The one hundred twenty-first "room" in the hall of Hayom Yom.
Sunday, 21 Adar II 5703.
Shiurim: We begin a new parshah here - Chumash, Shemini, first parshah with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, 21st of the month, we say two chapters: Chapter 103-104 and Chapter 105.
Tanya, on this day we begin a new chapter, Chapter 38, from its beginning, from the word "Vehineh", until page 50, which ends with the words "eivarei haguf".
The daily teaching is actually the conclusion of the teaching from the previous day, 20 Adar II. On the previous day we learned the story told by the Alter Rebbe - that when he was by the Maggid of Mezritch, the Maggid called him in for yechidus and told him a dvar Torah on the verse, "A continuous fire shall burn upon the altar, it shall not be extinguished." The Maggid explained to him that there is a special fire that a Jew must bring from below, and this fire that he brings from below causes a fire to arrive from above. And what is the power of the fire? The enthusiasm in avodas Hashem - "it shall not be extinguished" (lo tichbeh) - is what extinguishes the "lo". And the Maggid said that this is specific to the Alter Rebbe, since it is incumbent upon him to extinguish the great "lo" of the opponents of chassidus.
Today there is a continuation: How did the Tzemach Tzedek conclude regarding this matter when he told the story to his son, the Rebbe Maharash? Let us read the wording of the teaching: "The Tzemach Tzedek said, at the conclusion of the story mentioned above for 20 Adar II", as follows: "My grandfather is the Moshe Rabbeinu of the Torah of Chabad chassidus". First he says that his grandfather - the Alter Rebbe - is in the aspect of "Moshe Rabbeinu" of the Torah of Chabad chassidus. That is to say, there are parallel lines of similarity between Moshe Rabbeinu and the Alter Rebbe, and in particular regarding this specific matter being discussed.
Let us first examine the point stated about Moshe Rabbeinu, and then we will see the parallel line with the Alter Rebbe. "Regarding Moshe Rabbeinu, Chazal said that the Torah was given to him, but he acted with a generous eye (tov ayin)". The Gemara in Tractate Nedarim brings that Rabbi Yossi ben Rabbi Chanina says: "The Torah was given only to Moshe and his descendants." And from what does he learn this? From Chapter 34 in the Book of Shemos - he brings a sentence from the beginning of the chapter and a sentence from towards its end, and makes a gezeirah shavah between them.
At the beginning of Chapter 34, after the sin of the Golden Calf, when Hakadosh Baruch Hu told Moshe Rabbeinu to make the second Tablets, it is stated: "Carve for yourself (psol lecha) two tablets of stone like the first ones." And as is known, we learn from "psol lecha" that the chips (psolet) shall be yours - it refers to a precious stone, sapphire, from which Moshe Rabbeinu made the Tablets, and he was told that the chips would be his. And at the end of the chapter, Hakadosh Baruch Hu tells him: "Write for yourself (ktov lecha) these words" - to write the Torah. And a gezeirah shavah is made here: "psol lecha" - "ktov lecha"; just as in "psol lecha" the meaning is that it is yours, so too "ktov lecha" - what you write in the Torah is yours. It turns out that the Torah was actually given to Moshe Rabbeinu and his descendants; but Moshe Rabbeinu acted with a generous eye and gave the Torah to Yisrael - "this is mine, but you take it too" - and about him it is said, "He who has a generous eye shall be blessed."
Further on, the Gemara discusses: How does this fit, for many verses are cited from which it arises that the Torah was initially given for the people of Yisrael, and not that Moshe Rabbeinu received it for himself? And the conclusion of the Gemara is that the intention is not regarding the essence of the Torah - which is certainly meant to be for all of Yisrael - but rather regarding the "pilpula de'oraisa", the power to derive one thing from another. The essence of what was given to us is what is written; but the ability to derive one thing from another, to expand and add chiddushim, this is a gift that Moshe Rabbeinu received, and Moshe Rabbeinu acted with a generous eye and said to all of Yisrael: "Take this gift for yourselves" - you too can learn Torah in this way. Thus it is stated in the Gemara about Moshe Rabbeinu.
The Tzemach Tzedek said that his grandfather, the Alter Rebbe, is in the aspect of "Moshe Rabbeinu": He was by the Maggid and personally received from him this power - "it shall not be extinguished", to extinguish the "lo", and even a great "lo" - as a personal matter, within his ten personal powers. But the Alter Rebbe acted with a generous eye and said: It is my desire that this should be for all chassidim. And in the wording of the teaching: "The divine continuous fire concerning the Torah of Chabad chassidus, the Maggid gave to my grandfather" - that same "continuous fire" concerning Chabad chassidus, the power that through chassidus one can have an effect on oneself and on others, etc., the Maggid gave as a gift to the Alter Rebbe - "and my grandfather acted with a generous eye and gave it to all who engage in the Torah of chassidus". The Alter Rebbe gave as a gift that every Jew who learns chassidus will have this power, will have the "continuous fire", and will be able to extinguish the "lo". This is a gift we received from the Alter Rebbe.
And the Tzemach Tzedek concludes and says: "It is clear to me that whoever learns with his fellow" - every Jew who is active in this matter and learns chassidus not only for himself but spreads the virtues of chassidus further - "he awakens within him the divine continuous fire", awakening the fire and warmth in his fellow. "Behold, his reward is with him, that this merit of his shall not be extinguished forever".
I have heard two ways of explaining this conclusion. The simple way, as we understand it simply, is that the Tzemach Tzedek said that the reward a Jew receives for learning chassidus with another Jew is a merit that will remain for eternity - it will never be extinguished and will always accompany him. This is the simple understanding.
But there are those who wanted to interpret it in an interesting way: For the entire concept of the Maggid's Torah is that the "lo" should be extinguished - that we should extinguish the negative, the death-bringing soul. And according to this, the Tzemach Tzedek says "and his reward is with him, that this merit of his" - what is the reward of one who teaches chassidus and illuminates the light and warmth in another? "Lo tichbeh (the 'lo' shall be extinguished) forever" - meaning, that his "lo" will be extinguished forever, that he will always have the eternal power that his "lo" will remain extinguished. This is the same sentence, except that the punctuation is read differently; although it is a bit forced in the text, it contains an additional message - the power for the "lo" to be extinguished forever.
In conclusion, a sharp insight, in connection with the Rambam's books of Yad Hachazakah. We are currently in the Laws of Maaserot - as we saw in yesterday's shiur regarding "ten times" - and there is a very interesting point related also today to the Laws of Maaserot. As is known, one of the differences between terumot and maaserot: terumah is received by the kohen, and maaser is received by the levi. But the maaser that the levi receives is not like terumah: the terumah that the kohen receives is forbidden for any person in the world to eat except a kohen, and anyone who is not a kohen and eats from it is liable to death. Whereas in the Laws of Maaserot it is the opposite - at the beginning of the Laws of Maaserot the Rambam writes that maaser is permitted to any person; even though the levi receives it, anyone can eat the maaser, since it does not become sanctified.
And Moshe Rabbeinu was a levi - corresponding to what? There is a connection here to today's message: Moshe Rabbeinu received something and says, "Take from this, everyone can eat." This is essentially the idea of maaserot - that the levi receives, but says to everyone: Everyone can eat from this, everyone can eat.