The two hundred and forty-sixth "room" in the palace of Hayom Yom.
Shabbos, 28 Tammuz 5703.
This Shabbat is the Shabbat Mevorchim of the month of Av, and the Rebbe notes in the Hayom Yom, on Shabbat Mevorchim, the matter and the customs practiced on this day. First, the Rebbe writes in the heading "We bless Rosh Chodesh Menachem Av. Recital of the entire Tehillim early in the morning," as instituted by the previous Rebbe; and in addition "a day of farbrengen."
The Rebbe adds another note here regarding the haftarah recited on this Shabbat. One should note that this is the second of the three Shabbatot of the "telata depuranuta" (the three [haftarot] of admonition) of Bein HaMetzarim; and on these three weeks, each week we recite a haftarah appropriate to the period. Let us examine the wording: "The haftarah [begins] Shim'u — until Elokecha Yehudah; Im tashuv — until uvo yit'halal." The haftarah on this Shabbat is in chapter 2 of Yirmiyahu, beginning from verse 4, from the words "Shim'u devar Hashem," until the end of the chapter, which concludes with the words "ki mispar arecha hayu Elokecha Yehudah."
After concluding the second chapter, one adds more, and this depends on various customs. According to the Ashkenazic custom, one adds a single very short verse — verse 4 of chapter 3. And according to the Sephardic custom, as is also the practice in Chabad, one adds two verses from chapter 3; and the Rebbe notes here what they are: "Im tashuv" — the verse with which one begins, "Im tashuv Yisrael," and the conclusion with the words "uvo yis'hallel." This is merely a note as to what the haftarah is, according to our custom, on this Shabbos.
Shiurim: Chumash, Mattos-Masei, Shevi'i, with the commentary of Rashi, for it is Shabbos.
Tehillim: on the 28th of the month, one recites from chapter 135 through chapter 139, inclusive.
Tanya: On this day one studies all of chapter 8 of Iggeret HaTeshuvah, from the beginning of the chapter with the word "vehineh," and the chapter concludes with the word "lamalkah, etc."
The daily saying is taken from a letter that the previous Rebbe wrote on the eve of Pesach of 5702. The letter was written to the director of Agudas Chabad in Chicago, Rabbi Moshe Leib Rodstein. The Rebbe Rayatz asks him to arrange that the students — the sons of R' Sholom Posner, whose name is mentioned in the letter — should review Chassidus in the shuls of Anash, and explains to him the great importance of "reviewing Chassidus" in public.
In a letter the Rebbe explains that when a person engages in the avodah of birurim — in fulfilling Torah and mitzvos — he refines the world and uses the objects of the world for kedushah. Every use of worldly matters for kedushah draws down Elokus into the world and refines it, but the divine light drawn as a result of the avodah of birurim is a lower light; the physical thing is what drew down the light, and the world is refined, but this is a lower light. And there is a divine light far more sublime — called "zechus," a lofty divine merit drawn into the world. And what is the vessel that draws down this exalted zechus? Maamarim of Chassidus. When one recites a maamar of Chassidus, one draws down into the world a sublime divine light, and purifies the atmosphere of the world.
After this introduction, the Rebbe brings the list that appears in the daily saying. "Each one of our Rebbeim, our Nesi'im, had fixed maamarim." In addition to the maamarei Chassidus that they said on Shabbatot, on festivals, and on Rashei Chodashim — each time in accordance with the time in which they stood — they also had fixed maamarim. The purpose of saying them was "specifically for this (to purify the atmosphere of the world)," to draw down divine light so that the atmosphere of the world would be more pure.
And what is the meaning that these were "fixed" maamarim? "Which every two or three years they would repeat publicly" — that once every two or three years they would repeat them publicly — the very same maamar exactly, without any additional novelty or different emphasis — and the purpose of their delivery was to purify the atmosphere of the world. Each of the nesi'im had a different maamar, through which he continued to purify the world in his generation. And here the Previous Rebbe specifies, from the Alter Rebbe until the Rebbe Rashab — until his father — what the maamar of each and every one was.
And thus he writes: "one of the maamarim of Rabbeinu HaZaken" — the Alter Rebbe had several such maamarim, and one of them, which he would repeat for this purpose, is "Hechaltzu which is in Likkutei Torah without the annotations." In the sefer Likkutei Torah, in Parashas Matos, there is a maamar with the dibbur hamaschil "Hechaltzu" (be armed), and in it there are annotations in parentheses that the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek added; but the original maamar, without the annotations, is that of the Alter Rebbe, and this he would repeat once every two or three years for this purpose.
"One of the maamarim of the Mitteler Rebbe" — the Mitteler Rebbe too had several such maamarim which he said for this purpose, and one of them is "the dibbur hamaschil Yofoh Sha'ah Achas" ("One hour is better"). For many years this maamar existed only in manuscript and was not printed, and only in 5739 was it first printed from a manuscript in a booklet. "And its content is the first ten chapters of the dibbur hamaschil Hinei Kol Echad Ve'echad Omer Elokai Neshamah in Derech Hachaim" ("Behold, each and every one says Elokai Neshamah"). The Mitteler Rebbe has a sefer called "Derech Chaim," which opens with the words "Hinei Kol Echad Ve'echad Omer Elokai Neshamah," and it contains many chapters; and the content of the first ten chapters is that of the dibbur hamaschil "Yofoh Sha'ah Achas," which the Mitteler Rebbe would repeat from time to time for the purpose of purifying the atmosphere.
And what was the maamar of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek? "One of the maamarim of the Tzemach Tzedek is the Mah Tovu in Likkutei Torah." In Likkutei Torah, in Parshas Balak, there is a maamar that opens with the words "Mah Tovu" — a maamar of the Alter Rebbe with hagahos of the Tzemach Tzedek — and this the Tzemach Tzedek would repeat once every two or three years for this purpose.
Regarding the Rebbe Maharash — "one of the maamarim of my grandfather." "Aazmu"r" is the acronym for "adoni avi zkeini mori verabi" (my master, my father, my grandfather, my teacher and my Rebbe), and the intention here is to the Rebbe Maharash. One of his maamarim that he would review for this purpose is "Mi Chamocha Ba'eilim," and it is its "dibbur hamaschil"; its content deals with the subject of the oneness of Hashem, "ein od milvado."
He concludes with one of the maamarim of the Rebbe Rashab: "one of the maamarim of my master, my father, my teacher, and my Rebbe" — the father of the previous Rebbe — namely "Veyadaʿta Hayom," the dibbur-hamaschil "Veyadaʿta Hayom, Moscow 5657" (And you shall know this day, Moscow 5657), a very famous maamar that he delivered in Moscow in the year 5657. Its content deals with the matter of "Havayah Hu HaElokim," the avodah of trials, and it was also printed as a separate booklet and, of course, in Sefer HaMaamarim 5657. These are the maamarim that our Rebbeim, our leaders, delivered for this purpose.
Over the years — for example, on Shabbat Mevarchim of the month of Menachem Av in 5739 — the Rebbe addressed at length and explained why the Alter Rebbe specifically chose the maamar "Hechaltzu" for the matter of the refinement of the world, and he explained the content of the maamar for this purpose. The note here concludes with a maamar of the Rebbe Rashab.
Understandably, when we read this saying the question arises as to what happened next — what was the maamar that the Rebbe Rayatz would repeat, and what was the maamar that the Rebbe would say. This is not entirely clear. Regarding the Rebbe Rayatz, it is not clear to which maamar the reference is. And regarding the Rebbe, many chassidim say that apparently the reference is to the maamar "Basi Legani," which the Rebbe would say every year — and especially the beginning of "Basi Legani," whose content repeats itself — and some say that the reference is to the maamar that the Rebbe said for the purity of the air; but this is only a conjecture, and not something that was stated explicitly.