Room number two hundred forty-two in the palace of Hayom Yom.
Tuesday, 24 Tammuz 5703.
Shiurim: Chumash, Matos-Masei [combined parshiyos], Shlishi with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, on the 24th of the month, one recites from chapter 109 through chapter 118 inclusive.
Tanya: On this day we conclude chapter 6 in Iggeret HaTeshuvah. The lesson begins on page 96 with the words "V'hinei Yaakov" until the conclusion of chapter 6, "ne'emar etc."
The source of the daily saying is a sichah of the Rebbe Rayatz (the second day of Pesach, 5697). In the sichah, the Rebbe Rayatz relates a story about a chassid who turned to the tzaddik of Ruzhin and asked him for guidance on how to break the evil middos. The tzaddik of Ruzhin explained to him that the evil middos need not be broken; rather, one must work upon them to transform them to good, and this is accomplished through increasing in the study of Torah.
After the Rebbe Rayatz concludes the story, he adds that everything told until now is a matter of "chitzoniyus." That is, the story deals with a person who sought a "shortcut" to break the middos, which is "chitzoniyus." But in penimiyusdike avodah it is something else, a different path. And on this he proceeds to explain, in the saying before us in the Hayom Yom of this day:
"From the sayings of the "Tzemach Tzedek": A "penimi" is one for whom requesting a blessing [from the Rebbe] for success in 'avodah' is in the category of "let them not regard vain words," and the desirable approach is that "the work should be made heavier upon the men"":
This is what appears here at the beginning of the saying for this day, "from the sayings of the Tzemach Tzedek": "What is a penimi?" "Penimi" is one of the very well-known chassidic terms. The meaning of "penimi" is one who does what is incumbent upon him in the service of Hashem in a fundamental, genuine, and serious manner, and not the sort of person who merely seeks that things get done, so long as the bottom line turns out to be what he wants. Rather, one who works on things in a very, very fundamental and inner way. This is the term "penimi."
The Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek says: What is this "inner one"? "That you asked the Rebbe for a blessing for success in avodah," meaning to come to the Rebbe and ask "Give me a blessing that things should get done." The person thinks to himself, "I need to occupy myself with avodas Hashem, I need to work on myself, so, give me a blessing!"
The difference between blessing and avodah is drastic. A blessing comes from above to below; a person who asks "bless me" is essentially requesting that it be bestowed upon him from above, so that the thing will come to pass. The concept of "avodah" — serving Hashem — on the other hand, says the Rebbe, comes from below to above: you must work on yourself little by little. True, this is far more difficult, but it is an inner avodah in which there are no shortcuts.
And on this the Tzemach Tzedek says: who is called a pnimi? If one comes to ask for a blessing in matters of avodas Hashem, the matter resembles the words of the verse that Pharaoh said to Moshe and Aharon about the Jewish people, when he accused them of seeking to flee from the labor that he had imposed upon them. The verse says to them "al yish'u b'divrei shaker" (let them not pay heed to words of falsehood). Rashi there explains the words "divrei shaker" — "divrei ruach" (words of wind). What is meant by "divrei ruach"? Empty things, matters that are "not serious."
[Obviously, even though these are the words of Pharaoh to Moshe and Aharon regarding the Jewish people, once this is a verse that is part of the Torah, there is in it also a positive and eternal message. And the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek brings that in the service of Hashem this is indeed true:]
A person should not lean and rest upon "words of vanity," meaning to ask for a blessing that things should happen by themselves. Rather, as it is written in the continuation of the matter, that Pharaoh said that what needs to be is "let the work be heavy upon the men." That is, the work must be in a manner of "let the work be heavy" — it is indeed difficult, it is an exertion upon the men who labor. This means labor in the manner of "from below to above," where the person himself works. And not that he should come to ask for a blessing that things be accomplished from above in an easy and quick way. On the contrary, a person must work on himself from below, with inner effort. And this is what is called a "pnimi." This is the correct path in avodas Hashem, and this is the demand of the saying of the Tzemach Tzedek.