The three hundred twenty-first "cheder" in the palace of Hayom Yom.
Thursday, 15 Tishrei, first day of the festival of Sukkot, 5704.
Shiurim: Chumash, Berachah, Chamishi, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, on the 28th of the month, one recites the two chapters 77 and 78.
Tanya: On this day we study Iggeret 22. The daily portion begins on page 268 with the words "u'chemo av," and concludes with the words "hadinin netzach selah va'ed," on page 135.
In the daily teaching, the Rebbe brings several customs practiced on the eve of Sukkot, and in general during the festival of Sukkot — mainly on the first day and throughout the festival. We will go through the customs in their order. The source of these customs is in the Rebbe's diary, in which he recorded what he heard from the Rebbe Rayatz.
The first point relates to the first day of Sukkot, at the time "when giving the four kinds to another to make a blessing on them": one who wishes to grant merit to another person and give him the opportunity to make a blessing on his own four kinds "should say explicitly" — he must say aloud clearly to that recipient — that he is giving it to him "as a gift on the condition that it be returned." We give it to him as a gift, so that it should be his; but in halachah there is a definition of a complete gift that is conditioned on the recipient returning the item to the giver after using it. The need to say this and to act this way in giving the four kinds is "especially on the first day" of Sukkot. This point is very significant, and in this manner of saying and acting there is "a benefit to the giver and to the recipient."
Let us explain the matter. As is known, on the first day of Sukkot — as the Rebbe emphasizes here that this applies specifically on the first day — the four species must belong completely to the person using them, as the verse states, "and you shall take for yourselves," where "for yourselves" means that it should be entirely yours. This is regarding the first day.
And what about the rest of the days? There is the opinion of Tosafos — which not all of the Rishonim agree with — that in the Beis Hamikdash there was an obligation for the Four Kinds to be "yours" (lachem) not only on the first day, but on all the days of the festival, the entire week. And if the halachah states that the Four Kinds must belong to a person, then one does not fulfill his obligation with a borrowed lulav — if he took the Four Kinds from another person with permission, but they are not his but belong to someone else — and he cannot recite the blessing over them, for in the Torah it is written that they must be yours and not belong to another who lent them to you.
This is why, if you want to give another person the Four Kinds and enable him to fulfill his obligation, you must explicitly tell him that you are giving it to him as a gift; then the recipient, having received it as a gift, can fulfill the mitzvah properly, for now it is his, and the Torah says it must be "yours." This is the first part of the statement, and it contains a benefit for the recipient — that by saying it is being given to him as a gift, it becomes his and he fulfills the mitzvah properly.
But to the statement that this is given as a gift, an additional important phrase is added: "on condition that it be returned." That is, even though you are receiving the item now, you must return the gift when you finish using it. What is the reason for adding "on condition that it be returned"? This brings benefit to the giver as well. Why? Because if the recipient returns the item to the giver as a complete return, the giver will be able to continue making the blessing over it on the following days of the festival, since it belongs to him entirely. For if he were to give it as a gift and the other person would return it to him not as one returning but as one giving from his own side — in a manner where the homeowner becomes the recipient, and the other person gives it to him as a loan or in some other way — the item would no longer belong to the giver. In order for the matter to benefit both of them — the recipient for that day, and the giver for the following days — one must say that it is given as a gift on condition that it be returned.
On the first day this certainly benefits the recipient; and if the giver himself has not yet recited the blessing, he must surely receive it in a manner whereby it becomes his own so that he can recite the blessing. That is why the Rebbe emphasizes here that this applies particularly on the first day — and from the wording "particularly on the first day" it is understood that on the remaining days of the festival too, even on Chol Hamoed, this must be the manner of giving. And indeed this is how the Rebbe conducted himself in practice, when he would give his own four species to chassidim to recite the blessing over them, that throughout the following days as well he would always say that he was giving them as a gift on condition that they be returned.
Why must this be the case on the other days as well? We said that the Torah's emphasis of "and you shall take for yourselves" applies to the first day, yet we mentioned that according to the Tosafot, in the Beit Hamikdash it needed to be "for yourselves" throughout the entire week. Since the taking of the lulav and its waving during the intermediate days of Chol Hamoed are a commemoration of the Mikdash, we do this in a complete manner — as a commemoration of the Mikdash — so that it should belong to us entirely, just as it needed to be in the Beit Hamikdash. In addition, we certainly have the hope, faith, and anticipation that the Beit Hamikdash will be rebuilt immediately, and then we will need to use the lulav on the coming days already within the Beit Hamikdash, and it will need to be ours. Therefore this is also beneficial to the giver, in that the recipient returns the item to him in a complete manner, and it was on this condition that he received the gift.
Let us continue with the teaching. In it is written "my revered father, the Rebbe, taught" — the reference is to the Rebbe Rashab; the Rebbe Rayatz relates that his father, the Rebbe Rashab, instructed "that one should begin the Shehecheyanu blessing while the lulav is in one hand and the etrog in the other." What is meant by this? As is known, the first time a person makes a blessing over the four species he recites two blessings: the blessing "asher kideshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu al netilat lulav," and the blessing "Shehecheyanu" which is said the first time. In the past it was customary that while reciting both the first blessing and the second one, only the lulav was held in the right hand, while the etrog still lay on the table; and only after concluding both blessings would one take the etrog in hand, join it to the lulav, and shake them.
On this comes the emphasis here, that the Rebbe Rashab instructed that during the recitation of the first blessing, "al netilas lulav," one holds in one's hand only the lulav, while the esrog is still lying on the table; but when one reaches the blessing of "Shehecheyanu," one already takes the esrog in the other hand — one does not yet join them together, but one already holds in the left hand the esrog, and in the right hand the lulav and the other species. This is during the blessing of "Shehecheyanu," and at its conclusion one begins the order of the na'anuim (the waving of the lulav). This is the instruction here.
The Rebbe adds that the Rebbe Rashab himself had the practice that while reciting the blessing of "Shehecheyanu," when he reached the word "vekiyemanu," almost toward the conclusion of the blessing, he would already join the esrog together with the lulav — still without shaking, merely joining them; and when he reached the words "lazman hazeh," he would bring it closer toward his chest, and at the conclusion of the blessing he would begin the order of the na'anuim. But this point is not written here; here the main instruction is that during the blessing of "Shehecheyanu" one should hold the esrog in the left hand.
The third matter: "the verses ki amarti etc. — only on Hoshana Rabbah". The intent is that when one examines the order of reciting the Hoshanos — during the circling of the bimah in the synagogue after the recitation of Hallel, as it is printed in the siddur of the Alter Rebbe — one can notice that on each of the days of the Hoshanos, after the conclusion of the passage (which follows the order of the aleph-beis), there is a verse. And the verses, if we pay attention, follow the order of the middos: on the first day the verse "ki amarti olam chesed yibaneh" (for I said, the world is built with kindness) — the attribute of Chesed; on the second day "lecha zeroa im gevurah" (Yours is an arm with might) — the attribute of Gevurah; on the third day "titen emes leYaakov" (grant truth to Yaakov), and Yaakov is the attribute of Tiferes; and so on, on each of the days a verse connected to one of the middos.
But when does one recite this verse? This is where the emphasis lies. Nowadays it already appears in the siddurim, and it is written next to the verse that only when one reaches the final day of Sukkot, Hoshana Rabbah — on which all seven passages are recited and the bimah is circled seven times — then one says these verses at the conclusion of each passage. Even though they are printed after each passage, their recitation each day pertains only to Hoshana Rabbah.
Let us continue with the teaching. The fourth point: "Also on the day [of the festival], when reciting the blessing 'to dwell in the sukkah,' one does so after Kiddush and not after HaMotzi." What is the point here? There is a blessing that one must recite on Sukkos — "asher kideshanu bemitzvosav vetzivanu leishev basukkah" (who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to dwell in the sukkah). In halachah it is written that this blessing is recited when one eats mezonos foods in the required measure, or when one washes one's hands for a meal; but a person who drinks only wine and does not eat a meal — over the drinking of wine he need not recite "leishev basukkah," and so it is written in the Shulchan Aruch.
Based on this halachah, the Alter Rebbe writes in the Shulchan Aruch that there is a difference between the Kiddush recited on the night of the festival and the Kiddush recited during the day of the festival. On the night of the festival, or on the Shabbos eve that occurs during Sukkos, the Kiddush includes the blessing sanctifying the day, and since there is a blessing sanctifying the day, the blessing of "leisheiv basukkah" is attached to it. Therefore, at night one recites "leisheiv basukkah" immediately following the Kiddush, and does not wait for the washing of the hands and for "hamotzi," in order to attach it to the blessing sanctifying the day.
However, in the daytime Kiddush there is no blessing over the sanctity of the day; the only blessing recited then is "borei pri hagafen," the blessing over the wine. If so, there is no place to recite "leishev basukkah" at that point, for over wine alone one does not recite "leishev basukkah." When, then, should one recite "leishev basukkah" at the daytime Kiddush? On this the Shulchan Aruch writes: one should recite it only after washing the hands for the meal and reciting "hamotzi lechem min ha'aretz." So it is written in the Shulchan Aruch.
Nevertheless, here in the Hayom Yom teaching it is written otherwise — that in actual practice we conduct ourselves as follows: even during the day one recites the blessing "leishev basukkah" after Kiddush, and one does not wait until after washing the hands and reciting "Hamotzi," but rather recites it after Kiddush, even though it contains only the blessing "Hagafen" and not after "Hamotzi." This is the fourth custom.
The fifth practice, with which he concludes the teaching: "The conduct during Birkat Kohanim — as mentioned above, on the second day of Chag HaShavuot." If we look at the saying that appeared on 7 Sivan — the second day of Chag HaShavuot — it describes at length how one should conduct oneself during Birkat Kohanim, and there are two points there.
One point: to which side should the congregation—those listening and hearing Birkas Kohanim—turn their heads while hearing the words of the blessing; where should the head be directed at the time of hearing the word "yevarechecha," "Hashem," "veyishmerecha," and so on.
Second passage: It is known that on the festivals, when the Priestly Blessing is performed and the kohanim chant the melody, upon reaching the last three words "veyasem lecha shalom" ("and grant you peace"), one recites—amid the melody—the prayer "Ribono shel olam" concerning the transformation of a dream for the good. There is a set order for each of the three portions as to how far one recites in this prayer: there is a portion that concludes at the word "veyasem," one at the word "lecha," and one at the word "shalom."
"From this we know that the Alter Rebbe would take the Tzemach Tzedek, before his wedding, under his tallis for nesias kapayim" — how do we know exactly how one conducts oneself during Birkas Kohanim? On this the Rebbe relates that we know it because the Alter Rebbe would take the Tzemach Tzedek before his wedding — for the Tzemach Tzedek was then still before his own wedding — the Alter Rebbe, the grandfather, would place him together with himself under his tallis at the time of Birkas Kohanim, for nesias kapayim. And since the Tzemach Tzedek was together with the Alter Rebbe under the tallis, he saw how the Alter Rebbe conducted himself — to which side he would move his head at each word, and how he acted in reciting "Ribono shel Olam," where he paused at each of the passages. He related what he saw by his grandfather, and from this we know how one must conduct oneself during Birkas Kohanim.