Room one hundred and ninety in the hall of Hayom Yom.
Shabbat, 2 Sivan, 46th day of the Omer, 5703.
Shiurim: Chumash for Shabbat, the final day of Parshat Bamidbar - Bamidbar, Shvi'i, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, as divided in the synagogue, from chapter 10 to chapter 17 inclusive.
Tanya, on this day we conclude chapter 52. The shiur begins on page 73 with the word "uviyridatah" until the end of the chapter with the words "b'shem Shechinah".
The teaching is divided into two parts: a directive regarding the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer, and the teaching itself. We will begin with the directive: "Ana B'choach of Kabbalat Shabbat is said quietly". It is known that before "Lecha Dodi", after the conclusion of the Mizmorim, following "Mizmor L'David", the recitation of "Ana B'choach" appears in the siddur. Our custom is to say this passage quietly.
What is the reason for this? In the sefer Ketzot Hashulchan by Rabbi Chaim Naeh, it is also brought that the custom is to say it quietly, but he notes that he did not find a reason for it and does not know its cause. He only adds that the only thing clear to be said quietly according to halachah is the conclusion - after "Ana B'choach", when saying "Baruch shem kevod malchuto l'olam va'ed", it is clearly said quietly according to halachah; but regarding the entire passage, he does not know.
In the Alter Rebbe's siddur Torah Or, edited by Rabbi Raskin of England, he writes his own theory as an explanation for why we say it quietly: there is a mediation and compromise here between the writings of the Arizal and the siddurim based on the Arizal. In the writings of the Arizal, it is not written to say "Ana B'choach", but rather that during the recitation of the preceding psalm, "Mizmor L'David", one should have intention in seven sections corresponding to the seven lines of "Ana B'choach" - to intend only, and not to say. Conversely, in the siddurim based on the Arizal, it is written that one should indeed say "Ana B'choach". Therefore, the compromise seems to be to say it quietly; this is the reason it is said quietly.
The next section: "'Ufros aleinu etc.' - during Kabbalat Shabbat - is said standing". "Ufros aleinu" - this refers to the conclusion of the second blessing of the Shema before the Shemoneh Esrei. From the words "Ufros aleinu", one stands until the end of the blessing, and naturally remains standing for the Amidah prayer. The reason for this is also kabbalistic: it is written in the writings of the Arizal that in order to receive the addition - the extra soul that enters on Shabbat - one must say this section standing.
These are the directives. We can see how precise every word is here: regarding "Ana B'choach", it says "Ana B'choach d'Kabbalat Shabbat" with a dalet ("of"), whereas regarding "Ufros aleinu" it says "Ufros aleinu b'Kabbalat Shabbat" with a bet ("in/during"). This is also precise, because Kabbalat Shabbat begins with "Lecha Dodi", while "Ana B'choach" is before that, whereas "Ufros aleinu" is already inside Kabbalat Shabbat - right in the blessings of Shema before the Shemoneh Esrei. Therefore, for "Ana B'choach", which is still prior to the start of Kabbalat Shabbat, it says "Ana B'choach d'Kabbalat Shabbat", meaning associated with Kabbalat Shabbat; whereas for "Ufros aleinu", which is already inside the matter, it says "b'Kabbalat Shabbat". Even every single letter here is precise in its expression.
The teaching itself refers to the sequence of the delivery of several maamarim by the Tzemach Tzedek, on Erev Shavuot and during the days of the festival of Shavuot in the year 5589. The source for this entire section is a letter written by the Rebbe Rayatz, and the heading says "To one of his sons-in-law" - most likely simply a letter he wrote to the Rebbe - which deals entirely with the historical order of those who would review the maamarim for our Rebbeim: by the Alter Rebbe, by the Mitteler Rebbe, and the Rebbe Rayatz himself.
These matters were later published as an independent booklet in the year 5766, titled "Divrei Yemei Hachozrim", which contains the entire overview: what a "chozer" even is, when, how it occurred, how it developed, etc. It describes there that by the Tzemach Tzedek, it became difficult for the chozrim to review and remember the maamarim, compared to how it had been previously. What was the difficulty? The Tzemach Tzedek, when delivering the maamarim - as is also seen in his written maamarim, and apparently it was so in his oral delivery as well - would weave into the maamarim many verses and commentaries on the verses, teachings of Chazal, and statements of the Zohar; he literally integrated everything into the maamar. And the chozrim were not accustomed to and proficient in the study of Tanach and the commentaries on the verses, and they did not know all the statements of the Zohar. Because upon hearing the maamar, they had to both understand the quotes and remember them in their proper order, and this made it very difficult for them.
Until at a certain stage, mentioned as being in the year 5589, a chassid arrived whose name was Rabbi Nachum of Starodub. He was a great expert and scholar in verses and commentaries and in the teachings of Chazal, and naturally possessed great proficiency in all of this, so when he heard the maamarim of the Tzemach Tzedek, he absorbed them perfectly - there is an interesting expression there, that it "caught in him like a sponge", meaning it was absorbed by him very strongly - and he understood the matter very well. He was the only one who knew how to review it, and from then on it breathed a spirit of life into all the chassidim, that there was someone who could review the maamarim; and there is a long and interesting description of this there.
Within this description, there is a reference to those maamarim that the Tzemach Tzedek delivered in that year, in the year 5589 - what he said on Erev Shavuot, what he said on the first day of Shavuot, and what on the second day. Let us read the text. "In the year 5589, Shabbat Parshat Bamidbar fell on 5 Sivan", and the festival of Shavuot was on Sunday; thus, 5 Sivan, Erev Shavuot, fell on Shabbat. In that year, the Tzemach Tzedek began to deliver maamarim connected to the festival of Shavuot already from Friday.
And so it states: "Before the lighting of the Shabbat candles, the Tzemach Tzedek delivered the maamar 'S'u et rosh etc. avotam'. - The explanation of 'S'u' is like the commentary of the Ibn Ezra regarding 'Ki tisa'", meaning on Friday, 4 Sivan, before candle lighting, the Tzemach Tzedek delivered a maamar whose dibbur hamatchil was on the words "S'u et rosh". What is "S'u et rosh"? He cited it according to the commentary of Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra. According to the commentary of the Ibn Ezra - the words "s'u et rosh" are similar to "ki tisa et rosh" in Parshat Ki Tisa in the book of Shemot (here it refers to a verse from the book of Bamidbar, but the foundation of the Ibn Ezra's explanation is from "ki tisa et rosh" in Parshat Ki Tisa) - the Tzemach Tzedek explained the words "S'u et rosh" in Bamidbar.
What does the Ibn Ezra explain? Very briefly, in three or four lines: what we see with people who conduct a census and count people - there is a long list of names, name after name, but in the heading they always place the total number of everyone, which is the number that includes all the particulars, and only afterward do they get to the itemized list. He brings another example - from Pharaoh, and the chief butler: the chief butler had many assistants, but always when they mentioned him, they mentioned the chief butler who was the head, and beneath him were the assistants; and so it is with everything. Based on this approach, that there is a main point and after it come the particulars, it is called "S'u et rosh" (literally, "lift the head") - "s'u", meaning count the head, who is at the head, the center that encompasses all the particulars that follow.
Based on this, the Tzemach Tzedek explained the concept of "S'u et rosh" according to the inner dimension of matters, and this is the explanation of the matter: "And the explanation of the matter is that through the avodah of the illumination of the soul within the body, an elevation is brought about in the head and the essence of the soul as it is Above". Meaning, in the soul as well, there are these same two parts: there is the main part of the soul, which remains Above - so to speak, the head, the title; and there are the particulars - the parts of the illumination of the soul that descended below into the body. When the soul descended into the body, and the Jew serves G-d with the illumination that is in the body, on the surface this is a descent, because the part of the soul that is Above is much loftier, and its descent below is a descent for it; but we say it is a descent for the sake of an ascent - specifically through the avodah in the particulars below, "s'u et rosh", an elevation is achieved in the head of the soul Above. And he explained several verses and statements of the Zohar and Midrash.
In that maamar, the Tzemach Tzedek integrated, as mentioned above, verses and statements of the Zohar, and explained based on this foundation. This is a description of what the Tzemach Tzedek said on Erev Shabbat Parshat Bamidbar in that year, 5589. Now he continues: what he said on Shabbat, which was Erev Shavuot; what he said on the first day of Shavuot, and what on the second day.
And so it states: "On Shabbat afternoon, our Rebbe delivered the discourse 'V'erastich li l'olam' and its explanation, which were printed in Likkutei Torah". When one opens Likkutei Torah today on Parshat Bamidbar, on page 8 in the second column begins a maamar with the words "V'erastich li l'olam", and after it is another maamar which is an explanation on "V'erastich li l'olam". These are the two segments that the Tzemach Tzedek delivered on that Shabbat afternoon, on Erev Shavuot.
"On the first day of the festival of Shavuot, our Rebbe delivered the discourse 'Us'fartem lachem' and its explanation, which were printed in Likkutei Torah" - he delivered the maamar "Us'fartem", which is the continuation in Likkutei Torah, also printed today in Likkutei Torah, and the second explanation on the matter of "tisperu chamishim yom" appended in Likkutei Torah. These matters are found in Parshat Bamidbar in Likkutei Torah, on page 12.
"On the second day of the festival of Shavuot, at the Yom Tov meal, our Rebbe delivered the discourse 'V'hachochma me'ayin timatze', and it is the second 'explanation' on the matter of 'tisperu chamishim yom' printed in 'Likkutei Torah'". The Rebbe notes regarding this, that in practice, when one looks in Likkutei Torah at the third maamar, "V'hachochma me'ayin timatze", Likkutei Torah does not have the opening, the dibbur hamatchil "V'hachochma me'ayin timatze"; in Likkutei Torah it is written in the heading only that this is an explanation on the verse "tisperu chamishim yom". But the Rebbe says that it is likely apparent that the opening and the dibbur hamatchil was "V'hachochma me'ayin timatze", even though in practice this opening was not included in Likkutei Torah.
And in the year 5738 - which had the same calendar configuration for the festival of Shavuot, where 6 Sivan fell on Sunday, and consequently Shabbat Bamidbar was on 5 Sivan as here - the Rebbe said that these days are "remembered and enacted", and therefore one must experience all that is recounted here, and every time there is such a configuration, one must review all the matters and study the maamar at those same times just as the Tzemach Tzedek delivered it. And then the Rebbe delivered a maamar whose dibbur hamatchil was "V'hachochma me'ayin timatze", based on that same maamar that the Tzemach Tzedek delivered here. The Rebbe chose to deliver the maamar that corresponded to the date, the day, and also the fact that it was on the eve of the festival of Shavuot.