The thirty-seventh "cheder" in the palace of Hayom Yom.
Sunday, 26 Teves 5703.
Shiurim: Chumash, we begin a new parsha in the book of Shemos - parshas Va'eira. Sunday, the first section, with the commentary of Rashi.
Tehillim, the 26th of the month, we say in chapter 119 from the letter mem, which begins with the word "Mah", until the end of the chapter at the conclusion of the letter tav, "lo shachachti".
Tanya, today we begin chapter 14, from the word "V'hinei" until page 38, at the words "lichpor ha'emes".
Before us today is a very short teaching, which comes to explain a certain passage in one of the blessings of the Shemoneh Esrei - the blessing called "Birkas HaMinim", known to us by its opening words "Velamalshinim". There is an interesting reference here to the wording within this blessing.
The source of this teaching is a letter that the Rebbe Rayatz sent to a Jew by the name of Ullman, who asked the Rebbe various questions concerning matters of prayer. The reply is divided into sections - section one on question one, and so on - and when he reaches the second question, that Jew asks what the nusach of the Arizal is in Birkas HaMinim.
What is the question? It is known that there were certain periods in which, because of the censorship - that is, because of the government - various changes were made in this blessing, so that a situation would not arise where people would say "the Jews are praying against them" and so on, and to lessen the fear of the gentile authorities. But that Jew asks the Rebbe Rayatz what the correct wording is according to the nusach of the Arizal - and not the wording that at times they were forced to alter.
The Rebbe Rayatz answers him, and quotes in the letter itself: the wording to which I was accustomed from my childhood, and so I heard from his father - for when his father was the chazzan and prayed the Shemoneh Esrei aloud, he was able to hear the wording. In the letter he quotes precisely the language of the wording that is to be said, without any doubt: "Velamalshinim", "vechol oyvei amcha meheira yikareisu", "umalchus harish'ah meheira" - the wording without any change.
Further on there is a discussion of the four expressions in this blessing, which seemingly all refer to that same "malchus harish'ah" and so on: "te'akeir", "useshabeir", "usemageir", "usachnia". The Rebbe refers him to the sefer "Shaar HaKollel", where these four expressions are discussed. First, "Shaar HaKollel" is precise that one should say "usachnia" in the singular, and not "usachniam" in the plural as is written in certain siddurim - as though it were speaking of the doers of wickedness and of the kingdom of wickedness in the plural; rather the wording should be "usachnia" in the singular, and he also brings a reason for this.
Let us now read the teaching, in which the Rebbe brings the reason briefly, and expands a little on what is written in "Shaar HaKollel". And so the teaching says: "In the blessing of 'Velamalshinim' one pauses slightly between 'usemageir' and the word 'usachnia'". This is what the Rebbe Rayatz would hear from his father - that one says "te'akeir useshabeir usemageir", pauses for a moment, and then says "usachnia", and not in one continuous flow. Why? The matter is "in accordance with the kavanah", as is explained in "Shaar HaKollel", and here the Rebbe brings a summary of what the kavanah is.
"That 'te'akeir useshabeir usemageir' - the first three expressions, which are said in one continuous flow - correspond to the three impure kelipos which must be removed entirely", as is explained in Tanya, that there are three kelipos that are entirely impure and cannot be refined, and must be nullified; and with the coming of Moshiach their nullification will be complete. Regarding them we say "te'akeir useshabeir usemageir".
And why with three expressions and not with one? "Shaar HaKollel" explains that the three impure kelipos are not equal - the first is the worst, the second slightly less so, and the third slightly less than that - even though all three are kelipos that must be removed; and therefore the wording of the request from the Holy One, blessed be He, as to how to nullify them, changes. Regarding the first, the worst one, we say "te'akeir" - that it be uprooted entirely without a trace. Regarding the second, which is slightly weaker than the first, we say "useshabeir" - not language of complete uprooting but of breaking. And regarding the third, which is weaker still, we say "usemageir" - that it be cast down from here and be no more.
But when it comes to the fourth kelipah, what is the wording? "'Usachnia' corresponds to kelipas nogah, which requires subjugation". Kelipas nogah does not merely stand fourth in the order of the kelipos; rather it is entirely different: a Jew can, through proper use, refine it and transform it into holiness, since it contains a mixture of good and evil. Therefore the request is "usachnia" - that one must subjugate the evil portion to the good portion; there is a process of refinement in it, and it is possible to refine it and transform it into good. And that is why the wording changes.
It emerges that not only has it been explained why the wording changes, but also why one should make a certain pause - because in fact we are dealing with two categories of kelipos: the three entirely impure kelipos are one category, and kelipas nogah is another category, and therefore one pauses between them.
We also find here a hint to the sequence of the halachos in the Rambam. As we have spoken, that the Rebbe hints in the teachings to the books of the Rambam, and we are now in the second book - Sefer Ahavah. We spoke earlier about the hint to the laws of Kerias Shema, and the next laws are the laws of prayer; and here we see tangibly the connection to the laws of prayer, since the entire teaching speaks about a certain explanation in prayer. So it is clear that this hints to the laws of prayer in the second book of the Rambam.