The one hundred and sixty-first "room" in the hall of Hayom Yom.
Friday, 17 of the Omer, 5703.
Shiurim: Chumash, Parshas Kedoshim, Shishi, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, 2nd of the month, we say from chapter 10 up to and including chapter 17.
Tanya, today we conclude chapter 44. The shiur begins on page 64 with the words "rak she'af al pi chen", until the end of the chapter with the word "vecha'an noda".
The daily teaching refers to the date 2 Iyar. 2 Iyar is, as is known, the birthday of the Rebbe Maharash, and the teaching refers to him through a story that expresses the special spiritual theme of the Rebbe Maharash. The first sentence reads: "The birthday of my master and father, my grandfather, my master and Rebbe" - meaning the Rebbe Maharash, the Rebbe Rayatz's grandfather. The birthday of the Rebbe Maharash. And here the Rebbe writes that this was "in the year 5593".
It is interesting that the exact date of the Rebbe Maharash's birth is not entirely definitive. The Rebbe himself, as is known, published a biographical sefer on the Rebbe Maharash - the Rebbe wrote such a biographical sefer only on the Rebbe Maharash - and there he writes simply: "On 2 Iyar 5594 he was born in Lubavitch", and in a footnote below he adds: "Some say he was born in the year 5593" (and perhaps the intention there is to a leap year). Thus the Rebbe posits simply that it was 5594, and similarly in the sichos the Rebbe delivered over the years, he refers to the birthday as 5594 and not 5593. But an interesting point: in Hayom Yom, the Rebbe kept the date 5593.
Here a description is brought of a story that happened with the Rebbe Maharash himself in his childhood. In Hayom Yom only the main point is brought, and a little background is given as it appears in that biographical sefer the Rebbe wrote about the Rebbe Maharash. When the Rebbe Maharash was a seven-year-old child, he learned with the melamed called Reb Pesach the melamed - whom we mentioned in yesterday's Hayom Yom. As a child, the Rebbe Maharash had immense proficiency in Torah: he was completely proficient in a large part of Neviim and Kesuvim, learning Gemara with Rashi and a large part of Tosafos, and while the children were playing he would review Tanach by heart - as a child.
His father, the Tzemach Tzedek, would come once a month to the cheder, to the classroom, and test his son, the Rebbe Maharash, along with his classmates in the cheder - most of whom were family members. After testing everyone, he would distribute money to them as gifts to those who knew the material, or to everyone. The Rebbe Maharash would collect the money he received on those occasions and other occasions, and use it to purchase seforim.
And here it tells of one of the times the Tzemach Tzedek visited the cheder and tested the children. Let us read the teaching, written originally in Yiddish: "At age seven the Tzemach Tzedek once tested him. The grandfather [the Rebbe Maharash] was so impressive that his melamed was greatly amazed, could not restrain himself, and said to the Tzemach Tzedek: Well, what do you say, is he doing well?..." The melamed, even though he stood before the Tzemach Tzedek who came to test them, was so amazed by the child's knowledge that he could not hold back, and said to the father: What do you say, is he doing well?
"The Tzemach Tzedek answered him" The Tzemach Tzedek reacted and answered the melamed: "What is there to be amazed about, that 'Tiferes shebeTiferes' does it well...". The meaning is this: We are here on 17 of the Omer, and during the days of Sefiras HaOmer we note the rectification of one of the sefiros each day. We are in the third week of the counting, on its third day - the third day is "Tiferes", and the third week is also "Tiferes"; it turns out that the birth of the Rebbe Maharash is on "Tiferes shebeTiferes".
It is explained in chassidus in various places that the sefirah of Tiferes is a very special sefirah, about which expressions are said such as "Tiferes rises up to Kesser" - that Tiferes is connected to the inner dimension of Kesser. Tiferes has this wondrous quality that it includes all opposites, as the middle line that connects the two extremes; it has the power to unite all opposites, because a limitless Divine light shines within it that does not shine in the other sefiros. Tiferes is a very high sefirah, and "Tiferes shebeTiferes" is the pinnacle of greatness.
And if he was born on such a day, this is his essence and his theme. If so, what is the wonder that "Tiferes shebeTiferes" answers so well? This is the beauty within beauty, and the amazement is out of place, because simply put, this is how it should be - that Tiferes shebeTiferes answers so beautifully.