"Room" number three hundred sixty-eight in the palace of daily life.
Tuesday, 3rd of Kislev, 5704 (1943).
Lessons: Chumash, Vayeitzei, third reading, with the commentary of Rashi.
Psalms, on the 3rd of the month, one recites from chapter 18 through chapter 22 inclusive.
Tanya, we continue with "Kuntres Acharon." We are still in that same fourth section, in the final heading, and today we study the third part of it. The lesson begins on page 310 with the words "And behold, for the fulfillment," and ends on page 156 with the words "the back, etc."
The daily passage is from a letter written by the Rebbe Rayatz on the 5th of Tammuz 5695 — a letter he wrote to the Rebbe. The letter describes at length the way things proceeded during the month of Tishrei of the year 5648 at the home of the Rebbe Rashab. The Rebbe Rayatz, who was then a child of seven years and two months, describes how the order of the day unfolded, how the chassidim arrived, and how the farbrengens took place — a very lengthy account. The Rebbe Rayatz relates that he would always sit and listen to the conversations of the chassidim, and although he testifies about himself that he did not so much understand their words, being of such a young age, he was always present among them.
In one of the passages he describes how the Rebbe Rashab was sitting, and one of the chassidim recounted memories from the era of the Alter Rebbe and even from before then. Then the Rebbe Rashab spoke and said that he had heard from the chassid R' Yehoshua Ber of Brisk, who heard from R' Mordechai of Horodok, in the name of the elder chassidim — and this is the daily saying — "concerning the difference between the conduct of the Baal Shem Tov and the conduct of the Maggid." What is the difference between the way things were carried out in the time of the Baal Shem Tov and how he himself conducted himself, and what took place in the time of the Maggid.
These are two matters connected to one another. First, "because the Baal Shem Tov was engaged in various travels, while the Maggid sat in his home" — the Baal Shem Tov was engaged in various travels; he was always traveling from place to place and spreading the ideas of Chassidus in all the places he reached. The Maggid, by contrast, sat in his home, and the chassidim came to him. Why did this difference arise?
The Rebbe Rashab continues to explain, and in doing so also clarifies why matters were different in the case of the Maggid. He says that there was yet another difference between the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid: "Furthermore: in the days of the Maggid's leadership, the matter of Chassidus was already well-known even in distant places." In the time of the Baal Shem Tov, this was a new teaching, and therefore it was the Baal Shem Tov who traveled from place to place; but in the time of the Maggid, Chassidus was already renowned even in far-off places.
How did it become known? "Through the travels of the holy fellowship," for the disciples of the Baal Shem Tov were scattered in all sorts of places, and the matter reached many locales. "And many ordinary 'householders,' beinonim, became connected to the teachings of Chassidus and would travel to Mezritch" — since the matter had already become well known, many of the ordinary householders — regular people — became connected to the teachings of Chassidus, because they heard and encountered its ideas, which the holy fellowship had spread even to distant places; and they knew that the Rebbe, the Maggid, was in Mezritch, and therefore they would travel to Mezritch. It turns out that the Maggid himself did not travel; rather, on the contrary — everyone came to him.
It is interesting that in the talks the Rebbe delivered on Sukkot, concerning the Ushpizin, when he spoke about the comparison between the Maggid and Yitzchak Avinu — for both are Ushpizin of the second day of Sukkot — he dwelt on the point of similarity: about Yitzchak Avinu it is said that he was a "perfect offering" (olah temimah) and did not leave the Land of Israel, and even when he wished to leave, the Holy One, blessed be He, told him, "You shall not leave, you remain in the Land of Israel." And so too the Rebbe spoke of the Maggid, who was not like the Baal Shem Tov, who traveled to every place — like Avraham Avinu, who traveled to every place — but rather sat in his home in Mezritch, and, on the contrary, everyone came to him, to the Maggid.