24 Teves
1. One of the reasons why there are tzaddikim whose day of passing (Yom HaHistalkus) is a day of joy, is that at the time of the passing, the purpose of the soul's descent below is fulfilled.1
The intent of the soul's descent below is, after all, as the saying goes,2 "ירידה צורך עלי'" ("The descent is for the sake of an ascent"). Through the soul's service in the study of Torah and the fulfillment of mitzvos, while it is below in the physical body, it attains a far loftier level than the level at which the soul stood above before it descended below ("חצובות מתחת כסא הכבוד" ("hewn from beneath the Throne of Glory"),3 "טהורה היא" ("it is pure"),4 and even higher) — that level does not reach the elevation which the soul receives through its service below.
This ascent of the soul is accomplished when it completes the entire service that it needed to carry out below. Therefore the passing of tzaddikim is reckoned as a joy, for tzaddikim have certainly accomplished and completed their entire service — and so at the time of the passing they reach the very highest ascent.
And since every year the same matters that took place the first time are repeated5 — every year, the yahrzeit of the tzaddik is a day of joy.
2. Joy that comes from a new thing, something that has never yet existed, is far greater than joy that comes from a matter that has already happened once before. Although every time the matter occurs it brings joy, nevertheless, since even on the actual day of passing it is not something new, there is not in it such tremendous joy as in a new matter, one that is coming about for the very first time.
Most of the souls of the generations are not "נשמות חדשות" ("new souls"); they have already been in the world before. Consequently, the joy over the ascent to which they are elevated at the time of their passing is not so great, because for them this is not happening for the first time. They have already been below once, and were elevated at the time of their passing. It is true that each time the soul's ascent is of a different kind; nevertheless, since the general matter of ascent has already happened to it once before, the joy is no longer as great.
The soul of the Alter Rebbe, however, was a new soul.5* Before the Alter Rebbe was born, his soul had never yet been in the world. Consequently, at the passing of the Alter Rebbe there was a far greater joy than at the passing of tzaddikim who did not have the quality of a new soul — for this was indeed a new matter, something that happened for the first time.
As said earlier, every year6 the same matters that took place the first time are repeated. So every year — when the day of 24 Teves, the yahrzeit of the Alter Rebbe, arrives — the same great joy (and every year, in a higher manner)7 that existed in the year of his passing (5573) shines forth and is drawn down.
3. Among the things that joy accomplishes is also that "שמחה פורץ גדר" ("joy breaks through boundaries") — joy removes measures and limitations.
May the Al-mighty grant that all who have a connection to the Alter Rebbe — both those who have a spiritual connection to him, in that they are "הולכים באורחותיו" ("walking in his ways"), whether in deed, in speech, or in thought; and those who descend from his lineage, for "האב זוכה לבן" ("the father confers merit upon the son")8 — a father confers merit upon his child regardless of what the son's state may be, for he is, after all, a son — that for them all measures and limitations be removed, that everything they need be drawn down to them, both materially and spiritually, and that this flow come without any obstacles, "עד מהרה ירוץ דברו" ("His word runs very swiftly").9
May the Al-mighty grant that we be "walking in his ways" in thought, speech and deed, in day-to-day life; and especially — that we study the teachings of Chassidus — for which the Alter Rebbe gave his very soul — and conduct ourselves according to his customs and his directives.
(From the sicha of Shabbos Parshas Va'eira 5717)
4. The Alter Rebbe had a silver snuffbox without a lid. The reason for this was that the lid was mirror-smooth, and the Alter Rebbe used it to align the head-tefillin, so that they would rest in the correct place.
When this was being discussed in the presence of the Tzemach Tzedek, and it was said that the Alter Rebbe had broken the lid off the box, the Tzemach Tzedek said that breaking was not his grandfather's way; he did not break — neither himself nor another. Rather, the lid was probably attached to the box by a thread, and his grandfather removed the connecting thread.
To the Tzemach Tzedek it was so certain and clear that the Alter Rebbe did not break, that it led him to say with certainty that the Alter Rebbe did not break even an inanimate object; he merely removed the connecting thread.
All the stories that have been told to us are a directive in Divine service. The directive of the above-mentioned story is:
One can refine oneself to such an extent that… [the source text breaks off here; the continuation of this Sicha is not in the source]
Notes
1) Why this is not so with all tzaddikim is explained at length elsewhere.
2) See the sources cited in the index to Likkutei Torah, under the entry "Souls: descent for the sake of ascent."
3) See Zohar I, 113a, and elsewhere.
4) The morning blessings (Birchos HaShachar); and see Likkutei Torah, beginning of Parshas Haazinu.
5) See Lev David (by the Chida), ch. 29 (based on what the Ramaz writes in the book Tikkun Shovavim); the Mishnah at the end of ch. 3 of Gittin; Responsa of the Radbaz (in the book Yam Mevi Pesachim), sec. 5, at length.
5*) Sicha of 18 Elul 5705 (Likkutei Dibburim, vol. 3, p. 474a).
6) And especially in this year, the 150th year since his passing. Also, it falls on the same days of the week and also in the same Torah portions. See above, p. 801, note 14.
7) See Iggeres HaKodesh, sec. 14.
8) Eduyos 2:9.
9) See Likkutei Torah, end of Parshas Korach.
Key Lesson
The yahrzeit of a tzaddik is a day of joy, because each year the ascent of his soul at its passing is renewed; and since the Alter Rebbe's was a new soul, the joy of 24 Teves is especially great. That joy breaks through all limits, and through walking in his ways, studying Chassidus and following his customs, we draw down blessings without limitation, materially and spiritually.