"Room" three hundred and seventy-nine in the palace of Day-by-Day.
Shabbos day, the 14th of Kislev, 5704 (1943).
Lessons: Chumash, Vayishlach, seventh aliyah with Rashi's commentary.
Psalms, on the 14th of the month, from chapter 72 through chapter 76 inclusive.
The Tanya continues today in the Kuntres Acharon. Today we study the sixth section, whose first part begins on page 316, in a new passage that opens with the words "David Zemiros," and concludes on page 320 with the words "b'eis tzoraso."
The daily saying first includes customs related to Birkat Hamazon (Grace after Meals), followed by a saying. Let us begin with the customs related to Birkat Hamazon. The first matter: "We recite Birkat Hamazon over a cup of blessing, even when there are not ten present." Regarding the cup of blessing, the Shulchan Aruch contains a range of opinions from one extreme to the other: there is an opinion that even an individual reciting the blessing by himself should recite it over a cup of blessing; there is a second opinion, that only with a zimun of three or ten does one recite it over a cup of blessing; and there is a third opinion, that even with ten present this is merely a preferred manner of performing the mitzvah and not an obligation at all. And here the Rebbe brings that our custom is that even when three form a zimun and there are not ten, we recite Birkat Hamazon over a cup of blessing.
The second point: "the cup on the palm of the hand with the fingers upright." This is what the Alter Rebbe writes in the Shulchan Aruch — that according to Kabbalah one should do it this way — that the cup should rest on the palm of the hand with the fingers standing upright at the sides around the cup.
The third custom: "One holds the cup from the recitation of 'Rabosai mir velen bentshen' until after the conclusion of the third blessing, at which point one sets it down on the table." It is known that the first three blessings of Birkat HaMazon are from the Torah, and from "Boneh b'rachamav Yerushalayim" onward — they are Rabbinic. And our custom is that upon the conclusion of the blessings that are from the Torah, one sets the cup down from one's hand, for this is the essential part of Birkat HaMazon. This concludes the three customs connected to Birkat HaMazon.
Now, there is also a saying whose source is a talk delivered by the Rebbe Rashab on the 19th of Kislev, 5674. The talk in its original form is very long and profound, and here the Rebbe brings summaries in brief points from it. The content of the saying comes to explain what a chassid is; but before arriving at the definition of the chassid, the Rebbe Rashab prefaces that prior to the chassid there are three stages, and after one reaches the chassid, the chassid himself is likewise divided into three parts. This is the content of the saying.
Let us begin with the first. "In one of his talks, my revered father and master [the Rebbe Maharash"b] explained" — the Rebbe Rayatz says this about his father — "and the content of his words," and as we see here too, this is not a direct quotation but the content of the points that were stated there. The four levels that will be discussed in this saying are: "there is the tzaddik, the yashar (upright one), the tamim (wholehearted one), and the chassid."
Let us begin with the first — "tzaddik." To what does the designation "tzaddik" refer? Let us read the wording: "on account of fulfilling the positive commandments, drawing down revelations of the order of hishtalshelus (the chained-down order of worlds)." A tzaddik is a Jew whose primary emphasis is on the active fulfillment of the positive commandments. Since the positive commandments are like "the limbs of the King," each mitzvah draws down a drawing-down into the world, and this drawing-down is accomplished through the person's service — you fulfill the mitzvah, you put on tefillin, you attach tzitzis. And since the drawing-down depends on you and comes about through your deeds, what kind of drawing-down is drawn down? A drawing-down called "of the order of hishtalshelus" — a limited drawing-down, for it comes through the power of the limited person. Therefore it is said that the tzaddik "draws down revelations of the order of hishtalshelus."
What is the higher level? The next level is "yashar" (upright). What is the meaning of the term "yashar"? "On account of the fulfillment of the negative commandments," about which it says "revelations above the order of hishtalshelus." "Yashar" is a person whose main emphasis is the perfection in observing the negative commandments. For what is the essence of a negative commandment? It is not that a person does something actively; rather, on the contrary — he is careful not to stumble. The divine drawing-down that a person's carefulness effects does not come as a result of his actions but as a result of his not spoiling anything; it is drawn down from above independent of the person's action. And since the matter does not depend on the person's action, the revelations that are drawn down are called, in his language here, "revelations above the order of hishtalshelus," and they are revelations that are far loftier.
In the original talk, the Rebbe Rashab distinguishes between the level of the tzaddik and the loftier level of the yashar (the upright one), and he offers an analogy: to what may this be compared? To a person who sows wheat or grain versus a person who plants a seed. The difference is that one who sows wheat or grain — what he sowed is exactly what will grow, precisely the same thing, and within a relatively short time. In contrast, one who plants a seed — he plants a seed that has no taste and no smell, and the goal is that fruits should grow from it; and until it grows it takes a long time — until the tree emerges, and at first leaves come out of it, and until fruits emerge and they are fit to eat — a much longer and more complex process, and it is a loftier aspect. The meaning of the difference: a tzaddik is like one who sows grain — something immediate and quick; whereas a yashar is a far loftier level, and the fact that it takes time shows that he is above the order of hishtalshelut (the chained-down progression of worlds) — it is not a quick process, since the world is not immediately a vessel for him, and therefore drawing him down into the world is a longer process. This is the analogy that he brings there in the talk.
He continues on to the third level, called "tamim." How is "tamim" translated into Yiddish? "Ernstkeit" — seriousness. What is this quality of seriousness? A Jew whose service of God is with very great seriousness, with complete and absolute devotion to the service of God. From his perspective there is no difference between positive commandments and negative commandments — he does what needs to be done with total devotion, since his service is not expressed in this or that particular action. Consequently the revelations he draws down are more sublime than both the positive commandments as a tzaddik and the negative commandments as a yashar, because for him the matter does not depend on a specific act but on the very essence of his devotion. Therefore his drawing-down is called "revelations wherein the taste of the tree and its fruit are equal."
What is meant by this? After all, a tree has no taste while a fruit has taste — these are entirely different modes of service; and one who lives according to the order and reason of the seder hishtalshelus relates to the tree in one way and to the fruit in another, each thing according to its own matter. This is the difference between one who relates to a positive commandment, which is one kind of movement, and one who relates to a negative commandment, which is something else. But a Jew whose service is "tamim" — "ernstkeit," seriousness — for him there is no difference between what he does; the main emphasis for him is what the Holy One, blessed be He, wants, and from his perspective the tree and the fruit are equal. This is like the well-known expression, "had we been commanded to chop wood," we would do it with the same intensity and vitality as putting on tefillin. This is the level of "tamim." In other words, he calls this "the joining together of sovev kol almin and memale kol almin": "sovev kol almin" is a negative commandment which is above hishtalshelus, and "memale kol almin" is a positive commandment which is within hishtalshelus; and by the tamim this is the joining of both extremes together, and he is above all the details and conditions.
Up to here are the introductions, before we arrive at the main point — the chassid. Now the Rebbe Rashab arrives at the fourth point and says: "Above them all — the chassid." The chassid is loftier than the tzaddik, the yashar (upright one), and the tamim (wholehearted one). And what is the definition of a chassid? "And there are in this three levels" — for the definition of the chassid himself, he proceeds through three stages from below to above.
The first stage: "a) that worldly matters do not disturb or confuse him". What is meant by this? We are speaking of a chassid who engages in worldly matters and is not detached from them — he works and does what needs to be done; yet as long as he is occupied with worldly matters because he must be, he is certainly invested in his actions. However, the moment he finishes, the moment he returns to himself, prays or studies — worldly matters do not interest him, and it is as though he has detached from them. His full awareness is devoted solely to holiness and Godliness, and he is not impressed by worldly matters nor does he pay them any attention.
And here the Rebbe adds in the talk, that we are speaking of a Jew for whom this movement does not come about through coercion — he does not have to struggle specifically with subjugation so that worldly matters will not interest him; for if this is for him a movement of the soul of subjugation, he is called "one who serves G-d," as it is written in Tanya chapter 15. Here we are speaking of a chassid who has already refined his body, and whose animal soul has vitality in G-dliness and desires this. This is the first, basic level of a chassid; and about this the Rebbe says, that "every single one can attain this, and every single one is obligated to attain this." This basic level is demanded of every chassid, and these are not abstract levels.
What is the next, higher level? "b) that all one's affairs are G-dliness". This is a lofty level, about which he no longer says, as he said before, that it pertains to everyone and that everyone is obligated to reach it. What does it mean that "all one's affairs are G-dliness"? A Jew whose natural faculties are entirely G-dliness, and all his engagement in worldly matters — not that when he is engaged in them he detaches from them only afterward, but rather that even during his engagement in worldly matters, everything is G-dliness. This is like that chassid, Reb Nochum Kletzker, who made a reckoning of his business, and it came out for him "there is nothing besides Him"; his business too is G-dliness. This is a higher level.
To whom does this level belong? On this he says: "And even though 'it is not far from you etc.'" — this is not something inaccessible and abstract, nor is it the portion of exceptional individuals alone; the matter can reach even a more ordinary person. Yet "nevertheless this does not pertain to every single person," and not everyone is required to attain this level, for it is truly a more abstract ascent than the previous level.
He concludes with the third level within the chassid, the one discussed in Tanya chapter 10 — these are the few "bnei aliyah" (those who ascend). This is the aspect of a Jew who has no sense of self in anything at all, and does not even have a yearning to connect to G-dliness; he acts to realize the Divine light, without thinking of himself at all. Let us look at his wording here: "3) What is written in Tikunei Zohar" — the quotation he brings in Tanya chapter 10 — "Who is a chassid," meaning which level of chassid. The Tikunei Zohar speaks of the highest aspect within the chassid, "one who acts with kindness [mit'chassed] toward his Maker" — he does not act for the sake of his own desires, nor even those of his Divine soul, but rather acts with kindness and does with his Maker what the Holy One, blessed be He, wants. "With his Maker [kono]" as the wording of the Tikunei Zohar puts it — "with His nest [ken] that is his," that is, his source and foundation.
And as is "explained in the book of Beinonim," in Tanya chapter 10, what is the meaning of: "that this is to unite the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechina in the lower realms" — its entire purpose is to draw down Godliness into the world, without thinking of oneself at all, "and not merely to quench one's thirsty soul." He does not act only so that his soul and its thirst be quenched and stilled. This is the very highest level.
To conclude, the connection to the topics of the Rambam. We are now in the Book of Shoftim, in Hilchot Mamrim, and we have already spoken in a previous saying about Hilchot Mamrim. One could say that this saying too is connected to Hilchot Mamrim. Why? Because in Hilchot Mamrim, beginning from chapter six as I recall and onward, the laws of honoring father and mother appear, and honoring father and mother is precisely the third level, as it says in Tanya chapter ten, "כברא דאשתדל בתר אבוהי ואימיה" — like a son who exerts himself for his father and mother. This is the definition in the book of the Beinonim, to which he refers, where it is written that this is the exertion of a son toward his father and mother without any calculation. This matter is connected to the laws of honoring father and mother, which appear precisely in Hilchot Mamrim.