The twenty-first "cheder" in the palace of Hayom Yom.
Friday, 19 Teves 5703.
In the heading above, before the lessons, the Rebbe notes "Fast" — this refers to the 10th of Tevet, a fast day. The Rebbe adds "Selichot. Avinu Malkeinu". In these two points there is an indication of something novel. What is the novelty? For us the matter is simple — when a fast arrives, we recite Selichot and Avinu Malkeinu. However, the practice among Rabboteinu Nesi'einu, beginning with the Alter Rebbe and also by the Rebbe Rashab, was not to recite Selichot nor Avinu Malkeinu on a public fast.
In the Igros Kodesh of the Rebbe Rashab there is a letter in which he notes that he heard reliable testimony from someone who had heard that in the beis midrash of the Alter Rebbe, Selichos were not recited. There is also a story recounted by Rabbi Yehudah Chitrik in "Reshimos Devarim," about a chassid who came to serve as a chazzan — not in Lubavitch, apparently in Rostov, by the Rebbe Rashab — and it was a fast day, and the chassid began to say Selichos; the Rebbe Rashab looked at him and stopped him, telling him that among us Selichos are not recited. If so, the novelty here is that the Rebbe emphasizes that in practice we do indeed follow the custom of saying Selichos and Avinu Malkeinu.
Lessons: Chumash, Vayigash, Shishi, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, for the 10th of the month, from chapter 55 through chapter 59 inclusive.
Tanya, at the conclusion of chapter 7, from the words "brother and sister" until the end of the chapter, "flesh and blood."
The passage we will examine in the teaching is a quotation from a maamar of the Rebbe Rayatz, the discourse beginning "Vechol Banayich" ("And all your children"), which was said in the year 5689. Let us first present what appears there in the maamar before the passage quoted here, and let us preface one more interesting matter.
The Rebbe Rayatz delivered this maamar, the discourse beginning "Vechol banayich" ("And all your children"), twice during that same week. The first time he said it was on Shabbos Parshas Vayeitzei in Riga — this was the "aufruf" Shabbos, the Shabbos on which the Rebbe was called up to the Torah in connection with his wedding. Then, several days later, on 13 Kislev — the day before the wedding — he spoke with the chassidim at a farbrengen and told them that he had said the maamar twice, and that the second time he added something in accordance with the instruction of his father, the Rebbe Rashab, who told him what to add.
And what did he add? A story. A Jew came in to yechidus with the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek, and his complaint and request were that in every beis midrash he came to, everyone would "trample" over him — whatever he says finds favor in no one's eyes, they do not treat him properly, and they act contrary to his will. These were his complaints.
The Tzemach Tzedek answered him: "You spread yourself out over the entire study hall, and consequently anyone who treads — treads upon you. You must take your own opinion and set it aside, and elevate your service of Hashem above your intellectual grasp." That is to say, you learn much and know much, but the avodah must be above the intellectual understanding. This is the first part of the story, and then comes the saying with which the Rebbe continued — an additional statement he said to him, which we shall see here.
In "Hayom Yom," the Rebbe does not bring the story and the difficulty of the chassid, but only the conclusion — what the Tzemach Tzedek said. And what is the "reply of the Tzemach Tzedek during yechidus"? It is important to emphasize — and we will soon see why — that this was a reply given during yechidus; although one could say that the Rebbe himself said such and such, the Rebbe emphasizes that this took place during yechidus.
What did he say? "It is written: Let the wicked one forsake his way, and the man of iniquity his thoughts" — a verse which, incidentally, is recited in the haftarah of a fast day, the haftarah of "Dirshu Hashem behimatzo" ("Seek Hashem when He is to be found"). "Let the wicked one forsake his way" — a wicked person should forsake his path that is not good; "and the man of iniquity his thoughts" — an "ish avon" (a man of iniquity), in its plain sense, is a person who conducts himself in an incorrect manner.
The Tzemach Tzedek says that the word can be read with a slightly different vocalization — "on" (with a cholam) — rather than "avon." When read as "on," the word takes on a different meaning, related to the concept of strength. There are several verses that bear this out: for example, in Yeshayahu, "merov onim" — "from His abundant strength," referring to the Holy One, blessed be He; and in Hoshea, "matzati on li" — "I have found strength for myself"; and likewise here, "ish on" — a man of strength.
What, then, is the meaning of "let the wicked one abandon his way, and the man of iniquity his thoughts"? The Tzemach Tzedek says that "iniquity" (און) means strength and might, and he concludes by telling the chassid: "And just as the wicked one must abandon his way, this is something that is compulsory" — just as it is imperative that the wicked person abandon his wicked way, that he cannot continue in it by any means, for without teshuvah it is impossible to approach holiness; if he does not repent and does not abandon his wicked way, he will be unable to advance in spirituality — "so too must the man of iniquity," a person who holds a strong opinion, who is set firm in his own view, "abandon his thoughts," those very thoughts that give him a sense of self-existence and pride.
Let us add a few interesting points of emphasis. The Rebbe told this story several times over the years, and in one year it appears in one of the Rebbe's maamarim, where the Rebbe brings the entire story and derives from it three precise points: a) Why is it important for us to be told that the chassid told the Tzemach Tzedek that people were stepping on him in the beis midrash? When one speaks in general terms — "I feel that everyone is stepping on me" — what difference does it make where it happened? b) What difference does it make that he told this to the Rebbe specifically in yechidus? c) Why does the Tzemach Tzedek speak with him in the plural, "to abandon his thoughts"? Seemingly it is a single thought — the thought of self-importance — "abandon this thought"; why the plural? [And in fact, so too is the wording of the verse — "ish aven machshevosav" (a man of iniquity his thoughts).]
The Rebbe explained that a Jew who possesses intellectual understanding — he studies Chassidus, but he lacks inner avodas Hashem — for in the beis hamidrash, which is called a "mikdash me'at" (a miniature sanctuary), a place where the light of the Shechinah rests, one must lose his sense of self; yet if he does not have inner avodah, he can be in the beis hamidrash while his sense of self remains intact. Moreover: he can be in a yechidus, enter to the Rebbe, and seemingly be in a state where the yechidah of his soul is revealed and connects with the yechidah of the Rebbe — a very lofty level — and nevertheless enter there with his sense of self. This is why one feels both of these [the beis hamidrash and the yechidus].
And regarding this the Rebbe tells him that he must abandon this. He says it in the plural, "to abandon his thoughts," to conduct a "bedek habayis" of all his thoughts — of all kinds of thoughts of self-existence (yeshus), even the most subtle ones; hence the plural expression, to conduct a bedek habayis. The Rebbe brings an example in the maamar from a talmid chacham: if there is a stain on his garment, he cannot purify the garment through immersion, so that there should be no chatzitzah; and what kind of stain? Even the smallest one. The greater the talmid chacham, the more he must be completely clean. So too with a person's own thoughts — in order to reach a good, G-dly state, he must abandon all his thoughts.
And the Rebbe concludes: "and let him not say "Ich halt azoi" [in Yiddish: I hold this way]," that one should not come and say "I hold such and such" — for every "ich halt" is an assertion of one's own existence. Any person who prefaces with saying "I say thus," this preface and the emphasis on the "I" are the source of evil and cause division of hearts. All division of hearts comes from a person arriving with his ego, firm in his own opinion, thereby causing division and disruption. And then he has no grounds to complain about why others trample upon him; rather, let him lower his ego a bit — and then he will see that no one is trampling upon him.
And to conclude, we have seen in the previous days how the sayings correspond very closely to the progression of the Rambam's work. Today we are precisely at the conclusion of Sefer HaMada, after having had teachings throughout its length — Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah, Hilchos De'os, Hilchos Talmud Torah, Hilchos Avodah Zarah — and today we arrive at the final halachos, Hilchos Teshuvah. And this is precisely the content of the saying here: how the avodah of teshuvah must be carried out. This corresponds exactly to the order of the halachos; it is a teaching that comes to conclude Sefer HaMada in the Rambam. With Hashem's help we will succeed in the task, amen, with good tidings.