The three hundred fifty-ninth "cheder" in the palace of Hayom Yom.
Sunday, 23 Cheshvan, 5704.
Shiurim: Chumash, Toldos, first parshah with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, on the 23rd of the month, one says from chapter 108 through chapter 112 inclusive.
Tanya, on this day one learns all of Iggeres 30. The letter begins with the word "muda'as", and concludes with the words "u'mispar v'dai lameivin".
The source of the daily saying is a sichah that the Rebbe Rayatz said on Shabbos parshas Vayishlach 5701. The story appears at length in a well known reshimah written by the Rebbe Rayatz, called "Admur HaTzemach Tzedek and the Haskalah Movement".
Let me give some background: in the time of the Admur HaTzemach Tzedek, the third Rebbe, there were Jews who belonged to the Haskalah movement, who very much wanted "progress" and secular studies, and to uproot the sacred studies. They tried to interfere in Jewish education, and caused the government, in all sorts of ways, to make changes and to impose changes upon Jewish education.
As a result of their lobbying and their pressure the government responded, except that it did not want to do so arbitrarily, and therefore it convened a rabbinical conference in Petersburg, so that all the matters would be discussed there. They thought that the conference would be no more than a "rubber stamp" - they would give the directives, the rabbanim would sign, and then they would set out and the entire educational system would be changed.
Who was at the rabbinical conference? Four rabbanim: the Admur HaTzemach Tzedek, representing the chassidim; Rabbi Yitzchak son of Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, representing the misnagdim; the wealthy Rabbi Yisrael Halperin, on behalf of the merchants; and Betzalel Stern, on behalf of the scholars.
They sat together and deliberated, and of course there was an inclination to agree to the changes. And the one who fought with all his might that they not interfere at all in Jewish education and in the textbooks, and that everything remain authentic as it ought to be - was the Admur HaTzemach Tzedek.
The government ministers who took part there thought that the rabbanim would simply agree, and here the Rebbe stood against them. Therefore they threatened him, and not only that, they even put him in prison from time to time - once for a day, once for two days, once for three days - in order to get him to change his outlook and his decisions.
Of course it did not help them, and it caused the assembly, which was supposed to be short, to last nine weeks, of which the Rebbe spent six weeks in prison. That is, most of the time they held him under arrest, and only three weeks of it were spent in deliberations; each time they arrested him again and again, but nothing helped them, and in the end he prevailed.
The saying makes reference to this story, and it relates here a discussion that took place between the Admur HaTzemach Tzedek and one of the ministers at that conference. Everything is written in Yiddish, and it was translated.
"Twenty two times they arrested the "Tzemach Tzedek" at the rabbinical assembly in Petersburg" - and when was this? In the year "5603".
And what was the reason they arrested him? "Because of his standing against the demand of the government regarding changes in education, etc." - since he stood firmly against the government's demand to make changes in education, they arrested him twenty two times.
Here it relates what took place in one of the conversations there. "The minister asked him", the Rebbe - he wanted to persuade him that according to religion and Torah he must agree to the government's words. It is related at length that he said to him: it is written in your Torah, in the Gemara, a concept called "dina d'malchusa dina" - whatever the monarchy rules must be accepted; and if so, now that the monarchy rules - you must accept it. The Admur HaTzemach Tzedek answered him that he does not understand these words: as long as it concerns the area of taxes or an economic matter that the state rules upon, indeed one must listen to the ruling of the state, even if it is a state of gentiles; but with regard to anything touching the religion of Israel, one must not take the laws of the state into account at all, and there is no one who can change anything against the Torah.
And here there is a slightly different quotation, among the things they discussed, "the minister asked" the Admur HaTzemach Tzedek: "But this is rebellion against the monarchy" - in other words: if you rebel against the king, you are liable to cause them to kill you, you are taking your own life and entering into mortal danger, for the Russian government can kill you.
"The Tzemach Tzedek answered him", the minister: "One who rebels against the monarchy is liable to death of the body, but one who rebels against the Kingdom of Heaven is liable to death of the soul - which then outweighs the other?" - true, one who rebels against the monarchy is liable to death, they will kill his body; but one who rebels against the Kingdom of Heaven, his soul is cut off, chas v'shalom. Which is worse? With you I get into trouble with the body, but toward the Holy One, blessed be He, it is a matter of the soul, which is far more severe.
Another interesting expression in this context, which does not appear here: not only did the minister come with a complaint to the Rebbe, but even the representative of the misnagdim whom we mentioned, Rabbi Yitzchak son of Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, who was there, came with a complaint to the Rebbe and told him that according to Torah he must yield. Why? Because there is a concept of a person who takes his own life; and in your case, that you are going against the government, this is a kind of suicide, and if they kill you, you will lose your World to Come, for "one who takes his own life has no portion in the World to Come" - and if so, how can you do this?
The Admur HaTzemach Tzedek answered him: if Jews will not have This World - what do I care about the World to Come of the Holy One, blessed be He? I am concerned that Jews should have This World, that they should be able to live here as Jews; that is more important to me than the World to Come of the Holy One, blessed be He. That is how he answered him. All of this shows that same firmness and strength, that under no circumstances would he agree to change anything regarding the education of Israel and the religion of Israel, in full measure.