The ninth "room" in the palace of daily life, as the Rebbe Rayatz refers to it.
Sunday, the 27th of Kislev, the 3rd day of Chanukah, 5703 (1942).
Lessons: Chumash, Parshat Miketz, first section with Rashi's commentary.
Psalms, day 27 of the month, from chapter 120 until 134.
Tanya, we begin chapter 3 from "And the eyes" until the word "and their dread."
As is known, for every saying in "HaYom Yom" the Rebbe noted for himself from which date, from which talk, and from which source it was taken. There exists a copy of "HaYom Yom" in the Rebbe's handwriting, and there are photographs of it. On this date of the 27th of Kislev there is a very interesting matter: the Rebbe notes that the saying is taken from a talk of the Rebbe Rayatz that was delivered on the 29th of Kislev 5703 — yet it belongs to the "HaYom Yom" of the 27th of Kislev 5703. What is the meaning of this?
The book "HaYom Yom," as already noted in the introduction, was first published in the month of Nissan 5703. In the month of Kislev the Rebbe Rayatz asked the Rebbe to begin compiling the book, and the book came to fruition in the month of Nissan. Since it was only published in Nissan, the Rebbe arranged the dates at a later point, and consequently for the day of the 27th of Kislev he placed a saying that was actually spoken on the 29th of Kislev of that same year, 5703. And when one knows the sequence of events, there is nothing surprising about this.
What are we talking about here? The subject discussed today is a short account of the second imprisonment of the Alter Rebbe. It is known that the Alter Rebbe was arrested in the famous imprisonment of the year 5559 — an imprisonment that lasted 53 days, and after which came Yud-Tes Kislev, with which we opened the "Hayom Yom" calendar, the festival of redemption or the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus. Afterward, two years later, the Alter Rebbe was arrested once again as a result of a renewed slander. Here the Rebbe notes the differences between the slander and first imprisonment (5559) and the slander and second imprisonment (5561).
Let us briefly explain what this was about, and afterward we will read the text itself; the Rebbe writes this too in the summary. The striking difference was that in the first imprisonment there was a personal denunciation against the Rebbe — that he was a rebel against the Russian monarchy, collecting money to send to the Holy Land (which was then under Turkish rule), and planning a revolt against the Russian government. Since the denunciation was personal against the Alter Rebbe, that he was a rebel against the monarchy, the danger to him was also far greater, for the monarchy relates very harshly to one who rebels against it. Therefore too, as is told, when they took him to prison they led him in the "black carriage" — a carriage in which they transport only people sentenced to a death verdict — and he was held imprisoned literally at the very end of the prison throughout all those days.
In contrast, two years later, informing arose again, but this time it was of a different kind: not informing against the Rebbe himself, but against his teachings — a libel against the teachings of Chassidus. What did they claim? That the discourses of Chassidus that he publishes and writes deal extensively with the concepts of mesirus nefesh and bittul, and the informers tried to prove to the Russian government that he was leading a line that contradicts accepting the yoke of the kingdom and the settlement of the world — that people should work and engage in business and commerce — for according to his way there must be bittul and mesirus nefesh. That is, they claimed that he was leading a system that does not bring about the settlement of the world; not against him personally, but as a person who educates entire generations toward a disordered conduct.
This time, the denunciation was therefore more directed against the teachings of Chassidus, and the opposition was very great, since the teachings of Chassidus had already spread widely — especially after Yud-Tes Kislev, two years earlier — and therefore the matter carried much weight. Consequently, the denunciation that he was publicizing and disseminating teachings contrary to a proper way of life was a very grave denunciation against the teachings of Chassidus.
On the other hand, this time he was not transported in the "black carriage," nor was he sentenced to death. On the contrary, during his imprisonment he was held in a place called the Secret Council of Russia — a place for deliberations on these matters — and the manner of confinement there was not like that of a prison; the conditions were much lighter than the previous time. First of all, he did not come alone, but together with his son Rabbi Moshe and with a certain other chassid. The son of the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Moshe, managed to prevail upon the authorities: although they told him that he could not meet with people, it was arranged that in the adjacent room a minyan, Torah reading, and public prayer would take place, and that holes would be made in the ceiling so that he could hear the prayers — and they agreed, and so it was. In other words, the personal conditions were lighter, since the nature of the denunciation was different.
Now let us read and understand the text before us. The Rebbe says: "During the second imprisonment of the Alter Rebbe in the year 5561," as we mentioned earlier, "he was not held in as harsh a confinement as the first time, but the informing was more severe." Why was the informing more severe? Because to prove that the Rebbe was not rebelling against the government was easier, since there was no basis for this in reality; but to prove that the method of study does not oppose a proper way of life is much harder, for one sees in the maamarim many expressions of bitul, that the world is false, and so on. It is far more difficult to prove to the gentiles, to study with them the contents of Chassidus and to explain to them that they do not understand the matter — there is a much greater difficulty here. This is the meaning of "the informing was more severe," for "the main thrust of the informing was against the teachings of Chassidus, and the opposition was very great"; this was the challenge at that time.
"He was held in the Tainy-Soviet" — the name of the government's secret council, which, as mentioned, was a place of councils and deliberations, and not a prison as on the previous occasion.
And why did the Rebbe insert this saying davka on this date, the 27th of Kislev? At the conclusion he says: "The day he was freed was the third night of Chanukah." The Alter Rebbe was taken into imprisonment on the 24th of Tishrei 5561, and from the 24th of Tishrei until the 27th of Kislev — two months and three days — he was held captive in their hands. And since he was freed on the third night of Chanukah, the Rebbe inserted this saying here.
It is interesting that in other places in Chassidus — such as in the Rebbe Rashab's work "Torat Shalom" — it is noted in many places that the redemption did not take place on the third candle of Chanukah, but rather on the fifth candle of Chanukah; that is, there are different versions. One of the chassidim asked the Rebbe how to reconcile the contradiction — was the redemption on the third candle as noted here in the sicha of the Rebbe Rayatz, or on the fifth candle as noted in the sicha of the Rebbe Rashab, and how do the matters align. The Rebbe replied, and these are his words: "And it may be said that in both of them there were matters of redemption, also in their plain sense". That is, both things are correct; apparently there were stages in the liberation — a stage on the third candle and a stage on the fifth candle — and therefore certain places note it one way and other places note it the other way. There is no doubt that both are correct and in both of them there were matters of redemption. This is the conclusion of the daily "Hayom Yom".