The fifty-sixth "cheder" in the palace of Hayom Yom.
Friday, 16 Shevat 5703.
Lessons: Chumash, Beshalach, shishi, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, the 16th of the month, from chapter 79 through the end of chapter 82.
Tanya, on this day we finish chapter 21, from the words "bechol hatzimtzumim" until the end of the chapter.
The daily saying appears within a very famous sichah delivered by the Rebbe Rashab on Simchas Torah of the year 5661 - a sichah addressed especially to the Temimim, known by the title "Kol hayotzei l'milchemet beis David". We will state briefly the essential point up to the passage that we see in the daily saying. The Rebbe Rashab opens by quoting the Gemara in tractate Shabbos: "Whoever goes out to the wars of the House of David writes a get of divorce for his wife." The Gemara is speaking of a man going out to war, who, since he does not know what the outcome will be, writes a conditional get in advance so that his wife will not remain an agunah, so that if, G-d forbid, something should happen to him, it will turn out that he divorced her before the war. There are many commentaries there - whether it is conditional or entirely final; whoever wishes may look into the Gemara and the explanation of the matter according to nigleh.
The Rebbe Rashab brought this quotation and translated its meaning for the bochurim studying in the yeshivah Tomchei Temimim, explaining every single word of it. He explained that "the House of David" is a reference to the revelation of Moshiach, for Moshiach is called "Moshiach ben David", and the avodah of the soldiers of the House of David is the avodah of the Temimim, whose task is to reveal in the world the teachings of chassidus - "yafutzu maayanosecha chutzah" - which will bring rectification and completeness to the world.
In this avodah of the House of David there is a war. Before the coming of Moshiach there will be two generations with whom one must do battle, and the war changes: there is "that Your enemies have taunted, Hashem" - one type of generation, and there is "that they have taunted the footsteps of Your Moshiach". The Rebbe Rashab elaborates at length in describing the details of the period immediately preceding the coming of Moshiach, and he says that before the coming of Moshiach there will be a state of very difficult birthpangs of Moshiach, both materially and spiritually.
The Rebbe Rashab says there that the war of the House of David, the war of the Temimim, is a war with a special strategy, based on the verse said by Zechariah, "Not by might and not by power, but by My spirit." And he explains: "might" and "power" are the approach of mussar and of rebuke, whereas "My spirit" is the inner dimension of Torah, chassidus, comprehension of G-dliness. The way to succeed in the war of the House of David - for those who must save the Jewish people, and particularly in the second period - is directed toward those who do study Torah, but do not study it properly and do not emphasize the G-dliness within the matters.
And then comes the passage connected to the daily saying. The Rebbe Rashab turns to the bochurim and calls out to them, "Temimim!", and says to them: It is written that one who goes out to the wars of the House of David writes "a get of divorce for his wife". What is "his wife"? "His wife" is everything called the assumptions of the world - the accepted way of thinking in the world that is not according to Torah. A tamim who wishes to succeed in the war of the House of David will be in a state of giving a get of divorce to "his wife", meaning that he detaches himself from the basic assumptions of the world. And he spells out that the way matters stand in the world - even among those who keep Torah and mitzvos - is a state he calls "coldness", and he detects in it the scent of heresy.
And then comes the saying, from which the Rebbe brings only the following passage. Let us read his words: "Adoni avi mori v'rabbi said" - "A'admu"r", that is, adoni avi mori v'rabbi, refers to the Rebbe Rashab. The Rebbe Rashab said - in that very sichah that we mentioned in general terms - in Yiddish, and in translation, "Between coldness and heresy there is only a thin partition separating them." In the sichah he adds a further passage, that there are those who study Torah but become intoxicated with pride from their own Torah insights, and they cause coldness by saying that Torah must be studied because it is intellect - without vitality and without warmth.
He continues: "It is said, 'For Hashem your G-d is a consuming fire'" - the verse in Devarim. What does this mean? "G-dliness is a flame of fire; study and prayer must be with an enthusiasm of the heart such that 'all my bones shall declare' the words of Hashem in Torah and in prayer".
Further in the sichah the Rebbe Rashab spells out that when a chassid studies Torah, it must be engraved in his mind that the Torah is the wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He, and consequently the matters will be new in his eyes each day. And so too regarding prayer - that a chassid who prays has engraved in him the awareness of "Know before Whom you stand". He says that there are shuls where the words "Know before Whom you stand" are engraved on the chazzan's lectern, as though the lectern should know before Whom it stands; but in chassidic shuls these words are not written on the lectern, because they must be engraved in the mind and heart of the Jew - and how he answers "Amen" and "Amen yehei shmeih rabbah" with faith, with strength and with vitality.
He goes on to say further that there are chassidim who study even chassidus, Torah Or and Likkutei Torah, but with a cup of coffee in the morning. About this he says: It is written that any Torah scholar in whose name a teaching is quoted in this world, the author of that teaching stands before you. If so, a person who knows that he is studying Likkutei Torah or Torah Or - the Alter Rebbe and the Mitteler Rebbe and the Tzemach Tzedek are studying alongside him; if so, how can you sit and drink a cup of coffee? Believe and feel that he is standing with you and is present with you.
And so he continues at length. The demand here is that a chassid should study Torah with vitality, with enthusiasm and with fire; and this completely severs the approach of coldness of those who have not merited this light, who study and pray - but all of it with coldness.
One could say that the general connection of this saying is specifically to this week of parshas Beshalach, for at the conclusion of parshas Beshalach we read in the Torah that Amalek came. It is known that chassidus explains that the essence of Amalek is coldness, as it says (not in parshas Beshalach but in parshas Ki Seitzei), "who chilled you on the way" - Amalek is coldness. And here the Rebbe brings how much, when there is coldness, G-d forbid, it completely severs a Jew's inner connection to matters of Torah and mitzvos.