Nineteen

n 1798, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the author of the Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch, was imprisoned on the false charges that his teachings undermined the authority of the czar of Russia (in truth, he was spreading Torah). For 52 days he was held in the Peter-Paul
Fortress in Petersburg. He was miraculously released on the 19th of Kislev.

Among the Rebbe's interrogators was a government minister who possessed broad knowledge of the Bible and Jewish studies. On one occasion, he asked the Rebbe to explain the verse in Beraishis (3:9): "And Hashem called out to Adam and said to him: 'Where are you?'" Did
Hashem not know where Adam was?

Rabbi Schneur Zalman presented the explanation offered by several of the commentaries: the question "Where are you?" was merely a "conversation opener" on the part of Hashem, who did not wish to unnerve Adam by immediately confronting him with his wrongdoing.

"What Rashi says, I know," said the minister. "I wish to hear how the Rebbe understands the verse."
"Do you believe that the Torah is eternal?" asked the Rebbe. "Do you believe that its every word applies to every individual, under all conditions, at all times?"
"Yes," replied the minister. Rabbi Schneur Zalman was extremely gratified to hear this. The czar's minister had affirmed a principle which lies at the basis of the teachings of Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov, the very teachings and ideology for which he was standing trial!

"'Where are you?'" explained the Rebbe, "is Hashem's perpetual call to every man. Where are you in the world? What have you accomplished? You have been allotted a certain number of days, hours, and minutes in which to fulfill your mission in life. You have lived so many years
and so many days," -- here Rabbi Schneur Zalman spelled out the exact age of the minister -- "Where are you? What have you achieved?"

Exercise for the day: Ask yourself these questions: Where am I holding b'ruchniyus?
What am I achieving? What have I achieved this past month?
If you don't like your answers for any reason- What one thing am I going to improve upon?