Room three hundred in the palace of Hayom Yom.
Thursday, 23 Elul 5703.
Shiurim: Chumash, Nitzavim-Vayelech, fifth aliyah, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, on the 23rd of the month, one recites from chapter 108 through chapter 110 inclusive; and the three additional chapters during the month of Elul — on this day one recites 67, 68 and 69.
Tanya: On this day we begin studying Iggeret 18 of "Iggeret HaKodesh," starting from the first word "Ksiv." The lesson concludes on page 252 with the words "b'Likkutei Amarim."
The source of the brief story recorded on this day is in a talk of the Rebbe Rayatz on Lag BaOmer 5700. Let us examine the wording of the teaching as it appears here — which differs slightly from what appears in the Sefer HaSichos 5700 before us, and apparently the Rebbe had a different transcript from that same farbrengen. In any case, this is how the Rebbe brings the story: "R' Moshe, son of the Alter Rebbe, while learning — he was then about 8 to 11 years old the sugya concerning the praise of the Sages in Gittin (67a)".
In tractate Gittin (folio 67a) there is a passage known as "the praise of the Sages." The Gemara relates that Issi ben Yehudah would enumerate the praise of the Sages, saying about each one of them a distinctive praise, and Rashi explains each one. He spoke by way of analogy about ten Sages: Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehudah, Rabbi Tarfon, Rabbi Yishmael, Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, Rabbi Elazar ben Yaakov, Rabbi Yossi, and the last — Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.
When he reached Rashbi, for example, what did he say about him? He said: "He grinds much and produces little" — he brings out only a little. His intent, as Rashi explains: "He grinds much," meaning that he learned a great deal and reviewed much, yet "produces" — forgets — little. And what is this "little"? Rashi explains that it is those matters which are not the accepted halachah that he forgets; that is, if he does forget, it is only matters that are not relevant. This was Rashbi's praise.
The Gemara there concludes: "And so Rabbi Shimon said to his students: My sons, learn my middos (measures)." What does "learn my middos" mean? Rashi explains: study my Torah. And he concludes: "for my middos are terumos from the terumos of the middos of Rabbi Akiva" — my Torah is the choicest of the choice of the Torah of Rabbi Akiva. "Terumos from the terumos," as is known, there is terumah that is given to the Levi — maaser rishon — and the Levi separates from it terumas maaser for the Kohen; what the Levi gives to the Kohen is "terumah from the terumah," the clearest and choicest portion. And by way of analogy, Rashbi says that his Torah is from the shufra d'shufra (the finest of the fine) of Rabbi Akiva. Such are the words of the Gemara.
Let us return to the saying: Rabbi Moshe was studying this sugya, "the sugya in praise of the Sages" that appears in Gittin, page 67a. When he reached the final passage about Rashbi — "he was uncertain regarding Rashbi's statement there" — the child had a doubt as to how to understand Rashbi's words "study my middos," for there are two interpretations of this: One way — "learn my Torah (as per Rashi)," in accordance with Rashi's words that we cited, that "my middos" is not to be taken literally as referring to a good character trait, but rather as a metaphor for my Torah; and another way — "or 'my middos' in its literal sense": learn from my character traits, observe what middos I possess and learn from them.
The child — about eight to eleven years old, a son of the Alter Rebbe — was struggling to understand the meaning. "In the midst of this, our Rebbe the Elder came in." The child had not shared his difficulty with his father; rather, he sat over the Gemara and pondered in his mind how to understand it. But the Alter Rebbe sensed his struggle and responded to him without having been asked. And then the Alter Rebbe said to him, "and he said it with a melody, as was his holy custom" — for many times, when the Alter Rebbe wished to say something, he would say it with a special melody.
And so his father said to him: "The Torah that was given to us is entirely good qualities, even the punishments in it" — our entire Torah, in every single word of it, is wholly good qualities; and even the punishments in it, which seemingly are the opposite of a good quality, since they require gevurot and the like — "are in truth chesed and good," for even when one is punished, it is for his own benefit, and it is all good.
And now he responds to his thought: "the two interpretations are one, and each depends on the other" — both when you interpret that "my traits" refers to Torah, and when you interpret that "my traits" refers to my character traits — they are the same interpretation and are interwoven with one another, and this depends on that: "it is impossible to have good character traits without Torah, and it is impossible to have Torah without good character traits". And if so, when Rashbi says to his students "my Torah", it is clear that this includes also his character traits — there are no traits without Torah and no Torah without traits. This was the story with the son of the Alter Rebbe.
And in conclusion the Rebbe says in the teaching: "All of the above happened to the Tzemach Tzedek as well" — the very same story occurred also with the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek, the grandson of the Alter Rebbe, "when he was about eight to eleven years old." He too, at those same ages, sat with that same passage and grappled with the same difficulty, and his grandfather came in and told him exactly the same thing. This is the daily saying.