The two hundred and sixty-sixth "room" in the palace of Hayom Yom.
Friday, 19 Menachem Av, 5703.
Shiurim: Chumash, Eikev, sixth aliyah, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, on the 19th of the month, from chapter 90 through chapter 96 inclusive.
Tanya: we continue the fifth letter in Iggeret HaKodesh. The daily portion begins on page 216 with the words "vehineh ba adam," and concludes with the words "leAvraham choleh."
In the daily teaching, the Rebbe addresses the order of prayer for those who follow the custom of donning four pairs of tefillin. Let us preface a few words of background. The Gemara in tractate Menachos discusses exactly where the parshiyos are placed in the tefillin shel rosh, and the language of the Gemara is that "Kadesh" and "Vehaya ki yeviacha" are on the right, and "Shema" and "Vehaya im shamoa" are on the left. From here begins a discussion between Rashi, Rabbeinu Tam, and afterward the views attributed to the "Shimusha Rabba" and to the Rosh, as to how to interpret the words of the Gemara. The Gemara itself raises a difficulty from a baraisa that presents the reverse order, and resolves it: here it refers to the right of the one donning, there to the right of the one reading — and from this arise the discussions as to exactly how to arrange the parshiyos.
The prevailing view, which has been ruled as halachah — this is also the ruling of the Rambam, and this is the practice of most of the Jewish people — is that what a Jew must don in order to fulfill his obligation is according to Rashi's explanation in the Gemara. According to Rashi, the four parshiyos are placed in the tefillin shel rosh in the order in which they are written in the Torah, facing the reader. That is, if a person were to stand facing his fellow and see, theoretically, the parshiyos placed within his tefillin, he would see their order as follows: the first, "Kadesh"; the second, "Vehayah ki yeviacha"; the third, "Shema"; and the fourth, "Vehayah im shamoa." This is called "kesidran" from the perspective of the reader. This is the shitah of Rashi.
Rabbeinu Tam, too, does not disagree with Rashi regarding the first half — for the Gemara states "to the right of the reader" — and he too holds that the first two parshiyot are "Kadesh" followed by "Vehayah ki yeviacha." However, regarding the last two parshiyot, about which the Gemara says that they are to the left, Rabbeinu Tam maintains that they form a distinct unit that proceeds from left to right: "Shema" at the far left, and "Vehayah im shamo'a" to its right. According to Rabbeinu Tam, this yields the concept of "the two 'Vehayah' passages in the middle" — that "Vehayah ki yeviacha" and "Vehayah im shamo'a" are adjacent to one another, with "Kadesh" at the far right and "Shema" at the far left as the outer ends. These are the approaches of Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam.
From this, two additional opinions emerged — Shimusha Rabba and the Rosh. Shimusha Rabba is the exact opposite of Rashi, and the Rosh is the exact opposite of Rabbeinu Tam. According to Shimusha Rabba, everything goes from left to right: "Kadesh," "Vehaya ki yeviacha," "Shema," "Vehaya im shamoa" — the opposite of Rashi. And according to the Rosh, precisely the opposite of Rabbeinu Tam: "Kadesh," "Vehaya ki yeviacha," then "Vehaya im shamoa" (since the "Havayos are in the middle"), and the rightmost is "Shema." These are the four arrangements in the tefillin shel rosh.
Regarding the tefillin of the hand, there is a difference in this matter only between Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam. In the tefillin of the hand the concept of "to the right of the reader" or "to the left of the reader" does not actually apply, since the parshiyos are on a single scroll rolled up inside the bayis. According to Rashi they are written in their proper order — not merely that they were written in order, for according to Rabbeinu Tam too they must be written in order, but that according to Rashi they lie within the scroll literally in the sequence "Kadesh," "Vehayah ki yeviacha," "Shema," "Vehayah im shamoa." Whereas if we were to open the tefillin of the hand of Rabbeinu Tam, we would see before us "Kadesh," "Vehayah ki yeviacha," and afterward "Vehayah im shamoa" and after that "Shema" — except that in practice they wrote "Shema" in its proper order (before "Vehayah im shamoa"), left a space, and went back.
However, regarding Shimusha Rabba and the Rosh, there is no difference in the tefillin shel yad: Shimusha Rabba, which is the reverse of Rashi in the tefillin shel rosh, is in the shel yad exactly like Rashi; and the Rosh, which is the reverse of Rabbeinu Tam in the shel rosh, is in the shel yad exactly like Rabbeinu Tam. Based on this, the four opinions emerge, and as we said at the outset, the prevailing view — the tefillin with which one fulfills the obligation and upon which one recites the blessing — is the tefillin of Rashi.
Regarding tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam, this was the custom in Chabad for many years, until 5736: only after the wedding, or when the young men reached the age of eighteen, would they begin to put on tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam. In many instances people would ask the Rebbe whether they should put on Rabbeinu Tam, and at times the Rebbe would give his approval immediately, while at other times he would tell the mashpia to let them decide whether they wished to do so. This changed on Purim of 5736, when the Rebbe spoke publicly and requested that everyone reaching the age of bar mitzvah begin to put on tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam. And so indeed has been the practice in Chabad ever since, that every bar mitzvah boy puts on Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam.
Regarding Shimusha Rabba and Rosh, this remained as the Rebbe himself related immediately following the passing, during the days of shiva for the Rebbe Rayatz. The Rebbe recounted (as appears in Likkutei Sichos) that he knew our Rebbeim, the Nesi'im, laid four pairs, and that the sons of the Tzemach Tzedek laid four pairs. The Rebbe notes that there were great chassidim who laid four pairs, but concerning himself he said that he was afraid to enter into this matter, until the Rebbe Rayatz called him and told him: "I request that you lay four pairs of tefillin, I will purchase them for you, and let it remain discreet." And when the Rebbe printed the Hayom Yom, he asked the Rebbe Rayatz's permission to publish the saying before us, "Those who pray with four pairs of tefillin do so in the following manner."
And what is the order with them? "a) One puts on the tefillin shel yad and tefillin shel rosh of Rashi [for Rashi has one for the head and one for the hand] before reciting the passage "Eizehu," and prays with them until after "Ach tzaddikim etc."," that is, until the conclusion of "Aleinu," "Al tira" and "Ach tzaddikim." Here we have finished with the tefillin of Rashi.
Now, those who don layer the four pairs do not yet move on to Rabbeinu Tam. Rather, they first take the one that parallels Rashi — the one that disputes him — namely Shimusha Rabba, whose approach differs regarding the shel rosh but with respect to the shel yad is like Rashi. Therefore one now reaches the stage where the tefillin shel rosh of Rashi are removed, the shel yad remains in place, and the shel rosh of Shimusha Rabba is put on. b) "One removes the tefillin shel rosh of Rashi, and dons — without a berachah — the tefillin shel rosh of Shimusha Rabba".
And what does one do now, when the shel rosh remains the Shimusha Rabba and the shel yad remains as it was? "And one recites Shema etc. until "emet"" — one reads the entire portion of "Shema Yisrael," for with tefillin one must first read "Shema Yisrael." And what does one add? "And one recites the Psalms as they are divided according to the days of the month" — one says the daily portion of Tehillim. "And those who are meticulous" — who wish to do more — "would study them with the commentary of Rashi and Metzudos," they would study the Psalms with Rashi and Metzudos every day, the entire portion of Tehillim.
Now we have finished the tefillin shel rosh of Shimusha Rabba, and in effect we have finished with Rashi as well, and we remove both of them. c) We move to the stage of Rabbeinu Tam: "c) Afterward one dons the tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam without a blessing" — shel rosh and shel yad together. What does one do with them? "and one recites "Shema" etc. until "emes"" — the passage of "Shema Yisrael" — and the "passage of "Kadesh" etc.", "Kadesh li kol bechor", "and the zechiros that were printed in the Siddur" — the six zechiros that the Alter Rebbe printed in the Siddur after "Kadesh". And what else do those who don the four pairs do? While still wearing Rabbeinu Tam, "one studies a chapter of Mishnayos, each according to his understanding", or — as it is written here — two sedarim, each according to the order that he is studying.
Now one arrives at the tefillin of Rosh, and again only the shel rosh, while the shel yad remains as Rabbeinu Tam. "d) One removes the shel rosh of Rabbeinu Tam, and puts on the shel rosh of the Rosh without a blessing". And now there is a new set: shel yad of Rabbeinu Tam and shel rosh of the Rosh. "And one reads "Shema" etc. until "emes"" — like the reading of Shema with tefillin. And what is added to say? "And one studies a parshah of Chumash with the commentary of Rashi from the weekly parshah" — following the order of the daily Chumash familiar to us in Chabad: "Day 1 the first parshah, day 2 the second parshah, etc." — one studies it with Rabbeinu Tam of the yad and the Rosh of the head. This is the order for those who put on the four pairs, and precisely what one does with them.