The one hundred and seventieth "room" in the hall of Hayom Yom.
Sunday, 11 Iyar, 26 days of the Omer, 5703.
Shiurim: Chumash, new parshah, Sunday, Behar, first aliyah with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, 11th of the month, we say from chapter 60 to chapter 65 inclusive.
Tanya, today we begin chapter 48, from the first word of the beginning of the chapter "Vehineh", and the shiur ends on page 134 with the word "limkoman".
In the daily teaching, both today and tomorrow, the Rebbe presents several grammatical pronunciations of words in davening regarding which there are differing opinions, doubts, or varying textual versions, and he rules how one should actually say them. We will go through them in order.
First: "Vechain - with a tzeirei, not a patach - shnei kesuvim". This refers to the conclusion of the beraisa of the Thirteen Middos of Rabbi Yishmael that is said before Hodu. In the final middah - as seen in the Tehillat Hashem siddur - it is written "vechain", and in parentheses another version, "vechan": "shnei kesuvim hamachchishim zeh es zeh". According to the pshat it is more appropriate to say "vechain" with a tzeirei, since it is another one of the list of the Thirteen Middos; whereas according to Kabbalah, it is explained that it is more appropriate to say "vechan" with a patach. In practice, as is also written in Shaar Hakolel, since the siddur is a book suited for everyone, even for one who does not study according to Kabbalah, but primarily according to the pshat; therefore, one must say it as is appropriate for the pshat - "vechain" with a tzeirei, "vechain shnei kesuvim".
[I once heard from a certain mashpia an inner explanation of the version according to Kabbalah, where we say "vechan": A Jew comes before davening and wants to start to pray, and says "vechan shnei kesuvim hamachchishim zeh es zeh" - I have now reached a state in my soul where I feel that there are two contradictory verses here; there is my soul, and there is the Holy One, blessed be He, and we do not align. The Holy One, blessed be He, wants us to do a certain thing, and our nefesh habehamis interferes - behold, here are two contradictory verses, until the third verse comes, the nefesh ha'elokis, and mediates and connects the person to the Holy One, blessed be He. In any case, let us return to our subject. This is the first ruling.]
Afterwards, the next item: "Chiyusani - with a kamatz, and not a patach - miyordi vor". This refers to the mizmor "Mizmor shir chanukas habayis" that is said after Hodu, chapter 30 of Tehillim. In the fourth verse, in most versions, the word "chiyusani" has a patach under the sav, and here the Rebbe rules that it must be said with a kamatz under the sav. This is the second ruling.
The next item: "Zecher - the zayin with a segol and not a tzeirei - rav tuvcha". This refers to the chapter "Tehillah l'Dovid" which we call "Ashrei yoshvei veisecha". When reaching the letter zayin, at the word "zecher", there are several opinions whether to say "zaicher" with a tzeirei or "zecher" with a segol, and the Rebbe rules here that the pronunciation must be with a segol. In practice, it is worth noting that, as is known, there are recordings where the Rebbe can be heard davening as the shliach tzibbur. Mostly, one hears the conclusions of the sections loudly, but on various occasions, one can also hear the course of the davening itself; and in saying this word "zecher rav tuvcha", one can hear that the Rebbe actually says both of them - "zaicher", "zecher rav tuvcha" - both of them.
The fourth item: "Mashlich karcho - with a patach and not a kamatz - chiphsim". This refers to chapter 107 in Tehillim which we say in the continuation of the mizmorim. In the word "karcho" there are also two versions, and the sefer Minchas Shai on Tehillim cites both of them - whether to say "karcho" with a kamatz or a patach. Here the Rebbe rules that it must be said with a patach, and not a kamatz. Interestingly, in this too, one can hear in a recording that the Rebbe himself says it with a kamatz, even though he ruled here to say it with a patach.
And the final item: "Umalchuso ve'emunaso la'ad kayemes". This refers to the section of "Emes veyatziv", after Krias Shema. There were versions, and there are certain siddurim, where it is written "umalchuso" and the word "ve'emunaso" is in parentheses; and indeed in the sefer Shaar Hakolel it is explained why one should omit the word "ve'emunaso" here and say "umalchuso la'ad kayemes". Nevertheless, here the Rebbe rules that one must indeed say the word "ve'emunaso", and just as in most siddurim today there are no parentheses, but one simply says "umalchuso ve'emunaso la'ad kayemes". This is the Rebbe's ruling on how to say it.
All these rulings, as the Rebbe notes to himself, he asked each and every one of them to the Rebbe Rayatz, how it should be. And as the Rebbe writes several times, all the customs written in Hayom Yom are based on a directive that he asked the Rebbe Rayatz how one should say it.