Room one hundred and seventy-five in the palace of Hayom Yom.
Friday, 16 Iyar, 31st of the Omer, 5703.
Shiurim: Chumash, Behar, Shishi, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, 16th of the month, say chapter 79 up to and including chapter 82.
Tanya: On this day we conclude chapter 48. The daily shiur begins on page 136 with the words "Ach yedi'ato", and ends at the conclusion of the chapter.
The daily teaching includes a practice, followed by the teaching. The Rebbe Rayatz states the practice as follows: "My father, my master and teacher (the Rebbe Rashab), when cutting his nails, would mix a woodchip with them before burning them" - when the Rebbe Rashab would cut his nails, he would mix a woodchip into the fire and burn them together with the woodchip.
What is the idea behind this? The Gemara in Maseches Niddah says regarding burning nails, that nails can harm a pregnant woman, and therefore one must ensure they are not left lying around freely. The Gemara says that one who burns his nails is called a chassid; and why? Tosafos explains there, that when a person burns a part of his body that grew on him - there is something seguli (metaphysical) in this that could harm him. It turns out that burning the nails could harm the person himself, and nevertheless he does it to ensure that no one else will be harmed, that the pregnant woman will not be harmed - and therefore he is called a chassid.
Furthermore, there is a sefer that proves from the Gemara, that this entire seguli concept - that burning a part of the human body could harm him - only applies when burning the item exactly as it is; but if one mixes something else into the fire, the danger is nullified and it is not harmful at all. The sefer "Atzei Eden" on Maseches Nazir proves this from the Gemara, that the nazir, upon completing his nezirus, would come to the Beis Hamikdash, shave the hair of his head and burn it under the pot in the Chamber of the Nazirites; and the Gemara says that before burning the hair he had to pour a little of the broth on them - since there he cooked the korban he brought in a pot, and there was broth - and he would take a little of it, pour it on the hair, and then burn it.
The author of "Atzei Eden" explains the reason for this: If one burns a part of the body - the Gemara speaks of hair, and in our case nails - and mixes something into it before burning, it does not matter what, the addition nullifies the issue. And this is what is stated here in the daily practice, that the Rebbe Rashab would mix a woodchip before burning, and thereby accomplished all the good things: both that the pregnant woman would not be harmed, and that the person himself would not be harmed.
Afterwards comes the teaching, which appeared in a letter written by the Rebbe Rayatz on 25 Nissan 5695. He describes there that he met a chassid who had been in yechidus with his grandfather, the Rebbe Maharash; he met him thirty years after that yechidus, and the chassid told him about it with such great enthusiasm as if he had only yesterday emerged from the yechidus. The Rebbe Rayatz elaborates there at length to describe the nature of the chassid's avodah based on the instruction he received.
Let us look at the text. The source is in Yiddish, and we will translate its parts: "My grandfather (the Rebbe Maharash) said to the chassid Reb Eliyahu Abeler" - Reb Eliyahu, who came from a place called "Abele", and was therefore called "Reb Eliyahu Abeler". Earlier, the Rebbe Rayatz describes who Reb Eliyahu was: "A simple man in terms of his talents and knowledge", a businessman who was not particularly talented and very simple in his abilities and knowledge. "When he entered to him for yechidus", to the Rebbe Maharash.
When he entered to him for yechidus, the Rebbe Maharash said to him: "Eliyahu, I envy you". The chassid later described how ashamed he was of this expression, and was even ashamed to tell it - as if to say, does the Rebbe envy me? But so the Rebbe told him.
And why does the Rebbe envy him? This is what he says to him: "You travel to the fair, meet with many people" - you travel to fairs and markets, going about your business in all sorts of places and meeting many people; "and when, in the midst of business, you converse with another about a Jewish matter, a 'vort' (a thought) from 'Ein Yaakov', and awaken him regarding the study of Nigleh and Chassidus - this creates joy on High" - and in the middle of business, when you are buying and selling, you end up conversing with a Jew you met about some Jewish saying, and repeating to him something you heard in "Ein Yaakov" (the aggadic sections of the Gemara, compiled and collected by Rabbi Yaakov ibn Chaviv), which he used to study. And when you repeat a saying you heard in "Ein Yaakov", you awaken that Jew who set for himself a shiur in the study of Nigleh and the study of Chassidus.
From this, very great joy is caused on High. And therefore the Rebbe tells him: I envy you, that you create joy on High every time you are in the market. "And the brokerage fees are paid by the Holy One, blessed be He, with children, life, and sustenance. And the larger the market, the more avodah - and so the livelihood increases" - the Holy One, blessed be He, derives pleasure from the fact that you awakened Jews to study in the market, and therefore pays you brokerage fees, in children, in health and in livelihood. And the larger the market, the greater the avodah, and consequently the greater the livelihood as well.
And as he said earlier, that he met him after thirty years - he describes what the chassid had done in those thirty years: he breathed a spirit of life into many hundreds of Jews, and hundreds of Jews began shiurim in Gemara and Chassidus etc., as a result of his action and influence, from that saying he heard from the Rebbe Maharash in yechidus.
And the allusion to the Rambam's Yad Hachazakah: In recent days we started the allusions to Sefer Korbanos in the Rambam. On the 14th we had the allusion to Hilchos Korban Pesach, on the 15th the allusion in Hilchos Chagigah, and today the allusion is in Hilchos Bechoros. In the Rambam, Hilchos Bechoros also includes Hilchos Maaser - the last three chapters of Hilchos Bechoros deal with the laws of maaser behemah and the entire order of tithing. And regarding maaser, as is known, the Sages said in the Gemara: "Tithe (asser) so that you may become rich (tisasher)" - this mitzvah brings a person a great abundance of wealth and livelihood.
Here the Rebbe provides, in this yechidus, the path and the vessel for how the Holy One, blessed be He, will pay you abundant brokerage fees - that there will be ample livelihood and great wealth - and that is through this matter of connecting Jews to Hashem. For just as with maaser, where one takes that portion which emerges in the flock and designates it, saying "The tenth shall be holy to Hashem", so too when you connect a Jew to the Holy One, blessed be He, the Holy One, blessed be He, pays you the brokerage fees generously.