The one hundred and eighty-seventh "room" in the hall of Hayom Yom.
Wednesday, 28 Iyar, 43rd day of the Omer, 5703.
Shiurim: Chumash, Bamidbar, Revi'i, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, 28th of the month, from chapter 135 to chapter 139 inclusive.
Tanya, today we begin chapter 52, from the beginning of the chapter, with the word "Uchemo". The shiur concludes on page 73, with the words "Ha'or mehashemesh".
The source of the teaching learned today is a letter written by the Tzemach Tzedek on 6 Iyar 5599. The subject with which he opens his letter is the reason he chose the family name "Schneerson". An excerpt from this letter was already cited in Hayom Yom previously, in the month of Nissan, regarding the family names of our Rabbeim, the Nesi'im.
In order to explain why the Tzemach Tzedek chose the name "Schneerson" - a name that connects him directly to the Alter Rebbe, whose name was Schneur - he brings in the letter the saying we will learn now, which demonstrates the particularly deep connection between the Tzemach Tzedek and his grandfather, the Alter Rebbe. Even though the Tzemach Tzedek is not the son of the Alter Rebbe's son, but rather the son of his daughter - Rebbetzin Devorah Leah, whose son is the Tzemach Tzedek - nevertheless, this expresses the depth of his connection to the Alter Rebbe even more strongly.
Let us look at the teaching, and afterward we will add a few more points. It is brought as follows: "In one of the visions of the night" - on one occasion the Tzemach Tzedek had a vision, seeing a special G-dly sight at night. What did he see? "The Tzemach Tzedek saw Rabbeinu Hazaken within the thirty days (shloshim) of his histalkus". The histalkus of the Alter Rebbe was, as is known, on 24 Teves, and in that same month, within the shloshim, the Alter Rebbe revealed himself in a vision to his grandson, the Tzemach Tzedek.
And what did the Tzemach Tzedek see in that vision? "He recited before him" - the Alter Rebbe recited in that vision to his grandson the Tzemach Tzedek "the maamar Al Shlosha Devarim Haolam Omed", a maamar of chassidus based on the wording of the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos "Al shlosha devarim haolam omed". This is one thing that occurred in the vision - that he heard a maamar of chassidus. He had already heard this maamar during his lifetime from the Alter Rebbe several times, each time with a different explanation, and that night he heard it with a new explanation.
"After the maamar he said to him" - after the Alter Rebbe finished reciting the maamar to the Tzemach Tzedek in that vision, the Tzemach Tzedek hears an interesting statement from his grandfather. The Alter Rebbe says to him: "If a man emits seed first, she gives birth to a female". What do we learn from this wording? That when a female is born, her source and expression are in the father, the man - since "If a man emits seed first, she gives birth to a female", and the female is the deepest expression of the father. And the Alter Rebbe says to the Tzemach Tzedek: "This is your mother" - your mother, who is my daughter, is connected to me the most, because "If a man emits seed first, she gives birth to a female".
And he continues and says to him: What is the continuation of the words of Chazal? "If a woman emits seed first, she gives birth to a male" - the male born subsequently is connected in the greatest depth to his mother. "This is you". According to this, it emerges that the Tzemach Tzedek is connected to his grandfather, the Alter Rebbe, in the strongest way, being the son of his daughter: through his mother - the mother who is most connected to her father, and he who is most connected to his mother - it turns out that he is most connected to the Alter Rebbe. This the Alter Rebbe said to the Tzemach Tzedek within the shloshim of his histalkus.
The one who actually filled the place of the Alter Rebbe was the Mitteler Rebbe, and the Tzemach Tzedek was only in the third generation. However, this statement, ultimately, subdued - one could say - the Tzemach Tzedek, and caused him to agree to accept the nesius. Rebbe Rayatz recounts this in that letter at very great length.
He recounts there that after the histalkus of the Mitteler Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek did not want to accept the nesius; although he received chassidim, gave them advice and recited maamarim, he absolutely refused to accept the nesius officially. There is a whole lengthy description there of how they tried but it did not help.
Until it is told that after some time the holiday of Shavuos arrived, and several chassidim came to the Tzemach Tzedek, and among them was a chossid whose name is specified - Reb Peretz of Bitov. Reb Peretz said to his friends: Listen, I have an idea - I will enter the Rebbe's room with you, and you will see, I will tell him a concept from which I will prove to him that according to Torah he is obligated to be the successor. For the Tzemach Tzedek would send the chassidim to other grandsons of the Alter Rebbe, who in his opinion were worthy of filling the position. Reb Peretz said: I have something to say to him.
He entered into yechidus with him along with a few other chassidim, and that chossid Reb Peretz said to him of his own accord: Listen, it is written "If a man emits seed first, she gives birth to a female" - for that is your mother, and "If a woman emits seed first, she gives birth to a male" - and that is you, therefore you are the most connected. The moment he told him this, it is recounted that the Tzemach Tzedek entered into a state of dveikus and seriousness. There are a few versions of exactly how it happened, but this tipped the scales so that he accepted the nesius. That is, here he accepted in practice what the Alter Rebbe, his grandfather, had told him within the shloshim of his histalkus - that the day would come when he would hear this thing, and it would lead him to decide to accept the nesius; and this is what tipped the scales.
The interesting thing is that immediately that same day he said he would deliver a maamar of chassidus, and on that Shavuos holiday this was the acceptance of the nesius. And what was the maamar that he said? The maamar Al Shlosha Devarim Haolam Omed. And regarding this too there is an interesting story: in the middle of delivering the maamar, when various chassidim were standing crowded together and listening, the Rebbe suddenly stops and says something unrelated to the maamar. He says the expression: "What do you think, that I am doing tricks here? I am not doing any tricks. The grandfather is simply standing here and telling me to say this", and returns to continue the maamar. The crowd did not understand to whom he spoke and what had happened here.
The completion of the story is very interesting: present at that gathering was a chossid named Reb Aizik of Homil. There is an amazing story about Reb Aizik of Homil, who was once with the Alter Rebbe in his room when the Alter Rebbe delivered the maamar Al Shlosha Devarim Haolam Omed. At that time, the Tzemach Tzedek was a small child, about three or four years old, and was playing with potatoes as tefillin, which he placed on his head and walked around the room. While the Alter Rebbe was saying the maamar, the chossid Reb Aizik felt as if the child was disturbing, and wanted somehow to... Then, in the middle of the maamar, the Alter Rebbe stopped and said a sentence which Reb Aizik understood: "He is listening, and you will yet see that he is listening."
Decades later, when the Tzemach Tzedek accepted the nesius, he repeated on that day the maamar Al Shlosha Devarim Haolam Omed, just as it was then, at that gathering where he was a small child and heard it. And when the chossid Reb Aizik heard this, he went into shock - how he sees that as a small child he heard everything, and now he is repeating the words word for word. The Rebbe sensed his thoughts, and in the middle said to him: What do you think, that I am doing tricks? These are not tricks; the grandfather is simply standing here and telling me to say this.
This is the completion of the teaching in its two parts, and it is interesting that it continues the teaching of the previous day. On the previous day it spoke about the tremendous connection between the Alter Rebbe and the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid, in a stronger way than others; and here, in the daily teaching, it speaks within Chabad itself - about the tremendous connection of the Tzemach Tzedek to the Alter Rebbe, a very strong connection.
It is interesting to add, that in one of the years, on the Hayom Yom of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka on 22 Shevat (I believe in 5752), the Rebbe spoke in praise of the Rebbetzin, and said this expression - that she is very connected to her father in a wondrous way, since it is written "If a man emits seed first, she gives birth to a female"; and since she is the daughter of Rebbe Rayatz, her connection to him is very deep and special. This is the same concept written in this teaching.