The thirty-ninth "room" in the palace of Hayom Yom.
Tuesday, 28 Tevet 5703.
Lessons: Chumash, Vaera, Shlishi, with Rashi's commentary.
Tehillim, the 28th of the month, from chapter 135 through chapter 139 inclusive.
Tanya, on this day we conclude chapter 14, from the words "uvazeh yuvan" until the end of the chapter, with the words "tehi tzaddik".
Today's saying is very short, so we will give the background to it. In its source, the saying appears in the diary notes that the Rebbe wrote down from things he heard from his father-in-law, the Rebbe Rayatz, in the month of Sivan 5691. And what is the background? It is told that in the time of the third Rebbe, the Rebbe Tzemach Tzedek, there were many troubles, informings and harassments on the part of the "maskilim". The "maskilim" wanted to uproot entirely the approach of simple faith in the Torah of Israel and the pure chinuch in which Jewish children are raised toward Torah and authentic Yiddishkeit, claiming that the children do not study "core subjects" and the like. It greatly disturbed them that the leadership and influence of the Rebbe Tzemach Tzedek were so great and strong over all the communities of Israel and over all circles, and therefore they acted against him with very great force.
There is a fascinating description there. There is a kuntres called "HaTzemach Tzedek U'Tenuas HaHaskalah", containing several dozen pages that describe in great detail the whole course of events and how they unfolded - how the "maskilim" secretly sent spies to penetrate literally into the stronghold of the chassidim's houses of the Rebbe himself and to observe their learning. Interestingly, it appears there that one of the maskilim who was sent was present at a farbrengen of the Rebbe Tzemach Tzedek and heard two maamarim of chassidus, and he was so stunned by the depth of the matters that when he returned to his fellow maskilim he said that our Haskalah compared to his intellect is like complete foolishness. He was very impressed by the depth of the matters, but this disturbed them greatly and led to severe informing.
The government in Russia, influenced by the informing and by the maskilim's dealings with the ministers of the crown and the like, actually tried to interfere in the chinuch of Jewish children and in the content being taught. The Rebbe Tzemach Tzedek stood with great mesirus nefesh throughout that entire period, and in the end the decree was annulled, thank G-d.
From this entire story - one of the special, powerful and difficult stories of the period of the Tzemach Tzedek's leadership - the Rebbe brings, over the course of the Hayom Yom calendar, three sayings scattered in different places: the present saying on 28 Tevet, which is the first in the calendar; and later, several months afterward, in the saying of 8 Elul; and also in the saying of 23 Marcheshvan. On these three days the Rebbe brings different aspects connected to the episode of the Tzemach Tzedek's battle against the Haskalah movement. In the saying of 8 Elul, which we will learn G-d willing, it is explained by what merit he ultimately succeeded; and in the saying of 23 Cheshvan it is told how many times he was arrested - for in the course of these events he traveled to Petersburg, and there were discussions and debates, and he was arrested several times by the government.
In any case, the Rebbe Tzemach Tzedek wrote a work, and the present saying revolves around it. Let us read its wording: "In the Sefer HaChakirah (Derech Emunah) of the Tzemach Tzedek that has been printed". There is a sefer of the Tzemach Tzedek to which the Rebbe gave the name "Sefer HaChakirah", except that the printer of the first edition gave it a different name - "Derech Emunah". In practice both names remained: both "Derech Emunah", which the publisher gave it, and "Sefer HaChakirah", as the Rebbe called it.
About this sefer the Rebbe writes "many hagahos are missing" - that is, the sefer is not complete to the end, and many hagahos are lacking in it. And what is the content of the sefer, and why did the Rebbe Tzemach Tzedek compose it? It appears here: "The Tzemach Tzedek composed it in connection with his journeys to Petersburg, where he had to answer several questions in these matters". Following his journey to Petersburg, the Tzemach Tzedek had to occupy himself with many debates and discussions concerning faith in G-d and so on, and to answer several questions in these matters, and therefore he composed an entire sefer that includes the treatment of the whole subject.
The truth is that the sefer, as it stands before us, contains not only what was said at that conference in Petersburg. The conference was in the year 5603, and the Rebbe added to the sefer over time more and more - he enlarged the sefer by adding topics, details and further chapters - until it is far larger than what it originally contained. And although chassidim are accustomed and educated that the approach to G-dliness must be with simple faith, whereas in the sefer there are all sorts of explanations and proofs regarding Divine providence and the renewal of the world by the Creator and so on - as the Rebbe writes in the foreword to the sefer, "it was a necessity and a directive of the hour": there was an absolute need to give logical explanations, because those maskilim with their false views wanted to take everything through intellect and understanding.
And what is the connection to 28 Tevet? We will speak about that, especially in light of what we mentioned, that the Rebbe scattered the topics connected to this episode in several places in Hayom Yom. Why specifically on 28 Tevet did he insert this detail? There is no clear explanation for this, but by way of possibility it seems one can find the connection to 28 Tevet in two things. First, we are in parshas Vaera, Tuesday. When one looks in the Chumash, in Tuesday's portion of parshas Vaera, there is the verse "And I will multiply My signs and My wonders... and the Egyptians shall know that I am the L-rd" - that the Holy One, blessed be He, performs actions so that even the nations, even the Egyptians, will recognize the presence of the Creator. And this is essentially the content of the matter here: the sefer was intended so that even those who do not believe, the maskilim who want to uproot every matter of faith in G-d, should know that I am the L-rd. That is one connection.
Another interesting connection relates to the date of 28 Tevet. There is a sefer called "Megillas Taanis", and although its name is "Megillas Taanis", it is not a scroll of fast days, but rather of the marking of dates on which joyous events occurred and on which it is therefore forbidden to fast. It contains markings of dates throughout the year together with the historical events that occurred on them. And when one looks at this day, 28 Tevet - what happened on it?
In Megillas Taanis it is told that at the time when the Tzedukim existed - those who do not believe in the Oral Torah and do not believe with simple faith in G-dliness - the Tzedukim penetrated into the composition of the Sanhedrin and sat within it, and not a single worthy Jewish talmid chacham sat there, until it became a Sanhedrin of Tzedukim. The only one who sat there was Shimon ben Shatach, the only Tanna among them. People would come to ask questions, as is the way with the Sanhedrin, and the Tzedukim did not know how to bring proofs from the Torah for their words, since they do not believe in the Oral Torah - and when the proof is built on the Oral Torah, they did not know how to bring evidence.
It is told there that Shimon ben Shatach intervened and said: whoever can bring a proof from the Torah is entitled to sit in the Sanhedrin, and whoever cannot has no reason to sit here. Once a question came up there, and no one knew, and everyone was silent. One of the elders of the Tzedukim came and began to argue that he could indeed manage with it, and he said to Shimon ben Shatach: give me a day, I will go home and tomorrow I will bring an answer. Yannai HaMelech was also sitting there. They gave him time and he went; he sat by himself and found no source at all, and since he saw that he had no source he was ashamed to return to the Sanhedrin, and an empty place remained.
Said Shimon ben Shatach: there is no possibility that the Sanhedrin be fewer than seventy-one, and one did not come - I will bring in another in his place. He took one of the G-d-fearing Jewish students and brought him in in his place. And so every day he would ask a question, and draw out another who went home and did not return, and he would bring in a Jewish student in his place - until he succeeded in removing them all, and it became a Sanhedrin of sages who feared Heaven. And on that day when the Sanhedrin of the Tzedukim departed and in their place came the Sanhedrin of the Jews - that was 28 Tevet, and it became a yom tov for the Jewish people, and therefore it is forbidden to fast on it.
And this is essentially the content of the saying of 28 Tevet: that the Tzemach Tzedek composed his work in order to respond to the Tzedukim of his time - the maskilim - and to answer all their questions and to prove to them how they are mistaken. This is perhaps the connection between the saying and this particular date of 28 Tevet.