagadol only when it falls on Erev Pesach, and not on other occasions. This is what the Rebbe reinforces here: since in this year, 5703, Shabbos Hagadol falls on 12 Nissan and not on 14 Nissan, the Rebbe emphasizes "the haftorah - Vearbaah Anashim" - the haftorah of Parshas Metzora, and we do not say the haftorah related to Shabbos Hagadol, as it is not appropriate for this calendar configuration.
Afterwards, the Rebbe refers to the fact that "at Minchah - Avadim Hayinu", meaning at Minchah of Shabbos Hagadol. This also appears in the Shulchan Aruch in the same section (430): since that was the beginning of the redemption and the miracles - as the Shabbos before the Exodus from Egypt, on 10 Nissan, fell on Shabbos that year - therefore it is customary to always say the passage "Avadim Hayinu" from the Haggadah on Shabbos Hagadol.
What is the emphasis here, seeing that it is already written in the Shulchan Aruch? Because in the sefer Shaar Hakolel, Rabbi Avraham David Lavut writes that in practice we do not say "Avadim Hayinu" on Shabbos Hagadol, and proves this from the fact that the Alter Rebbe did not include this in his siddur. That is, even though the Alter Rebbe included the entire Pesach Haggadah in the siddur, he did not write at that passage "until here is said on Shabbos Hagadol"; and since he did not write this line, the Alter Rebbe apparently holds that in practice we should not say "Avadim Hayinu" on Shabbos Hagadol. This is what he writes in Shaar Hakolel.
And here the Rebbe emphasizes, as he also emphasizes in the Haggadah, that unlike the words of Shaar Hakolel, in practice our custom is indeed to say "Avadim Hayinu" on Shabbos Hagadol. Rabbi Chaim Naeh also cited in his sefer that this was the custom of the Rebbe Rashab and the Rebbe Rayatz to say "Avadim Hayinu" on Shabbos Hagadol.
Study portions: Chumash, Metzora, Shevi'i with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, 12 of the month, we say from chapter 66 to chapter 68 inclusive.
Tanya, we are in chapter 41. The daily study portion begins on page 112 with the words "Vegam nisbonen", and ends on the same page with the words "vehamoach", etc.
And here we come to the daily teaching. It is taken from a chassidus maamar that the Rebbe Rayatz delivered during the days of Pesach 5701, the dibbur hamaschil Be'etzem Hayom Hazeh. It is known that in the vast majority of the teachings of Hayom Yom, the Rebbe does not quote word for word from the source text, but edits the teaching in a certain way. This is very prominent in this teaching: the Rebbe takes a point from the beginning of the maamar and a point from its conclusion, connects them together with specific editing, and inserts this as the daily teaching.
What is said in that maamar? The Rebbe Rayatz opens with the fact that the Jewish people have various titles: they were called "children" long before the Exodus from Egypt, and at the Exodus from Egypt they were called "servants", and at the Exodus from Egypt the title "Tzivos Hashem" was also added. The Rebbe Rayatz explains the difference between the title "servants" and the title "Tzivos Hashem" - for a soldier in an army is also a servant; what then is the difference between a regular servant and a servant to whom the title "man of the army" is added. And here comes the explanation.
Let us read the language of the teaching itself. The Rebbe says: "From the time of the Exodus from Egypt, the Jewish people were called Tzivos Hashem" - the emphasis is that in addition to "servants", the Holy One, blessed be He, added the title "Tzivos Hashem". "The difference between servants - as the Jewish people were indeed called - and army is" - what is the difference between the title "servants" and the title "army", and what is added by "army" over "servants"?
And the difference is as follows: "A servant does the work of his master" - a servant is a person who is immersed in servitude and nullified to his master, "and in this there are several levels". There are different types of servants, where usually the servant's skills are matched to the tasks imposed upon him. As he details: there is "one who pierces pearls", a servant who creates pearl necklaces - piercing the pearl and creating a necklace with a connecting thread; and there is a servant "who does other crafts", who is not skilled in the craft of pearl necklaces and does other work; and there is a servant "who does simple tasks" of cleaning and the like, "and in this there is great toil and exertion".
Every servant of any kind, whose work matches his skills, certainly exerts himself and toils; "but this is not a matter of mesiras nefesh". Even though the servant exerts himself and toils, this is not a movement of mesiras nefesh but a movement of servitude - servitude according to his skills, but without mesiras nefesh. These are the two points regarding a servant, and we will immediately see that both are different in an army: a) the servant usually works in things that match his characteristics; b) he does this with toil and exertion, but without mesiras nefesh.
In contrast, in an "army" - what is the emphasis? We say "Tzivos Hashem". The men of the army are also servants, for "servant" means obeying instructions and commands; but here there is an emphasis. First of all, "they are servants who work with great exertion and toil with mesiras nefesh" - the soldier carries out what is imposed upon him, not necessarily according to the special skills he learned; being in the army he receives instructions and carries out what he is told, and the emphasis is that he does this with mesiras nefesh, and not just with toil and exertion - he literally sacrifices his soul by being a soldier.
"Whether in a defensive war or in an offensive war" - sometimes the soldier must fight to defend the nation, and sometimes it is an initiated war to repel the enemy, and not because he attacked; in any case and in whatever is required, the soldier stands ready for the mission. "And they stand at their post with absolute firmness, without being affected by the opponent and enemy" - there is no change in the soldier's firmness even when he knows there is an opponent, for this is the meaning of a soldier, who goes against the enemy. "And this avodah of theirs is not a matter of comprehension" - when the soldier carries out a command, he does not have to understand why he must carry it out; he does not ask and is not supposed to understand, "for they conduct themselves according to the instruction of their commander" - the commander gives an instruction, and the soldier carries it out, whether he understands it or not, and even if he thinks the opposite; as long as he is a soldier, he must carry out the instructions exactly.
So far is the analogy, distinguishing between the definition of a "servant" and the addition of an "army". And what is the parallel in the Jewish people being called "Tzivos Hashem" at the Exodus from Egypt? "Behold, the souls of Israel in Egypt were in the utmost lowliness" - during the two hundred and ten years of Egyptian servitude they were in a most degraded state, "with harsh and bitter afflictions"; the Egyptians afflicted them and enslaved them, and it was extremely difficult for them. "And yet", despite this, "they did not change their name, their language, and their dress, and they stood at their post with absolute strength" - they stood with mesiras nefesh to preserve their unique character, and were strong without changing anything of the three things that the Sages note about the Jewish people.
And what gave them the strength to stand with mesiras nefesh in the mission? "For they knew that the Holy One, blessed be He, promised to redeem them"; they had complete trust that the Holy One, blessed be He, had promised to redeem them, and upon this they stand despite all the opponents and enemies who stand against them and hinder them.
And in conclusion, the Rebbe says: "And one who conducts himself like this in this situation - he is of Tzivos Hashem" - a person who conducts himself "like this", meaning with toil, exertion, and mesiras nefesh, "in this situation", where he has an enemy and opponent and it is difficult for him - he is considered to be in the army; and the meaning of "army" is that you are nullified to the commander without calculations and without thoughts, and you do what is required. And what is the reward he receives? "That Hashem helps him in a way that is above nature within nature" - the Holy One, blessed be He, helps the soldier, the Jew who is of "Tzivos Hashem", in a manner that is above nature within nature, meaning within daily life he has completely perfect success. This is the point that the Rebbe wanted to instill in the generation, and this is the uniqueness of this teaching.
To conclude, the connection to the Rambam. In the schedule of studying the Rambam, we are currently in Sefer Avodah, and in the previous emphases we saw the relevance to the previous halachos in it, until we concluded in the halachos of "Issurei Mizbeach". In the daily teaching, one can find a hint in the halachos of Maaseh Hakorbanos, where at the end of chapter 2 the Rambam writes: "Matters that apply for all generations are the words of the Torah that we have explained, as they were transmitted from the mouth of Moshe Rabbeinu, one may not add to them nor subtract."
Thus, the Rambam speaks in a style: we have the Torah, we have Moshe Rabbeinu, and we must fulfill without deviating to the right or to the left - a matter that is very fitting to the content of the daily teaching, that the Jewish people who went out of Egypt through Moshe Rabbeinu are like a soldier in an army who obeys instructions, and his understanding does not matter at all, and he does this without adding and without subtracting. This is the essence of a "man of the army".