Room two hundred and four in the hall of Hayom Yom.
Shabbos, 16 Sivan 5703.
Shiurim: Chumash, Behaaloscha, Shvii (the last day of Shabbos) with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, 16th of the month, from chapter 79 to and including chapter 82.
Tanya, on this day a complete chapter is studied - chapter 5 in Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, from its beginning to its end.
The daily teaching is taken from a letter written by the Rebbe Rayatz on 22 Sivan 5698. The letter comes as a response to a question asked by a chossid, how he could transform the boiling of his nefesh habehamis - which boils in all sorts of directions: sometimes in anger, sometimes in desires, and sometimes in other matters - to good. In the letter there is a lengthy answer, and the Rebbe takes several points from it and summarizes them in the daily teaching.
The Rebbe Rayatz opens and says: "The Rishonim, who were like angels, whose merit should protect us, have already determined". The expression "Rishonim like angels" is based on the Gemara in tractate Shabbos (112), where Rabbi Zeira states in a famous expression, that if the earlier generations were the children of angels - we are the children of men, and if the earlier generations were the children of men - we are like donkeys, etc. Based on Rabbi Zeira's first statement, that the earlier generations were like the children of angels, comes the wording: "The Rishonim, who were like angels, have already determined".
And what did the Rishonim determine? "That the healing of the soul is like the healing of the body". When one asks how to heal the problem in the soul - and after all, we are speaking of the boiling of the nefesh habehamis, which is an illness in the soul - the answer is that the matter is similar to the healing of the body. And then the Rebbe Rayatz details in matters of medicine what needs to be done.
In the letter, the Rebbe Rayatz speaks first about the analogy, about the body, when one wants to heal a physical problem. There are several points here that must be noted: first, one must pinpoint in which exact organ the illness is located; after knowing where it hurts, one must know where it comes from - from the kidneys, from the intestines, and the like; afterward, one must clarify whether the problem is in the organ itself or in the soul power that stimulates the organ - whether a targeted strengthening in the organ is needed or a targeted strengthening in the soul power.
A third point: sometimes this is not a problem in the organ or in the soul, but a problem of bad habits or improper conduct - and when one returns to good habits, it turns out that the matter is resolved. First, one must pinpoint well what the root of the problem is, because once it is pinpointed it is easier to begin seeing how to solve it.
Exactly the same applies to the healing of the soul. The Rebbe Rayatz details: "First of all, one must identify the location of the illness". "To identify the location of the illness" does not mean the physical location of the illness, but the point that causes the illness. In the soul, too, the same three things exist: The first thing is "whether it is because the matter of his body is coarse, gross and corrupt" - it is possible that the problem is in the matter of his body, that his body is coarse and therefore he is drawn to gross and corrupt matters; the problem is in the low, external, physical matters.
A second possibility: "or that the deficiency is in his soul powers" - that there is a problem in the spiritual inclination, "that it has inclinations toward bad matters such as arrogance, falsehood and the like", and then the problem is in the soul. And a third reason: "or that the source of the illness is in habit" - that the illness is a matter of habits, "that because of bad education or a bad environment he has come to bad habits"; his physical inclination is fine and his soul is fine, but he is accustomed, and is not even aware of it, that due to education or the environment he has come to a bad habit - the education was not good or the environment dragged him along. Therefore, one must first pinpoint what exactly the cause of the problem is.
But even before pinpointing the cause of the problem, there is a general point - just as in the healing of the body, while we are still in the process of clarification after tests until it becomes clear exactly what the problem is, in the meantime one begins to eat well, sleep, and rest properly; although these behaviors do not cure the problem, they assist in the overall healing until it is pinpointed.
So too, before pinpointing exactly what the problem in the soul is, there are general matters that a person must engage in, which assist in healing the problem. Indeed, "until the details of the location of the illness and the cause of the onset of the disease are clarified, it is impossible to begin its cure", because the cause is not yet known. But what can be done in the meantime? "Only to arrange a proper mode of conduct in all matters" - to give him general guidelines and good behaviors, which are certainly an important thing even before pinpointing and finding a solution to the problem.
That is, "in what he should do and what he should refrain from" - he must be urged and encouraged, what to do and what to avoid: "in 'doing good' by fulfilling the mitzvos, establishing fixed times for Torah study, acquiring good character traits" - what he must do in positive matters: fulfill mitzvos, set fixed times for Torah study, and acquire good character traits; and at the same time, "and in turning away from evil" - that he should begin to refrain from bad matters. And afterward, they will also find the specific solution for the particular problematic trait or characteristic.
Now the Rebbe adds, after all the elaboration, that all these are instructions for the doctor or the guide; but there is something that the patient himself is supposed to awaken within his soul - two basic things that must be in his inner consciousness, and without them it will be very difficult to cure him. He says: "However, what is most necessary is that the patient awaken within himself two matters" - a person who has problems needs to awaken within himself two very important things.
What are they? "a) To know that he is ill, and he should yearn and long to be healed from his illness" - he must have an awareness that he has a problem and a desire to remove it; for if he thinks everything is fine, he will certainly not search at all and will not want to change anything in his life. If this point is lacking, there is no one at all to move forward with.
And after he has this point, there is an additional thing no less important: "b) The knowledge that he can be healed, and the hope and complete trust that with Hashem's help he will be healed of his illness". Because if a person knows he is ill but is in despair - again there is no one to talk to, for he gives up. After he is aware of the problem, he must have the knowledge that he can solve it and be healed - complete trust in Hashem and absolute hope that he will certainly be healed from his illness. If he has these two points - the awareness of the problem and the trust that he will be able to remove it - it is possible to get on track, to give him organized general guidelines and specific points that will treat the problem.
The connection of the teaching to the matters of the Rambam, which we discuss according to their order. We are now in the teachings that correspond to Sefer Taharah in the Rambam. Until now we have spoken about the first halachos - Hilchos Tumas Meis and Hilchos Parah Adumah - and now we are in Hilchos Tumas Tzaraas. At the conclusion of Hilchos Tumas Tzaraas, there is a relatively lengthy elaboration in the Rambam regarding the healing of the soul: he speaks about people who have habits of speaking lashon hara and mockery, and gives words of musar for proper conduct, how to learn from worthy and righteous people. There is therefore a lengthy reference there to the healing of the soul, and this relates to the fact that the teaching corresponds to those matters discussed in part at the end of Hilchos Tumas Tzaraas of the Rambam.