"The Baal HaTanya Said

Today, the 24th of Teves, is the Hillula (anniversary of passing) of the Baal HaTanya, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, zy"a (may his merit protect us). Our Rebbe (Rebbe Nachman) said of him that he was the "Minister of the Thousand." The Alter Rebbe was the head of the Chabad royal dynasty.

In honor of the Hillula, we present to you a collection from the lessons of the Gaon and Tzaddik, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days), strengthening the greatness of prayer—a virtue which the Baal HaTanya zy"a strengthened immensely:

This is why a person comes into the world—he arrived in the world in order to stand in Shemoneh Esrei (the standing prayer), not to miss a single word in Shemoneh Esrei, not to miss a single letter in Shemoneh Esrei, to stand for six hours in Shemoneh Esrei. The Baal HaTanya said, "I can stand in Shemoneh Esrei for twenty-four hours." Soon it will be the yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) on the 24th of Teves in Haditch; everyone will travel to Haditch. There, the greatest yahrtzeit of the Baal HaTanya will take place. A person comes into the world for the yahrtzeit of the Baal HaTanya in Haditch, and then he will see wonders; he will see such miracles that have not occurred since the creation of the world. Every day brings new miracles. The month of Teves is an acronym for "T'kadmenu Birchot Tov Tashit L'Rosho Ateret Paz" (You meet him with blessings of good; You set a crown of fine gold on his head). What is an "Ateret Paz"? It is a Keter (crown). "And he placed a royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti." She became the queen of the world over 127 provinces. In the month of Teves, everyone receives a crown on their head; everyone receives a crown and merits to rule over the whole world. Everyone receives a crown and is a king over the whole world by merit of the crown. This is the month of Teves, when Esther came before the king in the tenth month, which is the month of Teves, and received the crown; so too, all of the Jewish people receive the crown.

A person must know that he came into the world to study Gemara (Talmud). And the Baal HaTanya says—now is the yahrtzeit of the Baal HaTanya on the 24th—Sunday night is the birthday, and Monday night is the yahrtzeit of the Baal HaTanya. He said, "I can stand in Shemoneh Esrei for eight hours." Now, we stood in Shemoneh Esrei for ten minutes so that people would have time to go to sleep, but in truth, one needs to stand in Shemoneh Esrei for three hours, four hours, five hours. Among the early Chassidim, they would spend an hour before prayer and an hour after prayer; that is three hours for Shemoneh Esrei, and another three hours, and another—nine hours. And after that, they still had fifteen hours left to study Gemara. A person who can stand for three hours in Shemoneh Esrei, and another three, and another three, can then study Gemara for fifteen hours without taking his head out of the book.