The fourth "room" in the palace of daily life.
Tuesday, the 22nd of Kislev, 5703 (1943).
Lessons: Chumash, Vayeishev, third reading, with Rashi's commentary.
Psalms, the two chapters 106 and 107.
Tanya, the second half of the introduction of the Alter Rebbe, from the words "But those who know" until the conclusion "the Lord, etc., amen, may it be His will."
In the daily saying, the Rebbe arouses [us] regarding the enactment of reciting Tehillim, as it is divided according to the days of the month. Even before we read the wording of the saying — the Rebbe himself indicates its source: the saying is taken from the collection of Tehillim in the Siddur. At the end of the Siddur there appears a collection of letters and talks of the Rebbe Rayatz on the subject of Tehillim, and from it the Rebbe took the present saying.
As an introduction, we will read a letter from that same collection, written by the Rebbe Rayatz on the 15th of Sivan 5688 (1928) — exactly one year after his imprisonment (the imprisonment was on the 15th of Sivan 5687); a year later, in 5688, he was already in Riga. This is what he wrote in a brief letter: "At the beginning of the year 5687 I came with a request to the entire body of Anash [our fellow chassidim], may they live, that they establish in the synagogues, after the morning prayer, that in every minyan of worshippers they recite the daily portions of Tehillim — as divided among the days of the month — and to say Kaddish afterward, as is customary. And this request of mine stands in full force." That is to say, a year later he states that this request still stands in full force, to bring merit to the many.
He adds that it is fitting to do so in every synagogue, "for it is not a private matter pertaining specifically to the party of the chassidim, may they live" — this is not something relevant only to chassidim, but rather it is fitting for everyone. And in the merit of this, he notes, "they will be blessed from the source of blessings with every good thing, from soul to flesh."
Beneath this letter appears an excerpt from a diary written by one of the chassidim, Rabbi Eliyahu Althaus, recounting the year of the Rebbe Rayatz's imprisonment. He tells that from the beginning of the year 5687, a great fear prevailed over all those close to our Rebbe's house, to the house of our lives; and even the Rebbe Rayatz himself was in that same fear. For, as he heard from the mouth of the Rebbe Rayatz after his release from prison (from the third of Tammuz), the Rebbe said to him: Beforehand I was very worried — not about myself, but about the chassidim. And he concluded: Before I requested and commanded to recite Tehillim, it was very hard for me. That is to say, this request to recite Tehillim is what eased for him the entire matter of the imprisonment.
Later there also appears a small note that was found in the room of the Rebbe Rayatz after he was taken to prison, a note that he apparently wrote at the beginning of the year 5687. The note was written in Yiddish, and a portion of it reads: "Listen, chassidim and all the Jews who await Moshiach: Convey in my name to all the chassidim in the world, that I have commanded that in every synagogue the chassidim should recite, after the morning prayer every day — and also on Shabbat — Tehillim, according to the division for the days of the month, and if with a minyan — to say Kaddish afterward." And he adds that all people — including businessmen — who go to the synagogues and pray and study, the Holy One, blessed be He, will help them to have ample livelihood.
And he concludes in the note: "To the chassidim, say that I have commanded it, and to ordinary Jews, say that out of love of Israel and for the good of Israel I request of them that they fulfill this; and the Holy One, blessed be He, will help them with a year blessed spiritually and materially, and we will all merit the complete redemption through Moshiach." One sees to what extent the Rebbe Rayatz attributed immense importance to this enactment of reciting Tehillim.
In general, the division of Tehillim — it is not exactly known who divided it according to the days as we have it before us. There is a very ancient book from the era of the Rishonim, "Tzeidah LaDerech," written by Rabbi Menachem ben Zerach about seven or eight hundred years ago, in which he divides the Tehillim according to the days of the month — though not exactly according to the division we have today, yet already with him one finds an instruction for each day as to which chapters to recite. Thus we find that the matter of dividing the Tehillim is very ancient.
And now to the wording of the saying itself: "From the enactments of his honor, our holy Rebbe, may he live long [the Rebbe Rayatz, of blessed memory]: to recite every morning after prayer — and also on Shabbat and festivals, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur — Tehillim, as it is divided according to the days of the month." Why is this saying connected specifically to the 22nd of Kislev? There is no explanation given here, but it is possible that the matter is connected to the fact that the chapters of Tehillim for this day are 106 and 107: right at the beginning of chapter 106, in the second verse, it is written "Who can express the mighty acts of Hashem, or make heard all His praise."
On this verse there is an explanation from the Baal Shem Tov, that the word "yemalel" is from the expression "lemolel," to break apart: "Who can express [yemalel] the mighty acts of Hashem" — who can break apart the judgments ["gevurot"]? "make heard all His praise" — one who recites Tehillim, this is "the voice of His praise," and it has the power to break apart judgments. And there is here also an additional hint: not only to recite Tehillim, but "all His praise" — to complete the entire Tehillim. And so too in this enactment, the Rebbe shows that every month one completes the entire Tehillim, and this matter is connected to this day on which one recites this verse in the Tehillim portion.
It is further stated in the saying, to recite Tehillim as it is divided according to the days of the month, "and after reciting it with a minyan of ten - the Mourner's Kaddish."
He adds, "In a month of 29 days, on the 29th day one recites the portion of both days" — the Tehillim is divided over thirty days, but in a month of 29 days — such as the month of Kislev — on the 29th day one recites the portion of both days; that is, on the 29th one recites the portion of day 29 as well as the portion of day 30, in order to complete the entire Tehillim.
It is interesting that the same chassid we spoke about earlier asked the Rebbe Rayatz, when he came out with the enactment about Tehillim: after all, he recites Tehillim every day before davening. The Rebbe Rayatz answered him: What one says before davening is the conclusion of Tikkun Chatzot; but here it is an enactment — say it after davening, as part of davening, and that is an entirely different matter.
There is an interesting letter that a chassid wrote to the Rebbe, in which he asked the Rebbe to release him from the obligation of reciting Tehillim every day, since he felt he was not managing to keep up with it, and he requested permission to be freed from this. The Rebbe writes to him (in Igros Kodesh vol. 11): "Release from keeping the shiurim also releases one from the good results that come by means of these shiurim." That is to say, know that the shiurim of Tehillim bestow abundant blessing, and therefore you cannot be released from the obligation of Tehillim — lest you lose, G-d forbid, the good that these things bring.
There is, therefore, great significance and importance in being steadfast in this practice, and in reciting Tehillim every single day according to the Rebbe's instruction.